APUSH Antebellum Era Review Flashcards

Early American Political Parties

  • Democratic-Republicans
    • Championed the interests of the "common man"
    • Welcomed immigrants
    • Benefitted from the expansion of voting rights for white males

Landmark Supreme Court Cases

  • Marbury v. Madison
    • Established the principle of judicial review
  • McCulloch v. Maryland
    • Supreme Court upheld federal power over states
  • Worcester v. Georgia
    • Ruled that states cannot impose laws on Indian lands
  • Dartmouth College v. Woodward
    • Established the sanctity of private contracts

Political Debates and Regional Differences

  • Political debates during the early 19th century were primarily influenced by:
    • Tariff rates
    • Internal improvements
    • Expansion of white male suffrage
    • Foreign affairs (least affected)

John C. Calhoun and Slavery

  • Calhoun's 1837 speech characterized slavery as a "positive good"

Antebellum Reform Movements Origins

  • Major reforms included abolitionism, temperance, and women’s rights
  • Originated from:
    • Second Great Awakening
    • Beliefs in human perfectibility
    • Liberal European social ideas (not from the Monroe Doctrine)

Immigration and Nativism

  • The Irish and Germans were significant immigrant groups in the 1840s and 1850s, resulting in a nativist backlash.

American Art and Literature

  • Early 1800s American art and literature blended European styles with regional American tastes.

Common Experiences of American Indians, Women, and Religious Groups

  • All faced limited economic opportunities and discrimination.

Famous Abolitionists

  • Frederick Douglass: Autobiography detailing his life as a slave

Technological Innovations of the Antebellum Era

  • Led to:
    • Increased industrial output
    • Economic expansion in the North
    • Textile machinery, steam engines, and telegraphs revolutionized transportation and communication

The Lowell System

  • Utilized mill girls from rural areas in textile factories
  • Focused on a new labor system influencing factories across the US

Southern Cotton Economy

  • Economic impact:
    • Increased political power in Congress
    • Growth of plantation agriculture (not isolation)

Economic Linkage Between North and Midwest

  • Strengthened by:
    • Canals and railroads
    • Market production shift
  • Weakened by the spread of plantation agriculture

Indian Removal and Internal Slave Trade

  • Both were focused on economic exploitation and resources.

Erie Canal

  • Vital connection linking the Great Lakes to the East Coast, boosting New York City's economy

Irish Immigration Patterns

  • Most Irish immigrants settled in cities along the east coast during the 1840s and 1850s.

Cotton Cultivation Effects

  • Cultivation increased political power of the South in Congress
  • Contributed to economic isolation from other regions

Women's Role During the Industrial Revolution

  • The Cult of Domesticity highlighted the idealized roles of women as homemakers.

Opposition to the American System

  • Stemmed from regional interests overriding national concerns regarding transport improvements.

Manifest Destiny

  • The Missouri Compromise, Texas annexation, and disputes over California and Oregon characterized it.

Monroe Doctrine

  • Declared European interference in the Western Hemisphere unacceptable.

Slavery and Western Expansion Tensions

  • The extension of slavery became a divisive issue before the Civil War.

Tariff of 1828 Discontent

  • Seen as an "abomination" especially by Southern states fearing economic control by the North.

Nullification and Rights

  • Hartford Convention and other events encapsulated tensions between states' rights and federal authority.

Indian Removal Act

  • Led to the Trail of Tears and was seen as government-sanctioned oppression.

Missouri Compromise

  • Temporarily settled the issue of slavery expansion but created further tensions leading up to the Civil War.

Slavery Increase in the Southwest

  • Caused rising tensions over the institution's expansion into new territories.