Defend or negate the following statement:

Question

Defend or negate the following statement: 

Foreign policy issues proved the most daunting challenge the republican experiment faced from 1789 until 1801.

Answer 1

Hi! I'm glad to guide you towards an answer here.

First, look up foreign policy issues from 1789-1801.

What were they? Were they mentioned in political documents or campaign speeches? Were there many news articles?

Look up major issues from 1789-1801. Are foreign policy issues dominating? What foreign policy issues are there? What domestic policy issues are there.

You can Google this, but make sure your answers are from a major, respected publication/newspaper or .edu (university) source.

Look for evidence that the country was struggling somehow. Money woes? Skirmishes? Fights over land? Broken treaties? Trade issues? Scandals with international components like ambassadors taking bribes, etc.?

If it looks like the problems were mostly domestic (US), then argue that no, the problens were not largely foreign policy issues, and show the evidence from your sources. If it looks like problems were largely due to foreign influences, state that and then use evidence from the sources you've found.

You could even look for a survey of newspaper stories or congressional issues at the time. Maybe there's a breakdown of foreign vs domestic stories or congressional discussions/bills.