One of a series of curriculum materials in U.S. history designed to teach critical thinking skills systematically, this student booklet presents high school students with supplementary lessons on the new Republic, the Jacksonian era, slavery and the Civil War. The student booklet begins with a guide to critical thinking which offers an explanation of types of arguments in history, examples of fallacies, a checklist for evaluating evidence, a method for analyzing value positions, ways of identifying assumptions, and models for analyzing arguments. Lesson topics include: the Jay Treaty and John Marshall's role in U.S. history, causes of the War of 1812, the case of "McCulloch versus Maryland," Alexander Hamilton's report on manufacturers, the philosophy of artist Asher B. Durand, the spoils system, the nullification of tariff by South Carolina in 1832, the Tariff of 1818, Jacksonian democracy, defenses of and attacks on slavery, the slave diet, Fort Sumter, viewpoints on the causes of the Civil War, and the Emancipation Proclamation. The student booklet is keyed to detailed lesson plans in an accompanying teacher's guide. (LH)