Discussion 1

Read the Monroe Doctrine. Once all reading is complete, respond to the following items:

• The Monroe Doctrine became one of the crucial foundations of American foreign policy over the next century; what was the occasion for Monroe's articulation of this doctrine, and what were the circumstances motivating its adoption?

• What reasons were used by Monroe to justify this foreign policy pronouncement, and how do they relate to arguments made during the revolutionary and early republic periods?

Discussion 2

Read the information included in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl; scroll down the document at this website and read through Chapters V, VI and VII of the account by ex-slave Harriet Jacobs. Once all reading is complete, respond to the following item(s):

• What does this account reveal about the nature of slavery and how slavery affected southern society?

Discussion 3

Read the Emancipation Proclamation. Once all reading is complete, respond to the following items:

In early 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

• Why did Lincoln decide to issue the Proclamation at this particular time?
• What factors determined this decision?
• What did the President hope to gain?
• What were the limitations of the Proclamation, and what was its larger historical significance?

Discussion 4

Read the information included in the Mississippi Black Codes. Once all reading is complete, respond to the following item(s):

During Reconstruction, Black Codes were enacted in several former states in the Confederacy. A Republican controlled Congress would later react to suppress these codes.

• What ultimately were these codes designed to do?
• Precisely how did the codes aim to accomplish these objectives?