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?
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?
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?
(Revised Jan. 2004)