For this assignment you will be creating an annotated timeline to help explain how the American nation grew and changed between 1787 and 1861.  You will explain twenty-five key events, people, speeches, inventions, laws, debates, and/or ideas that show how the United States moved from a sense of national unity with the ratification of the Constitution in the 1790s to such intense disunity that civil war was the only logical next step in 1861.

Annotated means that you not only have to correctly place your event, etc… properly on the timeline, but you have to give an explanation of each event, etc… in order to see how it contributes to the debate and discord. Issues such as states’ rights, the expansion and/or limitation of slavery and political maneuvering and debate should be connected to events whenever possible.

I would recommend structuring it like a list.  Put the date, the event, etc… and then the explanation.  For example,

• Invention of the cotton gin: The cotton gin guaranteed the survival of slavery as an important labor source in the South because it made growing cotton profitable and also required a large labor force. (you may include this example in your exam, but may not count it as one of your twenty-five events/ideas, etc…).

Some items may not fall within a particular year so give a range for that and place it on the timeline at the beginning of that range (Ex. Mexican-American War, 1846-1848)

Timeline events:

Northwest Ordinance                                                         Free labor

Constitutional Convention                                               Liberty Party

Invention of the Cotton Gin                                             Manifest Destiny

Gradual emancipation                                                       Mexican-American War

Outlawing of international slave trade                          Free Soil Party

Great Awakening                                                                Popular sovereignty

Rise of King Cotton                                                            Compromise of 1850

Internal slave trade                                                           Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Missouri Compromise                                                        Kansas-Nebraska Act

Abolitionists                                                                         Republican Party

Nullification Crisis                                                             Dred Scott Decision

American system                                                                Harper’s Ferry

Paternalism                                                                         1860 Election

Goals of interpretation:  I want to see that you have an understanding of the key ideas being debated in the years leading up to the Civil War, whether they concerned moral issues, economic structures, or political differences.  I need to see that you have an understanding of the complexity of these issues and don’t simply attribute the fracturing of the nation either to the immorality of slavery or the politics of power.

Sources: You may use your text, lecture notes, or the Internet for guidance on this project.  But, should you include any direct quote from any source (that means as little as a phrase, as large as a paragraph) you must put the quote in quotation marks “…..” and you must give a proper citation.  I will not accept a timeline that is drawn entirely from one Internet source and includes too much quotation, i.e. don’t go on the Internet and download a Civil War timeline, retype it and turn it in.  If you plagiarize, you will fail.

History 34-201-40: American Civilization to 1865 For this assignment you will be creating an annotated timeline to help explain how the American nation grew and changed between 1787 and 1861. You will explain twenty-five key events, people, speeches, inventions, laws, debates, and/or ideas that show how the United States moved from a sense of national unity with the ratification of the Constitution in the 1790s to such intense disunity that civil war was the only logical next step in 1861. Annotated means that you not only have to correctly place your event, etc… properly on the timeline, but you have to give an explanation of each event, etc… in order to see how it contributes to the debate and discord. Issues such as states’ rights, the expansion and/or limitation of slavery and political maneuvering and debate should be connected to events whenever possible. I would recommend structuring it like a list. Put the date, the event, etc… and then the explanation. For example, 1791 Invention of the cotton gin: The cotton gin guaranteed the survival of slavery as an important labor source in the South because it made growing cotton profitable and also required a large labor force. (you may include this example in your exam, but may not count it as one of your twenty-five events/ideas, etc…). Some items may not fall within a particular year so give a range for that and place it on the timeline at the beginning of that range (Ex. Mexican-American War, 1846- 1848) Timeline events: Northwest Ordinance Free labor Constitutional Convention Liberty Party Invention of the Cotton Gin Manifest Destiny Gradual emancipation Mexican-American War Outlawing of international slave trade Free Soil Party Great Awakening Popular sovereignty Rise of King Cotton Compromise of 1850 Internal slave trade Uncle Tom’s Cabin Missouri Compromise Kansas-Nebraska Act Abolitionists Republican Party Nullification Crisis Dred Scott Decision American system Harper’s Ferry Paternalism 1860 Election Goals of interpretation: I want to see that you have an understanding of the key ideas being debated in the years leading up to the Civil War, whether they concerned moral issues, economic structures, or political differences. I need to see that you have an understanding of the complexity of these issues and don’t simply attribute the fracturing of the nation either to the immorality of slavery or the politics of power. Sources: You may use your text, lecture notes, or the Internet for guidance on this project. But, should you include any direct quote from any source (that means as little as a phrase, as large as a paragraph) you must put the quote in quotation marks “…..” and you must give a proper citation. I will not accept a timeline that is drawn entirely from one Internet source and includes too much quotation, i.e. don’t go on the Internet and download a Civil War timeline, retype it and turn it in. If you plagiarize, you will fail. Date Item Description Contribution to conflict 1787 Constitutionsl Convention The Constitution of the United States was written promising not to end the slave trade for 20 years and making no mention of slavery 1787 Northwest Ordinance 1791 Invention of the cotton gin The cotton gin guaranteed the survival of slavery as an important labor source in the South because it made growing cotton profitable and also required a large labor force The profitability of cotton made slavery an essential part of the southern economy and its spread westward. 1780 Gradual emancipation 1808 Outlawing of international slave trade 1860 Election of 1860