This site is from a unit that covers the period from the Second World War up to the Cold War. It looks at relations between the United States and the Soviet Union and the thinking of their leaders. Students are asked to consider five...

There were many reasons for splits in the first Republican party, now usually referred to as the Democratic-Republican Party. See how that changed the party itself and the ways those changes affected the election of 1824.

Read about the many problems encountered by John Quincy Adams during his presidency, most not of his making, but a reflection of the split in the philosophies of the National Republicans and the up-and-coming Jacksonian Democrats.

The Indian Removal policy was inhumane and without empathy for the Native Americans who were forced from their lands. Read about the attempts to enforce federal treaties and the final removal of three major tribes from the Southeast.

As with most other debates leading up to the Civil War, the debate about states' rights in reference to nullifying federal laws, ostensibly about tariffs, was really about the future of slavery in the South. Read about the issues of...

A good discussion of the views of supporters and opponents of the Bank of the United States, and the banking industry in general during Jackson's presidency. Were Jackson's ideas backward looking and ignorant? Did his policies cause the...

A look at the Whig Party's formation in the 1830s as opposition to the Democratic Party. Read about their legislative plans, and the men they nominated for president over the years.

American colonists expected to have "English rights" as supported by the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights. See how these rights were applied in the trial of John Peter Zenger, whose acquittal reflected the right of freedom of...

A brief look at why the American economy boomed across the country after the War of 1812. Read about the industrialization, expansion of transportation, and improved farming techniques.

The women's movement was launched with the publication of the book "The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan in 1963. After years of interviewing women, Friedan concluded that many were unhappy in their lives and unhappy with their...