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The civil war arose between the conflict over the issue of owning slaves. Years of political unrest between the argument of morality of profit reached its near breaking point when a president, Lincoln, was elected under an anti slave agenda. In the wake of the election and Lincolns immediate push towards the abolition of slavery a group of southern states sought to break apart from the country to continue using slaves, they formed the confederacy and upon their formation began taking federal forts and all formally unified bases within the now confederate states. In defense of anti slavery and favoring a unified country Lincoln formed the union consisting of Northern states to battle to confederacy to both abolish slavery and to rejoin the north and south. In 1865, 4 years after it started, the war ended when general Lee surrendered to the Union army. The war doesn't have a set end though as smaller battles ensued across the north and south, but when it settled the confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed.

Why did the civil War begin? How was Lincoln's election the shift out of slavery? What role did Lincoln's election play in rewriting the country's history?

-Ellery Snyderman

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The stock Market Crash in 1929 came while Hoover was in office and the stock market dropped by half of its value during the crash. The origin is said to be based upon the events in the previous decade, the 1920s. In the early 1920s the US money supply increased by 60% leading many more people to believe in the idea of stocks and investments in general. With the exorbitant amount of new found wealth many scams arose within the market. These scams titled "ponzis schemes" offered what seemed like a good investment when in reality it was a stock awaiting doom. These schemes began to fall out in 1929 and when everyone saw their stocks drop their immediate reaction was to pull their money out leading only to further drops off the market as a whole.

What was the origin of the stock market crash? What effect did the state of mind people had in the 20s play in the crash?
What role did the crash of 29 have in the Great Depression that followed?

-Ellery Snyderman

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Libertarianism is a political philosophy that centers around liberty and I think this could be an interesting topic because America was founded on the idea of liberty yet some still feel that we need more liberty. The term libertarianism dates back to 1796 but it only became popular in the U.S. during the 1870's after being used by individualist anarchist Benjamin Tucker. Eventually in the 1950's the term became a synonym for liberalism but this would soon change as the Libertarian Right emerged to oppose the broad Libertarian left, often on matter relating to the free market.

-Why was there a need for libertarianism in America?
-How did libertarianism become synonymous with far right anarchists?

Alex Gurl

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Beat Generation (1950s literary movement) — Esther 

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Beat Generation (1950s literary movement) — Esther 

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I think it could be interesting to explore the Beat Generation literary movement, and how it influenced post-war American culture and society, because according to Wikipedia central to Beat culture were the celebration of non-conformity, spontaneous creativity, the exploration of American and Eastern religions, the rejection of economic materialism, making spiritual quests, experimentation with psychedelic drugs, and I want to know more about these things. I was introduced to the Beat Generation by my dad, who has been trying to get me to read Beat Generation works like On the Road and The One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest because he thinks I’ll really appreciate them.

- How did the Beat Generation develop, what were central topics and ideas to it, and what was it’s impact on American society?

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What led to the Summer of Love, and what was its effect on American society?

I think this topic would be very interesting to research because I’m interested in learning more about “hippies,” their philosophies, and way of life, and I want to delve deeper into the music that was integral to this period. Another similar event that I think would be interesting to research is Woodstock Music Festival (1969), exploring the questions of how it emerged, what the philosophies behind it were, and how it impacted American culture and society.

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I think JFK could be an interesting topic because people actually loved him, like to hear old people talk about him is like listening to them describe a family member. I just think it's interesting how someone can inspire such devotion like he did, while only being in office for a year.
-Why was Kennedy so popular?
-How did having such a young president lead to the hippie movement of the later 60's?
-Alex Gurl

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Transcendentalism was an intellectual movement that began in the 1820s, which explored how humans could go beyond rational, sensory experience, and enter a deeper reality. This topic caught my eye because with it was a photo of Thoreau, a transcendentalist, and I am currently studying one of his texts, which I find very curious.

How did the publication of transcendentalist impact the American people?

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This topic brings the exponential growth of America to light. The new inventions in steel refining, communications, and electricity. In the beginning of the 19th century the first transcontinental railroad was laid paving way for the growth of the country through the connection the East and the West finally had.

With major expansions, inventions and technological growth also came the major growth of the upper class. The growth of the upper class gave way for more disparity between the 2 classes.

Who were the major leaders of America's industrial Revolution and what role did they play in widening the gap between the upper and lower class?
How greatly was America's IR impacted by the IR earlier in Europe?

-Ellery Snyderman

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This could be an interesting topic because the Pacific theater during WW2 was the first and only use of nuclear weapons against people. This is significant because since then we as humans have amassed enough nuclear weapons to completely destroy earth 100 times over.
-Why was the atomic bomb used instead of other forms of military force?
-How did the use of the atomic bomb lead to the automated form of warfare that is growing in popularity today?
-Alex Gurl

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A New American Consumer Culture (late 1800s) -- Esther 

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A New American Consumer Culture (late 1800s) -- Esther 

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Today, consumerism is central to America and the world, and I'm curious as to how this developed.

How did American consumerism shift in the late 19th century, and why?

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- The big stick ideology could be an interesting topic because this was U.S. foreign policy during the early 20th century and it lead to the gigantic U.S. military we know and love today.
-How did Roosevelts "Big Stick Ideology" lead to the U.S.'s military's current global prescence?
-How has U.S. foreign policy developed from the Big stick ideology?
-Alex Gurl

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Popular Culture and Mass Media (1950s & 60s) -- Esther 

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Popular Culture and Mass Media (1950s & 60s) -- Esther 

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- Americans' different responses to rock and roll music
- the way contemporary films and television reflected the postwar society

I'm very interested in the electric koolaid acid tests, related music, and hippy culture of the 60s.

How did the beginning of the electric koolaid acid tests impact American culture and society?

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This topic highlights the start of America's democracy and independence. It shows a progression of time in America and America's fight to become what it is today.

The American Revolution also signifies a time of change in history and as a result becomes very interesting to learn about. Issues revolving around how American transitioned out of British methods of governing and adapted their own. At the same time though it could be interesting to analyze which British traditions remained and why

What was the spark that ignited the American Revolution?
How did the American Revolution transition itself into a self sustaining country?

-Ellery Snyderman