Download Objective 1.02 - social studies

Strict & Loose Interpretation of the U.S.
Constitution
Different opinions or points of view about what
portions of the Constitution really mean [ex. Right to
bear arms is absolute or limited].
yes
Strict interpretation
no
Loose interpretation
“the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall
not be infringed”
--2nd Amendment
Judiciary Act of 1789

Law passed by Congress that created
a federal court system including U.S.
District Courts, Appeals Courts and
Supreme Court.

Judges are appointed by the
president and approved by the U.S.
Senate.
Hamilton’s Economic Plan

Alexander Hamilton was the Secretary
of the Treasury [person in charge of
America’s money].

His plan wanted to start a national bank
to: [a] borrow money from foreign
countries [b] collect taxes placed on
whiskey and imports [c] pay off debts
from the Revolution.
Laissez faire

The French term for Let it be or Leave alone.

Describes the idea that governments should leave
businesses and citizens alone. Not pass too many
laws interfering in peoples’ lives.

Leaders in the early United States believed a noninterventionist federal government with limited
regulations on commerce would benefit the economy.
Bill of Rights

First 10 Amendments to the U.S.
Constitution.

Including the rights and freedoms of all
U.S. citizens. Such as freedom of speech,
religion and the right to bear arms.

These basic civil liberties provided the
foundation for the democratic republic
established in the United States.
Whiskey Rebellion

Makers of whiskey in the U.S. refused to
pay a tax placed on the manufacture of
Whiskey in 1791.

Makers of whiskey terrorized tax
collectors, stopped court proceedings and
robbed U.S. Mail as a way to protest the
tax.
Democratic-Republican Party

Political party created by Thomas
Jefferson in order to speak out against the
Federalists.

The Democratic-Republicans wanted to
keep strong state governments.
Federalist Party

Group of American colonists led by
Alexander Hamilton who wanted to create
a strong central government that united
all 13 original states under one set of
laws.
Alien & Sedition Acts
Alien-person who is not a citizen of a
country.
 Sedition-the act of betraying your country.


Two laws passed by Congress to make it
harder for aliens to become citizens or
criticize the U.S. government.
Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions

Laws passed by the lawmakers of Virginia
and Kentucky giving them power to ignore
or reverse laws passed by the federal
government.

These were passed to try to circumvent or
“get around” the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Neither of these laws were successful.
Midnight Judges

Judges selected by outgoing president
John Adams the midnight before he left
his job as U.S. President.

Many of these judges did not receive their
jobs because the new president [Thomas
Jefferson] did not want them.
Election of 1800

Presidential election between 3 candidates:
Jefferson, Burr and John Adams.

None of the candidates received 51% of the
citizens’ votes so the House of Representatives
selected the president.

Thomas Jefferson was chosen as president after
the decisive vote in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
Marbury vs.Madison [1803]

Landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that
gave the Court the power to reverse lower
court decisions or declare laws
unconstitutional.

Chief Justice John Marshall issued this
influential ruling.
John Marshall

First Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme
Court who wrote many important
decisions that influenced American
Jurisprudence [legal decisions].

Marshall was most well known for his
rulings in the Marbury vs. Madison,
Gibbons vs. Ogden and McCulloch vs.
Maryland cases.
Louisiana Purchase

Land deal completed by President Jefferson that
more than doubled the size of the United States.

The Louisiana territory was bought from France.

This land acquisition was the beginning of the
United States’ Manifest Destiny policy of
Westward Expansion.
Hartford Convention

Meeting held in Connecticut to create
amendments to the U.S. Constitution to
increase the power of New England states
because they were not in favor of the War
of 1812.
Suffrage Requirements

Suffrage is the term used to describe
voting.

Suffrage=voting!

In the early United States only wealthy
landowners were permitted to vote.

Citizens had to own large tracts of land to
be able to vote in important elections.

People such as George Washington and
Thomas Jefferson were such people.
Abigail Adams and Women’s Rights

Mrs. Adams was the wife of
president John Adams.

She was an influential and
vocal advocate
[defender/supporter] of
women’s rights.

She believed women should
have full suffrage rights and
should not follow the strict
rules of their husbands.
Westward Expansion

After Jefferson became president he
wanted to expand the United States.

He was able to negotiate the
Louisiana Purchase from France for
several million dollars.

In the way [as an obstruction] of
settling the area were large numbers of
Native tribes [at that time called
Indians].

The tribes were all separate but
decided to eventually unite to fight the
Americans.
Tecumseh

A Shawnee chief named Tecumseh was
clever enough to convince the different tribes
to unite.

The tribes united into a strong enough force
that they were able to win many battles and
gain American respect.

The United States did not want to
continuously face such large forces so it
signed the Treaty of Greenville which gave
the tribes a yearly payment of $10,000 in
exchange for land in Ohio and Indiana.
The War of 1812

This war was AKA the AngloAmerican War of 1812-1815.

This was a 3-year war between
the U.S. and England

James Madison was
president during the War of
1812.

The U.S. was able to defeat
England for several reasons:
[a] England was far from home
[b] England was fighting
France too [c] America was
more determined.
Causes of the War
[1] England was capturing and
impressing American sailors.
[2] England was mad that the
U.S. stopped
trading/embargoed with them
Non-Intercourse Act.
[3] The U.S. War Hawks provoked
the U.S. into wanting to go to
war.
[4] Americans believed NativeAmericans were attacking
them because England was
bribing them.
Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality

In 1793 the United States was a very new
country.

France had previously been a loyal ally for
the U.S. as they defeated the British.

In 1793 France needed America’s help but
Washington warned the U.S. against getting
involved in other country’s affairs.

Washington believed the United States
should remain neutral. Anther word for
neutral is impartial.
Jay’s Treaty

Even though the United States had
defeated the British to gain its
independence the British kept secret
forts on U.S. soil.

President Washington sent John Jay
[the Secretary of State] to England
to negotiate and avoid a war.

The agreement settled on was not
very favorable for America because
England still had power to control
the sea near the U.S. [Jay was
accused of being pro-British].

England gave up its American forts
and granted the U.S. most favored
nation status meaning it would
receive the best prices on goods.
The XYZ Affair

After Jay’s Treaty the Americans were worried about a war with France
so Washington sent three of his advisers to France.

While the Americans were in France they were approached by 3
“shady” characters who asked them for a bribe of $250,000 plus a loan
for $12 million. In exchange, the French agents would allow them to
speak to their government.

The bribe was refused and the U.S. Navy began to seize French ships
that were in U.S. waters.
Pinckney’s Treaty

After Jay’s treaty with
England, Spain and France
were nervous America
would try to take their
territories in North America.

President Washington sent
Thomas Pinckney to
Spain to negotiate and
avoid a war.

Pinckney negotiated the
right of the U.S. to use
rivers through Spanish
and French territory.
George Washington’s Farewell Address


Address is a fancy word for speech. Address=speech.
Before George left the White House as president he
warned the nation to avoid: [a] sectionalism [North vs.
South, East vs. West [b] political parties [federalists vs.
anti-federalists] [c] relations with foreign nations
[trusting foreign countries].
Convention of 1800

During the 1790s lots of turmoil was occurring in the U.S. [Whiskey
Rebellion, XYZ Affair, Alien and Sedition Acts]

Three well known candidates were running for president: Adams,
Jefferson and Burr.

None of them were very liked. No candidate received 51% of the
popular vote [citizens’ vote]. The election was decided by the U.S.
House of Representatives. Thomas Jefferson was selected as
president.
Embargo Act of 1807

Lots of tension between the United States and European countries
[England and France] especially in trading goods using ships.

To avoid retaliating against England and France using military force the
United States decided to halt commerce [stop buying and selling goods]
with European countries.

This got Europe’s attention but it hurt American businesses such as
farmers because they had fewer customers to sell to.
The War Hawks

During the early 1800s England was
very aggressive with its ships and
was seizing U.S. ships.

The Embargo Act was making
European countries upset. Jefferson
had Congress pass an even stricter
law called the Non-Intercourse Act
that forbade American trade with
Europe.

The War Hawks wanted the U.S. to
declare war on England to make it
clear we were capable of protecting
ourselves.
The Battle of New Orleans

This was the last major battle of the War of 1812.

General Jackson was the leader of U.S. Forces.

The U.S. was able to prevent the British from taking
over the land obtained by the Louisiana Purchase.
Treaty of Ghent

At the end of the War of 1812 England and the United
States signed the Treaty of Ghent.

America was considered a world power after 1812
because they had defeated another great world power.
Adams-Onis Treaty



Seminole tribes were raiding towns in Georgia and Alabama and
threatening the lives of Americans.
General Andrew Jackson’s army was able to destroy several
Seminole villages in Spanish Florida.
Spain signed an agreement ceding [giving] control of all of Florida
and parts of Southern Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana to the U.S.
Impressment
Both before and during the War of 1812 British warships were in serious
need of personnel to man their ships.
Whenever British warships captured foreign sea vessels the captives
[especially Americans] were impressed.
The purpose of impressment was to embarrass the captives and staff the
British warships so they were able to carry out their missions.
Lewis and Clark

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were two U.S. Army officers
commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the land
acquired by the Louisiana Purchase and beyond [West of
Mississippi River].

Their expedition took 3 years and took them from Illinois to
present day Oregon.

The explorers collected scientific data, discovered water routes and
mapped the entire territory.
Missouri Compromise

This was a controversial agreement
in the U.S. Congress allowing the
new state of Missouri admittance
into the United States as a slave
state.

Southern states wanted this to
happen because they believed it
would allow slavery to remain
legal.

Northern states, who were antislavery, such as New York fought
against Missouri’s admittance.

The Missouri compromise was
struck to allow Missouri citizens to
own slaves if Maine was admitted
without slaves.
Indian Removal Act of 1830

Law passed by Congress and
supported by President Andrew
Jackson to relocate Native Tribes
from Southern territories to the Great
Plains.

Areas vacated: were Florida, North
and South Carolina, Georgia and
Alabama.

Areas relocated to: Oklahoma,
Nebraska, Iowa, North/South Dakota.

The relocations were involuntary and
the “Indians” were placed on
reservations instead of their
homelands.
The Cherokee nation sued for its
land rights in the Worcester vs.
Georgia court case but Jackson
refused to honor the decision
giving land rights back.
Trail of Tears

After the forced relocation of the Cherokee nation and other tribes
due to the Indian Removal Act many Native Tribes tried to
resist the relocation but they were outnumbered and outgunned by
the U.S. Military.

The route that the natives traveled were filled with sadness,
misery, tears and uncertainty.
Sequoyah

An important Cherokee nation
member who admired the writing
system of whites.

He became a silversmith and
businessman.

His most important contribution to
the Cherokee nation was his creation
of a written language.

The Cherokee language was very
linguistically complicated so he
decided to create symbols for each
syllable instead of each letter.

His writing system was responsible
for increasing the literacy rates of the
entire Cherokee Nation.
The Alamo and Texan conflicts in Mexico

In the early to mid 1800s Mexico wanted
Americans to migrate to Mexico to develop
the land and bring residents to the area.

The Americans came and were led by
Stephen F. Austin who later became upset
at the high level of taxes charged by Mexico.

Americans rebelled and were crushed at an
old Spanish Fort named the Alamo where
every American was killed by the Mexican
army.
Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842

During the 1700s and 1800s there were border disputes between
the British and French. Later on the disputes were between the
Americans and France.

Thousands of Native Americans also lived in these territories which
made the conflicts trickier because more people meant more
potential bloodshed.

In 1842 the Webster-Ashburton Treaty created a permanent border
between Lake Superior and Maine, U.S./New Brunswick, Canada.
Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail was an over 2,000 mile land route [traveled road]
starting in Missouri and ending in present day Oregon.

It was started in certain sections/parts by men trading animal furs and
was later completed/used by Mormon religious pilgrims.

The terrain [land surface] was rough, hilly, mountainous and occupied
by hostile native tribes. Thousands of people died along the route for
reasons such as disease, starvation and “Indian attacks.”
54º40’ or Fight!

The dispute [argument] over the
border between Oregon and
Canada caused a lot of concern in
the U.S. Government.

Because the U.S. wanted to
expand it was willing to fight to
gain property rights to the Pacific
Northwest.

At first England and the U.S.
agreed to share the territory but
the term 54º40’ or Fight!
refers to Americans willing to
fight for the land at a specific
geographic point.

A treaty signed later settled the
dispute and an official border was
accepted by both nations
[England and U.S.].
Election of 1844

The presidential election of 1844 was one the closest in U.S.
History [decided by less than 10,000 votes].

The election was so close because disputes over borders with
Canada and Mexico.

James Polk was in favor of peaceful settlements. War hawk Henry
Clay was in favor of fighting to end the disputes if necessary. Polk
won the election.
James K. Polk
Henry Clay
Texas Annexation

Stephen F. Austin and the
Texans had defeated the
Mexican Army led by Mexican
General Santa Anna in several
battles in and near Mexico.

For 6 years (1836-1842) Austin
served as the leader of the
Republic of Texas. This
territory was not recognized by
Mexico.

In 1845 the United States
annexed [took in] Texas as
the 28th state. Mexico was
furious about this and this led
to a war between the U.S. and
Mexico from 1846-1848.
Wilmot Proviso

Congressman David Wilmot from
Pennsylvania proposed an
amendment to a federal law
banning slavery in any territory
the United States captured from
Mexico.

This was similar to the situation
dealing with the Missouri
Compromise.

Southern states were concerned
banning slavery anywhere would
lead to banning slavery
everywhere.

The Wilmot proviso was not
ultimately passed.
Mexican War, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo and Mexican
cession



After the United States annexed Texas Mexico was furious and
declared war in 1846 to regain the territory.
Because the U.S. had a more powerful army with more effective
weapons it was able to defeat Mexico within 3 years by 1849.
The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was eventually signed ending the
war. Mexico ceded [gave up, transferred] California, Arizona,
Nevada, Utah and New Mexico to the U.S. for $18 million.
49ers

The Mexican cession of California gave citizens an opportunity to
start new communities. Thousands of people headed to Western
territories in the United States.

Prospectors discovered gold in Northern California in 1849. News
spread to other parts of the U.S. American men from all over the
U.S. rushed to California; they were called 49ers [because of the
year].

The mad scramble was called the Gold Rush of 1849. Boomtowns
sprang up all over where people discovered gold.
Gadsden Purchase

The Transcontinental Railroad had been spreading across the United
States.

Because of bad geography [poor soil conditions] the U.S. decided to
buy land South of New Mexico and Arizona.

The sale of the land in this area by the U.S. for $10 million from Mexico
was called the Gadsden Purchase.
Noah Webster

Many people consider Webster
the father of the modern
American English language.

He developed alphabetical word
lists, in book form, showing
pictures, spelling, definitions and
pronunciations.

Webster’s dictionary expanded
the scope of literacy across the
U.S.

School children used these
resources to guide reading and
learning.
Neoclassical Architecture
The type of building architecture that was widely used throughout the
United States and Europe is called Neoclassical Architecture.
It was based on ancient Rome and Greece to demonstrate power and
progress. Large columns, straight lines and domed roofs were
common characteristics.
The point of this ornate style to was show how advanced the United
States was during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The Knickerbocker School
During the early 1800s a group of writers in New York authored
several famous novels [Legend of Sleepy Hollow] and poem
collections.
These men also wrote well respected historical novels [Last of the
Mohicans] about important, significant events in U.S. History.
Washington Irving’s pen name was Dietrich “Knickerbocker” which
is partially why the group got its name.
These American authors
were well respected and
their books were read all
over Europe because of
engaging, exciting and
interesting nature of the
story lines in their
novels.
Washington Irving
James Fennimore
Hudson River School
The Hudson River School was a style of painting that focused on
natural landscapes.
Natural scenes such as valleys, rivers, farms, hills and forests were
painted by Hudson River School artists.
The point of the style was to emphasize the importance, beauty, value
and wonder of the natural environment in its natural state.
The amazing images served to provide an awareness of the United
States’ natural resources.
Transcendentalism [Transcend=Change]

American writers such as Emerson and Thoreau wrote about how
important it was to develop your own opinions based on life
experience.

These writers did not believe people should just blindly believe the
teachings of Christian churches. They should decide what was right
and wrong on their own. The point was to change one’s thought
process.

Through experiencing life you could decide for yourself. Both men
traveled across the United States to experience life’s diversity.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau
Famous American Authors
A writing style that was popular in the mid 1800s was romanticism. The
style focused on human emotion. The goal of the authors was to make a
reader feel [ex: happy, sad, fear, anger, awe].
Edgar Allan Poe’s stories were considered dark because they focused on
drug use, horror, murder, crime, death and disease. [Poe’s writings
included The Raven, The Tell Tale Heart, The Black Cat]
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s stories mostly focused on sin, lust, seduction and
guilt. [Hawthorne’s writings included The Scarlet Letter, The House of
the Seven Gables, Rappacini’s Daughter]
Edgar Allan Poe
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Alexis de Tocqueville
Frenchman who visited the
United States to learn about its
prison system.
He loved the fact that many
citizens had property rights
and vast freedoms.
He hated slavery and
correctly predicted it would
cause problems between the
North and South.
He wrote a book called
Democracy in America
describing what he learned in
the U.S.
de Tocqueville’s critiques were
closely analyzed by American
government officials.
The Industrial Revolution




The Industrial Revolution may be best described as the
change in the way businesses manufactured products.
Instead of making things one item at a time by skilled
craftsman factories and machinery made products.
Northern states became industrial.
Southern states remained agricultural.
Industrialization: Some Examples


Eli Whitney-Invented and
patented a machine that separated
cotton seeds from cotton plants.
Made it easier and faster to turn
cotton into textiles. Removed the
need for human labor [slaves].

Cyrus McCormick-Invented a

All of these inventions
completely changed the
Cotton Kingdom of the South

The slave system was forever
changed because machines did
the jobs once performed by
human beings.
mechanical reaper to harvest
crops without the need of
human labor [slaves].
John Deere-Invented a steel plow
and other devices to mechanize
farming further decreasing reliance
on human labor [slaves].
 Samuel Morse invented a
signaling code [language] that
became uniform [fit for
everyone].
 The code was used for the
telegraph which was a
machine used to transmit
messages through the
airwaves.
 Businesses in the North used
this to communicate [used
later on in the Civil War].
The Northern Advantages
Robert Fulton-invented and successfully sold a steam powered boat.
 Trade and travel was transformed from wind power [depending on
weather] to coal power [controlled by people].
 People could be transported more easily and faster [this was
beneficial to the economy].
 The Erie Canal was a manmade water way created to transport goods
between Canada and the U.S. [steamboats were the primary method
of travel].

The Era of Good Feelings




The time period immediately following the War of 1812 was called
the Era of Good Feelings by a Boston newspaper.
James Monroe, the new president, was uniting the nation under one
political party [the Republicans] and trying to expand the country’s
borders.
Because there was little partisan fighting [arguing between political
parties] the country was able to move forward and succeed
politically.
Unfortunately the good feelings did not last very long.
Monroe Doctrine
Monroe’s Secretary of State [advisor in charge of contact with foreign
countries] created a plan to bring greater security to the United States.
 The Monroe Doctrine did not allow foreign countries such as England,
France and Spain to control any land near the United States as colonies.
 The United States would control the Western Hemisphere.

Panic of 1819







All good things usually come to an end.
So did the Era of Good Feelings
The National Bank set up by Hamilton
under his plan had expired and no longer
existed.
Individual states had set up banks that
were lending money to people who were
not repaying.
The amount of money the federal
government had in circulation was limited.
Prices on goods started to rise
uncontrollably and financial panic set in.
The U.S. Government settled the
economy down by issuing large amounts
of specie [silver and gold coins] to bring
real value and strength to the economy.
McCulloch vs. Maryland

The U.S. government created another national bank so
it could collect taxes, issue currency, borrow money
and lend money.

States were angry they had to compete with the federal
government so they decided to tax the national bank.

Can states tax the federal government?

This conflict ended up in court. The U.S. Supreme
Court decided that: [A] Congress indeed had the power
to create banks [B] States had no power to tax the
federal government.
Gibbons vs. Ogden

This U.S. Supreme Court case was similar to the McCulloch case
because it dealt with interstate commerce and conflict between the
states and federal government

The decision ruled that whenever conflicts between a state and national
government arose the national government was superior.
Election of 1824

Corrupt bargain of 1824 was the deal to
allow John Quincy Adams to become
president of the United States.

During this election no one received 51% of the popular vote.
When that happens who selects the president?

The House of Representatives! Henry Clay, the House
Speaker, steered votes Adams’ way in exchange for being
made Secretary of State.

Henry Clay believed the job would get him closer to becoming
the next president.
Jacksonian Democracy

Style of government that included more of
the common types of people instead of
mostly wealthy and highly educated people.

BELIEVED IN UNIVERSAL WHITE
MANHOOD SUFFRAGE

Manifest Destiny-expanding the territory
of the United States West toward the
Pacific Ocean.

SPOILS SYSTEM-winners of elections
should select government officials.

STRICT CONSTRUCTIONIST-same thing
as strict interpretation of the U.S.
Constitution. Founding Fathers’ wishes
and original plan should be honored.
Henry Clay’s American System

Economic plan that protected
American industries [farming,
manufacturing] from foreign
competition.

Create tariffs [taxes on
imported/foreign goods] to protect
American businesses [farms].

Create a national bank to stop the
risky state banks and make America
stronger.
Congressman Henry Clay
Tariff of abomination
Tax against British goods to protect
Northern manufactured goods.
 Senator Calhoun from South Carolina
was against tariffs.


Tariffs made it harder for England to
buy Southern cotton and damaged the
economy.

South Carolina Exposition and ProtestLetter Calhoun wrote denouncing,
speaking against the tariff.

South Carolina Nullification CrisisSouth Carolina tried to cancel out the
federal law but couldn’t.
Senator John C. Calhoun
Nat Turner’s slave rebellion






Nat Turner was a slave from Virginia who rebelled against his owners.
Turner escaped his plantation and other slaves joined him in revolt.
The rebel slaves attacked whites, caused disturbances and violence.
More than 100 blacks were killed by white mobs and many new antislave laws were passed to restrict the movement and rights of slaves.
Nat Turner was captured, put on trial and hanged.
Very restrictive laws called Black codes were passed as a reaction to
Turner’s rebellion.

Pet
banks
These were banks allowed to operate and receive money from the federal
government.
 They were called “pet” banks because they were favored by President
Jackson in order for states to receive payments from the federal
government.
Election of 1832

FIRST TIME A NATIONAL CONVENTION WAS
USED TO NOMINATE A PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE.

Electors from the Democratic Party across the U.S.
came together to nominate Andrew Jackson for
president.

Jackson was re-elected by a huge margin [more
than 2-to-1.
Whig Party



POLITICAL PARTY CREATED TO OPPOSE PRESIDENT JACKSON
[TO DEFEAT HIM IN ELECTIONS].
GOALS WERE ECONOMIC PROTECTIONISM BY CREATING
TARIFFS ON FOREIGN GOODS.
PASS LAWS AND AMENDMENTS TO END SLAVERY.
Election of 1840




Van Buren had been Jackson’s vice-president and did not have a good
reputation [citizens were ready for a change].
The national economy was trying to recover from the Panic of
1837[recession].
Former U.S. General Harrison was very popular for his victories during
the War of 1812.
Harrison won the election as president versus Van Buren.
W.H. Harrison
Martin Van Buren
Dorothea Dix





Dorothea Dix taught Sunday School at a prison in Massachusetts
during the late 1800s.
While there she witnessed appalling conditions for the prisoners.
She saw terrible treatment of mentally ill inmates.
After her experience she wrote letters to lawmakers and crusaded
to improve the conditions of prisoners and mentally ill persons
across the United States.
As a result conditions and facilities for these people improved.
Horace Mann

Horace Mann was a lawmaker
from Massachusetts who led
the fight for expanded public
education.

His legislative leadership led to
the expansion of school
construction, teacher training
and higher teacher pay.

Massachusetts passed a
mandatory school attendance
law.

Because of Mann’s reforms
other states expanded public
education as well.
Temperance Movement




Many American women were tired of witnessing the devastation
that alcohol wrought on families.
Rural men were especially prone to alcoholism because of isolation
and depression. Domestic violence was also a problem.
Christian religious women were the most active in trying to have
alcohol banned.
Eventually states began to prohibit alcohol culminating in the 18th
Amendment in 1919.
Women’s Rights

In the 1800s several women fought
for property and voting rights for
women. The Seneca Falls
Convention was the first well known
national meeting to discuss and plan
women’s rights.
Lucretia Mott-religious Quaker wife
of a minister who believed slavery
was evil. Favored women’s
voting/property rights.
 Susan B. Anthony-an “angry”
feminist who demanded and fought
for voting rights which led to passage
of the 19th Amendment.
 Sojourner Truth-former slave who
spoke out against slavery in
speeches and letters. Supported
women’s voting and property rights.
 Elizabeth Cady Stanton-abolitionist
and women’s voting rights supporter
emphasized religious conviction.

Utopian Communities




Groups of communities gathered together to separate themselves from the rest
of society [Brook Farm, Oneida and New Harmony].
The whole point was to make perfect worlds, perfect societies based on unique
religious beliefs. They believed the outside world was evil and impure.
Shared child raring, shared spouses, shared homes and shared property
were strategies they employed.
Many Americans thought these citizens were weird, freakish and unusual
because of their beliefs.
The Mormons

Joseph Smith-The founder of the Mormon religious movement. He was
presented golden tablets in the woods in New York by an angel according
to his accounts. He published these tablets into the Book of Mormon that
was added to the Mormons’ Bible. He traveled with his followers to
different states and was eventually murdered by an angry mob.

Brigham Young-Lead the pilgrimage of Mormons Westward to their
permanent home in Utah.
Controversial beliefs included plural marriages and separatism.


The time when Christian religious involvement and church
membership soared in the United States!

Different types of denominations increased by large numbers
[Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian and others].

Ministers and pastors lead spiritual revivals and preached that people
should live more devout lives in order to avoid the fires of hell.
Necessary Evil

Most slave owners realized that slavery and oppression of other humans
was wrong.

Many slave owners formed relationships based on trust with their slaves.

When confronted by abolitionists, slave owners and supporters claimed
slavery was a necessary evil to maintain their financial survival on farms.
Abolitionists

People who believe in ending slavery
were called abolitionists.

Abolitionists were mostly whites despite
the fact that most slave owners were also
white.

William Lloyd Garrison risked his life to
speak out against slavery. He demanded
immediate emancipation for slavery.

The Grimké sisters came from a slave
owning family in South Carolina and
spoke out against slavery and its evils.
David Walker

Walker was born in North Carolina in 1785 to a free mother and an
enslaved father.

He moved around frequently to different free slave enclaves [towns]
and ended up joining the Massachusetts abolitionist movement.

He gave anti-slavery speeches and wrote an important booklet called
the Appeal. His whole point of view was to convince his fellow blacks
that they should “wake up,” join together and oppose slavery by nonviolent means if possible.
Frederick Douglass

Born a slave in Maryland he learned valuable trades such as carpentry and machinery
operations.

He witnessed horrifying treatment of slaves by masters including murder.

He was able to escape to the North where he had previously been hired out.

He was taught the fundamentals of reading by a master’s wife and then later on by
white children to whom he paid money.

As a freeman he became a wealthy public speaker and advisor to presidents such as
Abraham Lincoln regarding slavery.
Charles G. Finney

Finney was a Presbyterian preacher who
was an important part of the Second Great
Awakening.

His sermons [verbal religious speeches]
were intentionally emotional in order to
inspire his congregation.

His goal was to inspire social change
especially the abolishment of slavery.

He also supported and participated in
educational integration [the schooling of
blacks and women together].