Was it possible to save American democracy in 1860?

The Content Review & Reflection should be at least 2 pages total in length (12 size font, 1 inch margins, double-spaced) and each response should be about half a page at least in length. You must use supportive evidence to support your claims and MLA (parenthetical, in-text citations) in your response. You do not need a Works Cited page since we are using course materials only to respond to these prompts. Remember to review CRR: Content Review & Reflection before you begin. Your submission will be checked using Turnitin plagiarism detector– please review How to Cite Your Work And Avoid Plagiarism.

1. Consider the arguments over the expansion of slavery made by both northerners and southerners in the aftermath of the U.S. victory over Mexico. Who had the more compelling case? Or did each side make equally significant arguments?

2. What strategies did slaves employ to resist, revolt, and sustain their own independent communities and cultures? How did slaves use white southerners’ own philosophies—paternalism and Christianity, for example—to their advantage in these efforts?

3. In what ways were antebellum feminists radical? In what ways were they traditional?

4. Was it possible to save American democracy in 1860? What steps might have been taken to maintain unity? Why do you think these steps were not taken?