Key Events and Supreme Court Cases in U.S. History and Social Movements

Seneca Falls Convention

First major women's rights convention in U.S. history, organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott.

Declaration of Sentiments

Modeled after the Declaration of Independence, calling for women's equality, including suffrage.

Significance of Seneca Falls Convention

Launched the organized women's rights movement; sowed the seeds for later suffrage activism (Susan B. Anthony, NAWSA).

McCulloch v. Maryland

Supreme Court case that upheld the Bank and denied Maryland's right to tax it.

Implied powers

Powers not explicitly stated in the Constitution but necessary for the government to function.

Federal supremacy

The principle that federal law takes precedence over state law.

Significance of McCulloch v. Maryland

Major expansion of federal power, foundation for later federal authority.

Charles Grandison Finney

Leading preacher of the Second Great Awakening.

Beliefs of Charles Grandison Finney

Emphasized free will, personal salvation, emotional preaching, and moral reform (especially abolitionism and temperance).

Significance of Charles Grandison Finney

Helped spark evangelical reform movements; connected religious revivalism to antebellum social activism.

Lowell Mills

Textile factory system in Massachusetts using 'Lowell girls' — young, unmarried women.

Importance of Lowell Mills

Early example of industrialization in the U.S.; introduced the factory system and regimented work schedule.

Significance of Lowell Mills

Showed shift from household production to wage labor and the rise of early labor activism.

Comparative Historiographies of Jackson's Bank War

Different interpretations of Jackson's actions regarding the Bank, ranging from democratic hero to reckless populist.

The Alamo

Site of a pivotal battle during the Texas Revolution where Texan rebels were defeated by Santa Anna's forces.

Significance of The Alamo

Became a rallying cry: 'Remember the Alamo!'; fueled American support for Texan independence.

Lincoln's Message to the Illinois Legislature

Challenged President Polk to show the exact spot where American blood was spilled during the Mexican War.

Significance of Lincoln's Message

Early example of Lincoln's constitutionalism and anti-war criticism; showed sectional tensions over expansion and slavery.

David Walker

Free Black abolitionist; author of Walker's Appeal (1829).

Content of Walker's Appeal

Called for immediate emancipation and urged enslaved people to resist violently if necessary.

Impact of Walker's Appeal

Shocked white southerners; led to stricter slave codes and influenced later radical abolitionists.

James Madison, 1812

Context of rising tensions, War Hawks, impressment of U.S. sailors leading to his war message.

Message to Congress (June 1812)

Britain violated U.S. neutrality → impressment, interference with trade, stirring up Native American resistance.

Significance of Madison's War Message

Asserted American sovereignty; showed shift from Jeffersonian restraint to more assertive nationalism.

Hard Cider Campaign

Election campaign for William Henry Harrison (Whig) portraying him as a man of the common people.

Significance of Hard Cider Campaign

Turning point in mass political campaigning; demonstrated appeal to common man imagery.