Winter Final PQ Terms

Washington-Grant

George Washington

1789-1797 Federalist

Judiciary Act of 1789

George Washington

The Judiciary Act of 1789 established a federal court in each state and three circuit courts to hear appeals from the districts, with the Supreme Court having the final say. It was one of Congress’ first laws making the Supreme Court having one chief justice and five associate justices. The highest court was empowered to rule on the constitutionality of decisions made by the state courts. This was important because it created the judiciary branch and the Supreme court as a part of the division of power. They are still used today and enforce the constitution, and help to keep America with all of its rights.

French Revolution Begins

George Washington

A 1789 revolution that abolished feudalism and established a constitutional monarchy. The French Revolution was highly influenced by the American revolution and American merchants profited handsomely from it. In 1793, President Washington issued a Proclamation of Neutrality, allowing U.S. citizens to trade with all belligerents which helped US merchants take over the sugar trade between France and West Indies. Jefferson did not agree with Washington, and left the cabinet; it also led to the citizen Genet affair. It majorly affected the creation of political parties because of the divide it brought.

First Official Census

George Washington

It took place August 2, 1790 and was conducted by Secretary of State Thomas JeffersonIt cost over $44,000, and divided the population into five categories: free white males age 16 and older, free white males under 16, free white females, all other free people, and slaves. Congress used the census results to distribute 105 seats among 15 states. Anti-slavery campaigners used data from the 1850 and 1860 censuses to show that the number of enslaved people in the United States was increasing, which helped build support for abolition. It also helped determine the size of the House of Representatives, and was a crucial part of the Great Compromise.

Report on Public Credit

George Washington

Hamilton proposed that the government assume the entire indebtedness of both the federal government and the states, and retire the old depreciated obligations by borrowing new money at a lower interest rate. This proposal ignited a firestorm of controversy since the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Virginia had already paid off their war debts and saw no reason why they should be taxed to pay off other states' debts. This led to an agreement between Jefferson and Hamilton: in exchange for southern votes, Hamilton supported locating the future national capital on the banks of the Potomac River, the border between two southern states, Maryland and Virginia.

Report on Manufacturers

George Washington

A proposal by treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton in 1791 called for the U.S. Government to institute tariffs to protect American industry from foreign competition, give subsidies for industry, and support internal improvements. This was using excise taxes which was a price per unit to raise more money. These were put on corn which made whiskey; this eventually led to the Whiskey Rebellion because of the high tariffs on it and not being affordable to common folk. It did help the US become more self-reliant and not on trade.

1st Bank of the United States

George Washington

1791

Hamilton proposed that it would be jointly owned by the federal government and private stockholders and, based on his loose interpretation of the constitution, thought it would provide a safe place for tax revenue and would provide low interest loans to start-ups, and was like the Bank of England had done in Great Britain.  Jefferson opposed claiming the bank was not specifically named in the constitution--unconstitutional, and thought it would harm the farming class, start industrialization to urbanization to political justice, and that the free market should determine economic survival. This started a questioning on what that is not in the constitution should still be permitted which led to the states interpretation of the constitution--Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.

Bill of Rights

George Washington

Ratified by 1971, the first ten amendments in the constitution which protected personal rights, freedoms, and enforced legal procedures were largely written by James Madison. They were created to protect from abuses of the federal government. It included freedom of religion, speech, press, protest, the right to bear arms, the abolishment of quartering, no unreasonable searches, limited power of criminal procedures, right to a speedy and public trial, no unreasonable fines or punishments, and the constitution shall not limit other rights. By protecting individual citizens, the amendments eased Antifederalists’ fears of an oppressive national government and secured the legitimacy of the Constitution. They also addressed the issue of federalism: the proper balance between the authority of the national and state governments. But that question was constantly contested until the Civil War and remains important today.

Formation of First Political Parties: Federalist and Democrat-Republican

George Washington

The debates from 1787 to 1788 during the ratification of the constitution were just the start. In the 1790s, the two political parties started to form around Jefferson and Hamilton. The Federalists (northern states, wanted more federal power) supported Hamilton and his financial program, while the Democratic-Republicans (southern states, wanted more state rights) supported Jefferson, and tried to elect candidates from other states who would oppose Hamilton. The French Revolution further solidified the separation. These political parties would lead to the warning in Washington’s farewell address about the dangers, and the political parties that widely separate the US today.

Cotton Gin is patented by Eli Whitney

George Washington

In 1793, Eli Whitney invented cotton gin which was a device that separated cotton fiber from the seeds. This created a mass increase in slave labor because cotton was extremely profitable. It made the cotton process quick and inexpensive which transformed agriculture in the south. The US had mechanized because Samuel Slater broke British law, and stole their factory design which he brought to the US. The combination of these two developments made cotton cheaper, but much more profitable which dramatically increased slave labor in the south. It became a global economy and completely changed the south’s agriculture.

Proclamation of Neutrality

George Washington

By President George Washington in 1793, it allowed U.S. citizens to trade with all belligerents in the war between France and Great Britain. This was because Washington thought they were too weak to get involved which resulted in Jefferson dropping out of his cabinet. American firms quickly took over the sugar trade between France and its West Indies. Commercial earnings rose twice the value of cotton and tobacco exports. This resulted in the Citizens Genet Affair, and the further divide into the two forming political parties.

Citizen Genet Affair

George Washington

As a result of Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality, “citizen” Edmond Genet, the French Minister of the US, broke diplomacy and appealed to the American people to support France. Even Jefferson, who opposed Washington’s views as well, supported his request for the French government to remove Genet. Though he was called by his government, he remained in the US and became a citizen and married. It showed Washington’s neutrality, and showed the government would not be pushed into a rash decision. It was caused by the US’s need to continue to build the country while maintaining peace

Chisholm v. Georgia

George Washington

In 1793, the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts have jurisdiction over states and that citizens can sue state governments. The case involved Alexander Chisholm who sued Georgia for payment for goods supplied during the American Revolutionary War. Georgia refused to appear in court, claiming sovereign immunity and that it could not be sued without its consent. They ruled in favor of Chisholm. The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution superseded Chisholm v. Georgia in 1795. The Eleventh Amendment limits the precedent set by Chisholm v. Georgia, removing the Court's jurisdiction in cases where a citizen sues a state. However, a citizen can appeal a state court case to a federal court.

Whiskey Rebellion

George Washington

A 1794 uprising by farmers in western Pennsylvania in response to enforcement of Hamilton’s unpopular excise tax on whiskey due to the Report on Manufacturers. This tax had cut demand for the corn whiskey the farmers distilled. The Whiskey Rebels assailed the tax collectors who sent the farmers’ hard-earned money to a distant government. To deter popular rebellion and uphold national authority, President Washington raised a militia force of 12,000 troops and dispersed the Whiskey Rebels. This solidified the federal government’s authority, but among westerners the military action was resented, and Thomas Jefferson became increasingly popular to them. This started to show a difference in beliefs that would eventually lead to political parties.

Jay’s Treaty

George Washington

A 1795 treaty between the US and Britain, negotiated by John Jay (Washington’s Chief of Justice). The treaty accepted Britain’s right to stop neutral ships. In return, it allowed Americans to submit claims for illegal seizures and required the British to remove their troops and Indian agents from the Northwest Territory. It ignored the American claim that “free ships make free goods.” The treaty also required the U.S. government to repay all pre–Revolutionary War debts owed by American citizens. The Senate ratified it in 1795, and as long as the Federalists were in power, the United States would have a pro-British foreign policy. Though it angered the French, it kept the US neutral which kept America at peace.

Battle of Fallen Timbers

George Washington

During the end of the 18th century, the colonists were slowly moving westward into the Ohio Valley and beyond. Because of this, a number of Western/Northwestern tribes including the Shawnee, Delaware, Iroquois, and others allied under the Miami war chief Little Turtle. At first they won a series of battles over the militias until 1794 when the Americans discovered they were likely supplying the Natives with weapons. In 1794 General Anthony Wayne’s army defeated the Confederacy tribes which allowed the US to continue colonizing westward. This resulted in the Treaty of Greenville. 

Treaty of Greenville

George Washington

 1795 treaty between the United States and various Indian tribes in Ohio. American negotiators acknowledged Indian ownership of the land, and, in return for various payments, the Western Confederacy ceded most of Ohio to the United States. The Indian peoples also agreed to accept American sovereignty, placing themselves under the protection of the United States. These American advances caused Britain to agree, in Jay’s Treaty (1795), to reduce its trade and military aid to Indians in the trans-Appalachian region. It caused a massive wave of migration to the new western states with hundreds of thousands of people migrating there.

Pinckey’s Treaty

George Washington

This treaty with Spain, also called the Treaty of San Lorenzo, set the border between the United States and Spanish Florida, and it allowed Western American farmers to ship goods down the Mississippi and through New Orleans. This was important because it furthered the drive for westward expansion by making settlement more attractive to settlers because with access to shipping goods through New Orleans farming had become a very lucrative enterprise.

Admitted 3 New States- Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee

George Washington

On March 4, 1791, Vermont was the first new state admitted to the original thirteen colonies. After it was initially claimed by NY and NH, it was independent before becoming a state. On June 1, 1792, Kentucky which was originally part of VA became its own state after the people wanted more control. Exactly five years later, Tennessee which was originally part of NC became its own state. These admissions helped settle land disputes, but more so elevated tensions between the northern and southern states. Vermont was slave free while Kentucky and Tennessee were admitted as slave states because they were previously a part of slave states. This went against the Northwestern Ordinance which said that all new states will have abolished slavery. 

Farewell Address Warnings

George Washington

In late 1796, along with Hamilton, Washington wrote his farewell address which had many warnings: do not get involved in European affairs, do not make “permanent alliances” in foreign affairs, do not form political parties, and do not fall into sectionalism. This would be a guideline and terror for future presidents especially as they were already too late to stop political parties and sectionalism. Though because he left after only two terms in office, it set a precedent for the future presidents, but would be broken by Roosevelt and eventually be put as the 22nd amendment in the constitution.

John Adams

1797-1801 Federalist

XYZ Affair

John Adams

A 1797 incident where the French foreign minister Talleyrand solicited a loan and a bribe from American diplomats to stop the seizures, Adams charged that Talleyrand’s agents, whom he dubbed X, Y, and Z, had insulted America’s honor. In response to the XYZ Affair, Congress cut off trade with France in 1798 and authorized American privateering. This undeclared maritime war curtailed American trade with the French West Indies and resulted in the capture of nearly two hundred French and American merchant vessels. The incident led the United States into the Quasi War with France.

Alien Acts

John Adams

1798

The Alien Acts authorized the deportation of foreigners considered dangerous and to detain enemy foreigners in time of war. It was created after the Federalists took advantage of their victory by getting Adams in office to enact laws which would restrict their political opponents. It was paired with the Naturalization and Sedition Acts. Once Jefferson got into office, he let them expire because they were against his policies.

Sedition Acts

John Adams

1798

The Sedition Acts prohibited the publication of attacks or insults on the president or anyone from Congress. The Federalists used this to arrest over twenty Republican newspaper editors and politicians by accusing them of sedition and jailing them. Republicans argued that this act was against the First Amendment: the freedom and speech and press. However, they did not appeal to the Supreme Court because the Court’s power to review congressional legislation was uncertain and because most of the justices were Federalists. The conflict over the Sedition Act set the stage for the presidential election of 1800 with Jefferson’s presidency.

11th Amendment

John Adams

The 11th Amendment prevents federal courts from hearing cases where a state is sued by a citizen of another state or country. It follows what is known as sovereign immunity which means that no one can sue the government without its consent.  South Carolina ratified it on December 4, 1797. This amendment was created in response to Chisholm v. Georgia, and superseded the precedent set by the Supreme Court. It was also the first new amendment added after the Bill of Rights.

Eli Whitney’s interchangeable parts

John Adams

1798

During the War of 1812, Eli Whitney created a new and more efficient system for making rifles with interchangeable parts. These were identical components that could be mass produced and made into a singular item. This became the basis for mass production methods in the new northern factories. This caused the American Industrial Revolution which made things much more reasonably priced. This influenced the idea of artisan republicanism which wanted liberty and equality in production. Women really liked these new jobs because they did not have to stay in their house or be controlled by a father or husband all day. This revolutionized the manufacturing business and gave many people job opportunities.

Quasi War with France

John Adams

1798-1800

The Quasi-War with France was an undeclared naval war between the United States and the French First Republic from 1798 to 1800. The war was fought primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States, with minor actions in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.  It grew out of the XYZ Affair and ended when French politics changed direction after Napoleon, who wanted a better relationship with the US, came into power and the two nations signed the Treaty of Mortefontaine, which ended the Quasi-War and restored the political and economic relationship between the two nations.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

John Adams

Resolutions of 1798 condemning the Alien and Sedition Acts that were submitted to the federal government by the Virginia and Kentucky state legislatures. The resolutions tested the idea that state legislatures could judge the constitutionality of federal laws and nullify them. They helped establish the practice of being able to declare acts of the federal government as unconstitutional. They also upheld the first amendment which had previously been violated. Though the other states rejected the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, it united the Democratic-Republican party. In 1800, the Democratic-Republican candidate, Thomas Jefferson, would win the presidency, essentially defusing the crisis.

Gabriel Prosser Rebellion

John Adams

Gabriel Prosser's Rebellion was a planned slave revolt in Richmond, Virginia in 1800. The rebellion was intended to take place on August 30, 1800, and the rebels planned to attack Federalists and merchants. However, the rebellion was suppressed before it could begin when the plot was leaked to authorities hours before it was to be executed. The leaders postponed the attack for one night due to a massive storm of wind and rain, but by then patrols had already begun detaining suspects. Virginia and other state legislatures passed restrictions on free blacks, as well as prohibiting the education, assembly, and hiring of enslaved people, to restrict their ability to plan similar rebellions.

Treaty of San Ildefonso

John Adams

The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso was a secret agreement signed on October 1, 1800 between Spain and the French Republic. In the treaty, Spain gave up its North American colony of Louisiana to France in exchange for creating a client state in Italy. The treaty was a key event that led to the American Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The wording of the treaty was vague and didn't clearly describe the boundaries. It didn't guarantee that West Florida would be part of Louisiana, and it didn't define the southwest boundary. American negotiators were aware of this, and the US Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase on October 17, 1803, despite protests from Spain and the Federalists. 

Judiciary Act

John Adams

1801

Jefferson inherited a national judiciary filled with Federalist appointees, including John Marshall of Virginia, the new chief justice of the Supreme Court. To add more Federalist judges, the Judiciary Act of 1801 expanded federal jurisdiction, eliminated Supreme Court justices' circuit court duties, and created 16 federal circuit court judgeships filled largely by midnight appointees. Jefferson sought to abolish the new courts and, in the process, eliminate the judges. John Breckinridge of Kentucky (D-R), introduced a bill in the Senate to repeal the Judiciary Act of 1801; congress then passed the Judiciary Act of 1802 in April 1802, increasing the number of circuits from three to six, with each Supreme Court justice assigned to only one, where he would preside with the local district judges on circuit twice a year.

Midnight Appointees: John Marshall as Chief Justice

John Adams

John Adams nominated several new federal judges known as the midnight judges who he signed the official commissions late into the night of his last day in office. As Secretary of State and newly appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Marshall affixed the great seal of the United States to the commissions. His brother, James Marshall, delivered some of the commissions to the new justices in Alexandria that same evening. However, none of the 23 Washington County appointees received their commissions before Thomas Jefferson's inauguration. The Marshall Court, which lasted from 1801–1835, laid the foundations for many key areas of American law. Adams' goal was to fill the positions with Federalists to preserve his party's control of the judiciary and to frustrate the legislative agenda of Jefferson and his Republican Party.

Thomas Jefferson

1801-1809 Democratic-Republican

Louisiana Purchase

Thomas Jefferson

1803

The 1803 purchase of French territory west of the Mississippi River that stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. The Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the size of the United States and opened the way for future American expansion west. The purchase required President Thomas Jefferson to exercise powers not explicitly granted to him by the Constitution. So Jefferson accepted a loose interpretation of the Constitution and used its treaty-making powers to complete the deal with France. It was the single most important act in his administration and changed the course of US history. Control of Mississippi and westward expansion.

Marbury v. Madison

Thomas Jefferson

1803

William Marbury, a federalist that was denied his appointment by the Jefferson administration, asked the Supreme Court to force the Jefferson Administration to allow his judicial appointment to go through. The Supreme Court refused to issue the order forcing the Jefferson Administration and Marbury was never appointed. It established the principle of judicial review which allows the Supreme Court to strike down acts of the Congress, actions of the president, and eventually acts of the state governments as unconstitutional.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

Thomas Jefferson

1804-1806

The Lewis and Clark Expedition was a two-year expedition by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark who explored the Louisiana Purchase, the vast territory west of the Mississippi River. A key member was Sacagawea who led them in their journeys. The expedition's goals were to: discover a water route across the continent to the Pacific Ocean, establish a legal claim for the US to the land, establish a trade network across the country, befriend the American Indians encountered. The expedition was a huge success, providing new geographic, ecological, and cultural information about previously uncharted areas of North America. Established no water route.

12th Amendment

Thomas Jefferson

1804

Amendment Twelve to the Constitution was ratified on June 15, 1804. It revises and outlines the procedure of how Presidents and Vice Presidents are elected, specifically so that they are elected together. At its inception in 1789, the Constitution had established the Electoral College as the means for electing presidents. This system would have the candidate with the majority of electoral votes become the President, while the candidate with the second-highest number would become Vice President. For the electors, it was now mandated that a distinct vote had to be taken for the president and the vice president. The catalyst for the Twelfth Amendment was the U.S. presidential election of 1800 when presidents of opposing political parties were president and vice president.

Barbary pirates of North Africa

Thomas Jefferson

1805

The first major challenge to Jefferson’ foreign policy came from the piracy practiced by the Barbary states on the North African coast. To protect the US merchant ships from being seized by Barbury pirates, Washington and Adams agreed to pay tribute to the Barbury governments. The ruler of Tripoli demanded a higher sum in tribute from Jefferson. Refusing to pay, Jefferson sent a small fleet of the US Navy to the Mediterranean. Sporadic fighting with Tripoli lasted four years. Although the American navy did not achieve a decisive victory, it did gain some respect and offered a measure of protection to US vessels trading in Mediterranean waters.

Embargo Act

Thomas Jefferson

1807

As an alternative to war, Jefferson proposed this act. An act of Congress that prohibited U.S. ships from traveling to foreign ports and effectively banned overseas trade in an attempt to deter Britain from halting U.S. ships at sea. The embargo caused hardships for Americans engaged in overseas commerce. A drastic maneuver, the embargo overestimated the reliance of Britain and France on American shipping and underestimated the resistance of merchants, who feared the embargo would ruin them. In fact, the embargo cut the American gross national product by 5% and weakened the entire economy. This resulted in the Non-Intercourse Act.

Robert Fulton invents steamboat Clermont on the Hudson River

Thomas Jefferson

1807

The steamboat added crucial flexibility to the Mississippi basin’s river-based transportation system. Engineer-inventor Robert Fulton piloted the first American steamboat, the Clermont, up the Hudson River. These vessels halved the cost of upstream navigable river transport and dramatically increased the flow of goods, people, and news. In 1800, the same journeys had taken twice as long. Because of the mass migration to the area, to meet the demand for cheap farmsteads, Congress in 1820 reduced the price of federal land. By the 1840s, this had enticed people to states and territories west of the Appalachians, and canals had boomed.

International Slave Trade Ended

Thomas Jefferson

1808

On January 1, 1808, the United States passed the "Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves", which permanently ended the legal importation of enslaved people from Africa into the country. This was the earliest date permitted by the Constitution. ​​Between 1776 and 1808, when Congress outlawed the Atlantic slave trade, planters purchased a lot of Africans. Planters also imported new African workers illegally, through the Spanish colony of Florida until 1819 and then through the Mexican province of Texas. Yet these Africans did not satisfy the demand either. The law did not affect the domestic slave trade within the United States, which increased in importance after the legal supply of imported slaves was terminated. However, the practice of slavery continued to be legal in much of the U.S. until 1865.

Non-Intercourse Act

Thomas Jefferson

1809

After the repeal of Jefferson’s Embargo Act, Madison hoped to end economic hardship while maintaining his country’s rights as a neutral nation. The Nonintercourse Act of 1809 provided that Americans could now trade with all nations except Britain and France. The act's goal was to maintain US neutrality during the Napoleonic Wars. The act allowed trade with all other nations, but barred British and French ships from American ports. The act was mostly ineffective and contributed to the War of 1812. In 1810, Congress replaced the Non-Intercourse Act with Macon's Bill No. 2, which reopened trade with Britain or France.

James Madison

1809-1817 Democratic-Republican

Macon’s Bill #2

James Madison

1810

As a result of the Non-Intercourse Act, economic hardships continued into 1810. Nathaniel Macon, a member of Congress, introduced a bill that restored US trade with Britain or France. Macon’s Bill No. 2 provided that if either Britain or France formally agreed to respect US neutral rights at sea, then the US would prohibit trade with the other. Napoleon took advantage of the bill to further his Continental System, which was a French embargo on Britain. President James Madison, who opposed the bill, allowed trade with France to continue. However, when Britain threatened to punish the United States, Napoleon reneged on his promise and continued to seize American ships and cargoes. In February 1811, Madison cut off trade with Britain and recalled the American minister. 

Battle of Tippecanoe

James Madison

1811

The Battle of Tippecanoe was fought in Battle Ground, Indiana. The battle was between American forces led by Governor William Henry Harrison and Native American warriors led by Tenskwatawa, also known as "The Prophet". The battle was fought after the Treaty of Fort Wayne, which required Indiana tribes to sell three million acres of land to the United States government. Shawnee chief Tecumseh organized a confederacy of Native American tribes to fight against the pioneers. After the battle, Harrison's men burned Prophetstown to the ground, destroying the food supplies stored for the winter. The outcome of the battle pushed Tecumseh to officially side with the British in the impending War of 1812. Killed Tecumseh.

Cumberland Road begins

James Madison

1811

In 1811, construction began on the National Road, the first 10 mi being the Cumberland Road, in Maryland. The road was the first federally funded road in the United States, authorized by Congress in 1806. The road was built in sections over decades to connect Cumberland, Maryland to Wheeling, West Virginia, and then northwest to Vandalia, Illinois. By 1818, the road was completed to Wheeling, and mail coaches began using it. The National Road's popularity declined in the 1870s with the rise in railroads.

US invades Canada

James Madison

1812-1813

As a part of the War of 1812, a poorly equipped American army initiated military action by launching a three-part invasion of Canada, one force starting out from Detroit, another from Niagara, and a third from Lake Champlain. These led into Canada were easily repulsed by the British defenders. An American raid and burning of government buildings in York (Toronto) in 1813 only served to encourage retaliation by the British. Though an easy win for Americans at the time, the Battle of York would cost them many of their men who were killed or wounded in the explosion. The battle did little to advance either side’s dominant control of Canadian waters, but the easy victory boosted American morale, fueling the fire for continued attempts at expansion into Canada.

War Hawks

James Madison

A congressional election in 1810 had brought a group of new, young Democratic-Republicans to Congress, many of them from frontier states. Known as war hawks because of their eagerness for the war with Britain, they quickly gained significant influence in the House of Representatives. Led by Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, the war hawk members of Congress argued that war with Britain would be the only way to defend American honor, gain Canada, and destroy American Indian resistance on the frontier. The War Hawks believed that Thomas Jefferson's economic policies, such as the Embargo Act and the Non-Intercourse Act, had failed, and that Britain was funding Native American tribes who were resisting white settlers.

Hartford Convention

James Madison

1814

Just before the war ended, the NE states threatened to secede from the Union. Opposed to both the war and Democratic-Republican government in Washington, radical Federalists in NE urged that the Constitution be amended and that, as a last resort, secession be voted upon. They believed because states approved the Constitution, they had a right to leave if they wanted. An idea called for a two-thirds vote of both houses for any future declaration of war. Shortly after the convention dissolved, news came of both Jackson’s victory at New Orleans and the Treaty of Ghent. These events ended criticism of the war and further weakened the Federalists by stamping them as unpatriotic.

Treaty of Ghent

James Madison

1812

Madison’s government recognized that the Americans would be unable to win a decisive victory. American peace commissioners traveled to Ghent, Belgium, to discuss terms of peace with British diplomats. The terms halted fighting, returned all conquered territory to the prewar claimant, and recognized the prewar boundary between Canada and the US. The Treaty of Ghent, promptly ratified by the Senate in 1815 Britain made no concessions concerning impressment, blockades, or other maritime differences. Thus, the war ended in stalemate with no gain for either side; it restored diplomatic relations and restored trade.

Battle of New Orleans

James Madison

The Battle of New Orleans took place between the United States and Great Britain after the War of 1812. The battle was the last armed conflict between the two countries.The British, led by General Edward Pakenham, attacked the American forces, led by General Andrew Jackson, both unaware the war had ended. The Americans were dug into fortified earthworks on the east bank of the Mississippi River at Chalmette Plantation. The British hoped to capture New Orleans and separate Louisiana from the United States. However, the battle boosted American morale and led the Senate to unanimously approve the treaty. The battle made Jackson a national hero and helped him win the presidency in 1828. 

Tariff of 1816

James Madison

American manufacturers feared that British goods would be dumped on American markets and take away much of their business. Congress raised protective tariffs as a part of the American System for the express purpose of protecting US manufacturers from competition rather than to simply raise revenue. This was the first protective tariff in US history. New England, which had little manufacturing at the time, was the only section to oppose higher tariffs. Even the South and West, which had opposed tariffs in the past and would oppose them in the future, generally supported the 1816 tariff, believing that it was needed for national prosperity and was especially liked by the southern elite, plantation owners, to further the cotton complex.

Second Bank of the US

James Madison

1816

Founded in Philadelphia in 1816, the bank was privately managed and operated under a twenty-year charter from the federal government, which owned 20 percent of its stock. The bank’s most important role was to stabilize the nation’s money supply, which consisted primarily of paper money issued by state-chartered banks. By collecting those notes and regularly demanding specie, the Second Bank kept the state banks from issuing too much paper money and depreciating its value. This cautious monetary policy pleased creditors — the bankers and entrepreneurs in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, whose capital investments were underwriting economic development. Jackson would not renew this bank in his term and create an economic pitfall.

American Colonization Society founded

James Madison

1817

The idea of transporting those people freed from slavery to an African colony was first tried in 1817 with the founding of the American Colonization Society. This appealed to some opponents of slavery. It also appealed to many White Americans who wanted to remove all free Black Americans from US society. In 1822, the ACS established an African American settlement in Monrovia, Liberia. Colonization never proved practical. For the most part, free African Americans did not want to leave the land where they and their ancestors had been born. Between 1820 and 1860, only about 12,000 African Americans moved to Africa while the enslaved population grew by 2.5 million.

James Monroe

1817-1825 Democratic-Republican

Era of Good Feelings

James Monroe

The period’s nickname suggests the Monroe years were marked by a spirit of nationalism, optimism, and goodwill. One party, the Federalists, faded into oblivion, and Monroe’s party, the Democratic-Republicans, adopted some of their policies and dominated politics. This perception of unity and harmony, however, can be misleading and oversimplified. Throughout the era, people had heated debates over tariffs, the national bank, internal improvements, and public land sales--the American System. Sectionalist tensions over slavery were increasing. Moreover, even a sense of party unity was illusory since antagonistic factions among Democratic-Republicans would soon split it in two. The actual period of “good feelings” may have only lasted from the election of 1816 to the Panic of 1819. 

Erie Canal begins

James Monroe

1817

The New York legislature’s 1817 financed the Erie Canal, a 364-mile waterway connecting the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Previously, the longest canal in the United States was just 28 miles long—reflecting the huge capital cost of canals and the lack of American engineering expertise. New York’s ambitious project had three things working in its favor: the support of New York City’s merchants, who wanted access to western markets; the backing of New York’s governor, De Witt Clinton, who proposed to finance the waterway from tax revenues, tolls, and bond sales to foreign investors; and the relatively gentle terrain west of Albany.  Workers—many of them Irish immigrants—dug out millions of cubic yards of soil, quarried thousands of tons of rock for the huge locks that raised and lowered the boats, and constructed vast reservoirs to ensure a steady supply of water. The first great engineering project in American history, the Erie Canal altered the ecology of an entire region. 

Rush-Bagot Treatu

James Monroe

1817

During Monroe’s first year as president, British and American negotiators agreed to a major disarmament pact. The Rush-Bagot Agreement strictly limited naval armament on the Great Lakes. In time, the agreement was extended to place limits on border fortifications as well. Ultimately, the border between the US and Canada was to become the longest unfortified border in the world. The treaty regulated naval armaments on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain after the War of 1812, demilitarizing the border between the U.S. and Canada. It created the world's longest east-west boundary , which is also said to be the world's largest demilitarized zone.

Andrew Jackson Invades Florida

James Monroe

In late 1817, General Jackson was commissioned to stop the raiders and, if necessary, pursue them across the border in Spanish west Florida during the First Seminole War. Jackson carried out his orders with a vengeance and went beyond his instructions. In 1818, he led a force of militia into Florida, destroyed Seminole villages, and hanged two Seminole chiefs. Capturing Pensacola, Jackson drove out the Spanish governor and hanged two British traders accused of aiding the Seminoles. This led to Spain's agreement to cede Florida to the United States in 1819. The Adams-Onís Treaty, signed in 1819 and ratified in 1821, officially transferred Florida to the United States. 

Adam-Onis Treaty

James Monroe

1819

Spain, worried that the US would seize Florida and preoccupied with troubles in Latin America, decided to get the best possible terms for Florida. By the treaty in 1819, Spain turned over all of its possessions in Florida and its own claims in the Oregon Territory to the US. In exchange, the US agreed to assume $5 million in claims against Spain and give up any US territorial claims to the Spanish province of Texas. It emboldened the American government to expand its territory further and helped establish the United States as a force to be reckoned with. The acquisition of Florida and Oregon also eventually resulted in them both becoming states, the former in 1845 and the latter in 1859.

Dartmouth College v. Woodward

James Monroe

1819

Republican members of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees wanted to make the private school a state university. They wanted a state board to have control over hiring and instruction. Federalist members of the board argued that the state cannot impair the obligations of private contracts. The Supreme Court overturned the decision of the state court of New Hampshire. The decision upheld the sanctity of contracts. The decision was important in assuring economic development and encouraging investing in new corporations. It set the precedent of the SC overturning the actions of state governments/courts.

McCulloch v. Maryland

James Monroe

1819

Republicans had argued since 1791 that the Bank of the US was unconstitutional. With the renewal of the BUS in 1816, several states opposed that the BUS had put taxes and special restrictions within their respective states. The BUS in Maryland refused to pay the state tax. The SC declared Maryland’s tax null and void. The decision sanctioned the Federal government use of implied powers. The decision also established the Supremacy Clause of the national government over states. This opens the door for vast expansion of federal power in the future. It made the BUS legal.

Panic of 1819

James Monroe

The first major financial panic occurred after the Second Bank of the US tightened credit in an effort to control inflation. Many state banks closed, and unemployment, bankruptcies, and imprisonment for debt increased sharply. The depression hit the West hardest, where many people were in debt because they had speculated on land during the euphoria after the War of 1812. In 1819, the Bank of the US foreclosed on large amounts of western farmland. As a result of the bank panic and depression, nationalistic beliefs were shaken. In the West, the economic crisis changed many voters’ political outlook. Westerners began calling for land reform and expressing opposition to both the national bank and debtors’ prison.

Missouri Compromise of 1820

James Monroe

Missouri’s bid for statehood alarmed the North because slavery was well established there. If Missouri came in as a slave state, it would tip the political balance in the South’s favor. Southerners and northerners alike worried about the future status of the other new territories applying for statehood from the rest of the vast Louisiana Purchase. They compromised on Henry Clay’s plan of making Missouri a slave state, Maine a free state, and above the 36*30’ of the Louisiana purchase would all become free states, and under would become slave. This would eventually be contested 30 years later by the southerners because they agreed to a bad deal.

Denmark Vesey Rebellion

James Monroe

1822

The Denmark Vesey Rebellion was a planned revolt by enslaved and free Black people in Charleston, South Carolina. The plan was to take place on Bastille Day, July 14, 1822. Denmark Vesey, a former slave and carpenter, organized the rebellion, which was inspired by the successful 1791 slave revolution in Haiti. The plan was to seize weapons, attack the city's armory, kill white enslavers, liberate the city, and sail to Haiti. However, two enslaved men leaked the plot to their owners, and Charleston authorities arrested Vesey and 130 other men before the rebellion could take place. The rebellion's failure led to increased repression and legislation targeting enslaved people and free Black Americans in South Carolina with stricter slave codes, more restrictions on movement and assembly, and the creation of a special court to try enslaved people accused of crimes. 

Monroe Doctrine

James Monroe

1823

Monroe inserted into his annual message to Congress a declaration of US policy toward Europe and Latin America. The Monroe Doctrine, as it came to be called, asserted “as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.” Monroe declared further that the US opposed attempts by the Europeans power to interfere in the affairs of any republic in the western hemisphere. These words were soon forgotten, but would come to be hailed by politicians and citizens alike as the cornerstone of the US foreign policy toward Latin America. In the 1840s, President James Polk was the first of many presidents to justify his foreign policy by referring to Monroe’s warning words.

Gibbons v. Ogden

James Monroe

1824

In order to encourage the development of the steamboat, NY granted Robert Fulton a long-term monopoly on the steam-navigation on the waterways of NY. Ogden was a licensee of Fulton and was sued by Gibbons for access to the waterways. The Supreme Court ruled that the monopoly granted was a violation of the Constitution because the regulation of interstate commerce was a power granted only to Congress. The power to regulate interstate commerce rests with the USFG. The decision secures the concept of a common market and prevents states from impeding commerce between states. It unified the national economy. 

“Corrupt Bargain”

James Monroe

1824

Henry Clay had used his influence as Speaker of the House to elect Adams rather than Jackson in the election in 1824. Clay's fourth-place finish shut him out of the presidency. He tried to use his post as Speaker of the House to play kingmaker. He called in favors and worked behind the scenes to influence the vote. Jackson was a fellow Westerner, but Clay suspected that he would be a rival in future presidential races. Clay disliked Adams, but the two met privately a month before the House election. Both men denied making any bargains. But rumors said that Adams had promised to make Clay Secretary of State.

John Quincy Adams

1825-1829 Democratic-Republicans

Tariff of Abominations

John Quincy Adams

1828

The new tariff cost southerners about $100 million a year. Planters had to buy either higher-cost American textiles and iron goods, thus enriching northeastern businesses and workers, or highly taxed British imports, thus paying the expenses of the national government. A tariff raised duties significantly on raw materials, textiles, and iron goods. New York senator Van Buren hoped to win the support of farmers in New York, Ohio, and Kentucky with the tariff, but it enraged the South. It caused the Nullification Crisis when the SC legislature declared it to be unconstitutional which allowed individual states to declare a federal law null and void.

South Carolina Exposition and Protest

John Quincy Adams

1828

South Carolina’s act of nullification of the Tariff of 1828 rested on the constitutional arguments developed in this. Vice President John C. Calhoun who wrote the Exposition contended that protective tariffs and other national legislation that operated unequally on the various states lacked fairness and legitimacy which echoed the claims in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798 because it favored the north. Calhoun argued that a state convention could declare a congressional law to be void within the state’s borders--”states’ rights.” The South Carolina Exposition and Protest laid the groundwork for nullification theory and led to the Nullification Crisis.

American Temperance Society formed

John Quincy Adams

1826

In 1826, Protestant ministers and others concerned with drinking and its effect founded the American Temperance Society. By the 1840s, various temperance societies together had more than a million members. In 1851, the state of Maine went beyond simply placing taxes on the sale of liquor and became the first state to prohibit the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors. Twelve states followed within a temperance movement. The movement would gain strength again in the late 1870s, with strong support from the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. It would achieve nation success with the passage of the 18th amendment in 1919, which banned the sale of intoxicating liquors.

James Fenimore Cooper Last of the Mohicans

John Quincy Adams

The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper is a historical novel published in 1826. It is the second book in his Leatherstocking Tales series and is set in 1757 during the French and Indian War. The story follows two sisters, Cora and Alice Munro, who are trying to reunite with their father, but the sisters are captured by Magua, a Huron tribesman, and must be rescued by the last two survivors of the Mohican tribe. They glorified the nobility of the scouts and settlers on the American frontier. The Last of the Mohicans became America's first bestseller in a time when most American stories were set in Europe. Cooper was the first author to find success at writing American characters in an American setting and generated a true interest among the Europeans in the culture of the Native Americans.

Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter

John Quincy Adams

Hawthorne questioned the intolerance and conformity in American life in short stories and novels, including The Scarlet Letter (1850). He sounded powerful warnings about the dangers of individualism when it became unfettered egoism. The main characters of Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter (1850), Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, blatantly challenge their seventeenth-century New England community by committing adultery and producing a child. Their decision to ignore social restraints results not in liberation but in degradation: a profound sense of guilt and condemnation by the community. The novel also crafts intriguing symmetries between social oppression and psychological repression. The Scarlet Letter effectively encapsulates the emergence of individualism and self-reliance from America’s Puritan and conformist roots. Transcendentalist.

Baltimore and Ohio railroad begins

John Quincy Adams

1828

Construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad began on July 4, 1828. The B&O was the first railroad in the United States to be chartered and operated in public service. It was the first steam-operated railway in the United States to be chartered as a common carrier of freight and passengers. It was built between 1828 and 1830 and connected Mount Claire, Baltimore, and Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. The B&O was a leader in the transportation revolution, providing a more efficient way to travel. It was revolutionary for its time, crossing rivers and laying tracks on undeveloped land. It also introduced many innovations, including: Coal-burning locomotives, T-rail sections, Conical wheels, High-pressure steam engines, and Iron wheels on passenger cars. 

Andrew Jackson

1829-1837 Democrat

Spoils System

Andrew Jackson

At the national level, President Jackson believed in appointing people to federal jobs strictly according to whether they had actively campaigned for the Democratic Party. Any previous holder of the office who was not a Democrat was fired and replaced with a loyal Democrat. This practice of dispensing government jobs in return for party loyalty was called the spoils system because of a comment that, in a war, victors seize the spoils, or wealth, of the defeated. On the other hand, the spoils system too often resulted in appointments that were based strictly on the needs of the party, without regard for the appointee’s qualifications or ability to do the job. The spoils system flourished unchallenged in the United States from the 1820s until after the Civil War, at which time the system’s abuses prompted civil-service reforms designed to cut down the number of government posts filled by appointment and to award jobs on the basis of merit. 

Maysville Road veto

Andrew Jackson

1830

The Maysville Road veto of 1830 refers to President Andrew Jackson's decision to veto a bill that would have funded the construction of a road solely within Kentucky, from Maysville to Lexington, arguing that it was unconstitutional for the federal government to fund purely local projects and violated the principle of using federal funds for broader national benefits, not just specific state interests; this veto marked a significant moment in the debate over the federal government's role in internal improvements like road construction. The bill proposed using federal funds to build a road entirely within Kentucky, which was seen by many as a benefit primarily to that state and not the nation as a whole. The veto established a precedent for a more cautious approach to federal funding of internal improvements, limiting the federal government's involvement in local projects. 

Indian Removal Act

Andrew Jackson

1830

Jackson sympathized with land-hungry citizens who were impatient to take over land held by American Indians. Jackson thought the most humane solution was to compel the American Indians to leave their traditional homelands and resettle west of the Mississippi. In 1830, he signed into law the Indian Removal Act, which forced the resettlement of many thousands of American Indians. By 1835, most eastern tribes had reluctantly complied and moved west. When the Cherokees challenged Georgia in the courts, the Supreme Court ruled in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) that Cherokees were not a foreign nation with the right to sue in a federal court. But in a second case, Worcester v. Georgia (1832), the high court ruled that the laws of Georgia had no federal courts, Jackson sided with the states. The Court was powerless to enforce its decision without the President’s support.

Nat Turner Rebellion

Andrew Jackson

1831

Nat Turner's Rebellion, which occurred in Southampton County, Virginia in August 1831, was a violent slave uprising led by the enslaved preacher Nat Turner, where he and a small group of followers killed about 55 white people across multiple plantations, before being quickly suppressed by local militia; the rebellion sparked widespread fear among white Southerners, leading to harsh reprisals against enslaved people, further tightening restrictions on their lives and solidifying the institution of slavery in the region. The rebellion resulted in the deaths of many enslaved people, both directly involved and suspected of involvement, as white mobs and militia retaliated violently.Increased fear among white slaveholders, leading to stricter slave codes and further suppression of enslaved people's rights; the rebellion also contributed to growing abolitionist sentiment in the North. 

William Lloyd Garrison The Liberator

Andrew Jackson

1831

In 1831, William Lloyd Garrison began publication of an abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, an event that marked the beginning of the radical abolitionist movement. The Liberator was an abolitionist newspaper that advocated for the immediate uncompensated emancipation of slaves, becoming a central voice in the anti-slavery movement by attacking the institution of slavery on moral grounds and calling for its complete eradication, often criticizing the Constitution as a pro-slavery document. Garrison and other abolitionists founded the American Antislavery Society. It was published in Boston and garnered significant influence despite facing strong opposition from the South due to its radical stance on slavery. Garrison inspired many famous abolitionists, including Frederick Douglass. The Liberator officially ended its run in 1865 when the Civil War ended. 

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia

Andrew Jackson

1831

Georgia and other states passed laws requiring the Cherokees to migrate to the West. When the Cherokees challenged Georgia in the courts, the Supreme Court ruled in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) that Cherokees were not a foreign nation with the right to sue in a federal court. But in a second case, Worcester v. Georgia (1832), the high court ruled that the laws of Georgia had no federal courts, Jackson sided with the states. The Court was powerless to enforce its decision without the President’s support. The case is part of the "Marshall Trilogy" of court cases that established the foundation of American Indian law. The other cases in the trilogy are Johnson v. McIntosh (1823) and Worcester v. Georgia (1832). 

Worcester v. Georgia

Andrew Jackson

1832

In "Worcester v. Georgia" (1832), the Supreme Court ruled that the state of Georgia could not enforce laws against a white missionary, Samuel Worcester, living on Cherokee land without a state license, effectively establishing that only the federal government had authority over Native American tribes and their land, thus upholding the concept of tribal sovereignty; however, President Andrew Jackson refused to enforce the ruling, leading to the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation in the "Trail of Tears." The Worcester decision created an important precedent through which American Indians could, like states, reserve some areas of political autonomy.

Vetoes Bank of US re-charter

Andrew Jackson

1832

In 1832, Henry Clay and Daniel Webster persuaded Biddle to seek an early extension of the bank’s charter. They had the votes in Congress to enact the required legislation and hoped to lure Jackson into a veto that would split the Democrats just before the 1832 elections. Jackson vetoed the rechartering bill with a message that used constitutional arguments. Jackson declared that Congress had no constitutional authority to charter a national bank. The president noted that British aristocrats owned much of the bank’s stock. Jackson’s attack on the bank carried him to victory in 1832.  Jackson’s  supporters blamed the Second Bank for high prices and stagnant farm income. Other Jackson supporters had prospered during a decade of strong economic growth. This led to the Bank War which led to inflation throughout the United States. Though it did lead to the Panic of 1837 and made the Whigs very mad. 

Pet Banks

Andrew Jackson

1832

Jackson attacked the bank by withdrawing all federal funds. Aided by Secretary of the Treasury Roger Taney, he transferred the fund to various state banks, which Jackson’s critics called pet banks. As a result of the bank veto, he ordered that no more government funds be deposited in the bank, and that existing deposits be used to pay off expenses. Instead, he placed the money in 89 state banks that were loyal to him, which became known as "pet banks." The Whigs coined the term as a derogatory one. Jackson's actions, combined with the encouragement of easy credit and the demand for specie, led to the Panic of 1837. Some say that Jackson's policies made recovery more difficult, but others blame the panic on factors outside of Jackson's control.

Black Hawk War

Andrew Jackson

1832

The Black Hawk War was a brief but bloody conflict between the United States and Native Americans that took place from April to August 1832. The war began when Sauk leader Black Hawk and around 1,000 followers crossed the Mississippi River from Iowa to Illinois in April 1832. Black Hawk's intentions were unclear, but he was likely trying to reclaim land that the United States had taken over in the 1804 Treaty of St. Louis. The treaty was signed in 1804 after the Sauk and Fox tribes gave up their land east of the Mississippi River in exchange for $1,000 a year. However, the tribes' chiefs claimed the treaty was invalid because the men who created it didn't have permission. The significance of the Black Hawk War for APUSH is that the outcome led to the cession of Native American lands in present-day Iowa, accelerating Westward Expansion.

Compromise Tariff

Andrew Jackson

1833

The Compromise Tariff of 1833 was a bill proposed by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun to resolve the Nullification Crisis of 1832. The Compromise Tariff of 1833 gradually lowered tariff rates over 10 years to 20%, the rate set by the Tariff of 1816. It allowed many raw materials used by American industry to be admitted duty-free and required all duties to be paid in cash, with no credit allowed. The Compromise Tariff of 1833 was paired with the Force Bill, which gave the president the power to use military force to enforce federal laws. The Force Bill was known as the "sword" to the Compromise Tariff's "olive branch". The Compromise Tariff of 1833 preserved the Union, the Constitution, and the peace, and avoided warfare between the Union and the South Carolina army. However, the Nullification Crisis ultimately led to the secession of southern states 30 years later.

Force Bill

Andrew Jackson

1833

The Force Bill of 1833, passed during the Nullification Crisis, granted President Andrew Jackson the authority to use military force against South Carolina if the state refused to comply with federal tariffs, essentially allowing the federal government to compel a state to follow federal law, primarily in response to South Carolina's threat to nullify the tariffs considered harmful to their economy; although the Force Bill was passed, it was never actually used due to the simultaneous passage of a compromise tariff that appeased South Carolina and ended the crisis. The law allowed the president to relocate customs houses and to require that customs duties be paid in cash. It also authorized the use of armed forces to protect customs officials and enforce collection of tariffs. At the same time Congress passed a law substantially reducing import duties.

American Anti-Slavery Society found

Andrew Jackson

1833

The first interracial social justice movement in the United States, which advocated the immediate, unconditional end of slavery on the basis of human rights, without compensation to slave masters. William Lloyd Garrison accused the American Colonization Society of perpetuating slavery and assailed the U.S. Constitution as it implicitly accepted racial bondage. In 1833, Garrison and sixty other religious abolitionists, black and white, established the American Anti-Slavery Society. AA-SS leaders launched a three-pronged attack. Using new steam-powered presses to print a million pamphlets, they first carried out a “great postal campaign” in 1835, flooding the nation, including the South, with antislavery literature. It was influential in shaping public opinion and fostering discussions about civil rights, reflecting the growing reformist sentiments of the era. By the late 1830s, it had hundreds of chapters and 250,000 members. It led to the Civil War and the freedom of enslaved African Americans.

Whig Party created

Andrew Jackson

1834

The Whig Party was a significant U.S. political party from 1834 to 1854, formed in opposition to President Andrew Jackson's policies, which they viewed as tyrannical. It arose from a coalition of fiscal conservatives, southern states’ rights advocates, and members of the Anti-Masonic Movement. The party struggled to establish a coherent platform and initially ran multiple candidates in elections to appeal to various regions. Although they won the presidency in 1840 with William Henry Harrison, the party's cohesion deteriorated due to internal divisions over slavery and expansionism. By the mid-1850s, many northern Whigs joined the Republican Party, leading to the Whig Party's decline. Remaining Whigs often aligned with other minor parties, like the Know-Nothing Party, as the nation became increasingly polarized over sectional issues.

The Mechanical Reaper

Andrew Jackson

1834

The Mechanical Reaper, invented by Cyrus McCormick in 1834, was a revolutionary agricultural machine that significantly improved the efficiency of harvesting wheat by mechanizing the process, drastically reducing the labor needed to reap crops, which ultimately contributed to the expansion of large-scale farming in the American Midwest and played a key role in the Market Revolution. Allowed farmers to harvest much larger quantities of grain faster with less manual labor, leading to increased agricultural productivity and economic growth. Facilitated settlement and development of the American Midwest by enabling farmers to efficiently cultivate large wheat fields. 

Specie Circular

Andrew Jackson

1836

An executive order in 1836 that required the Treasury Department to accept only gold and silver in payment for lands in the national domain. The Specie Circular, issued by President Andrew Jackson in 1836, was an executive order that mandated that all federal lands must be purchased with "specie" (gold or silver coin), effectively restricting the use of paper money for land purchases in an attempt to curb excessive land speculation in the West, which was fueled by easy credit from state banks, and to decrease the amount of paper money circulating in the economy; this policy contributed significantly to the Panic of 1837 by creating a credit crunch and restricting access to land for many buyers who could not readily obtain gold or silver. 

Martin Van Buren

1837-1841 Democrat

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “The American Scholar”

Martin Van Buren

1837

In his speech "The American Scholar," Ralph Waldo Emerson, a key figure of Transcendentalism, argues that the ideal American scholar should be deeply connected to nature, actively engage with books as a source of inspiration, and use their knowledge to contribute to society by actively participating in the world around them, essentially rejecting the idea of a scholar solely confined to the ivory tower, calling for a new, distinctly American intellectual identity that draws from both personal experience and the wider world; this speech, delivered at Harvard in 1837, is considered a foundational text in American literature and thought, advocating for self-reliance and individual creativity as the core of American scholarship. 

Trail of Tears

Martin Van Buren

1838

Result of Indian Removal Act. The "Trail of Tears" refers to the forced relocation of Native American tribes, primarily the Cherokee Nation, from their ancestral lands in the Southeastern United States to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River in the late 1830s, resulting from the Indian Removal Act of 1830, signed by President Andrew Jackson, which led to thousands of deaths due to disease, starvation, and exposure during the arduous journey; this event is considered a significant example of the devastating impact of US expansion on Native American populations. The federal government promised that their new land would remain unmolested forever, but as the line of white settlement pushed westward, “Indian Country” shrank and shrank. 

Interchangeable Parts

Martin Van Buren

1840

Interchangeable parts are identical components that can be substituted for each other, which are made to specifications that ensure they will fit into any assembly of the same type. This concept was popularized in America by Eli Whitney. This process allowed for mass production of products, which was faster and cheaper, and made repair and replacement of parts easier. By 1840, the process of interchangeable parts was being applied to sewing machines, farm machinery, watch parts, and wooden clocks. After the Civil War, the idea of interchangeable assembly spread quickly through American manufacturing, with Remington expanding the idea to make sewing machines and typewriters. In 1913, Henry Ford carried the assembly line to such a remarkable level that America became the world leader in production. 

Washington Temperance Society

Martin Van Buren

1840

The Washingtonian Temperance Society was a 19th-century American temperance organization that aimed to reform drinkers by offering moral support and sharing stories of alcohol abuse. The Washingtonians were founded in Baltimore, Maryland on April 2, 1840 by six alcoholics who believed that by relying on each other and sharing their experiences, they could keep each other sober. The group's main component was the “experience speech” of a reformed alcoholic, as opposed to the lecture of more traditional temperance organizations. The Washingtonian movement eventually became a prohibitionist organization that promoted the legal and mandatory prohibition of alcoholic beverages. The temperance movement was seen as part of a broader moral reform agenda aiming to create a more just and equitable society. Many activists involved in temperance also supported the fight against slavery or advocated for women's suffrage. 

Panic of 1837 (through 1843)

Martin Van Buren

The Panic of 1837 was a major economic depression in the United States triggered by speculation and loose credit practices, largely due to President Andrew Jackson's veto of the Second Bank of the United States, leading to widespread bank failures, plummeting prices, high unemployment, and significant hardship across the nation. Jackson's specie circular was a policy requiring federal land purchases to be made with hard currency, which drained funds from the banking system. Numerous state banks collapsed due to runs on deposits, leading to a loss of public confidence in the banking system. A severe economic downturn with widespread business closures, unemployment, and falling prices. It increased poverty, hardship for working-class Americans, and growing discontent with the government. The economic crisis fueled criticism of Jackson's policies, boosting support for the Whig Party who advocated for a more regulated banking system. As Jackson's successor, Van Buren faced the brunt of the economic crisis and struggled to implement effective solutions. 

William Henry Harrison

1841-1841 Whig (Shortest presidency—four weeks No Events)

John Tyler

1841-1845 Whig (then switched to Democrat)