1. The Thesis Formula: 1) X 2) However A, B, C 3) Therefore Y

2. X= The counterargument to your thesis However A, B, C= Your evidence to disprove the counterargument Therefore Y= Your argument (thesis statement)

3. “To what extent was the controversy over slavery a moral issue, as opposed to a political issue and/or economic issue?” 1.What stand do I take? 2.Data Dump: what evidence do I have to support my claim?

4. X (Counter argument): Some historians believe that the controversy over slavery and its extension during the antebellum period was based upon moral revulsion. However, (A) the congressional debate over the role of slaves in counting a state’s population, which resulted in the 3/5 Compromised, (B) the explosion of cotton, by virtue of the cotton gin, as the nation’s primary cash crop, and (C) the failed attempts at compromise when admitting new territories as free or slave states, indicate that there were far more important motives involved. (Y) Therefore, the controversy over the spread of slavery was fueled more by political and economic factors than any sense of morality.

5. “To what extent was the period from 1816- 1824 an “Era of Good Feelings?”

6. X (counter argument): Historians have traditionally labeled the period 1816-1824 the “Era of Good Feeling” due to a rise in nationalism following the War of 1812 and the absence of political turmoil by virtue of a single political party. However, other factors, such as (A) economic upheaval caused by the Panic of 1819, (B) instances of social injustice as evidenced by slave rebellions, and (C) growing sectionalism threatened the apparent serenity of post-war America. Therefore, Y: Consequently, while historians may regard the period 1816-1824 as an Era of Good Feeling, the growing undercurrent of social, economic, and political turmoil rendered the time period as an era of anything BUT good feeling.

7. All Together Now... “To what extent did the extension of democracy contribute to the Age of Jacksonian Democracy?” X: counterargument However A, B, C: evidence to substantiate your position Therefore Y: Your argument

8. Validate or refute the following statement. “The controversy over the admission of Texas into the American Union, although certainly significant, played a relatively minor role in the increase in sectional tensions from 1845-1850.”