There are years in American history that stand out as especially significant. One of those years was 1831, a time when slavery and abolition exploded as national issues, when President Andrew Jackson faced the crisis of Cabinet resignations and the threat of nullification, when evangelical revivalism sought to restore some sense of community, and when new inventions promised to remake the face of the nation. At that very moment, Alexis de Tocqueville toured the United States and identified self-interest and individualism as the essential character traits of Americans.

1. Chronologies can be seen as a form of storytelling. How can this chronology be changed to suggest a different history of the year?

2. Births and deaths are omitted from this chronology. Should they be?

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