Opportunities and Conflict

Thomas Jefferson, the soft spoken writer of the Declaration of Independence, knew that secure access to the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans was essential for the movement of goods and people in the western part of the country. Napoleon needed money to help finance his continuing wars so a deal was struck and in October 1803 the Louisiana Purchase land became part of the United States. Overnight and with a price tag of $15 million (about 3 cents per acre) the size of the United States was doubled. While the additional land and access to the Mississippi brought many blessings, it also meant that the eastern seaboard's domination of the government would fast wane as additional western states joined the union. The divisive issue of slavery would once again have to be confronted: would new states be slave or free?

Jefferson, being a curious leader, decided to send Lewis and Clark along with the Corps of Discovery to explore the new purchase. They were directed to make maps of the area and to locate a water route to the Pacific. In addition, they were to catalogue Indian tribes and the resources of the territory, including plants and animals. They left from St. Louis, Missouri, in 1804, reached the Pacific on December 3, 1805, and returned by the end of 1806. Many, including the President, doubted if the explorers would ever return.

While the Federalists worried that the new settlers in the western lands would favor Jefferson's Anti-Federalist policies, John Marshall clearly had the Federalist agenda in mind as the Supreme Court ruled on many ground-breaking cases. In case after case, the Court established the supremacy of the Constitution and federal law. Many historians believe the most important case decided at this time was Marbury v. Madison, which established the principle of judicial review. In other words, the Supreme Court had the power to declare a law unconstitutional. This bold decision clearly put the Court on equal footing with the other two branches and provided an additional check to their actions.

A Most Peculiar War

This week you had the opportunity to write about why countries go to war and why within the same country there may be supporters as well as opponents of the war. Your primary source documents from the War of 1812 allowed you to read what was said during the debate on that conflict and to cull the reasons for supporting and opposing it. Opponents feared causalities and the cost of the war while supporters wanted to stop British interference with trade and to remove the threat that England posed to the states. Many of you made the connection that opponents and supporters of the war in Iraq make many of the same arguments.

You have a graphic organizer that will help you locate and record key information on this conflict, but the most important question is the last one on the guide: what do you think about this conflict? Think of the significance of the War of 1812…how is our country different after this conflict? Did we gain or lose from it?

Current Events

Keep in mind that we have returned to our regular schedule of current events on day 3. You may select any national or international issue. The first paragraph should be a summary of the article (in your own words) and the second paragraph should include why you selected the article, a link to history or our study of government and your personal opinion or reflections on the issue. This assignment is a great way to pick up points. Every time you earn full credit for the assignment it is like getting a 100 and if you exceed the standard you can earn extra credit. The students with the highest grades at the end of the quarter are usually those that have done all the current events assignments and have tried to exceed the standard.

A word of caution

When you are absent (excused) please take the time to see me before or after school to get the work you missed. You have 5 days to make up missed work. In case I am not available and you have work to hand in, you may leave it in my mailbox in the faculty room.

A Special Posting

During our February break I had the opportunity to return to one of my favorite cities in Europe: Paris. While traveling through the city and its outskirts I kept seeing monuments and markers that reminded me of our study of American history, so I have done a special posting of selected pictures from the trip. I hope you enjoy viewing them and would be happy to talk further with anyone who is interested in learning more about the trip.

Traveling to other countries give us a unique opportunity to see how others live and to place ourselves within the global community. People may speak another language, eat different foods and think differently about world issues, but we must all recognize this is a small planet and we all want “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” I hope you can keep this in mind as our future decision makers.