1. How and why did conflicts over social class in the early 19th century (1800s) shape the transformation of popular culture in America? How did the rise of cities and industrial capitalism heighten tensions over social class? How did those tensions shape the development of new forms of culture in the mid-19th century? How did popular culture attempt to use race to mediate class tensions? Ultimately, has popular culture been an effective way of mediating the class conflicts in America?
2. How did the conflict between the vision of America as a New Israel and the vision of America as a New Canaan shape the development of popular culture in the nineteenth century? How and why did many elite and middle-class Americans try to use leisure activities (including Christmas) to create a more orderly society? How and why did less powerful Americans use their leisure as a site of autonomy and/or resistance? Ultimately, do you think popular culture has been more effective as a means of control or resistance?
