Unit 4: Unit 4: Expansion of the United States (1800-1848)

Louisiana Purchase

Jefferson purchased Louisiana territory from France; unclear whether he had this power but he did it anyways; fit with his agricultural vision of American society; doubled the size of the United States and gave them control of New Orleans port and the Mississippi River trade

Lewis and Clark Expedition

a pivotal US exploration of the newly acquired western territories following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; aimed to map the unexplored lands, establish relations with Native American tribes, and search for a water route to the Pacific Ocean

Manifest Destiny

a popular 19th-century belief in the United States that America had a divinely ordained mission to expand westward across the continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean

Marbury vs. Madison

case that established principle of judicial review

judicial review

the judicial branch has the power to decide if a law passed by Congress is constitutional and require them to take it back

Barbary Pirates

would hijack ships in the Mediterranean Sea and make the United States pay tribute under Washington and Adams; Jefferson sent the Navy to fight them off— didn’t completely win but reduced attacks

impressment

British would capture Americans and force them to serve in the British Navy

Hijacking of American Ships

France and Britain kept seizing American trading ships and taking their cargo

Embargo of 1807

stopped trade with Europe with the goal of hurting European economies until they stopped seizing American ships; plan backfired and ends up hurting American economy, Congress repeals in 1809

James Madison

vice president of Thomas Jefferson, Democratic-Republican, “Father of the Constitution”

Causes of the War of 1812

Americans continued to have conflict with native groups as they push westward and take more Native land, and many think the British are supporting indigenous tribes; British hijacking American ships; “War Hawks” in Congress wanted to go to war with England to take Canada

War of 1812

a conflict between the United States and Great Britain, primarily over control of North America, trade restrictions, and impressment of American sailors

Treaty of Ghent

the peace treaty that formally ended the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain; largely restored pre-war conditions; agreed to return any captured gains during the war

nationalism

national pride

Hartford Convention

in the early 1800s, Federalists were losing power and was upset about the War of 1812; some gathered in Hartford to discuss amending the Constitution and perhaps seceding New England from the United States; people found out about the convention and the Federalist party fell

Era of Good Feelings

there is only one political party— the Democratic-Republicans, and there was supposedly more political unity; heightened sense of nationalism; disagreements within the Democratic-Republican party

The Panic of 1819

serious economic depression caused in part by the national bank managing the economy badly

American System

Henry Clay’s proposal to create protective tariffs to support American manufacturing and raise money, reauthorize the national bank, and spend tariff revenue on internal improvements; first two passed

The Missouri Compromise

Missouri became a slave state and Maine a free state; remaining territories to the west would be split

Annexation of Florida

when enslaved people who had escaped and indigenous groups start raiding Georgia from Florida, the United States army used this as an excuse to attack Florida (owned by Spain); Spain decides to sell Florida instead of fighting

The Monroe Doctrine

many European colonies in South and Central America (Mexico, Venezuela, Haiti, etc.) started overthrowing European colonizers; Monroe says as long as Europe doesn’t intervene in the Americas, the United States won’t intervene in Europe

Corrupt Bargain

Henry Clay uses his influence in the House to help get John Quincy Adams elected in the Election of 1824; Adams appoints Clay to be his Secretary of State

Democrats

supports local rule, limited government, free trade, opportunity for white males; supported by the South and West, Urban workers

Whigs

American System; supported by New England, Mid-Atlantic, Protestants, urban professionals

Andrew Jackson

general for the United States during the War of 1812, Democrat, first president who did not come from wealth

The “Age of the Common Man”

common belief that through hard work a white man could climb his way up from poverty to wealth; United States becomes more democratic; universal white male suffrage; more elected offices at various levels of government

Panic of 1837

a major financial crisis in the United States that led to a severe economic depression lasting into the 1840s; happened because Jackson vetoed the bank renewal, took all federal funds out of the national bank and put them in state banks

Nullification Crisis

South Carolina threatens to secede from the United States because they are mad about tariffs; Jackson threatens military; South Carolina backs off, but Jackson lowers tariffs anyways (because he dislikes them)

Indian Removal Act

a U.S. federal law passed in 1830 during the presidency of Andrew Jackson; authorized the forced removal of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river, in what is now Oklahoma

Worcester v. Georgia

members of the Cherokee Nation sued the state of Georgia; claimed it unconstitutional for Georgia to force them off their lands; Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee but Jackson refused to enforce the Supreme Court decision

Trail of Tears

1/3 of the 15,000 Cherokee forced to march along this route; harsh conditions led to a plethora of deaths; forced to relocate off their homelands to reservations

Martin Van Buren

Democrat; followed Jackson’s policies but became unpopular when the Panic of 1837 struck

William Henry Harrison

Whig; died of pneumonia a month after taking office

John Tyler

Whig with Democratic policies; William Henry Harrison successor; term mostly uneventful

social movement

when a large group of people collectively take action to demand an important change in society

“Age of Reform”

the time period between 1830 and 1850 where many social movements arose during this time

transcendentalists

groups of artists and intellectuals that challenged materialism, arguing that reflection, individual freedom, and art are more important than money; Henry Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson

Utopian Communities

egalitarian communities where land, money, and property were shared; Brook Farm, the Oneida Community, and New Harmony; inspired by Transcendentalists

Second Great Awakening

major religious revival led by fiery preachers who promised that all can achieve salvation if they make the world a better place and show faith in God

Temperance Movement

movement to ban the sale of alcohol in order to end alcoholism; some states banned or restricted sale of alcohol, but no major victories; Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the American Temperance Society

Asylum Movement

sought to improve treatment of people with mental illnesses by putting them in asylums instead of prisons

Prison Reform Movement

sought to improve conditions in prisons, and create more of an emphasis on rehabilitation, rather than just punishment

Public Schools Movement

appealed to the government to provide free public schools for all; classist undertones for some supporters— goal to teach reading and morality to the poor to make sure they were properly “civilized”

Women’s Suffrage Movement

in response to sexist philosophy in which men run everything; fought for the right to vote, right to own property after marriage, the right to divorce, and the right to attend college and enter professional careers

Seneca Falls Convention

the first women's rights convention in the United States, marking a pivotal moment in the early women's suffrage movement; organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

a key figure in the women's rights movement, particularly for her role in organizing the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848; drafted the “Declaration of Sentiments”

Susan B. Anthony

prominent American social reformer and women's rights activist, best known for her central role in the women's suffrage movement; co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association

Declaration of Sentiments

asserts the equality of all men and women and calls for women's full citizenship, including the right to vote

Harriet Tubman

an African American abolitionist and political activist born into slavery who escaped and subsequently made over 13 missions to rescue around 70 enslaved people using the Underground Railroad

Frederick Douglass

a prominent African American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman who escaped from slavery and became a leading voice in the fight for the rights of African Americans; powerful speeches and writing

Sojourner Truth

an African American abolitionist and women's rights activist, born into slavery in New York in 1797 and later becoming a powerful voice for equality and justice; “Ain’t I a Woman?”

The Underground Railroad

a secret network of abolitionists, both Black and White, who secretly aided enslaved people in escaping to freedom in free states or Canada before the Civil War; provided routes, safe houses, and other resources

slave insurrections

rebellions or armed uprisings by enslaved people, primarily in the United States, aimed at achieving freedom or resisting the institution of slavery

Nat Turner’s Rebellion

the largest and bloodiest rebellion of enslaved people in United States history; Turner believed he had seen a vision from God, and led a revolt of more than forty enslaved people; defeated by state and federal troops

strategies used by Northern abolitionists

giving speeches, helping enslaved people escape, boycotting products made with slave labor, sending petitions to Congress, holding conferences, creating organizations, publishing newspapers

The Market Revolution

different parts of the country were increasingly connected via trade and market; reliant on each other economically

telegraph

used to send messages across distances using Morse Code

The Northeast

the first region of the country to significantly urbanize and industrialize

cities in the Northeast in the early 1800s

overcrowded, polluted, lots of disease, lots of crime, poorly constructed buildings, increase in alcoholism, long working hours

factory worker demographics

majority were white men, however, some women and children were employed for lower prices because men did not want the jobs; women thought to be more obedient; black people not likely to be hired

immigrants from Europe in the early 1800s

predominantly from Ireland and Germany; came fleeing famine, violent revolutions, and seeked better economic opportunities

nativists

individuals who hold a policy or ideology that prioritizes the interests of native-born or long-term residents of a country over those of immigrants, often advocating for restrictions on immigration

early unions

formed in the North in the early 1800s in response to difficult factory conditions; relatively few successes because of violent opposition

The Midwest

connected the Northeast by network of railroads and canals; Chicago; primary industry is agriculture, new breadbasket of the United States

The South

mostly rural and agricultural, cash crop focused; strict racial and economic hierarchy

cotton gin

a machine invented by Eli Whitney, revolutionized cotton production by efficiently separating seeds from cotton fibers

The West

not heavily populated until the mid-1800s; people lived far from each other and had to survive hardships with little technology; gender roles somewhat more equal as women had to take on responsibilities

McCulloch v. Maryland

affirmed the constitutionality of the National Bank, broadly interpreting the “necessary and proper” clause to grant Congress broad powers; established that states cannot interfere with the operation of federal institutions

Gibbons vs. Ogden

broadened the definition of interstate commerce, granting Congress extensive power over interstate trade and transportation, and further strengthening federal authority

Lowell System

the employment of young women from the New England countryside to operate machines in textile factories