Chapter 13-15 A/B ID's

Washington Irving

This American literary figure was born in New York in the late 19th century and published various novels, becoming the first American to win international recognition as a literary figure. He was significant because Europe was amazed to find an American who could write well and later and he was known as the "Father of American Literature."

The Age of Reason

This widely circulated book was written by Thomas Paine in 1794 and shockingly declared that all churches were set up to terrify and enslave mankind. Significant because it popularized deism in America and led many of the founding fathers, such as Jefferson and Franklin to embrace the liberal doctrines of Deism that Paine promoted to rather rely of reason than revelation

Cotton gin

This revolutionary invention was created in 1793 by Eli Whitney with the purpose of relieving the poverty of the South by making a workable device that could separate the seed from the short-staple cotton fiber. This machine was significant because it not only affected the history of America, but that of the world; almost overnight the raising of cotton was highly profitable, and the South was tied to the throne of King Cotton.

Horace Mann

This American educator was the secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education and he campaigned effectively for more and better schoolhouses, longer school terms, higher pay for teachers, and an expanded curriculum in the mid 19th century. He was significant because his influence radiated to other states and impressive improvements were made, much of his legacy was carried out by Noah Webster.

Commonwealth v. Hunt

This supreme court case of Massachusetts took place in 1842 and ruled that labor unions were not illegal conspiracies, provided that their methods were "honorable and peaceful." This decision was extremely significant as it did not legalize the worker's strike overnight, but it was a crucial signpost, encouraging the rise of labor unions and more freedoms being given to the workers.

Dorothea Dix

This New England advocate possessed infinite compassion and willpower, and though she never raised her voice, her message was very loud and clear in her petition of 1843 to the Massachusetts legislature, describing the horrid conditions of asylum cells. She was significant because her persistent prodding resulted in improved conditions and in again for the concept that the demented were not willfully perverse, but mentally ill

Tammany Hall

This New York Democratic machine organization consisted of Irish who were starting to gain control of powerful city machines and American politicians made haste to cultivate the Irish vote. Tammany Hall was significant in exemplifying the growing power of Irish immigrants and it overall led to America adopting the phrase of "twisting the British lion's tail," to get more Irish votes.

Oneida Community

This utopian community was founded by John Noyes in New York(he called it the system "Bible Communism") that rejected the old Puritan doctrines, and instead, believed in the possibility of a perfect Christian community (utopia), and finding their own duty to be happy. (need to write significance)No one had their own property, nor emotional relationships, material things (sexual partners) shared, having a "complex marriage". These beliefs outraged surrounding communities (new York).

Biddle's Panic

This financial crisis was created by Nicholas Biddle in 1837 as a result of Biddle calling in all the bank's loans, evidently hoping to illustrate the bank's importance. Significant because it only justified the earlier accusations of the bank's adversaries and made Jackson's resolution of ending the bank war.

Dewitt Clinton

This governor of New York promoted the idea of the Erie Canal in the late 18th century which overall connect the Hudson River to the Great Lakes and promoted an increase of trade and manufacturing in New York. Significant because it reduced the cost of shipping from $100 to $5 and the time fo transit from 26 days to 6, the value of land skyrocketed and new cities blossomed; overall the industry in the state boomed.

Edgar Allen Poe

Well-known Virginian writer of the early-to-mid 19th century, he was a master stylist, excelling in short horror stories.
He was significant as he wrote literature that didn't believe in human goodness and social progress as did many other American writers of the time, inspiring new areas and genres of literature.

corrupt bargain

This election took place in the year 1824 and comprised of a deal made amongst Henry Clay and Joh Quincy Adams, overall resulting in Adams winning this election and CLay becoming the Secretary of State after the electoral votes were at a deadlock. This election was very significant because it angered many of the Jacksonians and resulted in there being large amounts of hatred towards he first "minority" president and an increase in voter turnout in later elections

Samuel Slater

This skilled British mechanic, 21 years old, was Acclaimed as the "father of the factory system" he was attracted by bounties being offered to British workers familiar with textile machines and he escaped to America in the late 18th century
He was significant because he created the first efficient American machinery for spinning cotton thread, overall improving America's manufacturing, and leading to the creation of the Cotton Kingdom

Samuel Swartwout

This scoundrel betrayed Jackson's spoil system and despite ample warning of his untrustworthiness, Jackson still awarded him the lucrative post of collector of the customs and the port of New York in the mid-19th century. He was significant because he was one of the first individuals to steal a million dollars from the Washignton government, but the spoils system was still an important element in the merging two-party order.

Cyrus McCormick

This Virginia-born mechanic created a mechanical mow-reaper in 1830 that was almost as important to the Westerners as the cotton gin was to the Southerners. McCormick was significant because it made ambitious capitalists out of humble plowmen and it allowed for a single man to do the work of 5 men, it also allowed for subsistence farming to give way to production for extensive agriculture.

Peter Cartwright

This sinewy servant of the Lord ranged for a half-century from Tennessee to Illinois, calling upon sinners to relent in the early 19th century. He was significant because he was one of the best Methodist "circuit riders," and he converted thousands of souls to the lard, as well as lash the devil with his tongue and overall define his Christianity as muscular.

Tariff of Abominations

This protective measure to preserve the US economy was hated in the South in the 1800s, especially in South Carolina. This was significant because it led to talks about the states nullifying this tariff and threats of armed conflict between the national government military and south Carolinians, specifically Culhane.

Robert Fulton

This painter-engineer installed a powerful steam engine in a vessel in the late 18th century that posterity came to be known as the Clermont and was created in New York City. The steamboat was sensational because people could now in large degree defy wind, wave, tide, and downstream current; within a few years, Fulton had changed all of America's navigable streams into 2-way arteries, thereby doubling their carrying capacity.

Charles G. Finney

This revival preacher became an evangelist and held huge crowds spellbound with the power of his oratory and the pungency of his message in the early 19th century and he led massive rivivals in NYC. He was significant because he devised the anxious bench, where sinners could sit in full view of the congregation and he encouraged women to pray aloud in public, he also converted over half a million people.

Denmark Vesey

This free black slave led a slave rebellion in Charleston in 1822, that further fanned the anxieties in the South and emphasized the mounting pressure of British abolitionism. Significant because his rebellion was the most extensive slave rebellion in US history, however, the revolt was unsuccessful and it illuminated the strict realities of slavery even in this modernizing country.

Samuel F. B. Morse

This American inventor created the electrical telegraph in the 1830s and secured $30,000 from Congress to create "talking wires," which eventually developed into Morse Code. Morse was significant because his invention was among many that tightened the sinews of an increasingly complex business world and by the eve of the Civil War, a web of singing wires spanned the continent, revolutionizing new gathering, diplomacy, and finance.

Brigham Young

This eloquent preacher saved the Mormon faith in the mid-1840s after the murder of Joseph Smith and though he only received 11 days of formal schooling, he was a great leader and administrator. Young was significant because he made the Morom community become a prosperous frontier theocracy and a cooperative commonwealth.

The SC Exposition

This pamphlet was written by John C. Calhoun and published in 1828 by the South Carolinians who took the lead in protesting against the "tariff of abominations," which was mainly beneficial to the north and extremely harmful to the south. This exposition was significant because it denounced the recent tariff as unconstitutional and went a stride beyond the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions by explicitly proposing that the states should nullify the tariff, however Jackson rejected this and put the power of nullification in his own hands

Trail of Tears

This forced journey taken by Native Americans in the late 1830s from the east to the west was enforced by the US government under the Indian Removal Act passed by Jackson. This was significant because it forcefully removed 100,000 Native Americans from the east and relocated them to territories in the west and would even lead to Black Hawk's War.

Worcester v. Georgia

This Supreme court case took place in 1832 and said that the states did not have the right to impose regulations on Native American lands without a license from the state. It was significant because Andrew Jackson ignored the court's decision and as president he believed that his authority to deem what was Constitutional equaled the Supreme court's

Neal S. Dow

This mayor of Portland had witnessed the debauching effect of alcohol and known as the "Father of Prohibition," he sponsored the so-called Maine Law of 1851, and This drastic new statute, hailed as "the law of Heaven Americanized," prohibited the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor. He was significant because other state's also started to follow Maine's example and by 1857, about a dozen states had passed various prohibitory laws.

Black Hawk

This Indian chief was suspicious of white intentions from the start and ably led the Sauk and Fox braves to resist eviction but was defeated in 1832 by Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. Significant because it emphasizes the weakness of the Indian tribes in comparison to the Americans, but also reemphasizes that there were Indian tribes that were resistant and fought back.

Eli Whitney

This mechanical genius graduated from Yale and built a crude machine called the cotten gin in the late 18th century that was 50 times more effective than the handpicking process. Significant because the gin affected on only the history of America, but that of the world; almost overnight the raising of cotton became highly profitable and the South was tied hand and foot to the throne of King Cotton

Susan B. Anthony

This militant lecturer for women's rights fearlessly exposed herself to rotten garbage and vulgar epithets in the mid to late 19th century and she played a major in the progressive women's rights movement. She was significant because her NWSA fought for women's equality and her name was even coined by other progressive women who fight for female rights and were known as "Suzy Bs."

Nicholas Biddle

This American financier was the President of the Bank of the US and held an immense power that some viewed as unconstitutional, overall he was part of the Bank War, created the Biddle's Panic, and contributed to the Panic of 1837. Significant because he did create the first effective central bank in US history, but did hold an immense power which went against America's egalitarian principles and led Jackson to take out all federal deposits from the bank

Elias Howe

This mechanic created the sewing machine in the mid 19th century and created a larger foundation of the clothing industry that took root about the time of the Civil War. Significant because the sewing machine gave a strong boost to northern industrialization and it drove many seamstresses from the shelter of the private home to the factory.

John J. Audubon

This French-descended naturalist was from the early 19th century and painted wildfowl in their natural habitats, his book Birds of America attained considerable popularity and he was one of the greatest American ornithologist. He was significant because many lovers of American bird lore owed much to him because he drew many of these American birds, the Audubon Society is even named after him, which advocates for the protection of birds--even though Audubon killed birds.

John Decree

This Illinois inventor created the steel plow in 1837 that played a large role in breaking the virgin soil in the West. Significant because the steel plow made it possible for farmers to get into the thickly matter soil of the West and the tool was effective and was even light enough to be pulled by horses.

Hudson River School

This art group excelled at the major type of art that was created during the nationalist upsurge after the War of 1812, it turned increasingly from human landscapes to romantic mirrorings of local landscapes. However, this school was significant because it emphasized American exceptionalism as Americans used their romantic artwork to express the beauty and wilderness they had that set them apart from the Europeans.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

This well-known transcendentalist from Boston played a large role in reaching a large audience in the 19th century though many of his lectures, especially his Phi beta Kappa address. He was significant because he captured the themes of individualism, self-reliance, self-improvement, self-confidence, optimism, and freedom and overall urged American writers to throw off European traditions and use their own.

Henry W. Longfellow

This American poet attended Harvard in the 19th century and was one of the most popular American poets, even with his works often based on American traditions, but he was immensely popular in Europe as well.
He was significant as his works influenced American culture, inspiring other writers and composers of his time.

George Bancroft

This American historian is known as the "Father of American History," and was the secretary of the navy and helped found the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1845.
He was significant as his works influenced the creation of other formal records of American history, often holding patriotic perspectives.