Chapter 9-10

Expanding Democracy

• democratic revolution

• right to vote expanded in much of the us to include all white men or at least lowered property and tax paying requirements

• changes start west and move east to prevent mass exodus (1810s on)

• result: more elected officials are middling men. turn to gov to advance business, religious, and cultural causes

• electors chosen by popular vote in all state bu SC

Dorr Rebellion

• Thomas Dorr led the “People Party” to challenge the obsolete Rhode Island constitution

• drafted a new constitution and submitted it to popular vote - passed overwhelmingly, state legislature didn’t accept it

• Dorr became the governor of a second government of Rhode Island

• Rebellion eventually failed but pressured the state to draft a new constitution w/ expanded suffrage

Limitations to expanded suffrage

• Massachusetts conservatives were able to maintain taxpayer requirement + made it that governor must own considerable real estate

• south still greatly favored planters and politicians of older counties over those of the west

• slaves, free african americans, and women still couldn’t vote

• no secret ballot

Alexis de Tocqueville

• french aristocrat who observed political changes in the US under Jackson

• wrote: Democracy in America

• noted that traditional aristocracies were fading in the us - new elite

• limited democracy: only white men

• helped spread idea of american democracy in France + rest of europe

The Legitimization of Party

• parties = political machines

• in 1820s and 1830s: increased acceptance of parties in politics

• started at state level w/ Martin Van Buren’s Bucktails in NY and then spread nationwide within Jacksonian Democrats

• loyalty to party + party discipline became more important than ideological commitments

  • party newspapers: controlled the media

• thought opposing parties would serve as checks and balances (bucktail philosophy)

National two party system

• started in the 1830s

• anti-jackson forces: whigs

• pro-jackson: democrats

Jackson’s goals as president

• democracy should protect all white male citizens equally regardless of class or region

• pushed subjugation of natives

• wanted to dismantle the eastern aristocracy: removed 1/5 of federal officeholders

• embraced the “spoils system” where elected officials appoint their own followers to public office (kitchen cabinet)

• scrapped congressional caucus for a national party convention/party caucus (where they would discuss party aims)

• wanted to reduce federal gov but wanted it to be supreme over the state

• destroy clay’s american system: vetoed internal improvements

Calhoun and Nullification

• south carolinians threatened secession during the tariff of abominations

• Calhoun proposed theory of nullification - states had final arbitration on constitutionality of federal laws

• idea was popular in S. Carolina

Rise of Van Buren

• Van Buren was Jackson’s secretary of state - became member of kitchen cabinet

• had a lot of influence with the president

Webster-Hayne Debate

• Robert Y. Hayne: S.C Senator - was against slowing growth of the west cus he thought the south and west were victims of the tyranny of the northeast, wanted to create alliance between westerners and southerners against the tariff

• Daniel Webster: massachusetts senator and nationalistic whig: attached Hayne and Calhoun and said they were trying to break up the union

• Hayne responded w/ Theory of Nullification

• Webster’s “second reply to Hayne”: liberty and union are inseparable

• Jackson supported Webster

The Nullification Crisis

• 1832: new congressional tariff bill passed

• S.C. legislature summoned a state convention to nullify the tariffs of 1828 and 1832

• S.C. elected Hayne as governor and Calhoun as senator

• Jackson called nullification treason - and strengthened federal forts in SC

• Jackson proposed a force bill to congress authorizing military use

• Clay avoided violence by proposing a compromise (Tariff of 1833) to gradually lower the tariff till it reached 1816 levels - repealed nullification but got their aim

• Jackson upheld the union and took away another part of the American system

White Attitude Towards the Tribes

• increasing hostile attitudes toward natives (especially in the west)

• white westerners favored removal (to avoid conflict and gain territory)

The Black Hawk War

• Black Hawk led an alliance of Sauk and Fox Indians in refusing to recognize Illinois’ treaty that gave away their land

• Illinois assembled a state militia + federal troops

• Bad Axe Massacre of 1832: white fighters super brutal in their attack: natives slaughtered as they retreated

Indian Removal Act (1830)

• passed by congress

• finance federal negotiations w/ southern tribes to relocate them west “in perpetuity” - most tribes ceded their land

Cherokee Resistance

• in georgia, cherokees appelaed to the supreme court (cherokee nation v. Goergia + Worcester v. Georiga kind of in their favor but didn’t do much)

• 1835: minority unrepresentative faction of cherokee signed a treaty ceding Georgia land - most cherokee refused to lead

• Jackson sent an army under General Winfield Scott to round them up and move them west @ Bayonet Point

Trail of Tears

• natives were forced to make treacherous journeys west; many died: The Trail of Tears (worst of the Trail of Tears was in Van Buren’s Presidency)

• all of the “5 civilized tribes” were moved to the newly created Indiana Territory (on the edge of the “Great American Desert”)

2nd Seminole Wars

• seminoles semi-succesfully held their land in florida

• natives + runaway slaves engaged in Guerilla Warfare, mostly massacred but Seminoles were never fully removed

The Death of the National Bank

• in 1830 was the most powerful financial institution - helped keep money stable

• Nicholas Biddle: president of the bank

• Two financial opinions:

  • Soft Money: want to print more money not backed by gold and silver (wanted more power to state banks)

  • Hard Money: money should be backed by gold and silver - jackson supported

• Biddle gained support of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay who advised him to apply for renewable in 1832 (4 years before the end of the charter) so that the bank would become a major issue in the 1832 elections

• Congress passed a recharter bill, Jackson Vetoed it but it went in his favor cause he overwhelmingly defeated Clay in reelection

Jackson v. Biddle (battle of the egos)

• jackson couldn’t abolish the bank till the charter was up so he tried to weaken it by removing government deposits (against the advice of 2 treasury secretaries whom he fired)

• new sec Roger B. Taney went along with it: put money into pet state banks

• Biddle called in loans and raised interest rate to cause a small recession - which would supposedly prove the necessity of the bank

• economic issues went too far however and Biddle had to go back to giving loans - mostly ended his chances of getting bank rechartered

• however, when the bank died in 1836 the country was left w/ a very unstable banking system

  • this caused recution in power of federal gov

Taney Court

• after Marshall died in 1835 pres appointed Roger B. Taney as chief justice

• Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837): state had right to amend a contract if it is necessary for general well being (dismantling Marshal’s nationalistic policies) - anti-monopoly

• showed Jacksonian ideal of expanding economic opportunity

Democrats

• wanted to expand economic and political opportunities for white males, limit government’s role, attack corrupt privilege

• most radical democrats Locofocos - wanted a violent assault on monopoly and privilege

• had most support from smaller working men of the northeast, southern planters suspicious of industrialization, and from westerners

• Irich and German Catholics supported them

• election of 1836: democrats united behind Van Buren - won easily

Whigs

• favored expanding the federal gov, encouraging commercial and industrial development, consolidate the economy, cautious of westward expansion

• most support from merchants and the manufacturers in the northeast, wealthy planters in the south, and commercial class of the west

• connected w/ anti-masons (society against the secretive and undemocratic freemasons)

  • whigs posed as opponents of aristocracy and exclusivity

• Evangelical Protestants supported them

• couldn’t unite party under a single figure: "the great triumvirate”: Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John Calhoun

• election of 1838: couldn’t decide on one candidate so sent three

Economy before Van Buren

• 1838: economic boom - government surplus

• distribution act passed by congress in 1836 requiring federal gov to pay surplus funding to states

• boom in western land sales and speculation (not controlled by congress)

• Jackson passed “specie circular” right before leaving: sale of public lands could only be made in gold or silver (to try to control speculation) but all gold and silver were in the pet banks

Panic of 1837

• specie circular caused a financial panic

  • banks and businesses failed - no national bank to give government loans

  • rising unemployment

  • bread riots

  • prices fell (esp of land)

  • infrastructure projects failed - loss of workers

• Panics in england and western europe caused european investors to withdraw funds from America

• Crop failures: decreasing purchasing power of farmers, increased imports

• Van Buren administration did little to fight it

Van Buren’s financial plan

• independent treasury/subtreasury system

• gov would put it money in independent treasury in washington and sub treasuries in other cities (divorced gov from banks)

The Log Cabin Campaign

• whigs held first national nominating convention, convention chose William Henry Harrison for pres and John Tyler for VP

• Democrats nominated Van Buren but didn’t nominate a VP

• both parties used mass voter appeal: whigs painted Harrison as a simple frostiersman and made Van Buren look like an aristocrat (+ he was blamed for panic)

• Harrison won the election of 1840

Tyler: split of the whigs

• Harrison died one month after taking office - Tyler became pres (he’s basically a democrat)

• abolished Van Buren’s independent treasury program + increased tariffs but refused to support Clay’s rechartering of the national bank or internal improement bill

• Tyler very unpopular among politicians: whigs kicked Tyler from the party, cabinet members resigned (and replaced by former democrats)

• conservative southern whigs were preparing to rejoin democrats

Whig Diplomacy (almost war with england)

• eastern canada launched a rebellion against the British in 1837: chartered an american steam ship to ship supplies

• British seized and burned ship, killing an american:

  • NY authorities arrested Canadian responsible and were going to try him for murder; British threaten war if he is executed

  • NY court acquitted him

• Tension over boundary between Canada and Maine

  • violent brawl in Aroostook river region (Aroostook War)

Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842

• firm northern border between US and Canada

• protected critical trade routes

Diplomatic relations with China

• during Tyler’s administration the US developed its first diplomatic relations w/ China after Britain forced China to open ports in 1842

• Treaty of Wang Hya: gives US trade rights + most favored national privileges + extraterritoriality

Election of 1844 (changes in democracy)

• whigs lost election of 1844

• democrats = majority cus of ethnocultural politics (vote along ethnic and religious lines)

• universal male suffrage and organized system of representative government that was responsive to ordinary citizens

• women, poc, and natives still can’t vote

American Pop (1820-1840)

• population increasing rapidly

• much of it was moving from the countryside into industrialized cities of the northeast and northwest + migrating west

• increased public health, decreased mortality rates, and high birth rates added to pop

• immigration revived in the 1830s b/c of lower transportation costs and higher economic opportunities in America

Immigration to the US

• major groups: Irish Catholics (unskilled laborers in the northeast), Germans (farmers in the northwest), and Brits

• immigrants flowed into the northeast and northwest (not the south for the most part)

Growth of cities (1840-1860)

• accelerated more between 1840 and 1860 cause of trade and industry

• cities in West grew as the agricultural economy boomed and shipping increased

• Atlantic seaports are important for foreign trade + finance and manufacturers

• growth of cities was most rapid on fall lines until the steam engine, also large cities in places where goods change transportation

Nativism

• hostility toward foreign-born ppl

• believed immigrants were unfit to live w/ Americans and were stealing jobs

• protestants and Whigs mad cus immigrants were often Catholic and voted democrat

  • increasing anti-catholic sentiment: Samuel B. Morse “forgein conspiracy against the liberties of the US”

Nativist Parties

• secret societies to combat “alien menage”

• Native American Association

• nativist convention in Philadelphia formed the Native American Party/ American party (Know nothings)

• nativists combined to create the supreme order of the Star Spangled Banner: endorsed not letting Catholics or foreign-born people run for office

• nativists successful in elections of 1854 but not much past that

The Canal Age

• canals = much more economical than highways or steamboats on rivers

  • this means lower cost of goods

• connected the economy of the northeast with the west

• states + private investors took lead in constructing them

  • NY: Erie Canal

  • NY became an important destination for agricultural goods and other products

  • Ohio and Indiana made water connections between Lake Erie and the Ohio River

• Canals made migration westward easier

The Early Railroads

• hauled passengers and cargo

• used to connect water routes

• no standardization or regulation: differing rail gauge, hectic schedules, etc. (causes inefficiency)

• improvements in the 1830s and 1840s: heavier iron rails, steam locomotives, more stable + comfortable passenger cars

Railroads after 1850s

• burst in railroad construction in the 1850s (the northeast had the most efficient and abundant)

• consolidation: large companies would buy out smaller ones to have a monopoly over areas

• short lines give way to trunk lines (longer)

  • railroads crossed Appalachian mountains to connect northeast and northwest

• Chicago became rail center of the west

• lessened dependence of west on mississippi river: weakened connection between northwest and south

• capital to finance railroads: investors, borrowed $ from abroad, local govs, and public land grants from federal gov

The Telegraph

• invention of telegraph allowed instant communication between far cities

• Samuel F.B. Morse contributed to the single wire telegraph + made morse code

• western union telegraph company: more than 50,000 miles of wire connected the country by 1860

Innovation in Journalism

• Richard Hoe invented the steam cylinder rotary press in 1846 which made rapidly printing newspaper possible

• 1846: newspaper publishers around nation formed associated press (shared news with telegraph)

• major metropolitan newspapers: most from north which meant northerners had monopoly on news while southerners felt sidelined (fueled sectional discord)

Expansion of Business (1820-1840)

• business grew due to the increasing population, the transportation revolution, and more ruthless entrepreneurs

• large cities changed the retail distribution of goods to be more specific

• rise of corporations

  • states passed a general incorporation law where corps could receive charters by paying a fee

• limited liability corporations: increase capital for manufacturing and business (made investing possible for the “little guy”)

• businesses still relied on credit: borrowed - not enough hard money which caused banks to start circulating unofficial currency

The Emergence of the Factory

• growth of factories caused by improved tech and increased demand for product

• started in New England textile industry w/ waterpowered machines that brought their operation under one roof - spread rapidly

• employed people w/ very specific tasks in production line

• most factory growth in northeast

• for the first time, value of manufactured good = agricultural products

Advances in Industrial Technology

• new innovation came rapidly

• machine tools + standardizd parts

• interchangeable parts used in factories

• coal replaces wood and water: factories could move farther from running streams

The Native Workforce

• not much supply of unskilled laborers

• increased productivity of western farming due to improving tech caused decreased need for farmers so they left to work in factories

• 2 recruiting strategies: recruit families and recruit women

• labor conditions better than europe @ this point esp for women in Lowell system who gained a sense of freedom and autonomy in their work

Downturn of working conditions

• w/ competition corps couldn’t maintain high working standards: wages fell, hours increased, working conditions deteriorated

  • women are pushed to other professions

• women organised unions + strikes - mostly failed

• immigrants become a new labor force because they are more willing to accept bad conditions

• Deskilling: artisan labor in decline because they couldn’t compete

Immigrant workforce

• willing to work for less

• harsh working conditions

• animosity with native workers

Unions

• national trade unions formed

• often failed due to harsh laws and courts + isolation and infighting (esp between american born and immigrant laborers)

• Commonwealth v. Hunt: unions are lawful and strikes are allowed (Mass. Supreme Court)

• Female protection unions

• Idea of “Free Labor” (individualism and freedom) discourage ppl from joining trade unions

Urban Wealthy

• wealth concentration in hands of the few increased wealth gap

• wealthy culture formed

  • central park: place for wealthy - displaced urban poor

• Cities became segregated along class, race, and ethnicity lines

Urban Poor

• very poor

• homeless

• worst off: immigrants (often barred from services or employment) and free blacks (access to only low-paying jobs, couldn’t vote or attend public schools/services, segregated)

  • free blacks still preferred poor freedom than slavery

The Middle Class

• middle class = fastest growing group cause of economic development and increased opportunities

• middle-class women: domestic work; immigrant women often hired as servants

• stressed education and religion

• inventions: cast iron stoves made cooking easier + diversification of agriculture meant more variety of food available in cities

• middle class has a more comfortable lifestyle

Changing Family Dynamics

• families moved from farms to urban areas

• sons + daughters leave families in search of work

• less labor within the house/family means more hired workers

• farm women do more domestic tasks

• distinction of public and private world

• decreasing birth rate: birth control, abortions, abstinence

Women and Cult of Domesticity

• sharp distinction between role of men and women (two spheres)

• women had very little legal or political rights

• women couldn’t get higher education in most places

• women: important as mothers, wives, and consumers

• distinctive female culture

• women gave religious and moral instruction

• working-class women still had to work

Leisure activities

• public leisure

  • minstrel shows

  • violent sporting events

Northeastern Agriculture

• decreasing agriculture in northeast because they couldn’t compete w/ richer soil of the northwest

• rise of dairy farms + hay and fruit production: truck farming: where farmers would specialize and supply nearby eastern cities with products

The Old Northwest

• northwest was steady in industrial growth

• Chicago: blend of agriculture and industry

• focused on cash crops (agricultural specialization)

  • wheat = staple crop of northwest

• new tech = more efficient production

Farming Innovation

• John Deere’s Steel Plow

• Cyrus H. McCormick’s automatic reaper