Author Question: Analyze the emergence and operation of the second American party system. If you had lived in the ... (Read 59 times)

evelyn o bentley · **on:** Sep 21, 2019

Question 1

Analyze the types of problems faced by a reformer in challenging the status quo.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Discuss the roots of the reform era in antebellum America, the types of reform pursued, and the motivations of the reformers.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 3

Analyze the emergence and operation of the second American party system. If you had lived in the 1840s, would you have been a Democrat or a Whig? Explain why.

What will be an ideal response?

ebonylittles · **Reply #1 on:** Sep 21, 2019

Answer 1

Answer: A reformer must decide upon proper goals and tactics: e.g., should one attempt to change attitudes or behavior first; fight for piecemeal or wholesale reform; use forceful or peaceful tactics? Further, a reformer must be prepared to face enormous pressures, recriminations, and outright economic or physical attacks from those (usually in the majority) who resist change.

Answer 2

Answer: The impulse to reform in the 1830s had many causes: religious, philosophical, literary, economic, and psychological. Reform efforts included creation of utopian communities, temperance, improving health, humanizing asylums and prisons, women's rights, and the abolition of slavery. In various reform societies, Americans found jobs, purpose, spouses, and relief from the uncertainty of a changing world.

Answer 3

Answer: A new two-party system emerged amid the conflicts of Jackson's presidency and mirrored the growing diversity of a changing nation. The Democrats espoused liberty and local rule. They favored a laissez-faire government in terms of both economic and cultural affairs. By contrast, the Whigs viewed government as a proper agency for both economic development and moral regeneration.