Chapter 10-12 questions - Assignment Example

Chapter 10-12 Questions al Affiliation Chapter 10-12 Questions How did American culture reflect a growing spirit of popularsovereignty?The American culture did reflect the growing spirit of the popular sovereignty through visual arts and paintings. For instance, in the 1830s, most American painters started depicting famous personalities and memorable events to portray everyday life. At the same time, the higher culture advocates began seeking to keep the public informed (Brands, 2012).What lessons do his sweeping electoral victory and his handling of the Peggy Eaton affair teach us about Andrew Jackson?

Andrew Jackson was the U.S. seventh President. Jackson surprised many when he secured a landslide victory in a popular 56%. Similarly, Jackson also surprised many by the way he handled the Peggy Eaton affair after Eaton had been shunned by the cabinet wives following rumors that went round about her character. The first lesson that can be learned about Jackson regarding his sweeping victory is that he was a very tactical person, since he used his wit and tactics to convince the electorates despite being the underdog in the race.

However, the lesson that can be learned from his subsequent handling of the Peggy Eaton affair is that Jackson was an empathetic, supportive and a champion of human rights. This is because he was the only person who welcomes and became the fervent champion of Eaton, after all, the cabinet wives refused to associate with her after her moral character came into question. Jacksons stand handling of Eatons affairs also demonstrated that he was an autonomous leader who could not easily be swayed by the opinion of others as he stood his ground and supported Eaton under difficult circumstances (Brands, 2012).

What did Jackson do to kill the Bank?Jackson basically killed the national bank in 1932 by exercising his veto against the bank. For instance, he refused to allow federal funds to be deposited in the bank and subsequently rejected attempts to re-charter the bank, effectively resulting in the collapse of the bank (Brands, 2012).How did slave communities maintain kinship ties?The slave communities maintained their kinship ties by naming themselves and their siblings as a way of maintaining a sense of continuity and affiliation.

At the same time, the slave communities ensured that their kinship ties are maintained by adapting the slaves that found themselves on the farms into the new network (Brands, 2012). What were some of the strategies used by southern whites to fight antislavery efforts?The southern whites adopted a number of strategies for fighting the antislavery efforts. The first strategy that the southern whites used was to perform lynching. This was seen during the Civil War in which the southern whites who were strongly opposed to the abolition of slavery resorted to lynching blacks in which some were hung to death.

The Ku Klux Klan who was part of a movement opposed to antislavery also used intimidation tactics, in which they intimated blacks during polls and even abused them to force them to abandon their stand regarding antislavery. Some southern whites who had participated during the Civil War also used the tactics of finding their way back into the state government that had been forced by the union to enable them pass discrimination laws. This is led to the passage of the Jim Crow Laws that barred African Americans from voting, pursuing education, being hired in certain jobs (Brands, 2012).

Why was the cotton gin so useful, and what effect did it have on southern agriculture?The invention of the cotton gin was important in the sense that it enhanced the speed with which cotton could be picked. History shows that the cotton gin made cotton picking more than three times faster than a man could do. Accordingly, this helped minimize the amount of labor that was required for picking, cleaning and separating cotton fiber from seeds. Accordingly, the cotton gin impacted the southern agriculture by improving the efficiency with which cotton was picked and processed.

This helped improve the southern agricultural sector (Brands, 2012).What was the temperance movement, and why did it attract so many followers in this period?The temperance movement was a movement that was formed to fight against alcoholism. The movement attracted many followers during the 19th century because its aim was to fight against alcoholism which was viewed are a threat to the moral standings of people in the society. Others followed the movement because it fought against alcohol consumption, which was a threat to most families (Brands, 2012).

How did the notions of childhood change during the nineteenth century, and what difference did that make for family life?In the Middles Ages all through to the 18th century, the idea of childhood never existed. However, it was until 19th century that people started defining children as someone who is still under the control of his or her parents. The notion of a childhood changes the family life in the sense that any person considered a child had now to be taken care of by all family members until adulthood (Brands, 2012).

What was the Underground Railroad, and who were its main operators?The Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad as the name might imply. Instead, the Underground Railroad was secreted, safe escape routes that the slaves used to escape to Canada and other free states, where slavery was not practiced. Accordingly, the main operators were the slaves who used them as escape routes (Brands, 2012).What goals did the Seneca Falls Convention seek to accomplish?The goals of the Seneca Falls Convention were to accomplish equal rights for all women in the country.

ReferenceBrands, H. W., Breen, T. H., Williams, R. H., & Gross, A. J. (2012). American stories: A history of the United States, combined volume (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.