- Why did the wars of independence strengthen the landed aristocracy and the military?
- What were the economic and social roots of caudillismo? (this will include a definition of caudillo)
- What was the program and significance of the Mexican Reforma?
- How did the early nineteenth-century approach to national development in Paraguay differ from the postcolonial experiences of Argentina and other Latin American nations?
- How did foreign interventions and class, racial, and ethnic conflicts shape early 19th century national development in the United Provinces of Central America?