13th Amendment

Abraham Lincoln was opposed to slavery. He believed it to be morally wrong. He pointed to the
Declaration of Independence as proof that America was a nation where all men should be equal. But
Lincoln’s main goal in the Civil War was not to end slavery. He wanted to bring America back
together. He believed that someday slavery would fade away on its own.
By 1862, Lincoln had changed his mind. He was ready to free the slaves. On September 22, 1862,
Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It promised that on January 1, 1863, all slaves in the
Confederacy would be freed.

1.    What choice would you have made in Lincoln's place? Explain you decision.

2.    What is your opinion of the 13^th Amendment? Explain you answer.

War: Good for Business

Before President Woodrow Wilson made his war request to Congress, a member of the New York Stock Exchange wrote a letter in favor of the United States entering the war, saying it would be good for business.

Do you believe that war’s effect on business is ever taken into consideration when deciding to fight? Who might benefit from the business of war? Explain. Who might lose? Explain.  

Support or Silence

Although many Americans supported the United States involvement in World War I, there were some who were against sending young men to die in a war in another country. President Wilson did everything he could to gain support for the war and keep its opponents quiet. To gain this support, he had films , posters, and booklets made to show that " Great War" was being fought between the sides of good and evil. He had his opponents silenced with his use of emergency war powers.
Do you think his methods are helpful or harmful to Americans at home and fighting in the war? Explain

Minding Our Own Business

When World War One started in 1914, most Americans wanted no part in the war. Neutralism- a policy to not get involved with either side of a dispute- was an important part of United States foreign policy ( how we deal with and treat other countries) at the time. We took care of business in our own hemisphere, period. The United States eventual entry into the war forever changed our foreign policy. We were no longer a country that minded it's own business; we were a world power that looked out for the rest of the world.
What is your opinion of the policy of neutralism? Do you think the United States should go back to that policy? How do you feel about this policy in your personal life? When should you mind your own business?

The United States and Latin America

You are an engineer, and you’ve been working on the Panama Canal for almost eight years. Your work crews used huge steam shovels to slice through a ridge of mountains and built a huge artificial lake. You planned a system to move ships through different water levels. Now your work is done. You can watch massive ships travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Which part of the work on the canal
was the most challenging?

The Rights of Women and Minorities

You are a member of the graduating class of 1912 from an excellent women’s college. You have always been interested in science, especially biology. You would like to be a doctor, but you know that medical schools accept very few women. One career path for you is to go into social work. Yet that’s not what you really want to do.
How would you want to use your education?

Social Reform

You have been working in a hat factory since 1900, when you were eight years old. Now you are experienced enough to run one of the sewing machines. You don’t earn as much as older workers, but your family needs every penny you bring home. Still, the long hours make you very tired. One day you hear that people are trying to stop children from doing factory work. They think that children should be at school or playing.

Would you be for or against this social reform? Why?