Consider one of the groups of Americans excluded from the Constitutional Convention. How much, if any, did the ideal and/or reality of “equality” or “liberty” or “citizen” or “freedom” change for them up to the eve of the Civil War, and why? Evaluate the relative importance of ideas, such as liberty and independence, versus mob violence, intimidation, and self interest in the events surrounding the American Revolution. Evaluate the widely divergent perceptions that various groups of Americans had of the economic and social changes that accompanied the Market Revolution of the early 19th century. How do you account for those differences? Were those differences significant? How did they get settled(or did they)? Evaluate the various plans and attempts at Reconstruction. What lessons can be drawn from the history of that period? Compare and contrast the arguments of late-19th century industrialists and their supporters with the arguments of workers and critics. What assumptions, if any, do they share about what America is or should be? What does each fear? How does each view “equality” and/or “liberty”? Consider the experiences of workers and immigrants in the late-19th and early-20th century. What did each seek and how did their interests mesh or clash? Consider the tensions between patriotism and protest during one or more of America’s wars. What effect has war had on liberty, democracy, and/or equality? Has this changed over time, during different wars? Why or why not? Consider the challenges facing African Americans after 1965 and the policy of affirmative action. What lessons can be drawn from the history of this experience? Consider America’s role in the world today with that of other periods in our history. Do you see continuity in our attitude and policies in the world or do you see change? Is this appropriate or not?