Learn: U.S. History: Early 19th Century

2nd Great Awakening

A religious revival in the early 1800s that encouraged people to strengthen their faith and improve society through reform movements.

Eli Whitney

Inventor of the cotton gin, which made processing cotton faster, and a supporter of interchangeable parts in manufacturing.

Growth of Canals

Canals were built to connect waterways and make transporting goods and people faster and cheaper.

The District of Columbia

The federal district established as the nation's capital, located between Maryland and Virginia along the Potomac River.

President Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the third U.S. president who reduced the national debt, supported limited government, and purchased Louisiana from France.

Judicial Review

The power of the Supreme Court to declare laws or government actions unconstitutional.

Marbury v. Madison

An 1803 Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review.

John Marshall

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who strengthened the federal government and the power of the judiciary.

Louisiana Purchase

The 1803 purchase of a huge territory from France that nearly doubled the size of the United States.

Lewis and Clark

Explorers sent by President Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Territory and find a route to the Pacific Ocean.

Aaron Burr

Former vice president who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel and was later tried for treason over a disputed plan to create a separate territory.

British Impressments

The British practice of forcing American sailors into the British navy, increasing tensions between Britain and the United States.

Peaceable Coercion

Thomas Jefferson's policy of using an embargo to pressure Britain and France by stopping American trade with foreign countries.

Tecumseh and the Prophet

Shawnee brothers who tried to unite Native American tribes to resist American expansion into their lands.

Battle of Tippecanoe

An 1811 battle in which American forces led by William Henry Harrison fought Native American forces associated with Tecumseh's movement.

War of 1812

A war between the United States and Britain caused by issues including impressment, trade restrictions, and British support for Native American resistance.

Battle of New Orleans

An American victory led by Andrew Jackson in January 1815, fought after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed but before news of the treaty arrived.

Hartford Convention

A meeting of New England Federalists who opposed the War of 1812 and discussed constitutional changes, damaging their party's reputation.

Treaty of Ghent

The 1814 treaty that ended the War of 1812 and largely restored the prewar boundaries.

Second Bank of the US

A national bank established in 1816 to stabilize the economy, manage government funds, and regulate the national currency.

Panic of 1819

The first major peacetime economic depression in the United States, involving bank failures, falling prices, and widespread unemployment.

Missouri Compromise

An 1820 agreement that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state while restricting slavery in much of the remaining Louisiana Territory north of latitude 36°30′.

McCulloch v. Maryland

An 1819 Supreme Court case that upheld the national bank's constitutionality and ruled that states could not tax federal institutions.

Worcester v. Georgia

An 1832 Supreme Court case that recognized the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation and limited Georgia's authority over Cherokee territory.

Monroe Doctrine

An 1823 policy warning European nations not to establish new colonies or interfere in the affairs of independent nations in the Americas.

Corrupt Bargain

The accusation that Henry Clay helped John Quincy Adams win the 1824 presidential election in exchange for being named secretary of state.

Henry Clay's American System

An economic plan promoting protective tariffs, a national bank, and internal improvements such as roads and canals.

Tariff of Abominations

The nickname for the 1828 tariff that raised taxes on many imported goods and angered Southerners who believed it hurt their economy.

Andrew Jackson

The seventh U.S. president, known for expanding presidential power, supporting the common man, opposing the national bank, and promoting Native American removal.

Spoils System

The practice of giving government jobs to political supporters after winning an election.

John C. Calhoun

A South Carolina politician who supported states' rights and slavery and became a major defender of nullification.

Nullification Crisis

A conflict in the early 1830s in which South Carolina claimed it could reject federal tariffs, while President Jackson insisted federal law had to be obeyed.

Martin Van Buren

The eighth U.S. president who took office in 1837 as the country entered a major economic depression.

Trail of Tears

The forced removal of the Cherokee and other Native American peoples from their homelands to territory west of the Mississippi River, causing thousands of deaths.

The Seminole War

A series of conflicts in Florida between the United States and Seminole people who resisted removal from their lands.

The Bank War

Andrew Jackson's political battle against the Second Bank of the United States, which he believed held too much power.

Henry Clay

A Kentucky politician known for the American System and major compromises over slavery and sectional conflicts.

Panic of 1837

A severe economic depression marked by bank failures, business closures, unemployment, and falling prices.

Log Cabin Campaign

William Henry Harrison's 1840 presidential campaign, which presented him as an ordinary frontier man to appeal to voters.

Whigs

A political party formed to oppose Andrew Jackson's use of presidential power; its members generally supported Congress, economic development, and internal improvements.

Rise of Immigration

The increase in people moving to the United States, especially Irish and German immigrants during the 1800s, seeking jobs, land, and better opportunities.

Rise of Nativism

The growth of hostility toward immigrants, often because of fears about jobs, religion, and cultural change.

Know Nothing Party

A political party of the 1850s that opposed immigration and Catholic political influence.

Erie Canal

A canal completed in 1825 that connected the Great Lakes to the Hudson River, making trade between the Midwest and the East Coast cheaper and easier.

Rise of Railroads

The expansion of rail transportation during the 1800s, allowing people and goods to travel faster and helping markets and cities grow.

Corporations

Businesses legally recognized as separate entities from their owners, allowing them to raise money from investors and expand operations.

Emergence of the Factory

The shift from home-based production to centralized workplaces where workers used machinery to produce goods in large quantities.

Lowell Factory

Textile mills in Lowell, Massachusetts, that employed many young women to operate machines and produce cloth during the Industrial Revolution.

Trade Unions

Organizations of workers who joined together to demand better wages, shorter working hours, and safer working conditions.

Commonwealth v. Hunt

An 1842 Massachusetts court case that ruled that labor unions were not automatically illegal conspiracies simply because workers organized.

Cult of Domesticity

A belief that women should focus on home, children, religion, and family life while men worked in public and political life.

Changing Roles of Women

During the 1800s, more women participated in education, reform movements, abolitionism, and the early women's rights movement.

Minstrel Shows

Popular 19th-century performances in which white performers used racist blackface and stereotypes to portray Black people; they helped spread racist ideas.

T. Barnum

P. T. Barnum was an American showman and businessman who became famous for creating exhibitions and promoting entertainment spectacles.

Rise of Commercial Agriculture

The shift toward farming crops and raising livestock primarily to sell for profit rather than only to feed one's family.