APUSH lecture: 5/5

Market Revolution, Andrew Jackson, Manifest Destiny, Lead Up To Civil War

Nativists

  • Nativists overview:

    • Primarily Protestant.

    • Descendants of people born in America.

    • Opposed Roman Catholics.

    • Opposed Irish immigrants taking jobs.

    • Disliked African Americans due to job competition.

  • Political Activity:

    • Know Nothing party: A single-issue party.

  • Historical Context:

    • Emerged in the early 1800s and resurfaced post-Civil War.

Market Revolution / Transformation Revolution

  • Regional Connection:

    • Connected the North, South, and West regions.

  • Key Factors:

    • Transportation innovations.

    • Government policy.

Early Mills

  • Examples:

    • Slater Mills.

    • Lowell Mills.

  • Significance:

    • First instances of industrialization in America.

    • Focused on textiles.

    • Slater memorized plans and brought them to America.

  • Eli Whitney:

    • Introduced interchangeable parts.

    • Impact on Industry:

      • Enabled the use of the same part in multiple products.

      • Reduced production costs.

      • Increased the availability of consumer goods.

  • Inventions:

    • Morse code.

    • Light bulb.

Factories in the North

  • Lowell System:

    • Workers lived in housing next to the mills.

  • Advantages of the Lowell System:

    • Offered work opportunities to young women, especially those seeking alternatives to farm work.

    • Provided women a chance to work outside the home.

  • Impact of Industrialization in the North:

    • The North became significantly more industrialized, which was advantageous during the Civil War.

Transportation

  • Railroads:

    • Railroads were in their initial stages during the market revolution.

    • Canals and roads were more prominent.

  • National Road:

    • Extended across the United States to Illinois.

    • Connected different regions, allowing for the shipment of crops from the Midwest to the East via train and canal.

Government Policy and Infrastructure

  • American System:

    • Advocated by Henry Clay.

    • Opposed by Andrew Jackson and Democrats.

    • Components:

      • High tariffs: Benefited the North and its industries.

      • Infrastructure: Canals, roads, and bridges.

    • Opposition:

      • The South and West opposed it, believing it primarily benefited the North.

  • Gibbons versus Ogden:

    • Established the federal government's authority to regulate interstate commerce.

    • Struck down monopolies, such as the steamboat monopoly on the Hudson River.

Changes in Agriculture

  • Mechanization:

    • Farmers were able to produce more crops.

  • Impact:

    • Reduced the need for farm labor, allowing more people to work in factories.

    • Led to the start of large-scale farming.

    • Innovations included plows and reapers.

  • Cotton Gin:

    • Invented by Eli Whitney before the market revolution.

    • Increased cotton profitability, driving up demand for slave labor.

      • International slave trade was outlawed, so it increased the internal slave trade in the Upper South to the Lower South.

Cotton and Slavery

  • Eli Whitney's Intent:

    • Whitney was anti-slavery and believed the cotton gin would reduce the need for slaves.

  • Reality:

    • The cotton gin made cotton highly profitable, increasing the demand for slaves to plant, cultivate, pick, and bale cotton.

  • International Slave Trade:

    • By the early 1800s, the international slave trade was banned, leading to a high demand for the internal slave trade.

  • Impact on the North:

    • The cotton gin also benefited the North by boosting textile production.

  • Southern Perspective:

    • The South believed cotton was crucial and that other countries would intervene in the Civil War to protect their access to it.

Andrew Jackson

  • Corrupt Bargain:

    • Jackson believed he was cheated out of the election due to Henry Clay's support for John Quincy Adams, who then became president.

  • Champion of the Common Man:

    • Jackson portrayed himself as a defender of ordinary people.

  • Democratization:

    • More Americans became involved in the political system.

    • Many states eliminated property requirements for voting.

    • Practices like the secret ballot were phased out in some states.

Nullification Crisis

  • States' Rights:

    • The crisis involved issues of states' rights and federal authority.

Texas

  • Independence:

    • Texas was briefly an independent state.

  • Desire for Annexation:

    • Texas sought to become part of the United States due to concerns about potential recapture by Mexico.

  • Slavery Issue:

    • The annexation of Texas was complicated by the issue of slavery, as Texas was likely to enter as a slave state.

    • This would upset the balance between slave and free states.

Manifest Destiny

  • James Polk's Platform:

    • Polk campaigned on annexing Texas and acquiring California.

  • Core Idea:

    • The belief that the United States had a divine right to control North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

    • This expansion was seen as beneficial.

  • Means of Achieving Manifest Destiny:

    • Louisiana Purchase.

    • Annexation of Texas.

    • Treaties with Spain and Great Britain.

    • War with Mexico.

  • Consequences:

    • Displacement of Native Americans.

  • Oregon Territory:

    • Peaceful occupation with England, dividing the territory at the 49th parallel.

War with Mexico

  • Provocation:

    • The U.S. moved troops into a disputed area, leading to a Mexican response and subsequent war.

  • Duration:

    • The war lasted two years.

  • Outcome:

    • The U.S. gained significant territory in the West, including Texas.

  • Whig Party Split:

    • The Whig Party divided over the issue of slavery, weakening the party.

  • Northern Whigs:

    • Opposed the war, fearing that new territories would become slave states.

  • Wilmot Proviso:

    • Proposed that slavery be banned in any land acquired from Mexico, but it failed to pass the Senate.

  • Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo:

    • Ended the war and resulted in the U.S. gaining substantial territory.

  • Gadsden Purchase:

    • The U.S. bought additional land.

Lead-Up to the Civil War and Sectionalism

  • Sectionalism:

    • Division between the North and South.

  • Free-Soilers:

    • Opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories but didn't advocate for the abolition of slavery altogether.

    • Abraham Lincoln was a prominent Free-Soiler who later became a Republican.

  • Southern Perspective:

    • Southerners believed any restriction on slavery was unconstitutional.

  • 1848 Election:

    • The Whigs avoided taking a firm stance on slavery to prevent splitting their vote.

Compromise of 1850

  • Provisions:

    • California was admitted as a free state.

    • The slave trade was banned in Washington, D.C.

    • A stricter Fugitive Slave Act was enacted, making it easier for Southern slave owners to reclaim runaway slaves.

      • Slaves were unable to testify

      • Local Resources Used

  • Northern Resistance:

    • Underground Railroad.

    • Petitions.

    • Growing abolitionist movement.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

  • Popular Sovereignty:

    • Proposed by Stephen Douglas.

    • Allowed residents of Kansas and Nebraska to decide on slavery through voting.

  • Bleeding Kansas:

    • Violence erupted as pro- and anti-slavery factions rushed into Kansas to sway the vote.

    • Considered by some to be the start of the Civil War.

  • Northern Resistance:

    • Uncle Tom's Cabin: A novel that depicted the harsh realities of slavery.

    • Frederick Douglass: An author and former slave who provided personal accounts of slavery.

Consequences of the Kansas-Nebraska Act

  • Rival Governments:

    • Two opposing governments formed in Kansas.

  • Violence:

    • Both sides used violence to influence voters.

    • Notable events:

      • John Brown's anti-slavery activities.

      • Sack of Lawrence.

  • Republican Party Formation:

    • Formed in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Bleeding Kansas

  • Key Events:

    • John Brown's Potawatomi Massacre: Led a raid on pro-slavery forces.

    • Charles Sumner's Beating: Attacked on the Senate floor by South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler.

  • Breakdown of Compromise:

    • These events demonstrated that compromise between the North and South was no longer possible.

1856 Election

  • Republican Debut:

    • The first time Republicans ran a candidate, John C. Fremont.

    • He lost, but the party gained recognition.

Dred Scott Decision

  • Significance:

    • Dred Scott was unable to testify in court, because he was characterized as an artifact, meaning that slaves were property.

  • Constitutional Implications:

    • Slaves, as property, were protected by the Constitution.

    • This inflamed tensions in the North.

  • Election of 1860

    • Triggered Southern sucession from the Union almost immediately

Election of 1860

  • Democratic Party Split:

    • The Democratic Party divided, running multiple candidates, including Douglas, Breckenridge, and Bell.

  • Abraham Lincoln's Platform:

    • No expansion of slavery.

    • High protective tariff.

    • Railroad to the Northwest.

    • Land distribution through the Homestead Act.

Southern Secession

  • Trigger:

    • Lincoln's election led to Southern states seceding from the Union.