Prepare a 4-5 page essay (double spaced, Times New Roman font, 12 point text, 1" page margins) on one of the following topics:

1. Discuss the arguments advanced by southerners to justify the institution of slavery. Discuss the impact of slavery on southern values, customs, and laws.

2. Indicate the ideas, leaders, and contribution of the following reform movements in early nineteenth-century American society:

• the anti-prostitution movement
• the temperance movement
• the movement to establish penitentiaries, insane asylums, and other social institutions
• the women's movement

3. Explain the dissension and fears that emerged as a result of the Mexican War and discuss the political, social, and economic consequences of the war.

4. Compare and contrast the social, political, and economic impact of the Civil War on the South, its values, and its people with the social, political, and economic impact of the Civil War on the North, its values, and its people.

5. Discuss the role of women and nonwhites in frontier society and examine the prejudices these groups experienced.

6. Discuss the impact of each of the following on American attitudes and lifestyles. Examine the problems associated with American cities of the late nineteenth century, and evaluate the responses to those problems.

• the indoor toilet
• processed and preserved foods
• the sewing machine
• department stores and chain stores