APUSH UNIT 4 STUDY GUIDE

4.1: JEFFERSON’S PRESIDENCY 

CIRCA. (1801-1809)

GENERAL Though the transition of power to the Democratic-Reoublican party was non-violent, it was not friendly. Former President John Adams left the capital before Jefferson was inaugurated to avoid the ceremony. He scheduled midnight appointments, filing many government positions with Federalists before leaving town out of spite. 

           → NOTABLE OPPOSITION? In response, Jefferson refused to acknowledge these appointments. He replaced as many of the appointed Federalists as he could – he dismissed some, pressured others to retire, and waited for the rest to leave. By his second term, the majority of appointed delegates were Democratic-Republicans.

MARBURY VS. MADISON. Jefferson’s refusal resulted in several lawsuits against the government, such as the supreme court case Marbury v. Madison in 1803. Federalist William Marsbury sued Secretary of State James Madison for refusing to confirm his appointment to the federal branch. 

          → IMPORTANCE? When assessing the case, Chief Justice John Marshall established an important principle in the Supreme Court: judicial review. The court decided that Marsbury had a right to judgeship but the court had no power of its enforcement. 

JUDICIAL REVIEW.  Marshall believed that the Judiciary Act of 1789, a law where the Supreme Court could order federal appointees to deliver appointments, gave the Judicial Branch more power than the Congress and the President, making it unconstitutional. This meant Jefferson won the dispute, therefore his refusal of the appointments would not be changed.

THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. Spain gave New Orleans to the French in 1802. The American government realized an issue was developing since the French were going to take advantage of New Orlean’s strategic location, close to the Mississippi River. Though the constitution did not authorize Presidents purchasing land, Jefferson could not ignore the opportunity to expand the United States. Ultimately, he resolved the constitutional issue by claiming presidential power to negotiate treaties with other nations.

           → NOTABLE OPPOSITION? New England Federalists were against the Louisiana Purchase, fearing western states would be more Democratic states, and they would lose political power. They formed the Essex Junto and planned to break away from the United States with Aaron Burr as their leader – this plan never occurred. Meanwhile, the Quids led by John Randolph of Virginia, criticized Jefferson for violating Republican principles. 

LEWIS & CLARK EXPEDITION. Jefferson sent explorers, including Lewis and Clark, to investigate the newly-gained western territories. Sacajawea was a Shoshone guide that helped the explorers negotiate with Native American tribes along the Missouri River. Upon returning, the satisfying reports led many to turn their attention westward in search of land, riches, and economic opportunities. 

THE ELECTION OF 1804. Jefferson won the election. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr ran for Governor of New York. When Burr lost, he accused Hamilton of sabotaging his political career, challenged him to a duel, and killed Hamilton. He fled southwest, plotting to start his own nation in Louisiana – he was caught, tried for treason, but acquitted due to lack of evidence. 

JEFFERSON’S SECOND TERM. A French-English dispute leads to the War of 1812, where the disputing nations blocked trade routes. Tensions heightened and the British conducted a warship attack on an American ship. Unable to enact war, Jefferson enforced a boycott and increased military funding. 

EMBARGO ACT OF 1807. Prohibited American merchant ships from sailing to any foreign ports. Jefferson hoped Britain would stop violating the rights of neutral nations rather than risk losing the US as a trading partner. 

             → IMPORTANCE? The Embargo Act caused economic hardship, especially for the merchant marines and shipbuilders of New England. New England states wanted to separate from the US and Democratic-Republicans lost congressional seats in the 1808 elections.  Jefferson repealed the act in 1809 during the final days of his presidency – US ships could now legally trade, but not with Britain or France.

4.2: MADISON’S PRESIDENCY

CIRCA. (1809-1817)

MACON’S BILL NO. 2. Enacted in 1810. Responsible for reopening trade with France and England. However, the bill also included that if either Britain or France formally agreed to respect United States Neutrality, then the US would prohibit trade with that nation’s enemy.

               → NOTABLE OPPOSITION? This resulted in Napoleon’s deception. Napoleon  promised to end all acts that have violated US Neutrality overseas. Believing the French leader had submitted, Madison enacted the Macon Bill No.2 and embargoed (prohibited) all trade with England. However, France continued to harass American ships, while Britain increased their naval attacks on American ships due to the embargo.

FRONTIER PRESSURES. Conflict along the frontiers was an enduring problem for western states, with settlers forcing Natives further westward in acts of encroachment. Tecumseh unified area tribes east of the Mississippi River in an effort to end further encroachment on Shawnee land. 

            → NOTABLE OPPOSITION? In 1811, Battle of Tippecanoe ensued in Battle Ground, Indiana. General Governor William Harrison led the American army against the tribes, putting an end to Tecumseh’s effort to form a Native Confederacy. 

PRO-WAR SENTIMENTS. Southern and Western War Hawks (political term; people who favor war as a solution in conflicts) led by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, became opportunistic and wanted to take a chance to gain more territory – they sought to take Canada from Britain. 

               → NOTABLE OPPOSITION? The declaration of war earned criticism from  New England merchants, Federalist politicians, and old Democratic-Republicans (Quids). 

ANTI-WAR SENTIMENTS. New England merchants opposed the war because, after the repeal of the Embargo Act, they were making sizable profits from the European war and viewed this impressment as an inconvenience. Meanwhile, Federalist politicians viewed the war as a Democratic- Republican scheme to conquer Canada and Florida in order to strengthen voting for their political party. Finally, the Quids opposed the war because it violated the Democratic -Republican beliefs of limited federal power and maintaining peace.

               →RESULTS? Madison made several efforts to not declare war. However, Madison officially sought a declaration of war against Britain in 1812. After the declaration of war, the Native Americans immediately aligned with Britain. 

4.3: THE WAR OF 1812

CIRCA. (1812-1815)

INVASION OF CANADA. A poorly equipped American army initiated a three-part invasion of Canada – one section starting in Detroit, another in Niagara, and the third from Lake Champlain. These efforts were quickly eliminated by British defenders.  An American raid and burning of government buildings encouraged retaliation by the British.

NAVAL BATTLES. The US Navy achieved many victories, most of which could be tributed to advanced shipbuilding and bravery among American sailors. In late 1812, morale was raised after the US warship Constitution defeated and sank a British ship near Nova Scotia, Canada. Motivated by patriotism and profit, American privateers captured many British ships. In response, the British formed a naval blockade along the U.S coast, hindering trade and fishing. 

             → IMPORTANCE? Important naval victories include the Battle of Lake Erie, paving the way for the Battle of the Thames River, where Native leader Tecumseh was killed. Following, a command of ships defeated a British fleet at the Battle of Lake Champlain – Britain fled and abandoned their plan to invade New England and New York. 

CHESAPEAKE CAMPAIGN. In the summer of 1814, a British army marched on Washington D.C – they set fire to the White House, the Capitol, and other government buildings. The British attempted to take Baltimore but Fort McHenry held strong after bombardment that lasted a night. The Star-Spangled Banner anthem immortalizes this moment.

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. U.S Southern Troops were under the commandment of General Andrew Jackson.  In March of 1814, Jackson ended the power of the Native American Creek nation, allies to Britain, in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (present day Alabama). This eliminated all tribal claims and allowed white settlers to further encroach. British efforts to control the Mississippi River were ended when Jackson led his army – a frontier of free soldiers, African-Americans, and Creole men – in the Battle of New Orleans, beginning on January 8th of 1815 and lasting two weeks until a treaty was signed.

TREATY OF GHENT. On December 24th of 1814, an agreement was reached. The terms ended the fighting, returned all conquered territory to the pre-war claimant (owner before war), and recognized pre-war boundaries between Canada and the United States. It was ratified in 1815. 

           → IMPORTANCE? However, this treaty mentioned nothing about the grievances that caused the war. Britain did not claim to end their impressment, blockades, or other maritime differences. The war ended in a stalemate, with neither side winning.

HARTFORD CONVENTION. In December of 1814, radical Federalists from New England sent delegates who opposed the war to Hartford, Connecticut. There they addressed grievances including trade laws and presidential term limits. They adopted a number of proposals, one called for two-thirds vote of both houses for any future declaration of war. 

                  → IMPORTANCE? After the war ended, so did the criticism. This weakened Federalists by branding them as unpatriotic, with many viewing them as national traitors – this led to the Federalist party being dismantled.

4.4: MONROE’S PRESIDENCY

CIRCA. (1817-1825)

ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS. With the Federalist party disbanded, only the Democratic- Republican Party remained. During this period, Chief Justice John Marshall’s court rulings strengthened the federal government. 

                 → IMPORTANCE? Contrary to its nickname, James Monroe’s presidency was not entirely one of unity and harmony. Throughout his governance, people had heated debates over tariffs, the national bank, internal improvements and public land sales. Additionally, the sense of political unity was an illusion, with tension brewing within the Democratic-Republican party that would later lead it to split into two different parties.

CULTURAL NATIONALISM. Patriotic themes were infused in every aspect of American society, from art to school literature, dominating most of the 19th century. Heroes of the Revolution were immortalized in paintings and popular fictionalized biographies were written of figures such as Washington. 

ECONOMIC NATIONALISM. A political movement to support the growing economy; this included (1) financially supporting internal movements (building roads, canals) and (2) protecting U.S industries from European competition. 

                → IMPORTANCE? The Tariff of 1816 raised taxes (tariffs) to protect U.S manufactures from competition (higher prices for foreign imports = choosing domestic goods over foreign). This was the first protective tariff in U.S history. 

AMERICAN SYSTEM. A plan, presented by Henry Clay, to advance national economic growth. It consisted of three outlined aims: (1) protective tariffs to promote American manufacturing and raise revenue, (2) a national bank to provide national currency, and (3) internal improvements to further a national transportation system. 

               → IMPORTANCE? By 1816, the first two aims were adopted, with the protective tariffs funding the Second National Bank of the U.S. However, internal improvements were left to individual states and were not a federal priority.

FLORIDA PURCHASE. Spain’s inability to properly govern Florida led to Seminoles (runaway slaves) and white outlaws conducting raids in U.S territory before retreating back to the Floridan border. In late 1817, President Monroe commissioned General Andrew Jackson to end the raids. Jackson went rampant with his authority, burning Seminole villages, hanging raiders found and conducting brutal executions of anyone he deemed a U.S enemy. 

                →NOTABLE OPPOSITION? In 1819, Spain proposed terms for the territory, known as the Florida Purchase Treaty. Spain offered all their possessions in Florida and ownership of the Oregon Territory. In exchange, the U.S offered Spain $5 million in claims and gave up all territorial claims on the providence of Texas to Spain. 

PANIC OF 1819. First major financial panic since the Constitution was ratified. Largely caused by the Second Bank of the United States due to tight credit, an effort to ‘control inflation.’ State banks closed due to unemployment, bankruptcies, and imprisonment for debt increasing. 

             → NOTABLE OPPOSITION? Nationalistic beliefs shifted. Economic depression was more severe in Western states, causing a change in voters’ political outlook. Westerners called for land reform and expressed strong opposition to both the national bank and debtors’ prisons.

MISSOURI COMPROMISE OF 1820. Congress attempted to preserve a sectional balance between the North and the South, an equal number of slave and free states - 11:11. However, after Missouri began to seek statehood from the federal government, there was alarm in the North, with the territory supporting slave labor – they feared granting Missouri statehood would tip the political scales in favor of the South. 

             → IMPORTANCE? As a result, Henry Clay proposed a bill where Missouri was granted the right to be a slave state. In turn, Maine would be admitted as a free state to preserve the balance. In the general regard, slavery would be prohibited in the Louisiana Territory north of latitude 36°30. The Missouri Compromise preserved sectional balance for 30 years and allowed the nation to mature.

MONROE DOCTRINE. Created in 1823 by President Monroe. Aimed at limiting European colonial influence in the Americas. Asserted that the Americas were no longer open to European colonization and any attempts by European powers to intervene would be viewed as acts of aggression.

            → IMPORTANCE? Emphasized the importance of American sovereignty. Established the U.S as a dominant regional power and protector of hemispheric interests. Later influenced American foreign relations in the coming decades.

4.5: THE MARKET REVOLUTION

CIRCA. (1820s)

POPULATION GROWTH. Provided both the laborers and consumers for the Market (Industrial) Revolution. High birth rates caused population size to double between 1820-1825 and double once more over the next 25 years. Immigration of citizens from England, Germany,  and France also accounted for the growth in the 1830’s.

TRANSPORTATION. Vital for the development of the national and industrial economy was an efficient network of interconnected roads and canals. Allowed for the movement of people, raw materials, and manufactured goods.

ROADS. Important roads built are ones such as Pennsylvania's Lancaster Turnpike, which stimulated construction of short, privately built roads that connected major cities. Despite the need for interstate roads, state righters blocked federal funds from internal improvements (i.e building roads). However, one exception was the National (Cumberland) Road, a major route connected to the West, reaching from Maryland to Illinois.

CANALS. The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 was a major event, linking economies of western farms and eastern cities. Stimulated the construction of other canals, joining together to connect major lakes and rivers east of Mississippi. Lead to improved transportation resulting in lower food prices and higher immigration..

STEAMBOATS. The first to successfully travel was the Clermont on the Hudson River, developed by Robert Fulton in 1807. Revolutionized round-trip trading on rivers, making it fast and efficient.

RAILROADS. Rapid, reliable links between cities. Construction of the first railroads began in the late 1820’s – were hindered because of safety issues but were successful by the 1830’s. Railroads, along with other major transportation improvements, deeply impacted small western towns like Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and Detroit, making them commercial centers. 

MECHANICAL INVENTIONS. The creation of the Cotton Gin by Eli Whitney revolutionized agricultural practice in the South, making separating cotton fiber from seeds more efficient. 

              → IMPORTANCE? It led to an increase in slave labor due to the increase in profit. This prompted plantation owners to grow larger crops, seeking greater profit, thus enslaving more people to harvest the crops.

FACTORY SYSTEM. Samuel Slater established the first U.S factory after emigrating from Great Britain. In the 1820s, New England became the country’s leading manufacturing center due to their abundant waterpower for machinery and shipping goods. Other northern states – New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania – with similar resources followed New England’s lead. 

              → IMPORTANCE?As the factory system expanded, it encouraged the growth of financial businesses (i.e banking, insurance).

LABOR. There was difficulty finding factory workers in New England with the lure of cheap land in the West. In response, textile mills in Lowell, Massacuessets recruited young farm women, housing them in company dormitories – became the Lowell System, adopted by other factories. Factories also conducted child labor and, in the 1850’s, immigrants made up a large fraction of factory workers.

UNION. Long hours, low pay, and poor working conditions led to widespread discontent among factory workers. Unions, organized political / economical movements, formed with the goal of reducing work days to ten hours. Obstacles of the union included (1) immigrant replacement workers, (2) state laws outlawing (illegalizing) unions, and (3) frequent economic depressions with high unemployment.

EFFECTS. General results of the Market Revolution include: 

              → (1) ECONOMY. Specialization on the farms, Industrialization in urban areas, and the development of modern capitalism meant the end of self-sufficient households and growing independence. 

              → (2) WOMEN. Gained more control of their lives through factory employment instead of domestic jobs. Had less children and were less likely to marry, however, were still prohibited from voting. 

              → (3) MOBILITY. Economic mobility occurred, with wages improving in urban areas but economic gaps widening. Social mobility occurred between generations due to greater economic opportunities.

             → (4) SLAVERY. People hoped the exhaustion of agricultural soil in the South along with the constitutional ban on importing slaves after 1808 would end slavery. However, the rapid growth of the cotton industry and the expansion of slavery in new states, such as Alabama and Mississippi, ended hopes for a ‘quiet’ end to slavery. 

4.6: SECTIONALISM

CIRCA. (1820-1860s)

THE NORTH (GENERAL). Consists of the Industrial Northeast (New England and Middle Atlantic states) and the Agricultural Old Northwest (Ohio to Minnesota). Bound together by railroad networks and had rapid economic growth due to commercial farming and industrial innovation. Most populous and urbanized section of the country. 250,000 free African-Americans resided in the North, though only represented half the total free population – freedom did not mean equal economic and political opportunity.

INDUSTRIAL NORTHEAST. Unions began because of unfair wages with long hours and unsafe working conditions. Commonwealth v. Hunt gave unions the right to negotiate labor contracts. Later, 10 hour work days were established for workers. Still, there are limitations to improving working conditions, including: (1) periodic economic depressions, (2) hostile employers and courts unwilling to support unions, (3) increase in low-wage immigrant labor.

AGRICULTURAL NORTHWEST. Cities include: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota. Crops of corn and wheat were profitable. Newly invented steel plow and mechanical reapers allowed efficient harvest – led to an agricultural economy driven by technology and minimal hired laborers. Surge of European immigration (Irish, due to potato famine, and German, due to economic depression and failed democratic revolution) between 1830 and 1860.

                → NOTABLE OPPOSITION? Anti-immigration sentiments sparked out of fear that immigrants would overwhelm jobs and overthrow the Anglo-Saxon majority. An anti-immigration group formed, later becoming the American Party (Know-Nothing Party).

THE SOUTH (GENERAL). Agriculture was the foundation of the South's economy. Important crops included tobacco, rice, and sugarcane but were far exceeded by the South’s production and selling of cotton. Development of mechanized textile mills and the cotton gin made cotton cloth affordable. Originally cotton was only grown in South Carolina and Georgia, but new land was constantly needed, with the highly-profitable crop quickly depleting soil – moved westward to Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

ENSLAVED POPULATION. The cotton boom was responsible for the increased enslaved population, 1 million in 1800 becoming 4 million in 1860. In parts of the Deep South, slaves comprised 75% of the total population. Fearing slave revolts, southern legislatures enforced restrictions on slave imports and education on slave codes.

SLAVE CONDITIONS. Routinely, slaves suffered public humiliations and beatings to enforce authority and instill fear. All suffered from being deprived of their freedom. Often, families were separated spontaneously, with slave owners deciding to sell a wife, a husband, or a child. Women were vulnerable to sexual exploitation and violent assault. Despite the unimaginable and inhumane circumstances, enslaved African-Americans maintained a strong sense of unity and religious faith.

ENSLAVED RESISTANCE. Included purposeful work slowdowns, sabotage, and escape. Major slave uprisings include one led by Denmark Vesey in 1822 and another led by Nat Turner in 1831. Both were quickly and violently suppressed. 

              → IMPORTANCE? They had a long-lasting impact, fueling hope for the enslaved African-Americans, drove southern states to further strict slave codes, and highlighted the horrors of slavery to the watchful states. Sparked prominent opinions from the nation: made slave owners more defensive and non slave owners more critical of the institution. 

SOUTHERN THOUGHT. The South developed a unique culture and outlook on life. 

              → CODE OF CHIVALRY? Governed southern men, encompassing a sense of “honor”, defensiveness of womanhood, and paternalistic attitudes towards those they viewed as inferior (especially slaves). 

              → EDUCATION? Education was reserved for the upper class, with lower classes receiving mostly elementary level education and nothing more. Slaves were restricted from receiving an education. Appropriate jobs for southern men were in farming, law, and the military.  

              →RELIGION? The slavery question affected church membership. Methodist and Baptist churches preached biblical support for slavery while Unitarians challenged slavery; they faced declining membership and hostility. Catholics and Episcopalians were neutral and faced declining membership.

THE WEST (GENERAL). As westward expansion continued, the definition of “the West” changed, In the 1700’s, it referred to all land beyond the Appalachian Mountains. By the mid-1800’s, the West included land beyond the Mississippi River, reaching to California and the Oregon Territory. 

NATIVE AMERICANS. By 1850, most native Americans lived west of the Mississippi River. The Great Plains provided a respite from the conflict with White settlers, albeit temporary. Horses brought to the Americas revolutionized life for Native Americans, with those such as the Cheyenne and the Sioux becoming nomadic hunters following buffalos. Nomadic life made moving away from encroachment or revolting against it easier.

WHITE WESTERN SETTLERS. Lived in log cabins, sod hunts and other improvised shelters; worked laboriously throughout the days. Disease and malnutrition were greater risks than Native American attacks. Pioneer women performed various daily tasks, including those of a doctor, teacher, seamstress and cook. Isolation, endless work, and hard childbirth resulted in shorter lifespans for frontier women. Environmental damage was substantial, with frontier settlers clearing entire forests for land and exhausting soil; the beaver and buffalo were hunted to near extinction.

4.7: EXPANDING DEMOCRACY

CIRCA. (1825-1829)

ELECTION OF 1824. Majority of states allowed voters to choose presidential electors directly. Andrew Jackson received the greatest number of popular votes and electoral votes, but no candidate had a majority. In a rare moment in United States electoral history, the House of Representatives were demanded to elect a president, with Henry Clay supporting John Quincy Adams. 

                    → IMPORTANCE? Subsequently, Quincy Adams was elected as the 6th President of the United States, appointing Clay as Secretary of the State. This led to controversy predominately started by Andrew Jackson, who alleged there was a Corrupt Bargain made.

QUINCY ADAMS’ PRESIDENCY. During Adams’ presidency, he frequently requested federal funding from Congress for internal improvements, aid to manufacturing, and even a national university and an astronomical observatory.

                    → IMPORTANCE? This alienated some and led them to follow Jackson, who publicly disapproved of Quincy Adams’ decisions during his presidency, viewing his spending as a waste of money and a violation of the Constitution. Quincy Adams’ caused further unrest after Congress enacted a new tariff law that benefited northern manufacturers but alienated southern planters, who denounced the law as an abomination.

POLITICS OF THE COMMON MAN. Shift of politics from aristocracy to the struggles of the common people (middle and lower class homes). Factors such as new suffrage laws, changes in political parties, improved education, and increase in printing press led to a spread of democracy. 

                   →UNIVERSAL MALE “SUFFRAGE”? Western states admitted to the Union adopted state constitutions that allowed all White men to vote and hold office, even those who did not own property – Eastern states soon followed suit. All White men across the country could vote, regardless of socio-economic status or religion.

                   →PARTY NOMINATION CONVENTIONS? Formerly, candidates for office were elected by state legislatures or “King Caucus” – a secret organization of leaders in a political party. In the 1830’s, this tradition was replaced by nominating conventions, hosted by party politicians and voters, increasing popular participation.

                  →RISE OF THIRD PARTIES? Emerging were parties such as the Anti-Masonic Party and the Working-men’s Party, reaching out to people previously uninterested in politics. The Anti-Masonic party attacked the secret societies of Masons, alleging they were a privileged, anti-democratic elite.

                →SPOILS SYSTEM AND OFFICE ROTATION? The Spoils System declared that people should be appointed to federal jobs strictly according to whether they actively campaigned for the Democratic Party. Furthermore, Jackson believed in a system of rotation in office. By limiting the terms of people in office, he could offer another deserving Democrat his place. He defended the system against backlash, labeling it as democratic reform.

REVOLUTION OF 1828. Quincy Adams sought reelection in 1828. Jacksonaisns were ready to use the discontent of southerners and westerners and the new campaign tactics of party organization to get Jackson into office. Jacksonians resorted to smearing Quincy Adams’ campaign, proposing allegations and rumors, and the opposing party did the same. 

               → IMPORTANCE? Jackson won the election of 1828.

4.8: JACKSON’S PRESIDENCY

CIRCA. (1829-1837)

PRESIDENTIAL POWER. Jackson presented himself as the representative of all the people and the protector of the common man against abuse of power by the privileged rich. He opposed increasing federal spending and the national debt. Jackson had a narrow view of the Constitution and vetoed more bills than all presidents combined at the time.  The appointed cabinet had less influence on policy than under earlier presidents.

INDIAN REMOVAL ACT. Signed in 1830 to compel Native Americans to leave their traditional homelands and resettle west of the Mississippi. By 1835, most eastern tribes had reluctantly complied and moved west. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was created in 1836 to assist the resettled tribes. 

                   →NOTABLE OPPOSITION? Georgia and other states passed laws to force Cherokees westward. The Cherokees challenged Georgia, the Supreme Court ruled in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia in 1831, affirming that Cherokees were not a foreign nation with the right to sue in a federal court. But in 1832’s second case, Worcester v. Georgia, the Supreme court ruled that Georgia laws had no authority in Cherokee territory.

TRAIL OF TEARS. Most Cherokees rejected the settlement of 1835, which provided different land for the Native Americans in the west. In 1838, after Jackson left office, the U.S army forced 15,000 Cherokees to leave Georgia. The hardships of the forced migration caused the deaths of 4,000 Cherokee people, a near third of their population.

NULLIFICATION CRISIS. Jackson favored states rights as opposed to federal power, but did not like disunity. In 1828, the South Carolina legislature declared the Tariff of 1828 to be unconstitutional. This affirmed former vice president John C. Calhoun’s theory. The nullification theory stated that each state had the right to decide whether to obey federal law or declare it null (have no effect).

                  →NOTABLE OPPOSITION? In 1830, Daniel Webster of Massachusetts declared the nullification theory unconstitutional – states should not have the right to disobey federal law. Led to the Webster-Hayne debate, with Robert Hayne of South Carolina supporting the nullification theory against Webster’s attacks on constitutionality. Surprisingly, President Jackson did not support the nullification theory, viewing it as disunion. 

BANK VETO. In 1832, Henry Clay challenged Jackson by persuading the majority of Congress to pass a bank-recharter bill for the Bank of the United States, a system directly opposed by President Jackson. 

                 →NOTABLE OPPOSITION? Jackson promptly vetoed the bill, denouncing the federal bank as solely beneficial to the wealthy aristocrats and harmful to the common people, thus it was corrupt. Voters backed Jackson, who won the Election of 1832, being reelected as President.

THE TWO PARTY SYSTEM. The one-party system established during Monroe’s presidency gave away to a two-party system under Jackson’s presidency. Supporters of Andrew Jackson were known as Democrats. Conversely, supporters of Henry Clay, Jackson’s political rival, were known as Whigs belonging to the Whig Party. 

               → IMPORTANCE? The Democratic Party’s views were linked to that of the Republican Party of Jefferson whilst the Whig Party resembled the Federalist Party formerly spearheaded by Hamilton. However, both parties reflected development undergone during the Jacksonian era. 

4.9: VAN BUREN’S PRESIDENCY

CIRCA. (1837-1841)

ELECTION OF 1836. Following the two-term presidential policy, Andrew Jackson did not run for a third term. To make sure his policies were upheld, he persuaded the Democratic party to nominate his vice president Martin Van Buren, known as a master of practical politics. 

                →NOTABLE OPPOSITION? In a desperate attempt to win, the Whig Party nominated three candidates from different regions, an unusual action. The Whigs aimed to force the election to the House of Representatives, a rare occurrence that had only happened once in the Election of 1824. Their strategy failed as Van Buren took 58 percent of electoral votes, winning the election.

THE PANIC OF 1837. A financial panic as one bank after another was being shut down. Jackson’s opposition and vetoing of the rechartering of the Bank of the United States was one of the many causes behind the panic and resulting economic depression. The Whigs immediately blamed the Democrats for the laissez-faire (hands off) economy, which restricted federal involvement in the economy 

THE “LOG CABIN AND HARD CIDER” CAMPAIGN. In the Election of 1840, the Whigs were determined to defeat Van Buren and the Jacksonian Democrats. Voters were unhappy with the economic depression that had occurred under Van Buren’s presidency. The Whigs were more organized than the Democrats this time, and had war hero William Henry Harrison as a presidential candidate. 

                 → IMPORTANCE? They contributed great detail to Harrison’s campaign, emphasizing his humble beginnings by adding log cabins on wheels and parading them through streets and distributing hard cider, buttons, and hats for voters. Harrison and John Tyler of Virginia (running as vice president) took 53 percent of electoral votes, establishing the Whigs as a national party. However, Harrison died of pneumonia shortly after taking office and John Tyler became the first vice president to succeed due to a president’s death.

4.10: THE SECOND GREAT AWAKENING

CIRCA. (1820s-1860s)

RELIGION. Religious revivals swept through the U.S during the early decades of the 1800s. Partly a reaction against rationalism (belief of human reason) that developed during the Enlightenment and the American Revolution. 

                    → IMPORTANCE? Successful preachers were audience- centered and easily understood by the uneducated; spoke about the opportunity of salvation. Such populist movements were integrated with the democratization (to be democratic) of American society.

REVIVALISM AMONG COMMUNITIES. 

                  → (1) NORTHWEST. Presbyterian Charles G. FInney began a series of rivals in upstate New York in 1823. Instead of delivering sermons based on rational arguments, Finney appealed to people’s emotions and fear of damnation. Ge affirmed everyone could be saved from damnation through hard work, an idea that appealed to the rising middle class, spreading to western New York. 

                → (2) SOUTH & WESTERN FRONTIER. Baptist and Methodist churches traveled between locations to deliver dramatic preachings, activating the faith of many former non-churchgoers. Largest Protestant denominations in the country.

                → (3) MILLENNIALISM. Religious enthusiasm was based on the belief the world was ending soon through the second coming of Jesus. William Miller gained thousands of followers after “predicting” the end of the world (October 21st, 1844) for the second coming. Nothing happened on the affirmed day, though Millerites continued as a new Christian denomination, the Seventh Day Adventists. 

                 → (4) CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS. Formerly known as the Mormon Church. Founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 in New York and his beliefs were based on the Book of Mormon. Facing persecution, Smith and his followers moved, first to Ohio, then Missouri, then Illinois.  After Smith’s assassination, the Church members, led by Brigham Young, migrated west to Salt Lake City in Utah. They named their community New Zion.

CULTURE. A new romantic movement beginning in Europe, romanticism, was expressed in the United States by transcendentalists, a small group of New England thinkers. Writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thioreau questioned the beliefs of established churches and the practices of the merchant class. 

                  → IMPORTANCE? They argued for an intuitive way of thinking as means to self-discovery and looking for the way of God in nature. Though transcendentalists valued individuality, they supported a variety of reforms, especially the anti-slavery movement.

4.11: REFORMATION MOVEMENTS

CIRCA. (1840s-1860s)

TEMPERANCE. Sought to end the production and consumption of alcohol among American society using moral exhortation. In 1826, Protestant ministers and members of society formed the American Temperance Society. In 1840, recovered alcoholics formed a group in Washington and stated that alcoholism is a disease that needed practical, helpful treatment; various temperance movements continued to emerge during the 1840s. 

PUBLIC ASYLUMS. Humanitarian reformers called attention to the increasing number of criminals, emotionally disturbed persons, and poor people. Ofte, these communities lived in terrible conditions and were regularly abused or neglected. To alleviate their suffering, public, state-supported institutions were created such as prisons, mental hospitals, and shelters. 

                      → MENTAL HOSPITALS.  Began when Dorthea Dix founded a cross-country campaign, publicizing the awful treatment she witnessed in institutions. As a result, state legislatures began to build new mental hospitals or improve existing facilities, where patients received professional treatment, in the 1840’s.

                    →SCHOOLS FOR THE BLIND AND DEAF.  Two reformers founded institutions dedicated to helping people with physical disabilities. Thomas Galluadet opened a school for the deaf, and Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe started a school for the blind. By the 1850’s, special schools modeled after one another opened throughout Union (northern) states.

                    →PRISONS. Spearheaded by Pennsylvania, which built prison institutions known as penitentiaries. In the beginning, solitary confinement was encouraged by reformers as a form of self-reflection and atonement for sins. This practice was ended after prisoner suicides increased. These prison reforms reflect a major doctrine (belief) of the asylum movement: structure and discipline bring moral reform.

PUBLIC EDUCATION. Need for establishing free education for all classes. Formed as a result of the Middle class’ fear for the future instability of the United States posed by growing numbers of the uneducated poor. 

                     →COMMON EDUCATION. Horace Mann, a new secretary for the Massachusetts Board of Education, was the leading advocate. He worked to achieve compulsory attendance for all children, a longer school year, and increased teacher preparation. In the 1840’s, the movement for public education spread rapidly.

                     →MORAL EDUCATION. William Holmes McGruffy created a series of elementary books that encouraged literacy and morality. The McGruffey Readers praised hard work, punctuality, and sobriety.

                      →HIGHER EDUCATION. Religious enthusiasm from the Second Great Awakening inspired private education. In the 1830s, Protestant denominations founded small exclusive colleges, specifically in new Western states. Simultaneously, colleges in Northern states, such as Ohio and Massachusetts, began to admit women.

CULT OF DOMESTICITY. Also known as the idealized view of women as moral leaders.  Industrialization changed roles within families. When men began different jobs outside of their home, this caused them to be absent for a majority. As a result, the women who remained home took charge of the household and the children, becoming a symbol of morality.

WOMEN’S RIGHTS. Women reformers resented that men forced them into secondary roles in the antislavery movement and excluded them in policy discussions. 

                      →IMPORTANCE?  Two sisters, Sarah and Angelina Grimke protested the inequality and Sarah wrote her Letter on the Condition of Women and the Equality in 1837. Another pair of reformers, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton began campaigning for women’s rights after being barred from a convention.

SENECA FALLS CONVENTION. Leading feminists met at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. Issued a document closely modeled after the Declaration of Independence, called the “Declaration of Sentiments.” 

                      →IMPORTANCE? It stated “all men and women are created equal” and listed women’s grievances against laws and customs that discriminated against them. Stanton and Susan B. Anthony led the campaign for voting, legal, and property rights for women. 

4.12: ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENTS

CIRCA. (1830s-1860s)

GENERAL. Opinions ranged from moderates who proposed gradual abolition to radicals who demanded immediate abolition. The Second Great Awakening caused Christians to view slavery as a sin, making the arguments of those who supported slavery difficult.

COLONIZATION SOCIETY. Supported the idea of transporting freed slaves to an African colony. Appealed to moderate anti-slavery reformers. In 1822, the American Colonization Society established an African-American settlement in Monrovia, Liberia.

                     →IMPORTANCE? Colonization was never a successful and practical method. Between 1820 and 1860, 12,000 African Americans were settled in Africa but 2.5 million were being brought to the U.S as slaves.

ANTI SLAVERY SOCIETY. In 1831, William Lloyd Garrison began the publication of The Liberator, an abolitionist newspaper. Marks the beginning of the radical abolitionist movement. Garrison advocated immediate abolition in every state and territory. 

                  →IMPORTANCE? In 1833, Garrison and other abolitionists formed the American Antislavery Society. Garrison continued prominent attacks, such as criticizing and burning the Constitution, labeling it as a proslavery document – “no Union with slaveholders.”

LIBERTY PARTY. The abolitionist movement split into two factions. Believing political action was a more practical route than Garrison’s moral crusade, some northerners formed the Liberty Party in 1840. James Birney acted as their presidential candidate in 1840 and 1844. The Liberty Party’s pledge was to bring abolition through political and legal means.

BLACK ABOLITIONISTS. Composed of escaped slaves and free African Americans. Frederick Douglass used his eloquence to highlight the brutality and degradation of slavery from firsthand experience, advocating both political and direct action to end slavery and racial prejudice.  Other African American leaders, such as Harriet Tubman, David Ruggles, Sojourner Truth, and William Still, organized the effort to assist fugitive slaves to escape to free territory.

VIOLENT ABOLITIONISM. Notable members were David Walker and Henry Highland Garnet. Most radical solution, arguing slaves should take action themselves by rising up in revolt against slave owners. In 1831, Virginian slave Nat Turner led a revolt in which 55 white men were killed; in response, hundreds of African-Americans were brutally killed to end revolution efforts. After the revolt, fear of future uprisings as well as Garrison’s rhetoric put an end to anti-slavery talk in the South.