John Quincy Adams
(1767-1848) Son of President John Adams and the secretary of state to James Monroe, he largely formulated the Monroe Doctrine. He was the sixth president of the United States and later became a representative in Congress.
Henry Clay
Distinguished senator from Kentucky, who ran for president five times until his death in 1852. He was a strong supporter of the American System, a war hawk for the War of 1812, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and known as "The Great Compromiser." Participates in the corrupt bargain to become secretary of state.
William H. Crawford
a former congressman from Georgia; candidate for the Election of 1824; had a stroke
Andrew Jackson
The seventh President of the United States (1829-1837), who as a general in the War of 1812 defeated the British at New Orleans (1815). As president he opposed the Bank of America, objected to the right of individual states to nullify disagreeable federal laws, and increased the presidential powers.
Corrupt Bargain
Refers to the presidential election of 1824 in which Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House, convinced the House of Representatives to elect Adams rather than Jackson (in return for becoming Secretary of State)
Five Civilized Tribes
Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, Chickasaws, and Seminoles; "civilized" due to their intermarriage with whites, forced out of their homelands by expansion. Farmed like whites, had slaves, some christian
Sequoyah
Cherokee who created a notation for writing the Cherokee language (1770-1843)
National Republicans
After the 1824 election, part of the Democratic - Republican party joined John Q. Adams, Clay, and Daniel Webster to oppose Andrew Jackson. They favored nationalistic measures like recharter of the Bank of the United States, high tariffs, and internal improvements at national expense. They were supported mainly by Northwesterners and were not very successful. They were conservatives alarmed by Jackson's radicalness; they joined with the Whigs in the 1830's.
Inaugural Brawl
Derisive term given to open-to-public inauguration ceremony of Jackson; people from the masses came to the inauguration of Old Hickory (Jackson) common folk were looking for prestigious political office from the people's man
William Marcy
"to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy"
Spoils System
the practice of a successful political party giving public office to its supporters (Jackson); heavy in Pennsylvania and New York; illiterates, incompetents, and crooks given office
Samuel Swartwout
jackson supporter who was awarded the lucrative post of collector of the customs of the port of New York under the Spoils System, despite warnings of his untrustworthiness. He eventually left for England, leaving his accounts short, and thus stealing more than a million dollars from the government.
Daniel Webster
Senator of Massachusetts; famous American politician & orator; advocated renewal & opposed the financial policy of Jackson; many of the principles of finance he spoke about were later incorporated in the Federal Reserve System; later pushed for a strong union and protective tariffs.
Tariff of Abominations
Tariff passed by Congress in 1828 that favored manufacturing in the North and was hated by the South; South hated because they felt like it targeted them and slavery
Denmark Vesey
A mulatto who inspired a group of slaves to seize Charleston, South Carolina in 1822, but one of them betrayed him and he and his thirty-seven followers were hanged before the revolt started.
South Carolina Exposition and Protest
Written in 1828 by Vice President Calhoun of S. Carolina to protest the the "Tariff of Abominations", which seemed to favor Northern industry; urged nullification; introduced the concept of state interposition & became the basis for S. Carolina's Nullification Doctrine of 1833.
Alexis de Tocqueville
He wrote a two-volume Democracy in America that contained insights and pinpointed the general equality among people. He wrote that inequalities were less visible in America than France.
Tariff of 1832
Reduced the Tariff of 1828, but was not sufficient enough for Southerners (still protective).
Nullification Crisis
Southerners favored freedom of trade & believed in the authority of states over the fed. gov.--> declared federal protective tariffs null and void; South believed individual state cannot defy fed. gov. alone; led to increased sense among Southerners as "minority" & threat of secession rather than nullification was the South's ultimate weapon
Palmetto State
Nickname for South Carolina; led by Hayne as governor during Jackson's term, heavily threatened nullification and succession
Compromise Tariff of 1833
A new tariff proposed by Henry Clay & John Calhoun that gradually lowered the tariff to the level of the tariff of 1816 (by 10%); avoided civil war & prolonged the union for another 30 years (angered New Englanders)
Force Bill (1833)
Passed by Congress alongside the Compromise Tariff, it authorized the president to use the military to collect federal tariff duties.
Columbia Convention
The delegates of the convention called for the tariff to be void in South Carolina. The convention threatened to take South Carolina out of the Union if the Federal government attempted to collect the customs duties by force.
Society for Propagating the Gospel Among Indians
The group was founded in 1787 and was devoted to civilizing and Christianizing the Indians. Many denominations sent missionaries into Indian villages when this idea was popular in the 1820s.
Indian Removal Act
Passed in 1830, authorized Andrew Jackson to transplant tribes east of the Mississippi. The treaties enacted under this act's provisions paved the way for the reluctant—and often forcible—emigration of tens of thousands of American Indians to the West. The Five Civilized tribes were hit hardest, prompting the trail of tears.
Trail of Tears
The Cherokee Indians were forced to leave their lands. They traveled from North Carolina and Georgia through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas-more than 800 miles (1,287 km)-to the Indian Territory. More than 4, 00 Cherokees died of cold, disease, and lack of food during the 116-day journey.
Black Hawk War
Series of clashes in Illinois and Wisconsin in 1832 between American forces and Indian chief Black Hawk of the Sauk and Fox tribes, who unsuccessfully tried to reclaim territory lost under the 1830 Indian Removal Act. Indians forced west as a result. Executed by Jefferson Davis (MS) and Abraham Lincoln (IL).
Seminole Wars 1835-1842
Took place in GA & Fla. A very long, guerilla war led by the Creek-Seminole Chief Osceola.
Very brutal fighting, lots of heavy losses on both sides. So much so, that Osceola could not bear to see his people in such pain. He approached the Americans under a "White Flag" to start peace negotiations. Instead he was captured, beaten, imprisoned at Ft. Moultrie in Charleston, SC &left to die.
Many of his followers hid in the Everglades & the rest were captured & shipped out West.
Nicholas Biddle
President of the Second Bank of the United States; he struggled to keep the bank functioning when President Jackson tried to destroy it. Nicknamed "Czar Nicholas I," as many people thought the private ownership of the bank was corrupt.
Bank War
(1832) Henry Clay and Daniel Webster presented a bill to renew the Bank of US (to win support for Clay in the election). Approved in congress, but received a veto from Jackson, declaring it unconstitutional and belittling the powers of the supreme court. Amplified the power of the presidency (claiming that it is greater than the other branches).
Anti-Masonic Party
First founded in New York, it gained considerable influence in New England and the mid-Atlantic during the 1832 election, campaigning against the politically influential Masonic order, a secret society. Anti-Masons opposed Andrew Jackson, a Mason, and drew much of their support from evangelical Protestants.
Biddle's Panic
Jackson proposed depositing no more funds with Biddle and gradually shrinking the existing deposits by using them to defray the day-to-day expenses of the government. By slowly siphoning off the government's funds, he would bleed the bank dry and ensure it's demise. A desperate Biddle called in his bank's loans, evidently hoping to illustrate the bank's importance by producing a minor financial crisis.
Pet Banks
A term used by Jackson's opponents to describe the state banks that the federal government used for new revenue deposits in an attempt to destroy the Second Bank of the United States; the practice continued after the charter for the Second Bank expired in 1836.
Specie Circular
issued by President Jackson July 11, 1836, was meant to stop land speculation caused by states printing paper money (wildcat money) without proper specie (gold or silver) backing it. It required that the purchase of public lands be paid for in specie. It stopped the land speculation and the sale of public lands went down sharply. The panic of 1837 followed.
The Whig Party
An American political party formed in the 1830s to oppose President Andrew Jackson and the Democrats, stood for protective tariffs, national banking, and federal aid for internal improvements. Started out in the senate in 1834 with Calhoun, Clay, and Webster working to stop Jackson from removing federal deposits from the BUS. Though of themselves as conservative, but actually progressive in supporting active gov and reforms. By including the anti-Jackson anti-Masonites, it claimed to protect the common people. Highly disorganized.
Martin Van Buren
(1837-1841) Jackson's vice president and choice for succession in 1836 (from NY). Advocated lower tariffs and free trade, and by doing so maintained support of the south for the Democratic party. He succeeded in setting up a system of bonds for the national debt. The Eighth President of the United states (won 1836 election). Also called the "Little Magician."
William Henry Harrison
American military leader, politician, the ninth President of the United States, and the first President to die in office. He was the Whig "favorite son" in the election of 1836, but lost to democrat Martin Van Buren. Won the election of 1840. Led US forces in the Battle of Tippecanoe and Thames. John Tyler of Virginia was his running mate. Was portrayed as "living in a log cabin with hard whiskey," but actually came from a rich founding family of Virginia.
Panic of 1837
When Jackson was president, many state banks received government money that had been withdrawn from the Bank of the U.S. These banks issued paper money and financed wild speculation, especially in federal lands. Jackson issued the Specie Circular to force the payment for federal lands with gold or silver. Many state banks collapsed as a result. Furthermore, rapid and irregular economic growth was occurring. Plus, a failure in wheat grain was occurring. Two British banks were also failing and calling in foreign loans. A panic ensued (1837). Bank of the U.S. failed, cotton prices fell, businesses went bankrupt, and there was widespread unemployment and distress.
Divorce Bill
A bill proposed by Van Buren in 1837, that divorced the government from banking altogether, and established an independent treasury; his solution to the panic of 1837; was passed in 1840, but repealed the next year by the Whigs
Stephen Austin
known as the Father of Texas, led the second and ultimately successful colonization of the region; granted land by the Mexican Government in return for bringing US Roman Catholic settlers in (Mexicanized) -weren't allowed to bring slaves - largely ignored
Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie
famous pioneers of Texas who defended the Alamo
Sam Houston
Ex-Tennessee governor; United States politician and military leader who fought to gain independence for Texas from Mexico and to make it a part of the United States (1793-1863)
Santa Anna
Mexican general who tried to crush the Texas revolt and who lost battles to Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War (1795-1876); in 1833, imprisoned Stephen Austin when he came to negotiate demands; wiped out all local rights
Alamo
an abandoned mission near San Antonio that became an important battle site in the Texas Revolution; Santa Anna's army wiped out 200 of Sam Houston's army over a bloody 13 days
Colonel W.B. Travis
commander at the Alamo who said, "I shall never surrender nor retreat... Victory or Death".
Goliad
Texas outpost where 400 American volunteers, having laid down their arms and surrendered, were massacred by Mexican forces in 1836. The incident, along with the slaughter at the Alamo, fueled American support for Texan independence.
San Jacinto
A surprise attack by Sam Houston's Texas forces on Santa Ana's camp on April 21, 1836. Santa Ana's men were surprised and overrun in twenty minutes. Santa Ana was taken prisoner and signed an armistice withdrawing Mexican troops and recognizing the Rio Grande as the southwest boundary of Rio Grande. Texas independence. Mexicans - 1,500 dead, 1,000 captured. Texans - 4 dead.
Peggy Eaton Affair
Social scandal (1829-1831) - John Eaton, Secretary of War, stayed with the Timberlakes when in Washington, and there were rumors of his affair with Peggy Timberlake even before her husband died in 1828. Many cabinet members snubbed the socially unacceptable Mrs. Eaton. Jackson sided with the Eatons, and the affair helped to dissolve the cabinet - especially those members associated with John C. Calhoun (V.P.), who was against the Eatons and had other problems with Jackson.
Hayne-Webster Debate
1830 Congressional debate about the tariffs issue, extended the states rights
Hayne- Noth wants to crush other parts of couties
Webster- spports republic as compact of citizens not of states
Turns into argment over sectional interest (slaves, wward expansion)
Disagrees with compact theory
Nullification is only a federal power
Ordinance of Nullification (1832)
The Tariff of 1828 was replaced by the Tariff of 1832, whose rates the South still found too high. South Carolina held a special convention in which they passed the ___. This declared the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 "null and void." If feds come in to enforce it, they will succeed.
Veto of the Maysville Road
1830 - The Maysville Road Bill proposed building a road in Kentucky (Clay's state) at federal expense. Jackson vetoed it because he didn't like Clay, and Martin Van Buren pointed out that New York and Pennsylvania paid for their transportation improvements with state money. Applied strict interpretation of the Constitution by saying that the federal government could not pay for internal improvements, it was the states responsibility (hypocrite, use federal power to enforce states rights)
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
(1831) The Cherokees argued that they were a seperate nation and therefore not under Georgia's jurisdiction. Marshall said they were sovereign nation, but not independent (didn't need to follow GA state laws, but need to follow federal laws)
Worcester v. Georgia
The court ruled that the Cherokee nation was a distinct community in which the laws of Georgia had no force (only fed laws do); Jackson didn't enforce, supported states rights
Albany Regency
Popular name after 1820 for the state political machine in New York headed by Martin Van Buren; spoils system
Ralph Waldo Emerson
United States writer and leading exponent of transcendentalism (1803-1882); "Europe stretches to the Alleghenies, America lies beyond."
"Self-Reliance" (1841)
Ralph Waldo Emerson's popular lecture-essay that reflected the spirit of individualism pervasive in American popular culture during the 1830s and 1840s.
James Fenimore Cooper and Herman Melville
Romanticism; Natty Bumppo and Captain Ahab-stories reflecting Jacksonian lone-wolf policies/businessmen
Kentucky Bluegrass
After the land in the tobacco region was exhausted, it was discovered that ______ was perfect in the burned cane field, which helped to feed livestock.
rendezvous
French word meaning "meeting"; each summer traders came from St. Louis to the Rocky Mountain Valley, made camp, and waited for trappers and Indians to arrive so that they could; Americans swapped manufactured goods from the east for beaver pelts
ecological imperialism
an aggressive and often heedless explotiation of the west. settlers often killed species to the point of extinction (beavers, then buffalo/bison, then sea-otters; for pelts), and they farmed the lands dry; sometimes the only way to survive and make a profit
George Catlin
painter and student of the Native American life. Saw Sioux Indians slaughtering buffalo in South Dakota to trade it for whiskey. He helped advocate for the preservation of nature and proposed the idea of National Parks. The first being Yellowstone in 1872.
"Biddies" and "Paddies"
irish who were treated bad because they were Catholic; hardly literate Irishwomen who took jobs as kitchen maids and broad shouldered Irishman who took jobs as digging canals and building railroads
No Irish Need Apply (NINA)
poised against irish, a phrase that hung on many storefronts and in newspapers, mid 1800's, US; was an act of nativism because people didn't like the irish and thought that they were taking american jobs so they segregated against them; caused similar sentiments in the Irish towards the Black
Ancient Order of Hibernians
Irish semisecret society that served as a benevolent organization for downtrodden Irish immigrants in the United States (hated rapacious landlords)
Molly Maguires
A secret Irish organization of coal miners in regions of western Pennsylvania in the 1860s and 1870s. The miners worked together to achieve better working conditions, and when demands weren't met, they protested by destroying mining equipment and other activities. They were eventually brought down by a Pinkerton detective, and some alleged members had trials and were hanged.
Tammany Hall
Political machine in New York, headed by Boss Tweed; a lot of Irish entered politics through this political machine
Carl Schurz
He was a German immigrant who fought for political freedom in his home country, and against slavery and unfair treatment of the Native Americans in America
Maria Monk's Awful Disclosures
published in 1836, tales were told of satanic rituals to took place behind the hidden walls; nuns told of their duty to serve at the sexual pleasure of monks (which traveled through tunnels from a nearby monastery), and other dark perversions that were "unspeakable." KINDLED ANTI-CATHOLIC HYSTERIA IN THE US
Know-Nothing Party
Political party of the 1850s that was anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant; formed out of the Order of the Star-Spangled Banner (1849); restrict immigration/naturalization; concerned nativist voters joined
Industrial Revolution
A series of improvements in industrial technology that transformed the process of manufacturing goods; the immigration of Europeans to America boosted economic growth and allowed this to occur
Samuel Slater
"Father of the Factory System" in America; escaped Britain with the memorized plans for the textile machinery; put into operation the first spinning cotton thread in 1791; got help from quaker Moses Brown in RI
Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin
an American inventor best known for inventing the cotton gin in 1793. This was one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution and shaped the economy of the antebellum South. Separated the seed from the cotton fiber, 50x more effective than hand picking. Whitney's invention made short staple cotton into a profitable crop, which strengthened the economic expansion of slavery.
interchangeable parts
Identical pieces made by machines that could be assembled quickly by unskilled workers; proposed by Eli Whitney in firearms in 1798, adopted largely in 1850; led to modern mass production and assembly lines
Samuel Colt and his Revolver
Played central role in westward expansion; Colt Paterson was 1st firearm w/ revolving cylinder w/ chambers that align to single barrel; made possibly by Whitney's interchangeable part system
Elias Howe and Isaac Singer
Howe invented the sewing machine, which was perfected by Singer. This invention gave another boost to northern industrialization, specifically the ready-made clothing industry; It made clothes fit better and less expensive than homespun clothes. It also opened up a new line of employment for women, who began working in clothing factories.
Patent Office
Federal government bureau that reviews patent applications. A patent is a legal recognition of a new invention, granting exclusive rights to the inventor for a period of years. Between 1800 and 1860, this office saw the increase of patents from 306 to over 28,000 (clerk resigned 1838).
limited liability
A form of business ownership in which the owners are liable only up to the amount of their individual investments.
Boston Associates
The Boston Associates were a group of Boston businessmen who built the first power loom. In 1814 in Waltham, Massachusetts, they opened a factory run by Lowell. Their factory made cloth so cheaply that women began to buy it rather than make it themselves.
Free Incorporation Laws
1848; businessmen could create corporations without applying for individual charters from the legislature
Samuel F.B. Morse's telegraph
a system for transmitting messages from a distance along a wire, especially one creating signals by making and breaking an electrical connection; created by a man in 1844 by stringing a wire from Washington and Baltimore; communication and diplomacy
Commonwealth v. Hunt
(1842) a landmark ruling of the Massachusetts Supreme Court establishing the legality of labor unions and the legality of union workers striking (if honorable and peaceful)
factory girls
Lowell opened a chaperoned boarding house for the girls who worked in his factory. He hired girls because they could do the job as well as men (in textiles, sometimes better), and he didn't have to pay them as much. He hired only unmarried women because they needed the money and would not be distracted from their work by domestic duties.
Catherine Beecher
Female reformer that pushed for female employment as teachers; still embraced the role of a good homemaker for women; an example of the fact that not all women were pushing for radical reforms.
Cult of Domesticity
the ideal woman was seen as a tender, self-sacrificing caregiver who provided a nest for her children and a peaceful refuge for her husband, social customs that restricted women to caring for the house
John Deere
American blacksmith that was responsible for inventing the steel plow in 1837. This new plow was much stronger than the old iron version; therefore, it made plowing farmland in the hard soil of the west easier, making expansion faster.
Cyrus McCormick and the McCormick Reaper
Irish-American inventor that developed the mechanical reaper. The reaper replaced scythes as the preferred method of cutting crops for harvest, and it was much more efficient and much quicker. With it, one could do the work of 5 men simply by riding it. The invention helped the agricultural growth of America. Led to more food production on the large scale.
Lancaster Turnpike
Pennsylvania turnpike, built in the 1790s, which connected Philadelphia with the rich farmlands around Lancaster. Had pikes at the tollgate. Its success stimulated the construction of other privately built and relatively short toll roads that, by the mid-1820s, connected most of the country's major cities
Cumberland Road
(1811-1839) A national road that stretched from Maryland to Illinois. It was the first national/interstate highway, and it was a milestone for the eventual connection of all the states by highways, thus increasing trade.
Robert Fulton, Clermont
invented the first steamboat, "Clermont" in 1807; road from NYC to Albany on the Hudson river (150 miles in 32 hours)
Sultana
Worst maritime disaster in U.S. History; steamboat that blew up 1865 and killed 1700 people
DeWitt Clinton and Erie Canal
Governor of New York who started the Erie Canal project (Great Lakes to Hudson). Began 1817 and ended 1825. His leadership helped complete the canal, which boosted the economy greatly by cutting time traveled from west New York to the Hudson.
Cyrus Field
American businessman who laid the first telegraph wire across the Atlantic (Newfoundland to Ireland in 1858). This cut down the time it took for a message to be sent from Europe to American and vice-versa. Died after 3 weeks, replaced by permanent one in 1866.
Donald McKay
had a shipping yard in Boston; designed the Clipper Ships and became popular because his ships provided fast oceanic transportation (iron tramp steamers).