USVA Unit 4 | Westward Expansion & the Road to War

James Monroe

• President in 1816 AND 1820 (consecutive)

• Democratic Republican

• Began Era of Good Feelings

• John Quincy Adams = Secretary of State under Monroe

  • Both wanted to increase national expansion to reduce regional tension

• Promoted industry in US

During Monroe’s Presidency

• Made Monroe doctrine (1823), Adams-Onis

• Promoted industry in US

• Panic of 1819

• Missouri Compromsie @ 36th Parallel

Monroe Doctrine

• 1823

• Responded to threats by European powers (including France) to help Spain recover Latin American colonies that declared independence

• Declared European monarchies had no business in meddling with American republics

• Doctrine was more significant in 1890s-1900s when US sent forces into Latin America

Era of Good Feelings

• Era when people are not divided over political issues/war

• Patriotism/national pride grows

• Caused by demise of Federalist Party after Hartford convention

Tariff of 1816

• Implemented by Madison (DR)

• Promoted industry growth

Significance of Tariff of 1816

• Showed DR betraying former beliefs: now used federal power to support industry instead of agriculture

John Marshall

• Chief Justice 1891-1835

• Supreme Court favored strong central gov and national economy

• Marshall Court claimed power to review acts of Congress & President for constitutionality

  • Also insisted “sanctity of contracts” (state gov can’t interfere w/ business contracts)

• McCulloch v. Maryland

2nd Bank of the US

• 1816 Congress est. 2nd Bank of US, but most congressmen opposed using federal money for internal improvements under James Monroe

McCulloch v. Maryland (1803)

• Creation of 2nd National Bank

• Many federal banks placed around the nation —> competition with state banks

• MD tried to levy taxes on federal banks —>

• Marshall Ct. embracing loose construction and insisting Congress has power to charter National Bank & that state governments couldn’t tax them

Adams-Onis Treaty (1819)

• Ended Spanish claims to Oregon territory

• Britain also claimed Oregon in 1818 but US & Brit agreed to share —> Americans beginning to settle in Florida for trade in Oregon (1821)

• ceded Florida to the US and defined the boundary between the US and Spanish Mexico

American System

• Ambitious federal program

  • Tariffs were part of it

• Favored reestablishing National Bank (bc charter expired 1811) —> uncertainty of money supply & bank practices

• Henry Clay = leading advocate for economic nationalism

Henry Clay

• Leading advocate for economic nationalism

• Supported American System

The Bank War

• 2nd National Bank chartered 1816 w/ 20yr charter

• 1832: Congress tries to create legislation before charter expires

  • Jackson VETOES legislation and tried to withdraw federal deposits from bank

    • Jackson fires Treasury Secretary who didn’t comply —> appt and ally

• Congress agreed this was beyond his presidential power

• Congress censured (formally disapproved of) Jackson

The Corrupt Bargain

• John Quincy Adams didn’t win Electoral College majority, but had highest # of votes out of other 3 candidates

• JQA wins by being chosen by HOR

  • ppl believed that political allies (Henry Clay) helped JQA become president

  • Ppl believe that if they were given a say, the president would be different

Andrew Jackson

• 1824 Wins in New Democratic Party against JQA (National Republicans/Whigs)

• Mudslinging

• Supports “common men”

• Jackson VETOES 2nd National Bank

  • Congress agrees this was beyond his presidential power

    • Censured (formally disapproved of) Jackson

• 1830 signed Indian Removal Act

Mudslinging

the use of insults and accusations, especially unjust ones, with the aim of damaging the reputation of an opponent.

Indian Removal Act (May 1830)

• Signed by Andrew Jackson

• Forced NAs to move west of Mississippi River

  • NAs shift from fertile —> dry land => changes in living

• Caused Trial of Tears (1838-1839)

  • Displacement of Cherokee to reservations in Oklahoma

Worcesters v. Georgia (1832)

• GA tried to force NA out of territory (ex: not allowed to from testify in court, mine gold, meet in council) —> Cherokee nation sues

• Supreme Court says that GA state gov doesn’t have authority to displace NAs bc NAs are viewed as sovereign nations

• Jackson ignores this when implementing Indian Removal Act

Tariff of Abominations (1828)

• Passed on imported goods that benefitted Northern industrialists but harmed Southern farmers

  • South couldn’t import necessary goods

  • Foreign countries wouldn’t want to import American goods

• SC voted to nullify both 1828 & 1832 tariffs + threatened to secede from union

Whig Party

• A political party formed in the 1830s that opposed the policies of Andrew Jackson and the Democratic Party

• advocated for modernization and industrialization

Panic of 1819

• financial crisis —> widespread economic hardship, bank failures, cotton price declination b/c of est. of 2nd National Bank

• also led to end of era of good feelings

John C. Calhoun

• Feared Compromise of 1850 (proposed by Henry Clay, 1of the 3 senate leaders, Calhoun being one of them too) would agitate slavery issue and —> disunion

• Feared proposal didn’t give South enough protection, and that if North didn’t agree with South’s demands, he feared that the South would secede from union

  • also cause Calhoun is southern

• Daniel Webster (dying) opposed Calhoun’s ideas

Sectionalism

• overemphasized political, economic, and social loyalty to a region of a country rather than the country as a whole

• belief that different regions of a country have their own individual characteristics and values

The Spoils System

• (Patronage)

• a practice where political leaders reward their supporters with government jobs and favors, without needed to be qualified

• First used by Jackson in 1820s

• Central component of politics during Gilded Age

Common/self-made man

• archetype of successful men who start with poor educational backgrounds —> climb social ladder to become key figures in society

• Ex: Lincoln, Frederick Douglas

• Term was invented by Frederick Douglas

Universal manhood suffrage

the right of all adult men to vote, regardless of property ownership or tax status

William Lloyd Garrison

• American journalist, significantly influenced abolition movement

• Most abolitionists at the time believed emancipation should be a gradual movement, but Garrison took radical step for advocating immediate emancipation

• Published The Liberator

  • Antislavery newspaper, fought for equal rights

• Helped found Anti-Slavery Society

  • President of society for 23 yrs

  • Implemented moral suasion

Frederick Douglass

• Former slave who was taught to read and write (educated) before escaping to the North

• Born in MD

• Leader of abolitionist movement

• Founder of North Star Newspaper

  • Discussed equal rights

The Liberator

• Newspaper published by William Lloyd Garrison

• Dramatic language, used to convince readers slavery was wrong

• Reading The Liberator was discouraged in the South

• Technique of trying to effect change by persuading ppl w/ moral arguments = moral suasion

North Star Newspaper

• Made by Frederick Douglass

• Need for emancipation, discussed equal rights

Railroads

• Utilized steam powered engines to travel quickly over land/mountains

• MOST effective transportation method

  • Reason why north won civil war = easier to transport supplies b/c they’re more industrialized

Liberia

• American Colonization Society (ACS) est. Liberia and relocated US AAs there

  • lead Southern democrats

  • ACS goal = encourage migration of free AAs to Africa

• Most chose to stay in US tho

  • Most AAs were wary of ACS motives, and since being born in America, considered the US as their home

  • Feared colonization was just a plan to strengthen slavery by exiling the most able AA leaders

American Colonization Society (ACS)

• Goal = encourage migration of free AAs to Africa

  • Alternative to emancipation

• Est. Liberia and relocated AAs there

Abolition

• Abolishment of slavery

“King Cotton”

• Cotton gin —> increased cotton production and profit

  • Cotton used to be a minor crop —> south’s leading product

• Cotton was also in demand for textile factories in Northeast + Europe

• “King Cotton” = ruler of economy

• Increased cotton production also lead to slavery increasing

Missouri Compromise

• Admitted Missouri as slave state and split northern territory of Massachusetts into Maine as a free state

  • In order to keep balance of slave & free states

  • The attempt to keep this balance only increased tension between the two sides b/c it made the difference more prominent

• Proposed by Henry Clay (1820)

• Solved short-term crisis, but only exposed growing division between North/South

Eli Whitney

• Inventor

• 1793 invented the cotton gin in Georgia

  • Cotton gin = machine that reduced time and cost of separating cotton seeds from the white fiber (valuable part)

• But GREATEST contribution = idea of mass-producing interchangeable parts in 1797

  • Did this in order to fulfill a contract to supply muskets for the gov

Industrialization

• development of industries in a country or region on a wide scale

• Industrialization helped to boost cotton production

• Included railroads, factories, steamboats, more products made from US instead of imported into US

• Industrial revolution = change from agriculture based economy to industrial based economy

  • Period where output grew significantly through machine use and new methods of production

Cotton Gin

• Made be Eli Whitney

• Caused cotton to become —> “King Cotton”

• Separated seeds from the white fiber (white fiber = valuable part)

• but INCREASED demand for slaves b/c it actually speed up the harvesting process

Interchangeable Parts

• Identical components that can be used in place of one another

• Improved efficiency of factories and reliability

  • Artisan who makes each product individually by hand might not have the same consistency of craftsmanship as another product

Steamboats

• Ships that burned wood/coal to create steam

• Allowed ships to travel against current —> easier + faster transportation of goods and people

• Connected markets (ex: erie canal) and increased trade b/c easier access to farther away markets

Lowell System

• Francis Cabot Lowell = developed world’s first textile mill

  • All operations in converting raw cotton into finished cloth were performed within one facility

• “Lowell girls” = young women who worked in textile mills in Lowell, MA

Textile System

• Textile industry in Britain banned machinery exports, to maintain industrial advantage

  • But new information spread anyways (they also gathered secret info in Britain)

• System employed young, single women recruited from area farms + enforced strict rules and behaviors

• Workers (“Lowell girls”) were closely supervised in boardinghouses

  • After a couple yrs of work, married and left factories

Manifest Destiny + Significance

• Cultural belief in US that expansion was inevitable b/c of their God-given ability to spread liberty and democracy

  • God intended US to span from Pacific to Atlantic through means of conquering

• Significance = used to justify westward expansion in Oregon, Texas, New Mexico, etc. and to justify poor treatment of NAs and other non-white groups