Download Lesson 3 Notes - United States History

Lesson Targets
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
MANIFEST DESTINY
TEXAS
SPIRIT OF IMPROVEMENT
TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION
ECONOMIC CHANGES
THE BEGININGS OF DIVISION
MONROE DOCTRINE
ANDREW JACKSON
NULLIFICATION CRISIS
REFORMS
THE SLAVERY QUESTION
LINCOLN/DOUGLAS DEBATES
WESTWARD EXPANSION
Manifest Destiny — New York journalist John L. O’Sullivan coined the phrase manifest destiny, meaning
undeniable fate, to describe the belief some Americans held that it was the divine mission of the United
States to extend liberty across the continent.
Annexation of Texas — After winning its independence from Mexico in 1836, Texas voted to be annexed,
or joined, to the United States. Northerners and Whigs opposed the addition of another slave state, and
Mexico warned that the annexation of Texas would mean war. Texas became a state, however, in
December 1845.
War With Mexico — A border dispute over Texas. combined with President Polk’s desire for western
territory, led to the Mexican War in 1846. As a result of the war, the United States acquired land in Texas,
New Mexico, and California.
The California Gold Rush — Gold was discovered in California in January 1848. In the resulting California
Gold Rush, thousands of Americans, as well as new immigrants, rushed west.
Indians and Western Migration — Thousands of settlers migrated into Indian Territory after the Mexican
War. The United States created reservations, areas set aside for Native Americans who had lost their
homelands. Many Native Americans resisted living on reservations and fought to preserve their
traditional ways of life.
MANIFEST DESTINY
The Louisiana Purchase opened up a
period of westward expansion during
the late 1700s. Entire families moved to
western lands, hoping to make homes
for themselves.
Through a series of treaties, Native
Americans gradually lost their lands to
the United States, forcing many to make
the difficult journey to areas west of the
Mississippi River.
Florida and parts of the Pacific NW
were also acquired during this time,
giving Americans more lands to
explore and settle.
TEXAS
In 1822, Stephen F. Austin started an
American colony in east Texas, then
owned by Mexico.
As Austin’s colony grew, its settlers
demanded more political control. In
1835, a war of independence broke out
between Texas and Mexican dictator
Antonio López de Santa Anna.
In 1836, the rebels, led by Sam Houston,
defeated Santa Anna and declared an
independent Republic of Texas.
MANIFEST DESTINY
Thousands of settlers sought land and
trading opportunities in the Oregon
Country, an area shared with Great
Britain which stretched from northern
California to the southern border of
Alaska.
Organized wagon trains, originating
from Independence, Missouri, made
the journey to the Oregon Country.
In the Treaty of 1846, the United States
and Britain divided the Oregon
Territory along the 49th parallel.
SPIRIT OF IMPROVEMENT
Americans soon began to be driven by a “Spirit of
Improvement” as Americans sought to improve their
lives in numerous ways.
These ways included moving westward, raising
educated children, and recognizing the role that
women played in improving the nation.
These ideals would also help spur on the Industrial
Revolution, as people were driven to innovate and
improve their lives.
THE BEGININGS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION
The Industrial Revolution was an ongoing effort,
over many decades, to increase production by
using machines powered by sources other than
humans or animals.
In the North, industrialization improved based
on Eli Whitney’s idea of interchangeable parts,
in which all parts to make a particular product
are made to an exact standard.
In the South, Whitney’s cotton gin, a machine
that separates the seeds from raw cotton fibers,
had tremendous impact on the economy.
Planters began depending on cotton as their
only crop, and brought more enslaved Africans
to their new and expanded cotton plantations.
Manufacturing, or the
making of products
by machinery, began
in New England and
spread across the
Northeast and part of
the Northwest
Territory.
Transportation and Communication Improvements in the Early 1800s
Steam Power — Inventor Robert Fulton expanded on James Watt’s idea of steam
power to create a steamboat that could travel against the current. Steamboats made it
possible for farmers and planters to ship their goods around the world.
Canals — Since waterways were the cheapest way to transport goods, Americans
began building artificial waterways, or canals. The Erie Canal had the greatest
impact, speeding development of the Great Lakes region.
Roads — Although some roads were poorly built, others, like the Cumberland Road,
were built to last. Private companies constructed highways and made a profit by
collecting tolls.
Railroads — The invention of the steam locomotive soon led to the construction of
thousands of miles of tracks around the country, beginning in 1828 with the
construction of the Baltimore and Ohio (B & 0) line.
Communication — A greatly expanded federal postal service, combined with an
increase in the publication of newspapers, magazines, and books, helped keep
Americans informed and united.
NEW ECONOMICS
Economic changes in the early
1800s were made possible by the
free enterprise system that
operated in the United States.
Under this system, also called
capitalism, investments are made
by personal decision rather than by
government control.
The free enterprise system
rewarded those who found better,
faster, or more efficient ways of
running their businesses.
NEW ECONOMICS
Emerging banks began lending
capital, or wealth that can be
invested to produce goods and
make money.
These banks printed bank
notes, similar to modern checks,
whose value fluctuated
depending on the time and
place that they were cashed.
NEW ECONOMICS
Although most people in the
Northwest and Northeast still
lived on farms, many others
worked in factories in urban
areas.
Industrialization, or the growth
of industry, changed the living
conditions of many in the
Northeast. Instead of farming,
many began working long hours
in factories, earning low wages.
NEW ECONOMICS
Labor unions, or
organizations of workers
formed to protect members’
interests, began to form.
The strike, or work
stoppage, became a
powerful weapon for
workers who wanted better
working conditions.
NEW ECONOMICS
In the 1820s, many Americans viewed
themselves as citizens of a unified
nation rather than as citizens only of an
individual state.
The Supreme Court, under Chief Justice
John Marshall, made several important
decisions regarding the role of the
federal government in the economy.
These decisions included support for a
national bank, protection of contracts,
and prohibiting states from regulating
commerce on interstate waterways.
THE BEGININGS OF DIVISION
While the North became an
industrialized region, the South
remained dominated by farms
and countryside. Southern
farmers grew cotton, tobacco,
and sugar cane.
By 1804, all of the Northern
states had passed laws leading
to the end of slavery. In 1808,
Congress banned the further
import of slaves.
THE BEGININGS OF DIVISION
In the South, however, the slave
trade, and the African American
population as a whole, grew
because the population continued
to grow among those already
enslaved.
Several unsuccessful slave revolts,
led by Denmark Vesey, Nat Turner,
and others, resulted in the deaths of
both white citizens and African
Americans, including some who
had not even been involved in the
revolts.
THE MONROE DOCTRINE
An 1818 agreement between the United
States and Britain extended the
northern border of the United States.
In 1823, President James Monroe made
a speech in which he announced a
policy that would become known as the
Monroe Doctrine.
Under the Monroe Doctrine, the United
States pledged that it would not take
sides in European conflicts, and stated
that it would not permit further
colonization of the Western
Hemisphere.
ANDREW JACKSON
Unlike most previous
elections, voters in the
election of 1828 chose
between candidates of
sharply differing views:
Andrew Jackson
defeated Adams,
becoming the nation’s
next President.
The Presidency of Andrew Jackson
The Spoils System — Andrew Jackson was not the first President to reward
his friends and supporters with government jobs. However, it was during his
presidency that this patronage, known as the spoils system, became official.
Limited Government — Jackson believed in a limited role for the federal
government, rejecting politicians and laws that he felt would interfere with
people’s liberty.
Indian Relocation — Jackson forcibly relocated thousands of Native
Americans off their fertile lands and onto prairies further west. During the
1838 forced march of the Cherokee, known as the Trail of Tears, thousands of
Native Americans died of cold or disease.
The Bank War — Jackson was opposed to the Bank of the United States,
calling it a “monster” organization controlled by a small group of wealthy
easterners. He vetoed the renewal of the bank’s charter in 1832.
ANDREW JACKSON/NULLIFICATION
Although Jackson generally sought to
limit federal power, he strongly
supported some federal actions
including the passage of a high tariff
that benefited the North but forced the
South to pay higher prices for
manufactured goods.
South Carolina claimed that in such
cases, states could nullify, or reject,
federal laws that they deemed
unconstitutional. South Carolina
maintained that it could secede, or
withdraw, from the Union if it wished to
do so.
NULLIFICATION CRISIS
South Carolina’s nullification
threat was based on a strict
interpretation of states’ rights,
the powers that the Constitution
neither gives to the federal
government nor denies to the
states.
The conflict eased when
Congress reduced the tariff, but
the idea of states’ rights would
continue to influence the nation.
Reform Movements in the Early to Mid-1800s
The Temperance Movement — The temperance movement, a campaign to eliminate
alcohol consumption, urged abstinence, or refraining, from drinking alcohol. Supporters of
temperance claimed that alcohol tended to make people lose their self-control and selfdiscipline.
Public Education — In the 1820s, many Americans, including activist Horace Mann, began
demanding tax-supported public schools. Schools did not benefit all children equally,
however. Girls, African Americans, and Southerners usually had fewer opportunities to
attend school.
Reforming Prisons — Boston schoolteacher Dorothea Dix persuaded the state of
Massachusetts, as well as several other states, to improve prison conditions and to build
separate facilities for the mentally ill.
Utopian Communities — Many utopian communities, or small societies dedicated to social
and political perfection, arose in the first half of the 1800s. Most of these communities later
dissolved due to laziness, selfishness, and quarreling among residents.
REFORM MOVEMENTS
The abolitionist movement, or the
movement to end slavery, gained
support during the early 1800s.
Many enslaved people escaped to
freedom in the North by way of the
Underground Railroad, a secret
network of escape routes.
Resistance to abolitionism was
strong and sometimes violent.
Many white Northerners and most
white Southerners opposed
abolitionism.
REFORM MOVEMENTS
Because they were not as
affected by industrialization as
the North, many Southerners
saw no need to reform their
society, preferring instead to
hold onto their traditional values
and roles.
Many Southerners resented
Northern reform movements,
feeling that they offended their
honor and threatened their ways
of life.
THE SLAVERY QUESTION
The decision about whether or not to
allow slavery in new territories became
a divisive issue in the 1840s and 1850s.
By the 1850s, many white Northerners
came to oppose slavery. Many, though,
retained prejudices, or unreasonable
and usually unfavorable opinions of
another group, against African
Americans.
Differing attitudes toward slavery, as
well as differing levels of urbanization,
population, and technology,
contributed to North-South tensions.
THE SLAVERY
QUESTION
In the Kansas-Nebraska
Act, Senator Stephen
Douglas of Illinois
proposed that these
two new territories
decide for themselves
whether to allow
slavery.
LINCOLN/DOUGLAS DEBATES
In 1858, Senator Stephen Douglas
ran for reelection against a
relatively unknown Republican,
Abraham Lincoln.
In a series of highly publicized
debates, Lincoln and Douglas
debated the issue of slavery in the
territories.
Douglas supported popular
sovereignty, while Lincoln believed
that the majority should not deny
rights to the minority.
LINCOLN DOUGLAS DEBATES
Lincoln did not support the
extension of slavery to the
territories, but he felt that the
federal government did not
have the power to prohibit
slavery in the South.
Douglas won the election, but
Lincoln earned a reputation for
eloquence and that moral
commitment would come to
serve him well.
IRREPRAPABLE DAMAGE
Southerners were outraged that
a President could be elected
without their votes. They felt
that the government had passed
completely out of their hands.
Seven states of the Lower South,
beginning with South Carolina,
seceded, or left the Union.
These states formed a new
nation, calling themselves the
Confederate States of America,
or the Confederacy.
SOUTHERN SECESSION
In the spring of 1861,
Confederate forces attacked
Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
By firing on federal property,
the Confederacy had committed
an act of open rebellion, forcing
Lincoln to call for military
volunteers to respond to the
attack. Four more Southern
states then seceded and joined
the Confederacy.