1. What difficulties in communicating with the mother country and the other colonies did the colonists face in 1650? How ahead this changed by 1850?
2. Why did the "sermon" become a major form of communication in the early Puritan settlements?
3. What was the Puritan errand into the wilderness?" how did it foreshadow the concept of an "American Mission?"
4. Be able to explain the following themes in American rhetoric: the American Dream, American exceptionalism, and America as a new heaven in a new earth."
5. How did the First Great Awakening influence the style of the public speaking of the day?
6. What role did the "Boston Massacre Orations' play in the revolutionary propaganda of the period?
7. What tactics did the Federalist faction use to win the fight for ratification of the Constitution?
8. How and why was George Washington made into our first national hero?
9.Why was the Webster-Hayne debate so significant? What tactics did each speaker use?
10. Why did social reform occupy the public agenda during the 1830's and 1940's?
11. What is the importance of the Seneca Falls Convention? Who were the women who lead the fight for women's rights and what tactics did they use?
12. Who were the "Fire Eaters?" What arguments did they use to support succession?
13. What is the importance of the Lincoln-Douglas debates? What arguments did each man make to advance his position?
14. What contribution did William Lloyd Garrison make to the abolitionists cause?
15. What was the "Lyceum?" How did its emphasis change over the years?
16. Describe the change in American political campaigning represented by the campaign of 1840.
Lloyd Rohler rohlerl@uncwil.edu
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