American history review from the Early Republic to Reconstruction

Unit 8: American Economy and Expansion

The American economy and territorial expansion in the early to mid-nineteenth century were marked by significant milestones in infrastructure and policy. In $1823$, the Monroe Doctrine was established as a cornerstone of American foreign policy, asserting that the Western Hemisphere was closed to further European colonization. The completion of the Erie Canal in $1825$ revolutionized internal trade by connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River. This period also saw intense political friction, specifically the Nullification Crisis of $1832$ through $1833$, which arose over state opposition to federal tariffs. Infrastructure continued to evolve with the rapid development of railroads between $1827$ and $1860$. Territorial expansion reached the Pacific Northwest with the heavy use of the Oregon Trail in $1843$, and communication was fundamentally altered in $1844$ with the successful transmission of the first intercity telegraph message.

The shift from an agrarian economy to an industrial economy defined this era. The agrarian economy was centered on large-scale farming and agriculture as the primary source of wealth, while the industrial economy emerged through the growth of factories and mass production. This transition was supported by the American System, a national economic plan that promoted high tariffs, a national bank, and internal improvements to foster self-sufficiency. This period is also characterized by the Transportation Revolution, which included the creation of roads, canals, and railroads to improve the movement of goods, and the Communication Revolution, which saw the birth of the telegraph and improved postal services, dramatically increasing the speed at which information traveled across the nation.

Unit 9: Antebellum Era

The Antebellum Era was characterized by rising tensions over slavery and territorial growth. In $1831$, Nat Turner's Rebellion served as a violent slave uprising in Virginia that resulted in stricter slave codes across the South. The Mexican American War, occurring from $1846$ to $1848$, significantly expanded U.S. territory but also intensified the debate over the expansion of slavery into new lands. This expansion coincided with the California Gold Rush of $1849$, which triggered a massive migration of "forty-niners" to the West Coast. Legislative efforts to preserve the Union included the Compromise of $1850$, which attempted to balance the interests of slave and free states, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of $1854$, which allowed for popular sovereignty to determine the status of slavery in those territories, leading to violent conflict. Legal and social tensions peaked with the $1857$ Dred Scott vs. Sandford decision, where the Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens, and John Brown's Raid at Harper's Ferry in $1859$, an attempt to initiate an armed slave revolt.

Key concepts of the era include Manifest Destiny, the belief that the United States was destined by God to expand across the entire North American continent. The Mexican Cession of $1848$ was the vast region ceded to the U.S. by Mexico following the war. Growing sectionalism, or the loyalty to the interests of one's own region rather than the country as a whole, began to tear at the national fabric. The Underground Railroad operated as a secret network of routes and safe houses to help enslaved people escape to free states or Canada. The Fugitive Slave Law, part of the $1850$ Compromise, required that escaped slaves be returned to their masters, even if they reached free territory. Efforts to manage the Oregon Territory also reflected the drive to secure the Pacific Northwest for the United States.

Unit 10: Civil War

The American Civil War began following the election of Abraham Lincoln as President in $1860$, which prompted South Carolina to adopt an Ordinance of Secession. Hostilities commenced in $1861$ with the Battle of Fort Sumter, followed by the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). In $1862$, the Battle of Antietam became the bloodiest single day in American history, while the Battle of Fredericksburg followed later that year. The year $1863$ was a turning point, featuring the Battle of Chancellorsville, the pivotal Siege of Vicksburg ($ ext{May 23 -- July 4} $), and the Battle of Gettysburg ($ ext{July 1 -- 3} $). In $1864$, General Ulysses S. Grant launched the Overland Campaign while General William Tecumseh Sherman began his March to the Sea. The war neared its end in $1865$ with the Fall of Richmond and the surrender at the Battle of Appomattox Court House, though the victory was marred by the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Strategic and leadership roles were vital during the conflict. General Robert E. Lee commanded the Army of Northern Virginia for the Confederacy, while the Union eventually found success under General Ulysses S. Grant. Early Union efforts were led by General George McClellan, who was known for his caution. The Union's overarching strategy was the Anaconda Plan, which sought to blockade Southern ports and control the Mississippi River to squeeze the Confederacy. Key political and military concepts included the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln's order freeing slaves in Confederate-held territory; Secession, the formal withdrawal of states from the Union; and the roles of presidents Abraham Lincoln (Union) and Jefferson Davis (Confederacy). The war was fought using tactics of attrition, wearing down the enemy's resources, and total war, which targeted the enemy's economic and civilian infrastructure.

Unit 7: American Civilization, Religion, and Culture

The nineteenth century saw a transformation in American social and spiritual life. The Second Great Awakening began around $1820$ as a massive religious revival movement that spread Christianity and inspired numerous reform efforts. Leaders like Charles Grandison Finney and Lyman Beecher were instrumental in this spiritual shift. In $1820$, the Missouri Compromise attempted to settle the slavery issue by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. The decade of the $1830$s saw the publication of the Book of Mormon ($1830$), marking the start of the Mormon religion, and the rise of various Social Reform Movements. These included the Temperance Movement ($1820$s -- $1840$s), which sought to reduce or ban alcohol consumption, and the Abolitionist Movement ($1830$s -- $1860$s), led by figures like Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. The Women's Rights Movement gained momentum in the $1840$s, culminating in the Seneca Falls Convention of$1848$, organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott.

Intellectual life was influenced by Transcendentalism in the $1830$s, a philosophy emphasizing nature, self-reliance, and individual thought, championed by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Emerson's "Concord Hymn," written in $18 37$, hon ored the battles of Lexington and Concord. Collectively, these movements sought to improve society through moral and social change.

Unit 11: Reconstruction

Following the Civil War, the United States entered the Reconstruction era to reintegrate the Southern states and provide for the rights of formerly enslaved people. Key components included the Freedmen's Bureau, established to provide aid and education to formerly enslaved people. The Radical Republicans in Congress pushed for stern requirements for Southern readmission and protection of civil rights. However, many Southern states implemented Black Codes to restrict the freedom of African Americans. The Reconstruction Acts of $1867$ outlined the process for readmitting Southern states into the Union. This period also saw the passage of the Reconstruction Amendments: the $13 ext{th}$ Amendment (abolished slavery), the $14 ext{th}$ Amendment (granted citizenship and equal protection), and the $15 ext{th}$ Amendment (granted voting rights regardless of race). Reconstruction effectively ended with the Compromise of $1877$, which led to the withdrawal of federal troops and the rise of Jim Crow Laws, a system of institutionalized racial segregation.

Statehood and Historical Records

The growth of the United States is documented through the admission of states and foundational texts. The first $13$ states, including Delaware ($1787$), Pennsylvania ($1787$), and Virginia ($1788$), formed the original Union. Subsequent states like Kentucky ($1792$), Ohio ($1803$), and California ($1850$) followed as the nation expanded westward. West Virginia became a state during the Civil War in $1863$, and Hawaii and Alaska were the most recent additions in $1959$.

Foundational documents provide the ideological basis for the nation. The Declaration of Independence ($ ext{July 4, 1776} $) asserts that all men are created equal and endowed with unalienable rights such as Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. The Preamble to the Constitution ($1787$) outlines the goals of the new government, including establishing justice and insuring domestic tranquility. The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments, protecting freedoms such as speech, religion, and the right to a trial by jury. During the Civil War, President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address ($ ext{November 19, 1863} $), emphasizing a "new birth of freedom" and the endurance of a government "of the people, by the people, for the people."

Questions & Discussion

1. Explain why the Election of $1860$ polarized the Northern and Southern states. The Election of $1860$ was polarizing because Abraham Lincoln was elected without the support of a single Southern state. His victory signaled to the South that the Northern states had the political power to threaten the institution of slavery and their regional interests.

2. Why did Robert E. Lee decline Lincoln’s offer of the Union command in $1861$? Robert E. Lee declined the offer because his primary loyalty was to his home state of Virginia. When Virginia seceded from the Union, Lee felt he could not fight against his own people and joined the Confederacy.

3. What was the superior strategy employed by General Grant to defeat the South? General Grant utilized a strategy of attrition and total war. He leveraged the Union's superior numbers and resources to relentlessly attack Confederate forces, while simultaneously destroying the South's economic ability to sustain the war.