Homework Five Answers - Student Eight

1. Identify two of the most important outcomes of the Mexican War.

First was the laying down of the boarder between the United States and Mexico on the Rio Grande River. Second was the massive amounts of land seized from Mexico which supported the Manifest Destiny ideals of the time.

Excellent, but note spelling: "border", not "boarder"

4. Why were there so many one-term presidents in the 1840s and 1850s? Explain.

Due to the political tensions of the period the country was almost halved by the issue of slavery and as such it was easy to understand how quickly a president could lose popularity in the country. Due to the two-party system that the United States had a newly elected president had half of the country against them from the start. They would proceed to lose support from their own party due to the lack of being able to live up to the goals of the party they supported. James K. Polk was a rare exception during those times as he did accomplish everything he set out to do.

Terrific explanation.

7. "Remember the Alamo!" Why?

The phrase refers to the famous battle of the Alamo in 1821 when a Mexican Army slaughtered approximately 165 Texans defending the fort. The loss of the Alamo inspired the Texans to fight for their freedom and shortly after Texas wrote its declaration of independence from Mexico and established itself as the “Lone Star Republic.”

Right: the battle was a massacre that subsequently inspired the state's independence.

8. The biggest question in all of American History is this: Do you think it was possible to avoid the Civil War? If so, how?

While there can be an infinite set of ideas to avoid the war, I believe the chances of any of those theories coming through and being successful to be improbable. From these 18 years I have been alive I have learned that in the case of right and wrong it is rare for evil to be removed without some kind of struggle. I have seen this and experienced it in the smallest of quarrels to the greatest of international crisis’s. It is foolish to believe that something as dividing and costly as 3.5 million slaves could be reconciled in a peaceful manner. Eventually there would have to be a conflict, the question shouldn’t be whether it could have been avoided but how those involved could have reduced the damage of the fallout.

Definitely a candidate for the model answers! Very well stated.

Debate: Is it ever justified for a President to lie to Congress to accomplish a goal sought by Americans?

To answer this question I ask another: Can lying ever be justified? On the basis of moral character I think it is impossible to allow such an action. The end does NOT justify the means and if anyone should be held to that statement it should be our president. Such an action with a person of his status and responsibility should be unheard of.

Good.

Debate: Do you think the South could have won the Civil War, or at least fought off the North enough to secede?

While we haven’t studied the entire war yet (as the choices made during the war were very influential) we can examine the status of the south and make a guess. If you examine the economic and cultural nature of the south at the time you will find a thriving, active, and energetic people ready to defend themselves and their way of life. On a global scale one can see that they held more of a chance of the two major powers of the day, France and Britain, interceding favoring the south due to the amount of exports that were shipped from southern harbors, important and profitable supplies such as cotton, tobacco, rice and sugar cane. Also just based on the geography one can see the main thrust of the fighting would be of a defensive nature, which worked for the southerners favor.

But what about the north? Well the north outnumbered the south in terms of population by about 22 million to about 5.5 million due to heavy immigration and had the full power of the United State Navy. The north also was the part of the country that was manufacturing most of the countries goods at the time and could supply their soldiers with the latest and greatest gear. They north held the boarder states which gave them a larger field through which to launch an assault and also better supply routes aided by the use of the railroad system.

After examining the forces at the beginning of the campaign the only true method of the south winning the war was for them to hold out until they could rally international help. The north however had numbers and better equipment and could win a war of attrition. Also there is one factor to consider; why they fought. The south fought to keep their economy free from taint and to protect their work force. The North however saw this as something more important. They fought to secure their God blessed union and to abolish slavery from the United States. While the south fought for economic freedom, the north fought for a cause they knew was just.

One of the finest answers in the class. Well done!

James.G

Terrific work. Grade: 60/60!