Chapter 9: Transformation of American Society 1815-1840

Westward Expansion

• First burst of Americans moved west in 1790 and resulted in the admission of four new states between 1791 and 1803

  • Vermont, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky

• By 1821 Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Missouri, and Maine were also added

Removal of Indians

• As Americans moved west the settlers found Indians in their path

• Majority of these Indians were part of the 5 Civilized Tribes

  • Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, Chickasaws, and Seminoles

  • Tribes were intermingled with Whites and embraced Christianity

• Indian Removal Act 1830

• President Andrew Jackson

• Authorized him to exchange public lands in the west for Indian territories in the East and appropriated $500,000 to cover the expenses of removal

• Real cost was a lot more

• During Jackson’s 8 years in office, the gov’t forced Indians to exchange 100 mil acres of their land for 32 million acres of public land

• Cherokee Nations v. Georgia (1831)

• Cherokees petitioned for Georgia to stop their action of claiming control of the Cherokee Nation

• Chief Justice John Marshall denied Cherokees claim to status as a republic within Georgia

• Marshall stated the Cherokees were a domestic dependent nation and declared their legal status a year later in Worcester v. Georgia

• Marshall decided in Worcester v. Georgia that the Cherokees were a distinct political community entitled to federal protection from tampering by Georgia

• Declared Indian Removal Act unconstitutional

• Jackson ignored ruling and removed the Cherokees

• Trail of Tears -1838

• Cherokees were forcibly removed to the new Indiana Territory that is now Oklahoma

• Journey became known as the “Trail of Tears”

Growth of the Market Economy

• High prices of agricultural commodities like wheat and cotton tempted farmers who originally only farmed enough to feed their families (subsistence farming) to begin growing cash crops (commercial farming)

• Commercial agriculture is also called the Market Economy

• As a result slaves became more valuable

• Slave sales grew into a huge business

Sale of Land

• During this time wealthy speculators were encouraged to purchase land

• Speculators had no intention of farming the land themselves and instead held onto the land until its value rose and sold the parcels off to farmers

• Many farmers began to purchase into this market economy and quickly became economic adventurers

• They were forced into raising cash crops in a hurry and began to work their acreage until it was exhausted and thus continued to move

• This was called the “Moving Frontier” because the line of settlement continued to shift father west with each passing decade

Panic of 1819

• In 1819 the land boom collapsed because of financial panic

• The state bank’s loose practices contributed to panic

• These notes were only a printed promise from the bank to pay the bearer a certain amount of specie (gold or silver) on demand

• They had long issued more banknotes than they could redeem

• The Bank of America (National Bank) required ban ks to pay off notes and t do so they forced farmers to pay off loans

• Resulted in huge panic

Transportation Revolution

• Beginning in 1820 attention and investment shifted to improving transportation

• In 1807 Robert Fulton and Robert R Livingston introduced the steamboat and named it the Clermont on the Hudson River they soon gained a monopoly from the New York Legislature to run a New York-New Jersey Ferry Service

• Gibbons v. Ogden competitors took their monopoly to Supreme Court

• Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that Congress’ constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce applied to navigation and could prevail over New York’s power to license the Livingston-Fulton monopoly

Industrial Beginnings

• US industrialization began during this time

• The Embargo Act of 1807 persuaded trade merchants to redirect their capital into factories because foreign competition was eliminated New England’s textile industry began to grow to provide for all of America

• These improvements led to the Waltham & Lowell Mills

• These mills were much more advanced than previous mills

• These mills turned out finished fabrics ready for making into clothing

• It upset the traditional order of New England society

Equality and Inequality

• Inequality began to grow as the gap between rich and poor grew

• Most Americans fell into “middling class”

• Families headed by professionals, small merchants, and manufacturers, landowning farmers, and self-employed artisans

• These people were portrayed as living stable and secure lives however life was often very unpredictable

Industrial Revolution

• Industry shifts from homes and small shops to large factories

• Hand tools were replaced with machines

• Started in England then came to America with Samuel Slater

• 1st American factories made textiles

• Eli Whitney invents the Cotton Gin in 1793

• Cotton production explodes in the south and with it slavery

• In 20 years slave population goes from 700,000 to 1.2 million

• Whitney will also revolutionize the mass production of muskets with interchangeable parts