To what extent did foreign relations shape politics in the early ...

[jc611]

Question 1

Which of the following is not true about Aaron Burr?
 
  a. He was a brilliant young attorney.
  b. He was a member of the Senate.
  c. He ran as a Federalist against Thomas Jefferson.
  d. He came from an influential family.

Question 2

Ask students to analyze the reasons as to what prompted political leaders to act decisively for revising the Articles of Confederation.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 3

To what extent did foreign relations shape politics in the early republic?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[Liamb2179]

Answer 1

ANSWER: c

Answer 2

ANSWER: In the process, students must go beyond the standard political discussion that entails the weak versus strong central government issue. The new frame of government strengthened central authority well beyond that which was ever provided in the Articles. Better students will write that it was the commercial regulation issue that superseded all political issues and, in fact, provided the rationale for James Madison and others to attempt the establishment of a national republic superimposed on the states. In the end, however, the commercial interests of both the local and national elite were satisfied with the expansion of the political arena, characterized by simultaneous operation of state and national legislatures. Implying protection for elite economic interests, the Federalists successfully argued that political chaos was the alternative to Constitution; thus, the document was ratified.

Answer 3

ANSWER: Most students will see the split engendered by the French Revolution and the influence of Citizen Gent. They should also grasp the role of the Jay Treaty as dividing American politics even further. Better students will connect these differences to already existing economic and philosophical differences. It is no accident that merchants who were already connected to the British Empire were anxious to distance themselves from the French, while planters seeking to expand their sales on the European continent embraced the French.

[jc611]

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[Liamb2179]

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