Revised Jan 2008
SOPHOMORE RESEARCH PAPER
Topics - First Semester
1. Primary Goal of Spanish Imperialism in the 1500's: Saving Souls or Seeking Profits?
2. Puritanism: Successful Theocracy or Religion of Intolerance?
3. The Quakers: Irresponsible Idealists or Conscientious Citizens?
4. Native Americans during the Colonial Wars: Political Innocents or Shrewd Politicians?
5. Thomas Paine and the Natural Rights Theory: An American Patriot or Irresponsible
Propagandist?
6. British Mercantilism and the American Colonies: A Justifiable Policy?
7. The Articles of Confederation: A Practical Beginning for Self-govemment or an Inoperable
Model of Self-government?
8. The Federalist Papers: A Work of Political Propaganda or a Blueprint of Constitutional
Government?
9. The American Revolution: A Conservative Movement Seeking to Preserve the "Status
Quo" or a Liberal Movement Attempting to Revamp the Structures of American Society?
10. Should the United States have Provided Assistance to the French Revolutionaries?
(French Revolution 1789-'99)
11. The Colonial Response to British Policies: Warranted or Unwarranted?
12. Was Shays' Rebellion an isolated event or an example of the failure of the American
Revolution to democratize American society?
13. The Retention of British Forts on American Territory after the Revolution: Justified or
Not?
14. Alexander Hamilton: Revolutionary and/or Reactionary?
15. Thomas Jefferson: An Ideological Purist or Hypocrite?
16. The Louisiana Territory: Worth a "violation" of the Constitution or not?
17. War of 1812: Preventable or Not?
18. Andrew Jackson: An Apostle of Democracy or Political Demogogue?
Revised Jan 2008
19. The Second Bank of the United States: An Economic Necessity or a Bastion of Privilege?
20. Roger B. Taney: Impartial Jurist or Defender of Sectional Interests?
21. Frederick Douglass To What Extent was he a Success?
22. The Mexican War: Justifiable American Expansion or an Immoral Exercise of Power?
23. The Texans' Demands for independence from Mexico: To What Extent Were They
Legitimate?
24. The Westward Movement and Native American Policy: Was the Removal of Native
Americans Justifiable?
25. Early United States Foreign Policy(1783-1848): Isolationist or Expansionist?
26. John C. Calhoun: Democrat or Aristocrat?
27. Both Carolina's Nullification Ordinance Arguments in 1832: To What Extent Were They
Legitimate?
28. Henry Clay: Practical Statesman or Unrealistic Conciliator?
29. Colonization in Africa by Freed Slaves: A Viable Option to Remedy Economic and
Sectional Conflicts or Not?
30.
Politicians of the Confederacy, such as Jefferson Davis: Realists or Idealists?
31.
To what extent did the political structure of the Confederacy cause its downfall?
32. To what extent did poor Confederate diplomacy cause Britain to stay out of the American
Civil War?
33. The Confederate Navy in the Civil War: A Record of Which to be Proud?
34.
British Relations with the U.S. Government during the Civil War: Neutral or Partisan?
35. Reconstruction: A Domain of Presidential Authority or Congressional Jurisdiction?
36. The Radical Reconstruction: An Interlude of Rehabilitation or a Period of Vindictiveness?
37. The Carpetbaggers: Opportunists or Reformers?
38. The Know-Nothing Party: Xenophobic or Pragmatic?
39. The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson: A Result of his Character or Political
Vindictiveness?
Revised Jan 2008
40. The Annexation of the Hawaiian Republic: Crime or Necessity?
41. The Motivations of Teddy Roosevelt: "Bully Pulpit" or Principled Bully?
42. The Disputed Election of 1876: Political Solution or Corrupt Bargain?
43. "The Gilded Age:" A Sardonic or an Accurate Description of the Times?
44. Women in the 19th century: Did they fit the Victorian Ideal Expressed in the Literature and
the Ideas of the Times?
45. The Haymarket Trial: A Rush to Judgment or Impartial Justice?
46. The Populists: Failure at the Ballot Box or Successful Force to Challenge Political and
Economic Abuses?
47. The Great Industrialists: Extraordinary Entrepeneurs or Robber Barons? Select one of the
following:
Andrew Carnegie
J.J. Hill
John D. Rockefeller
John J. Astor
J.P. Morgan
Cornelius Vanderbilt
48. The Development of Labor Unions: An Infringement on Free Enterprise or a Logical
Response to Laissez-Faire Capitalism?
49. The American Federation of Labor: The True Voice of the American Labor Movement?
50. The Spanish American War: A War of Liberation or United States Territorial Expansion?