What similarities do you see between our political and social climate today and that just prior to the Civil War? How is it different?

Order Instructions

Today, it is not at all unusual to hear political leaders and social pundits proclaim that our nation is more divided than it has ever been. This week, we will consider this statement from a historical context. We have examined the differing visions for the nation in the early national period and the fears of the elites during the Jacksonian period. We have also followed the growing division between North and South that eventually resulted in Civil War.

You will submit a journal entry of at least 250 words (1-2 paragraphs) that compares our present political and social climate to that of the first half of the nineteenth century and evaluates the statement that our nation is currently more divided than it has ever been. These questions can help get you started:

Americans have always feared that democracy was on the verge of disintegrating. Are today’s fears any different or more founded than earlier fears? Why or why not?

What similarities do you see between our political and social climate today and that just prior to the Civil War? How is it different?

Are today’s divisions as geographically determined as those prior to the Civil War? What importance does geographical division have?