Unit 4 Notes: 1800-1848

Party Debates

  • Democratic Republicans: Strict constructionists (follow the letter of the Constitution).
  • Federalists: Loose constructionists (follow the spirit of the Constitution).

Expansion of US Territorial Holdings

  • Louisiana Purchase: Thomas Jefferson (strict constructionist) acquired land despite no explicit constitutional power.
  • Core of Discovery: Lewis and Clark (north and west), Zebulon Pike (south) explored the new territory.

Supreme Court

  • Established its role under Chief Justice John Marshall.
  • Marbury v. Madison: Established judicial review, making the Supreme Court the final interpreter of the Constitution.

War of 1812

  • Cause: Britain's impressment of American sailors.
  • Opposition: New England Federalists opposed the war, leading to the Hartford Convention where secession was suggested.

Henry Clay's American System

  • Aimed to unify the American economy through:
    • Federally funded internal improvements.
    • Protective tariffs.
    • Second Bank of the United States.
  • Regional Opposition: The South was disadvantaged.

Westward Expansion

  • Missouri Compromise (1820):
    • Missouri entered as a slave state.
    • 36°30′ line: Determined future slave/free states in the Louisiana Territory.

Claiming New Territory

  • US-Canadian border established at the 49th parallel.
  • Joint occupation of the Oregon Territory.
  • Adams-Onís Treaty: Spain ceded Florida to the US.
  • Monroe Doctrine: Established the Western Hemisphere as a US sphere of influence, opposing European interference.

Market Revolution

  • Linking Northern industry with Western and Southern farms.
  • Technology: Cotton gin, spinning jenny, interchangeable parts, steam engine.
  • Government's Role: Legislation aided transportation (e.g., Erie Canal).
  • Immigration: Large wave between 1820-1840 led to cultural changes and labor pool.
  • Middle Class: Emerged in the North (businessmen, doctors, lawyers).
  • Cult of Domesticity: Defined separate spheres for men (work) and women (home).

Expanding Democracy

  • Panic of 1819: Economic depression led to calls for universal white male suffrage.
  • Election of 1824: Split the Democratic-Republican Party.
    • National Republicans (later Whigs): Loose constructionists.
    • Democrats: Strict constructionists.

Andrew Jackson

  • Tariff of Abominations: Raised tariffs, favored the North, opposed by the South.
  • Nullification Crisis: John C. Calhoun (South Carolina) advocated nullification; Jackson passed the Force Bill.
  • Bank War: Jackson vetoed the recharter of the Second National Bank.
  • Indian Removal Act: Despite Supreme Court opposition, the act was enforced.

American Identity

  • Transcendentalism: Influenced by European romanticism, emphasized nature and human passion (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau).
  • Hudson River School: Romanticized landscapes in art.
  • Second Great Awakening: Emphasized moral reformation of society (Charles Finney).

Reforming American Society

  • Temperance Movement: American Temperance Society advocated abstinence from alcohol.
  • Abolitionism: Gained traction; William Lloyd Garrison (The Liberator), American Anti-Slavery Society.
  • Nat Turner’s Rebellion: Slave revolt that increased fear among white plantation owners.
  • Women's Movement: Seneca Falls Convention (1848) called for women's equality.

Southern Culture

  • Yeoman Farmers: Independent landowners who didn't own enslaved people but still supported slavery.
  • Economics: Based on agriculture, especially cotton which depleted soil.
  • Cotton Demand: Made farmers move west.