Jefferson's message to congress (1803) 

• Thomas Jefferson wrote this secret message to Congress about the Lewis & Clark expedition in 1803; what does it tell us about Jefferson's views of westward expansion and Native Americans?
• What solutions does Jefferson propose to the friction between the fledgling republic and the Indian tribes of the West?
• What arguments does he use to explain the Lewis & Clark expedition?

Monroe Doctrine

• 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?

Incidents In Life Of A Slave Girl

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

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?

Mississippi Black Code

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