Paige finished analyzing three primary source documents that displayed the doctrine of westward expansion, and the maturing of the US as a international economic player. Using these documents, Paige crafted a thesis statement that made a claim about the time period. Next, Paige analyzed three new primary documents: a painting of the Artist Charles Peale's family, which depicted the ideal elite family and the virtues of republican motherhood; a letter from Thomas Jefferson lamenting the growth of the Federalist Party, and a critical observation of slavery in the South by a British tourist. Paige then created a thesis statement using these documents arguing that they signified a shift in the American identity toward an agricultural based "landed interest", that believed in republican principles of government and virtue, though their calls for equality and justice were contradicted by realities of slavery in the south and western regions.