Download Growth of a New Nation(1783

Growth of a New Nation(1783-1860)
Chapter 4
Land Acquisitions and Explorations
• After the Revolutionary War, the newly formed United States
began expanding its territory in North America. The following
is a list of important land acquisitions:
• Treaty of Paris(1783)- After the Revolutionary War, Great
Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris. In the
treaty, Great Britain recognized the independence of the
United States and the border of the new nation. The border
extended to Canada in the North, to the Mississippi River in
the West, and the northern border of Spanish Florida in the
South.
• Land Ordinance of 1785- This act, accomplished under the
Articles of Confederation, stated that the land area from the
Ohio River to the Mississippi River would be made into new
states, each with the same rights as the original thirteen states.
When each of the territories reached the required number of
people, it could apply for statehood.
• The Louisiana Purchase(1803)- Wanting to secure United States
trading on the Mississippi River, President Thomas Jefferson(18011809) sent representatives to France to negotiate the purchase of
New Orleans. Initially, Napoleon was not interested in selling New
Orleans because he hoped to revitalize the French colonial empire
in the Western Hemisphere, including the Louisiana region and the
island colony of Haiti. After Toussaint L’Ouverture led the people
of Haiti to resist French control and Britain resumed its war with
France, Napoleon surprised Jefferson by offering to sell not only
New Orleans but the entire 900,000 square miles of the Louisiana
region for the relatively small price of $15 million. The Louisiana
Purchase was the United States’ largest land purchase, nearly
doubling the country’s size. It marked a turning point for the new
nation as it began to seek its economic prosperity not from England
but from the new western lands. Is also marked a turning point for
the Native Americans living in this area. The United States did not
consult them regarding the purchase, but he westward expansion of
the United States which followed led to the Native Americans’
destruction or expansion to tiny parcels of marginal land called
reservations.
• Lewis and Clark expedition(1804-1806)- Even
before the Louisiana Purchase, President Jefferson
chose his personal secretary, Meriwether
Lewis(1774-1809), to lead an expedition to find a
water route to the Pacific Ocean. Lewis chose
William Clark(1770-1838), to help him lead 48
others on this great adventure. They left from St.
Louis in May 1804. Along the way, they met a very
talented Native American Shoshone woman names
Sacajawea(1787-1812). She became their translator
and guide. With her help, they reached the Pacific
coast in November 1805. Many people thought the
explorers had died, geographic features and the native
inhabitants of the Oregon and Louisiana territories.
This exploration led to the rapid migration of settlers
to the Pacific Northwest.
• Alabama was declared a state in
1819- Alabama’s admission restored
the balance of slave states and free
states caused by Illinois’ admission to
the Union as a free state in 1818. Its
constitution followed followed the
ideas of Jacksonian Democracy in that
it dropped the property qualification
for voting. Alabama’s admission as a
state was another step in the
expansion of the Southeast.
President James Monroe
• James Monroe, a democratic-Republican, was the fifth President of
the United States(1817-1825). During his presidency, the country
experienced political unity. In addition, states cooperated with one
another in the construction of interstates canals and railroads. For the
first time, people began thinking of themselves as citizens of a nation,
not a state. This national unity and optimistic mood during Monroe’s
presidency is known as the Era of Good Feelings. The United States
had always followed a policy of nonintervention in European affairs.
The Monroe Doctrine(1823) strengthened this policy by declaring
that the United States would not interfere in the internal affairs of
European countries or in independent countries in the Americas. It
went on to say that the United States would be viewed as an
unfriendly act. Monroe concluded in his statement that the American
continents should not be considered for further colonization by
Europe. Great Britain agreed with the policy, and with British
backing, the Monroe Doctrine became real policy. At this time, Britain
had the strongest navy in the world and the power to enforce foreign
policies.
Important Inventions
• In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, a machine that separated the
seeds from the cotton. The gin made cotton the most profitable crop in the
South. Soon, manufacturers in the South copied his invention. In response,
Whitney turned to the manufacture of muskets(long rifles). In this industry,
he introduced the idea of interchangeable parts, that is, each part of the
musket was produced with such precision that it could fit with all the other
parts. Whitney’s concept of interchangeable parts spread to other industries
and became the basis for industrial development in the United States.
• In 1807, Robert Fulton used a steam-powered boat, the Clermont, to travel
up the Hudson River from New York City to Albany in record time. Fulton’s
journey showed that people could use the steam engine as a new means of
power for transportation.
• In 1829, the British engineer George Stephenson, won a competition with
his steam-powered locomotive, the Rocket. Though others had used steam
engines to power locomotives, Stephenson’s Rocket could pull both freight
and passengers faster than any other locomotive up to this time. The
performance of the Rocket stimulated the production of trains and railroad
lines. Also in 1829, the locomotive made its debut in the western hemisphere
in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.
Henry Clay’s American System
• Henry Clay(1777-1852), a prominent senator from
Kentucky, was a Democratic-Republican. Under the
leadership of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison,
the Democratic-Republican Party had opposed a
strong national government and favored giving more
power to the state and local governments. The
Democratic-Republican Party had also favored a
rural economy over an industrial economy.
However, the War of 1812 showed the dangers of
relying too much on foreign imports. Henry Clay
proposed a balance of these ideas in his plan called
the American System.
Henry Clay’s American System(cont’d)
• The plan included the following:
• A Protective Tariff- After the war, the young manufacturing industry in the
United States could not compete with low-priced imports from Great
Britain. Clay proposed a protective tariff(tax on imports) to keep American
manufacturing growing. The tariff would raise the prices of the imported
European goods, making the American products more competitive. Congress
passed the Tariff of 1816 which raised tariffs on imports by 20%.
• Internal Improvements- To facilitate interstate commerce, Clay proposed
internal improvements(better canals and roadways) funded by the federal
government’s tariff revenue.
• A Strong National Bank- When the charter for the First Bank of the United
States expired in 1811, the Democratic-Republicans did not renew it.
Without a national bank, state banks issued their own bank notes(paper
money). Many different kinds of bank notes from various states began to
circulate making interstate commerce very difficult. Clay encouraged
Congress to charter the Second Bank of the United States(1816) in order to
stabilize currency and to hold government funds.
• Clay’s vision was that the tariff would protect the
growing manufacturing industries in the Northeast.
The money from the tariff would pay for
improvements in roads and canals. With these
improvements in transportation, the South and the
West could buy the Northeast’s manufactured goods
in exchange for food and raw materials. A strong
national bank would stabilize this flow of
commerce. He hoped his plan would bind the United
States together economically and make it selfsufficient in war and peace.
Roads and Canals
• During Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, Congress approved funding of
the National Road(1811-1818) which stretched westward from
Cumberland, Maryland, to Wheeling, Virginia. The National Road
was crude and often impassable, but by standards of that time, it was
of high quality. Under Henry Clay’s initiative, the National Road was
extended further West. By 1852, the National Road stretched from
Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois.
• Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal provided a new shipping route
from Buffalo, New York, to Albany, New York. The canal’s success
contributed to establishing New York City as the major commercial
center of the United States.
• Steamboats became widely used. Inventors developed a flat bottomed
steamboat that could travel the West’s shallow rivers. Before this,
crews would sail flat boats filled with cargo down the Mississippi
River. When they reached their port, they would dismantle the boat,
sell it for lumber, and travel by horse or by foot back up the
Mississippi. Steam engines led to the creation of the famous
Mississippi riverboat.
President Andrew Jackson
• In 1829, Andrew Jackson became the first man to rise from
childhood poverty to the office of President. He attained
personal wealth and fortune through his own work, and although
he was wealthy in his later years, he always identified with the
frontiersman. The people elected Jackson because they felt he
represented the common man. His presidency became known as
Jacksonian Democracy because property qualifications for
voting white males were dropped during his administration.
Jackson openly allowed his friends and supporters to have high
positions in government office. This policy became known as the
Spoils System. The spoils system set a precedent for rewarding
faithful supporters with government jobs and led to government
corruption in some of the later presidential administrations.
Jackson viewed changing the people in power as furthering the
ideals of democracy. The people of the United States approved
of Jackson’s philosophy because the majority of the people at
this time were not highly educated.
• Later, Jackson experienced a serious test to the nation
when South Carolina began protesting the high tariffs
imposed on British goods. One of South Carolina’s
senators, John Calhoun, took center stage in promoting
the Doctrine of Nullification. This doctrine states: “If
Congress passes a bill that is very harmful to a
particular state, that state is not obligated to enforce the
federal law. In addition, if ¾ of the states believe such a
law to be unconstitutional, the law will be null and
void.” Jackson never debated this issue, but he was
prepared to call federal troops if South Carolina chose
to secede. Senator Henry Clay proposed a compromise
tariff bill that South Carolina could accept, and the
dispute ended. However, the issues of states’ rights and
secession would remain alive until the close of the Civil
War.
The Indian Removal Act(1830)
• Because he sympathized with white settlers in the Southeast who were
hungry for land and gold, Andrew Jackson, with the help of Congress,
ordered the forced removal of five Native American Nations: Creeks-located
in Alabama; Choctaws- located in Mississippi; Chickasaws-located in
Mississippi; Seminoles- located in Florida; and Cherokees- located in
Georgia. These people were forced onto reservations in present-day
Oklahoma. The Oklahoma land was chosen because the people at the time
thought the land was a desert and unsuitable for farming. Most Native
Americans resisted this Indian Removal Act and appealed to the United
States Supreme Court. Chief Justice Marshall ruled that the Indian Nations
had the right to their land and could not be forcibly removed. Jackson,
however, sent troops to remove the Native Americans and completely
disregarded the authority of the Supreme Court. Jackson’s policies were
especially harsh on the Cherokee Nation. These Cherokees were the same
people that had previously helped Jackson win his battle with the Creeks of
Alabama at Horseshoe Bend. Jackson now turned against this nation friendly
to him and forced its people on a march of 800 miles to the lands of
Oklahoma. Over one quarter of the people died on this Trail of Tears(18381839) from disease, starvation, and exposure to the bitter cold.
The Trails
• Fur trappers and traders were the first people to explore the western
states. Their trails become routes for settlers who later went West. The
following is a list of well-known trails:
• The Oregon Trail- This trail was started by Nathaniel Wyeth, who led
an expedition(1832) to colonize the coast of Oregon by the Columbian
River. Wyeth’s colonization attempt failed. However, his careful notes
of the area provided new settlers with a way to reach the Pacific
Coast. The rich soil and constant rainfall drew settlers to the Oregon
area.
• The Mormon Trail- The Mormons were a religious group persecuted
for their beliefs in special revelations and polygamy(marriage to more
than one wife). They moved from town to town in the United States.
Under the leadership of Brigham Young, the Mormons left Nauvoo,
Illinois, and traveled(1846-1847) to the Salt Lake area of present-day
Utah. Deemed infertile by most, this land prospered as irrigation was
introduced.
• The California Trail- After gold was discovered(January 4,
1868) at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento, tens of thousands of
people in search of riches trekked to California. This
migration of people is known as the Gold Rush of 1849.
The trail westward began in Independence, Missouri.
Overnight, it seemed California was being settled and
developed. Most miners did not find their fortunes, but land
speculators, restaurant and hotel owners, and the Mormons
of Salt Lake City profited greatly from this movement to
northern California.
• The Santa Fe Trail- Also beginning in Independence,
Missouri, the Santa Fe Trial was a wagon route that
President Monroe ordered established to increase trading
with Mexico in Santa Fe. This trail increased desire for later
United States expansion into the Southwest.
Texas Independence
• In 1822, Stephen Austin(1793-1836) brought a group of settlers to
Texas, a part of Mexico that was only sparsely populated by the
Spanish and native Mexicans. By 1830, there were more than 20,000
settlers from the United States in Texas. Many of the new settlers had
violated Mexican law by bringing slaves with them. They also began
talking of breaking away from Mexico. After an unsuccessful revolt
by a small group of Texans in 1826, the Mexican government
restricted further immigration. In 1834, General Antonio Santa
Anna(1794-1876) assumed dictatorial power over the Mexican
government, dispensed with the Mexican constitution, and tightened
his control over the United States settlers in Texas. In response, Sam
Houston(1793-1863) led the settlers to fight and take over cities.
Santa Anna answered with military force, killing all of the Texans in
an old mission near San Antonio called the Alamo(March 6, 1836).
Just four days earlier, a convention of 59 Anglo-American Texan
delegates had declared the Republic of Texas independent from
Mexico. After a series of battles, the Texans defeated Santa Anna at
the Battle of San Jacinto(April21, 1836) and took him hostage.
• In exchange for his freedom, Santa Anna promised to
recognize the Republic of Texas. However, he still held
claim to the land north of the Rio Grande to the Nueces
River. The Mexican congress rejected Santa Anna’s
agreement with the Texans, and hoped to regain Texas. The
Texans, however, applied to be annexed(added) to the
United States. For the next several years, debate raged in
Congress over whether to admit Texas into the Union.
Northerners were hesitant because Texas would be admitted
as a slave state. They feared the state could be divided into
several smaller states and disrupt the balance in the Senate
between slave and free states. From 1836-1845, Texas
existed as its own country. In the last days of his term,
President John Tyler called for a joint resolution of
Congress admitting Texas to the Union. The resolution
passed, and Texas was admitted as a slave state in 1845.
The Mexican-American War
• Mexico considered the United States’ annexation of Texas an act of
aggression. This did not weaken the territorial desires of the newly elected
U.S. President, James K. Polk, who was a strong believer in Manifest
Destiny. Manifest Destiny was the belief that it was God’s will for the
United States to expand and eventually possess the entire continent. In June
1845, Polk sent John Slidell to Mexico to negotiate the purchase of
California and New Mexico(the area between Texas and California). After
the Mexican president refused to meet with Slidell, Polk ordered General
Zachary Taylor to move his troops into the disputed territory between the
Nueces and Rio Grande rivers(March 8, 1845). In response, the Mexican
troops crossed the Rio Grande and attacked Taylor’s forces. Immediately,
Polk demanded that Congress declare war on Mexico, which it did on May
13,1846. One month later, settlers from California, unaware of the war,
declared their independence from Mexico and formed the Bear Flag
Republic. United States forces overpowered Mexican troops in the
Mexican-American War(1846-1848). When U.S. troops marched into
Mexico City, the Mexicans surrendered. In a peace treaty, Mexico gave up
half its land, selling the territories of California and New Mexico to the
United States for the equivalent of $18 million. This immense land purchase
added 1,200,000 square miles to the United States, nearly fulfilling the
country’s Manifest Destiny.
Literature of the United States
• Literature in the young republic flourished in the
1800s. Filled with the freedom of a vast frontier and
the optimism of a fresh start, American writers
created a literature that mirrored the newly forming
nation. Their ideas reflected nationalism as they
used settings and themes unique to the United
States. Writers such as Emerson, Thoreau, and
Whitman envisioned an ideal America that
questioned industrialization. Others such as Poe,
Dickinson, and Hawthorne addressed the Darker
side of humanity.
• Noah Webster(1758-1843) distinguished the language used
in the United States from the language of Britain when he
produced the first American Dictionary of the English
Language(1828).
• Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882) was an essayist and a
poet known for his eloquent speech and poetic language.
Emerson was a leader in the transcendental movement.
Transcendentalists believed truth could be found beyond the
physical world and that all humans share in the spiritual
unity of creation. They believed in individualism and selfreliance and had a reverence for nature.
• Henry David Thoreau(1817-1863) was a writer,
philosopher, and naturalist. He wrote about his motivation
from living apart from society, his simple lifestyle, and his
observance of nature. His most famous works are
Walden(1854) and “Civil Disobedience”(1849).
• Walt Whitman(1819-1892) was a poet who
emphasized the great worth of each individual. He
believed in a oneness of all humanity, and he
captured the idealistic spirit of his time in his poetry.
His break from the traditional poetic styles of his
days had a major influence on American literature.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne(1804-1864) was a novelist
who wrote about sin, punishment, and atonement.
Two of his most famous novels are The Scarlet
Letter(1850) and The House of Seven Gables(1851).
• Washington Irving(1753-1859) began his writing
career after a short time practicing law. He was the
first American writer to gain international fame. He
wrote the short stories “Rip Van Winkle” and “The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (1820).
• Edgar Allen Poe(1809-1849) was a poet and also a
master of the short-story. He is also famous for his
mysterious and macabre tales such as “The Tall-Tale
Heart” (1843) and his poem “The Raven”(1845).
• James Fenimore Cooper(1759-1851) was a
novelist who became known as the first great
American writer. He idealized American life in his
action-packed novels such as The Last of the
Mohicans(1826).
• Emily Dickinson(1830-1886) wrote more than 1800
poems while living in seclusion. Shoe wrote about
love, death, and immortality, but only a few were
published before her death. Today she is regarded as
one of the greatest and most influential poets of the
United States.
• Herman Melville(1819-1910) based his
novels on his experiences in the U.S. Navy.
His greatest work is Moby Dick(1851),
dedicated to his friend Nathaniel Hawthorne.
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1807-1882)
was a very popular poet during the early
1800s. He used simple styles and themes, and
his poetry is still popular today. He wrote
“Paul Revere’s Ride” (1861).
Social Utopias
• After suffering persecution in other countries, certain
religious groups came to the United States searching for
freedom and safety. They hoped for a peaceful place where
they could live according to their own unique principles.
During the time of Westward expansion(1850-1900), many
social thinkers started creating utopian communities. In
theory, these communities would be harmonious and
provide the world with the best example of how to live.
Several important communities that were started at this time
included the Amish, the Mennonites, the Shakers, and the
Quakers. Both the Amish and the Mennonites established
themselves in parts of Pennsylvania, the Midwest, and
Canada. Their objective was to keep religious purity by
living a life of simplicity and hard work. They used the
German language in worship, and, even today, they live in
predominantly agricultural communities in which the
individual works for the good of the community.
• Established in 1776, Shakers followed the spiritual
leadership of Ann Lee(1736-1784). All Shakers
believed in renouncing marriage in favor of
celibacy(single life without sex). Their movement,
while lasting only a few decades, produced a simple
furniture style called “Shaker style,” which is wellknown for its plainness and high quality. Founded by
George Fox(1624-1691), the Quakers started as a group
of individuals who believed that each person was gifted
with “the inner light.” This group gained many
followers in the English Colonies in North America.
They are noted for their belief in personal divine
revelation, usually accompanied by a worshiper shaking
or “quaking,” as well as their objection to war, slavery,
and mistreatment of Native Americans.
Social Reform Movements
• Horace Mann(1796-1859) was an influential American educator who
advocated the education of both men and women through public
funding. He opposed corporal punishment in schools, and he helped to
create the state board of education in Massachusetts, the first in the
United States. He also helped establish state hospitals for the insane
and spoke against the sale of alcoholic beverages and lottery tickets.
• Dorothea Dix(1802-1887) impacted society by promoting legislation
to improve mental institutions and prisons. Through her efforts,
institutions for the insane and poor were created in 20 states and
Canada. She also influenced improvements in prisons and housing for
the poor in Europe.
• During the early 19th century, the Temperance Movement(1850s)
began gaining momentum. Members of this movement wanted to
moderate the use of alcohol. Later, they advocated total abstinence
from alcohol. In the 1850s, they supported the Maine Laws which
regulated or prohibited the sale of alcohol. Interest in the Temperance
Movement declined during the Civil War but revived in the
subsequent decade.
• The Abolition Movement(1830-1865) gained momentum to put
an end to slavery. Abolitionists believed slavery was wrong, and
they advocated laws to abolish it(put an end to it). The following
people were famous supporters of the abolition movement.
• Harriet Tubman(c. 1820-1913) was a hero of the abolition
movement. She escaped slavery by running away to the North.
Later, she returned to the South secretly nineteen times in order
to lead others to freedom by using the Underground Railroad.
The Underground Railroad was not actually a railroad but a
network of people who helped slaves escape to the northern
United States or Canada.
• Fredrick Douglas(1817-1895) was so smart and so well-spoken
that his opponents refused to believe that he had once been a
slave. After escaping slavery in Maryland, he educated himself
and became the most prominent African American speaker for
the abolition of slavery. He worked with John Brown but would
not support the Harper’s Ferry raid(1859).
• Harriet Beecher Stowe(1811-1896) furthered the abolitionist
cause through her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin(1852). Though she
was white and had never been a slave, her fictional account of
the horrible experiences of a slave family motivated many
people in the North and in Britain to support the movement to
abolish slavery.
• Sojourner Truth(c. 1797-1883) was born into slavery but was
freed once in New York emancipated slaves in 1828. Though
illiterate, she became well-known and respected for her eloquent
and charismatic speaking. As an abolitionist, she called for the
equality of people of all colors. She also supported the equality
of men and women by speaking for women’s rights.
• William Lloyd Garrison(1805-1879) initially supported
gradual emancipation but later came to believe complete and
immediate emancipation was necessary. He founded an
influential, anti-slavery newspaper called The Liberator(1831),
and he helped establish the national American Anti-Slavery
Society(1833).
• The Women’s Right Movement also began to gain
momentum in the 1850s. Two women, Elizabeth Cady
Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, are best known for starting
and supporting this movement.
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton(1815-1902) organized the first
women’s rights convention known as the Seneca Falls
Convention(1848). She believed men and women were
created equal and fought for women’s right to vote. She also
advocated the abolition of slavery.
• Susan B.Anthony(1820-1906) supported the temperance
movement to ban alcohol, the abolition movement to free
slaves, and the women’s rights movement. She is best
known for joining with Elizabeth Cady Stanton to fight for
women’s rights and, in particular, women’s right to vote.
Women who supported the right to vote were known as
suffragettes. It was their efforts that changed the
constitution with the 19th Amendment in 1920.