Unit 4 (1800-1848)

AI NOTES

🇺🇸 I. Political Developments & Jeffersonian Democracy

• Revolution of 1800: Peaceful transfer of power from Federalists to Democratic-Republicans with Jefferson’s election. (1800)

• Jefferson reduced military size, repealed excise taxes, and focused on agrarian ideals. (Early 1800s)

• Conflict with Barbary Pirates after Jefferson refused to continue tribute payments led to naval action and eventual reduced payment. (1801–1805)

• Louisiana Purchase: U.S. bought Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, doubling the nation’s size and challenging Jefferson’s strict constructionism. (1803)

• Lewis and Clark Expedition explored the new land, reaching the Pacific Ocean and increasing geographic and scientific knowledge. (1804–1806)

• Zebulon Pike explored the Southwest and mapped parts of the new territory. (1806)

⚖ II. Judicial Developments & Federal Power

• Marbury v. Madison: Established judicial review, allowing the Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional. (1803)

• McCulloch v. Maryland: Affirmed the constitutionality of the national bank and that federal law overrides state law. (1819)

🌎 III. Foreign Policy & War

• Ongoing impressment of U.S. sailors and British interference with American trade led to increasing tensions. (Early 1800s)

• Native resistance in the Northwest Territory was allegedly supported by the British. (Early 1810s)

• War of 1812: U.S. declared war on Britain over trade issues, impressment, and frontier conflicts. (1812)

• Hartford Convention: New England Federalists opposed the war and even discussed secession, leading to the collapse of the Federalist Party. (1814)

🏛 IV. Economic Nationalism & the American System

• The U.S. economy faced challenges during the war due to lack of a national bank and poor infrastructure. (1812–1815)

• Henry Clay’s American System proposed three parts: a new national bank, protective tariffs, and federally funded internal improvements. (Proposed in 1816)

• Madison supported the bank and tariffs but vetoed internal improvements as an overreach of federal power. (1816–1817)

⚖ V. Sectionalism & Slavery

• Missouri applied for statehood with slavery, sparking debate over the expansion of slavery into new territories. (1819)

• Tallmadge Amendment attempted to prohibit slavery in Missouri, threatening the balance of power between free and slave states. (1819)

• Missouri Compromise: Engineered by Henry Clay, admitted Missouri as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and prohibited slavery north of 36°30′ in the Louisiana Territory. (1820)

Compromise of 1820 (Missouri Compromise)

• Missouri entered the Union as a slave state; Maine entered as a free state.

• This maintained the balance between slave and free states in the Senate.

• Slavery was prohibited north of the 36°30′ line (southern Missouri border), except in Missouri.

• Aimed to resolve future tensions over westward expansion of slavery.
  (1820)

Foreign Policy and Territorial Expansion

• President James Monroe sent John Quincy Adams to Britain to negotiate boundaries.

• Treaty with Britain: Set the U.S.-Canada border at the 49th parallel and created joint U.S.-British occupation of Oregon Territory.
  (1818)

• Adams-Onís Treaty: Spain ceded Florida to the U.S.; the U.S. gave up claims to Texas, and the southern boundary was set.
  (1819)

• Monroe Doctrine: Declared the Western Hemisphere off-limits to European colonization and interference; asserted U.S. dominance.
  (1823)

Market Revolution

• Connected northern industry with western/southern agriculture through technological and infrastructural advances.

• Key innovations: Cotton gin (sped up cotton seed removal), spinning machine (sped up thread production), and interchangeable parts (standardized mass production).
  (1793–1820s)

Transportation Revolution

• Steamboats: Enabled two-way river navigation, boosting trade.

• Canals: Man-made waterways like the Erie Canal connected regions and spurred commerce.
  (Erie Canal completed in 1825)

• Railroads: Emerged in the 1830s; became the dominant transport system with government support.
  (1830s)

Urbanization and Immigration

• Northern industrial cities grew rapidly; immigrant labor fueled factory growth.

• Over 2 million immigrants (mainly Irish and German) arrived between 1820–1840.

• Many lived in tenements under poor conditions but maintained cultural practices like synagogues and Catholic parishes.
  (1820–1840)

Emergence of the Middle Class & Gender Roles

• Middle class expanded: included shopkeepers, doctors, and lawyers with leisure spending.

• Cult of Domesticity: Ideology promoting women's role in the home as moral guardians, especially among the middle and upper class.
  (1820s–1840s)

Expansion of Democracy

• Originally, only property-owning white males could vote.

• Panic of 1819: Major recession caused by bad banking practices and falling cotton prices; spurred demand for expanded suffrage.
  (1819)

• Western states adopted universal white male suffrage; eastern states followed by reducing property requirements.
  (By 1825)

Political Realignment and the Election of 1824

• Democratic-Republican Party split:

  • National Republicans (Adams/Clay): loose constructionists, favored federal power.

  • Democrats (Jackson): strict constructionists, favored limited government.

• Corrupt Bargain: No electoral majority in 1824; House chose Adams after Clay's support, and Clay became Secretary of State.
  (1824)

Election of 1828 and Rise of Jacksonian Democracy

• Jackson ran again with mass support and won.

• Political factions became formal parties: Democrats (Jackson) vs. National Republicans (Adams).
  (1828)

Tariff of Abominations and Nullification Crisis

• Tariff of 1828: Raised import taxes to 50%, favoring the North but hurting the South.

• Southern opposition led by John C. Calhoun (Jackson’s VP), who advanced the Nullification Doctrine.

• South Carolina nullified the tariff and threatened secession.

• Force Bill: Passed by Jackson to enforce the tariff using military power if needed.
  (Tariff: 1828, Nullification: 1832, Force Bill: 1833)

FORCE BILL & NULLIFICATION COMPROMISE (1833)

• The Force Bill (1833) authorized Andrew Jackson to use federal troops to enforce tariff laws in South Carolina after the state attempted to nullify federal tariffs.

• Jackson simultaneously supported a Compromise Tariff, orchestrated by Henry Clay, which would gradually reduce tariff rates to ease tensions.

• In a symbolic gesture, South Carolina nullified the Force Bill, even after the compromise passed, highlighting continued resistance to federal authority.

BANK WAR & VETO OF THE SECOND NATIONAL BANK (1832)

• The Second Bank of the United States, part of Henry Clay’s American System, had helped stabilize the economy during the 1820s.

• Jackson viewed the Bank as a corrupt institution that favored wealthy elites over the common people.

• In 1832, he vetoed a bill to recharter the Bank, calling it a “monster” dangerous to liberty and democracy.

• Jackson redirected federal funds to state “pet banks,” contributing to inflation and later the Panic of 1837.

INDIAN REMOVAL ACT & TRAIL OF TEARS (1830–1838)

• The Indian Removal Act (1830) authorized the federal government to negotiate the relocation of Native American tribes to lands west of the Mississippi.

• The Cherokee Nation, living in Georgia, declared itself sovereign and resisted removal.

• In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Cherokee sovereignty—but Jackson ignored the ruling.

• In 1835, a minority faction of Cherokee leaders signed the Treaty of New Echota, ceding tribal lands without tribal approval.

• In 1838, the U.S. military forcibly relocated the Cherokee along the Trail of Tears, during which 4,000+ died due to harsh conditions.

AMERICAN CULTURE & INTELLECTUAL LIFE

American Literature & Language

• Noah Webster published the American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), standardizing spelling and defining a distinct American English.

Transcendentalism (1830s–1840s)

• Inspired by European Romanticism, this movement emphasized individual intuition, nature, and human perfectibility.

• Ralph Waldo Emerson advocated for self-reliance and moral improvement through connection with nature.

• Henry David Thoreau conducted an experiment in simple living at Walden Pond, publishing Walden (1854) and supporting civil disobedience.

Hudson River School (mid-1800s)

• A group of painters who celebrated American landscapes and the beauty of untouched nature, reinforcing Romantic ideals.

UTOPIAN COMMUNITIES

• Reformers attempted to build ideal societies inspired by religious ideals and democratic values.

• The Oneida Community (1848) in New York practiced communal property and complex marriage, believing in the equality of all members.

• Other notable communities: Brook Farm, Shakers, and New Harmony.

SECOND GREAT AWAKENING (early 1800s–1830s)

• A religious revival movement emphasizing personal salvation and moral reform.

• Evangelical denominations like Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians grew rapidly.

• Charles Grandison Finney, a powerful preacher, led urban revivals and preached moral reform for society—not just individuals.

• Camp meetings included people of different races and classes, though some denominations split over issues like slavery.

MORAL REFORM MOVEMENTS

Temperance Movement

• Began with the American Temperance Society (1826), led by clergy and businessmen.

• Aimed to reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption, especially among working-class men.

• Over 5,000 chapters formed across the country, calling for total abstinence.

Mormonism (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

• Joseph Smith founded the movement in the 1830s after claiming divine visions and translating the Book of Mormon.

• Preached polygamy and separation from corrupt mainstream churches.

• Faced persecution and violence; Smith was killed in Missouri (1844).

• Brigham Young led the group west to Utah Territory, where they established a theocratic society.

VIDEO NOTES (1800-1848)

Main focuses

• expanding role of the United States in foreign affairs

• transformation of society/economics in the early years

• growing democratic

Election of Jefferson

• foreign powers

  • Barbary pirates - Jefferson was against putting up bribes for trade, so he ordered those payments to seize

  • So the pirate started attacking the United States’ Ships

• scope of federal power at home

  • democratic republicans - strict constructionists

  • Federalists - loose constructionists

  • Louisiana Purchase - land bought from Napoleon of France for $15 million after the Haitian Revolution

    • Because Jefferson was a strict constructionist, he was hesitant about the purchase because the Constitution said nothing about purchasing land

      • By owning the new land, Native Americans could be moved more westward, and European interference would be eliminated in the region (opening up trade), and he was pro-agriculture

Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804 - more accurate depictions of the land and more knowledge about Native Americans

John Marshall

• Marbury v Madison in 1803 - the court determined that they were the final interpreters of the Constitution (Judicial Review)

  • increased power of the Supreme Court

• McCuloch v. Maryland - federal over state law

• Judiciary Act - created new seats for 16 new federal judges

  • enacted by Adams to continue Federal influence because of the rise of Democratic Republicans

• Even though federal law was increasing, regional precedent always came before national concerns

  • War of 1812

    • caused by conflicts between the French and British, which led many to speculate that we were being dragged into the fight even when we wanted to remain neutral (impressment)

    • declared war on Britain

      • democratic republicans - for the war

      • Federalists were against the war

        • Hartford Convention of 1814

    • Intense nationalism in the Americas

    • Federalists were dissolved

    • Era of good feelings - unity under the democratic republican party

    • However, this also showed the weaknesses of that party, like lacking a national bank

      • difficult to move supplies for war efforts

      • difficult to raise funds without credit

        • Henry Clay's American System - unifying the economy

          • federally funded internal improvements like roads and canals

          • Implementation of protective tariffs - people would buy cheaper stuff from national manufacturers instead of imported goods

          • Second Bank of the United States

Madison vetoed the first because of the increase in national power.

Missouri Compromise of 1820

• Tallmadge Amendment - prohibited slavery in the new state

• Keeping the balance between free and slave states was crucial in the senate

• Henry clay proposed the compromise of 1820

• Missouri is a slave

• Maine is free

  • Southern states under the 30-60 line would now be slave states

  • Adam Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 - Spain sold Florida to the United states

Monroe Doctrine

• American dominance in the western hemisphere in 1823

  • American influence free of European dominance

Market Revolution

• linking of northern industries with southern/western farms

  • advance in agriculture, industry, communication, and transportation

• Cotton Gin

  • Speed up the process of removing seeds from cotton

• Spinning Machines

  • Speed up the process of spinning cotton into yarn

• Interchangeable Parts

  • Machines were used to produce goods

    • mass production of goods

    • Water-powered machines

    • division of labor into small, repeatable tasks by unskilled workers

    • steamboats - up and down rivers

    • Canals - waterways made by humans

    • 1820s-1830s railroads - local and state governments paid

    • more interconnected

American Society was also changing

• Germans and Irish provided cheap labor (northern industry)

• growing class of laboring poor

• Tenements were where these poor people lived, and disease and unsanitary conditions were prevalent

• Many brought their own traditions into their areas

• Growing middle class

  • businessmen, shopkeepers, doctors, etc.

    • They had money on disposable income, which they spent on leisure activities like plays, etc.

    • Women were expected to abide by the cult of domesticity

      • Women’s identity revolved around their children, household, and husbands

      • Men’s identity revolved outside the dome, aka house

      • Upper Class and Middle class, not seen in the lower class, because both women and men had to work

Expansion of democracy

• The only people who could vote were property-owning white males

• Working men and smaller farmers wanted the right to vote

• Panic of 1819

  • First major recession

  • caused by banking practices and decreased demand for exports

  • This affected working men and demanded voting rights (they wanted to hold the government accountable for their failures, but they could not vote)

    • By 1825, property requirements were essentially removed

    • This caused the growth of more political parties

Democratic republicans split into the national republicans and democrats

• National republicans - expansive view of federal power, aka loose constructionists (like federalists)

  • John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay as federalists

• Democrats - restrictive view of federal power, aka strict construction

  • Andrew Jackson in the Jefferson Mold

  • Jackson won the popular vote but nobody won enough electoral votes

  • So the House of Representatives voted for Adams, and Adams made Clay his vice president (corrupt bargain) 1824

  • Election of 1828 resulted in the win of Jackson

Jackson’s presidency

Whigs were led by Henry Clay

Democrats led by Jackson

• scope of federal power

• Tariff of 1828

  • raised import duties to 50%

  • Northerners loved it because it protected their industries

  • Southerners hated it because they relied on imported goods

  • Led to the doctrine of nullification

    • States had the right to determine the constitutionality of federal law

    • States could refuse to follow laws

    • SC threatened to secede if the tariffs continued

      • Jackson influenced Congress to pass the FORCE BILL

        • Federal troops can enforce federal law

        • SC then nullified the force bill

• Jackson’s veto of the National Bank

• State banks started closing because they couldn’t pay back the national bank (many people were left with worthless paper money)

  • He believed the bank favored elite citizens over the poor

  • As a man of the common people, he aimed to support the poor

• Jackson’s Indian Removal

  • Indian Removal Act of 1830 - for example, the Cherokee Nation declared itself as a sovereign nation in Georgia, however, Georgians didn’t see it that way

  • The Cherokee were ”guests” on their land, and the Cherokee didn’t want to move west of the Mississippi

  • Worcester v Georgia states that the Cherokee were a sovereign nation and Georgia did not have the right to impose state laws within their boundaries

    • Forced removal in 1838 in the Trail of Tears

Distinct Culture

• American Dictionary - American English

• Transcendentalism - the transendent power of nature of human perfection

  • Influenced by romanticism

• Art

• Utopian communities - living in equality, complex marriage, Birth Control

  • SECOND GREAT AWAKENING

  • camp meetings

  • These camp meetings were more inclusive

  • personal moral

  • Temperance movement 1826

    • Working-class men who abused alcohol

    • abstinence of alcohol

  • MOROMONISM

    • Christianity all churches in Americas strayed from the true meaning of Christianity

  • Anoltitionism

    • moment started picking up steam

    • Garrison’s the Liberator 1831 - white folks need to fight slavery with nonviolence

    • 1833 American Anti-Slavery Society - Northern societies supported it however, some people were scared of losing jobs or the disruption of cotton and sugar trade

    • many women supported abolitionism, but their power as women made it impossible to raise their voices

    • Women's rights and abolitionism started growing together

    • Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 - Declaration of sentiments call for women rights and voting.

    • Nat Turners rebellion - slave revolt 1831

    • Yeoman Farmers believed in the institution and hierarchy of slavery