Chapter 10: Democracy in America (1815-1840)

10.1 The Monroe Doctrine (1823)

Europe System vs. Western Hemisphere System

• Monroe believes that the “systems“ of Europe and the Western Hemisphere are fundamentally different
  • The wars involving the US had never taken part in and would never have its policy
  • Monroe believes that each country should focus on their own freedom
• Difference in mindsets
  • The US pursued the ideas of liberty and freedom
  • The Western Hemisphere wanted to gain political power
  • Europe was still in the “colonize and conquer“ mindset
  • The European system wanted the US to claim land for them

Monroe Mentions Russia

• Monroe mentions Russia at the beginning of his address
• Although Russia owned Alaska, Alaska was not a part of the Monroe Doctrine
• Monroe believed that the nations should with one accord adopt the doctrine of President Monroe as the doctrine of the world
• The US created a negotiation with Russia and also gained other western powers
• Those European nations that had colonies in the New World were excluded from the Monroe Doctrine

\

10.2 John Quincy Adams on the Role of the National Government (1825)

President Adams on Science & Arts

• President Adams believes that the federal government should promote the sciences & arts
  • He believes that Congress should not be limited only %%to making laws to improve the nation’s economic life%%
  • It should make laws to improve the arts and sciences as well as the economy
  • Many people of the West and South did not believe that %%the constitution gave the national government the power to do all these things%%
  • They believed that the power belonged to the states
  • Their representatives in Congress rejected Adam’s proposals

Adams: Liberty Is Power

• The US is the freest nation on earth, he predicted, would also become the mightiest
• He believed educational and scientific development is the precursor of %%economic development and support social power%%

\
c

a

.

10.3 John C. Calhoun, The Concurrent Majority (ca. 1845)

Numerical vs. Concurrent Majorities

• Numerical majorities - numerical recognizing numbers.
  • Only focuses on the majority and makes decisions based on this
• Concurrent majorities - recognizing both numbers and conflicting issues within the society in which he governs
  • Takes into account the majority but also acknowledges the minority and their problem as well

Americans on Concurrent Majorities

• Slaveholding states would rather use the numerical system and would most likely reject Calhoun’s proposed %%constitutional system%%

10.4 Virginia Petition for the Right to Vote (1829)

Why Women, Children, and Slaves are Excluded to Vote

• Women, children, and slaves were unworthy of voice
• Non-freeholders did not have enough land for them to vote.

Definition of Political Freedom

• Political Freedom - having sovereign authority
• 1829 - Virginia politics successfully resisted demands for changes in voting qualifications
• 1850 - a subsequent constitutional convention eliminated the property requirement
• Property owners declared that they did not necessarily possess “moral or intellectual endowments“

10.5 The Appeal of the Cherokee Nation (1830)

Cherokee on Moving beyond the Mississippi River

• Andrew Jackson’s administration wanted to relocate the Cherokee to Oklahoma
• The Cherokee were against this idea for many reasons
  • The land was unknown and unfamiliar to them
  • There were other Indian tribes living there already, so if the Cherokee had moved in, they would be seen as intruders
  • The new area did not have a large supply of wood and water
  • All of the neighbors in this crowded area would speak different languages and have different customs
  • The original inhabitants were savages and looked for any victims they had an advantage over

Cherokee’s Understanding of National & Individual Rights

• The only reason that the Cherokee agreed to be relocated was that they valued their national and individual rights
• They knew if they stayed, they would face “intolerable oppression.“ They also faced prison time
• The Cherokee had the right to stay where they were because they were the original inhabitants
• Another reason that they had the right to stay was that they had a treaty with Washington
• Trail of Tears - The Cherokee petitioned Congress to honor the treaty they already had. President Jackson and Van Buren decided to ignore the treaty and have them relocated anyway

10.6 Appeal of Forty Thousand Citizens (1838)

Free Blacks on their Right to Vote

• They show that Free Blacks pay taxes on land and are a part of the community just as much as white men are
• They argue that their fathers fought beside the white that made the US an independent republic which gives them the right to vote as much as the whites

Protesters’ Claims to the Legacy of the American Revolution

• They state that when their common country was invaded by a foreign foe, the colored men risked their lives in defense and that their fathers fought alongside the white fathers to make the country an independent republic

\