Chapter 8 History-Era of Good Feelings

Second Bank of the United States

A national bank established in 1816, following the chartering of the First Bank of the United States, to regulate currency and credit and to help stabilize the economy.

Francis Cabot Lowell

An American businessman who was instrumental in the American Industrial Revolution, particularly in establishing textile mills in Massachusetts that utilized the factory system.

Infant industries

Newly established industries in a country that need protection from foreign competition until they become strong enough to compete on their own.

Protective tariff

A tax imposed on imported goods to protect domestic industries from foreign competition by making imported goods more expensive.

Internal improvements

Infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges, and canals, aimed at improving transportation and communication within a country, especially during the 19th century.

Albert Gallatin

A Swiss-American politician and diplomat who served as Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Jefferson and Madison, known for his efforts to reduce national debt and promote internal improvements.

National Road

A federally funded highway that connected the eastern United States with the western frontier, helping to facilitate westward expansion and trade.

Robert Fulton

An American engineer and inventor best known for developing the first commercially successful steamboat, the Clermont, which revolutionized transportation on American rivers.

Population increase

The growth in the number of people in the United States, especially during the early 19th century, due to factors like immigration and natural birth rates.

Old Northwest

The region in the U.S. composed of the present-day states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota, acquired after the American Revolution through the Northwest Ordinance.

Black Belt

A region of the southern United States, particularly in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, characterized by fertile soil suitable for cotton cultivation, and a heavy concentration of enslaved people.

American Fur Company

A leading fur trading company in the early 19th century, founded by John Jacob Astor, which helped shape the economy and settlement of the American West.

John Jacob Astor

A German-American business magnate who made a fortune in the fur trade and later invested in real estate, becoming one of the wealthiest individuals in early America.

Mountain men

Fur trappers and explorers who ventured into the American West during the 19th century, opening up the frontier and contributing to the exploration and settlement of the region.

Great American Desert

A term used in the early 19th century to describe the arid, largely unsettled Great Plains, which was later seen as suitable for settlement and agriculture after the expansion of the railroad.

Virginia Dynasty

Refers to the group of U.S. Presidents from Virginia who dominated the early years of the republic, including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.

James Monroe

The fifth president of the United States (1817-1825), known for the Monroe Doctrine, which asserted American dominance in the Western Hemisphere and warned European powers against interference.

Era of Good Feelings

A period during Monroe's presidency marked by political unity, national growth, and the absence of partisan conflict, though it was also characterized by economic challenges.

John Quincy Adams

The sixth president of the United States (1825-1829), known for his diplomatic successes, such as the Adams-Onís Treaty, and his promotion of national improvements, though his presidency was marked by political divisions.

Seminole War

A series of conflicts between the United States and the Seminole Tribe in Florida (1817-1818), driven by U.S. efforts to remove the Seminoles from their land.

Andrew Jackson

The seventh president of the United States (1829-1837), known for his populist policies, the Indian Removal Act, and his leadership during the Battle of New Orleans and the Nullification Crisis.

Adams-Onís Treaty (1819)

A treaty between the U.S. and Spain, in which Spain ceded Florida to the U.S. and established the boundary between U.S. territory and Spanish holdings in North America.

Panic of 1819

The first widespread economic depression in the U.S., caused by a combination of land speculation, a decline in international trade, and bank failures, leading to widespread unemployment and poverty.

Tallmadge Amendment

A proposal in 1819 to admit Missouri as a free state, which included provisions to gradually abolish slavery there. It was part of the debate over the expansion of slavery into new territories.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Legislation that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, while establishing the 36°30' line to determine the status of slavery in future territories.

John Marshall

The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835, known for establishing the principle of judicial review and strengthening the role of the federal government in cases like McCulloch v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden.

Fletcher v. Peck (1810)

A landmark Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that a state law that violated the Constitution (in this case, a Georgia land grant) was unconstitutional, affirming the sanctity of contracts.

Dartmouth v. Woodward (1819)

A Supreme Court case that upheld the charter of Dartmouth College, ruling that private contracts and charters could not be altered by states, strengthening the protection of private corporations.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

A Supreme Court decision that confirmed the supremacy of federal laws over state laws and upheld the constitutionality of the Second Bank of the United States, using the 'necessary and proper' clause.

Necessary and proper clause

A section of the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8) that grants Congress the power to make all laws necessary and proper for executing its powers, often used to justify broad federal powers.

The power to tax is the power to destroy

A phrase from McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), used by Chief Justice Marshall to argue that a state's power to tax a federal entity (like the Bank of the United States) would give the state the power to destroy the federal government.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

A Supreme Court case that strengthened federal power over interstate commerce, ruling that the federal government, not the states, had the authority to regulate navigation between states.

Nation within a nation

A phrase used to describe Native American tribes' legal status as sovereign entities with the right to govern themselves, often in conflict with U.S. government policies.

Monroe Doctrine

A U.S. foreign policy statement (1823) declaring that the Western Hemisphere was closed to further European colonization and that the U.S. would not interfere in European affairs.

Election of 1824

A highly contested presidential election in which Andrew Jackson won the popular vote but lost in the House of Representatives to John Quincy Adams, who then became president.

Corrupt Bargain

A term used by Andrew Jackson and his supporters to describe the alleged deal between John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay during the election of 1824, where Clay's support for Adams allegedly helped him win the presidency in exchange for becoming Secretary of State.

Tariff of Abominations

The nickname for the Tariff of 1828, which raised tariffs on imported goods and angered Southern states, particularly South Carolina, which called it unconstitutional and unjust.

Age of the Common Man

A term used to describe the period of Andrew Jackson's presidency (1829-1837), marked by the expansion of suffrage to all white men, the rise of populist politics, and increased political participation among ordinary citizens.