Chapter 5: The New Republic

(pp 133-176) Preparing for your Opportunities

These are the BIG QUESTIONS to be thinking about over the next 2 weeks as you read chapter 5. These are great questions for you guys to discuss together as a group! You might want to divide them up - each taking two or three questions to work on and swap answers. Then you can give each other feedback on how well you think the question was answered. If it wasnt answered well talk it out or do more independent work to refine the answer. The first weeks Opportunity question is the one about Washington and Sectionalism (in bold), the second week you get to choose your own. Well discuss all of the questions together at the end of the chapter. Jefferson and Hamilton both played crucial roles in the early republic. What were the key contributions of each? Whose legacy is most important to us today? During Washingtons two terms, early signs of sectionalism appeared. What caused these divisions? Do you think they helped set us on a road toward civil war? If so, how? The Constitution makes no mention of political parties, but they existed. During Washingtons two terms political parties had some severe disagreements. Why? What were the issues? Could they have been avoided? How or why not? Hamiltons policies caused great controversy in the early republic. What were his opponents criticisms? What do you think of those criticisms? How do you think his policies set the course for our economic policies today? Explain how the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, reflect Americas history during the colonial and revolutionary period. What were the foreign policy crises faced by Washington and Adams? How did they meet those crises? What precedents did President Washington set that had long-term impacts on the office of the presidency and the nature of our republic? Washington said our new government was an experiment. Why do you think he said that? What factors helped ensure the success of that experiment in the early years?