Unit 3a: Expansionism and Nationalism

Executive Order

rule or order issued by the president to an executive branch of the government and having the force of law

Treaty

a formally concluded and ratified agreement between countries

Louisiana Purchase

Purchase made by Thomas Jefferson in 1803 for the Louisiana Territory - acquiring a large swath of lands from France

Mississippi River

The longest river in the United States, flowing over two thousand miles from Minnesota to Louisiana and into the Gulf of Mexico

Lewis & Clark

Explorers and scientists who were sent to explore the Louisiana Purchase

Federalism

Division of power amongst different levels of government

Federal Government

National / Central government of the United States

Territory

Unorganized division of the country / land that is not yet admitted as a state

Foreign Policy

The manner in which a country chooses to organize its relationships with other countries

Amendment

Change to the US Constitution

US Constitution

System of government of the United States

Representation

To stand for someone or something else

War of 1812

A war between England and the United States over territory on the North American continent

James Madison

4th President of the United States, known as the "Father of the Constitution" was President during the War of 1812

Era of Good Feelings

Era after the War of 1812, 1812 - 1830 - where the United States flourished, a period of American Nationalism

Industrialization

the process by which an economy is transformed from primarily agricultural to one based on the manufacturing of goods. Individual manual labor is often replaced by mechanized mass production, and craftsmen are replaced by assembly lines

Erie Canal

An artificial waterway built across New York state in the early nineteenth century, linking Lake Erie and the Hudson River. The canal opened trade between New York and the midwestern states and aided in the growth of New York City as a port.

Shipping

Means of transporting goods from one place to another

Cargo

Goods carried by a ship from one location to another

Monroe Doctrine

a principle of US policy, originated by President James Monroe in 1823, that any intervention by external powers in the politics of the Americas is a potentially hostile act against the US

James Monroe

5th President of the United States, established US foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere with the Monroe Doctrine, Settled boundaries with Canada, acquired Florida, President during the Era of Good Feelings, Supported and signed the Missouri Compromise of 1820

Andrew Jackson

7th President of the United States, hero of the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812, Supported the Indian Removal Act, Opposed the concept of state's rights to nullification, vetoed the Second National Bank, began new political party the "Jacksonian Democrats", used the spoils system to give jobs to his supporters.

Bank of the United States

National bank

Nullification Crisis

ensued after South Carolina declared that the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore null and void within the sovereign boundaries of the state

Indian Removal Act

Act of congress that moved Indians from their tribal lands in the Southeast to lands west of the Mississippi River, namely Oklahoma

Cherokee

Native American / Indian Tribe

Native Americans

Indigenous people of the United States

Manifest Destiny

The concept that it was the destiny of the US to expand its borders to incorporate all land between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean

Expansion

Borders of the United States growing or changing to include more lands

Compromise of 1820 or Missouri Compromise

Compromise between the free states and slave states - To keep the peace, Congress orchestrated a two-part compromise, granting Missouri's request but also admitting Maine as a free state. It also passed an amendment that drew an imaginary line across the former Louisiana Territory, establishing a boundary between free and slave regions that remained the law of the land until it was negated by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

Mexican American War

1846 - 1848 - President Polk declared war on Mexico over the dispute of land in Texas. In the end, America ended up with 55% of Mexico's land.

Mexican Cession

Lands sold by Mexico to the US following the Mexican War, 1848. Awarded as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo after the Mexican American War. US paid $15 million for 525,000 square miles.

nationalism

Pride or devotion to one's own country

neutrality

The policy of not taking sides in a dispute or a war

Alien and Sedition Acts

acts passed by Federalists during J. Adams presidency in response to criticism over the XYZ affair, giving the government power to imprison or deport foreign citizens and prosecute critics of the government

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Written anonymously by Jefferson and Madison in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, they declared that states could nullify federal laws that the states considered unconstitutional.

John Adams

2nd president of US, Vice President under G. Washington, scandal of XYZ affair and Alien and Sedition Acts undermined his presidency

Thomas Jefferson

3rd President of the US, opposed the Federalist party started the Democratic-Republican Party, Opposed Hamilton's Financial Plan and Adams's Alien and Sedition Acts, Negotiated the Louisiana Purchase in 1803

John Quincy Adams

6th President of the United States, his election in 1824 was decided in the House of Representatives as a highly controversial 'Corrupt Bargain" with Henry Clay, served 17 years in the House of Representatives AFTER he was president

Henry Clay

Senator from Kentucky, who ran for president five times until his death in 1852. He was a strong supporter of the American System, a war hawk for the War of 1812, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and known as "The Great Compromiser." Negotiated the Missouri Compromise of 1820

John C. Calhoun

Outspoken Southern leader from South Carolina, advocated for states' rights, favored nullification and expansion of slavery

Embargo Act of 1807

This act issued by Jefferson forbade American trading ships from leaving the U.S. It was meant to force Britain and France to change their policies towards neutral vessels by depriving them of American trade. It was difficult to enforce because it was opposed by merchants and everyone else whose livelihood depended upon international trade. It also hurt the national economy, so it was replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act.

Market Revolution

Period in the early 1800s with drastic changes in transportation (canals, RRs), communication (telegraph), and the production of goods (more in factories as opposed to houses)

Transportation Revolution

Term refers to a series of transportation innovations—turnpikes, steamboats, canals, and railroads—that linked local and regional markets, creating a national economy in the early 1800s

Nativism

A belief in the superiority of the way of life of one's home country, in the US this was often associated with a desire to limit immigration

"Know Nothings"

A common name for the American Party, a nativist political organization formed in 1849

Spoils system

A system or practice of giving appointed offices as rewards from the successful party in an election, name for the favoritism system under President Andrew Jackson

Trail of Tears

The forced movement of the Cherokee in 1838-1839 to land west of the Mississippi River, resulted in ~15,000 deaths

reservation

Limited area set aside for Native Americans by the US government

"American System"

Economic program advanced by Henry Clay during John Q. Adams' presidency that included support for a national bank, high tariffs, and internal improvements (canals, roads & RR) emphasized a strong role for the federal government in the economy.

urbanization

Process by which more of a nation's population becomes concentrated in its cities.

Cotton gin

A machine for cleaning the seeds from cotton fibers, invented by Eli Whitney in 1793

"King Cotton"

Expression used by Southern authors and orators before the Civil War to indicate economic dominance of the Southern cotton industry, and that North needed the South's cotton

Worcester v. Georgia

Supreme Court Decision - Cherokee Indians were entitled to federal protection from the actions of state governments which would infringe on the tribe's sovereignty - Jackson ignored it

Homestead Act

1862 law that gave 160 acres of land to citizens willing to live on and cultivate it for five years

Transcontinental Railroad

Completed in 1869 at Promontory, Utah, it linked the eastern railroad system with California's railroad system, revolutionizing transportation in the west

California Gold Rush

Mass migration to California in 1849 following the discovery of gold in 1848

strict constructionist

a person who interprets the Constitution in a way that allows the federal government to take only those actions the Constitution specifically says it can take, typically the POV of Thomas Jefferson

loose constructionist

someone who interprets the Constitution in a way that allows the federal government to take actions that the Constitution doesn't not specifically state, typically the POV of Alexander Hamilton

James K. Polk

11th President of the United States, goal of fulfilling American manifest destiny, Settled the Oregon Territory dispute with Great Britain, Led US in the Mexican American War, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave the US states of CA, AZ, NM, NV

Pacific Railway Act

1862 legislation to encourage the construction of a transcontinental railroad, connecting the West to industries in the Northeast (Union Pacific and Central Pacific RR)

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Treaty that ended the Mexican War, granting the U.S. control of Texas, New Mexico, and California in exchange for $15 million

Gadsden Purchase

purchase of land from Mexico in 1853 that established the present U.S.-Mexico boundary