UNIT 3 TEST HISTORY

THE EARLY UNITED STATES: THE PRESIDENCY AND THE SUPREME COURT

• when the constitution was written the Americans were unsure on how the new government would work and what the role of the president and supreme court would be

• WASHINTON’S PRESIDENCY

  • first president of the united states

  • his precedents - serving 2 terms and having a cabinet of advisors

  • he worked for the people and told others that he shouldn’t be feared

  • in his farewell address he warned the people of the dangers of getting involved with foreign countries and the danger of political parties splitting the country

• ADAM’S PRESIDENCY

  • he wanted to put more power in the government

  • he helped create a national bank, expanded the army and the navy, and signed unpopular laws called the Alien and sedition acts which were created to prevent foreigners from taking over our government but took over freedom on speech and rights in trials

• US SUPREME COURT

  • Chief justice john marshal; a virginian used the decisions used in court to make sure that the judicial branch had equal power to the executive and legislative branches

  • marbury v madision - said that the judicial branch needed to review laws made by the executive and legislative branches to make sure they were constitutional (judicial review)

  • mcculloch v madison - said that not all rights were stated in the constitution to be legal (implied powers)

  • gibbons vs odgen - congress could regulate interstate commerce

THE EARLY UNITED STATES

• the first two political parties were the federalists and the democratic repulicans

• federalists - led by john adams and alexander hamilton

  • believed that the nation needed a strong powerful federal government

  • thought a commercial economy based on manufacturing and trade was best for the nation

  • mostly supported by businessmen and bankers in the north

• democratic republicans - led by thomas jefferson

  • wanted a weak national government where most of the power went to the people and the states

  • thought a agricultural economy would help the nation

  • he thought a nation full of small farmers would be helpful

  • supported by farmers, artisans, planters in the south.

    election of 1800

    • between john adams and thomas jefferson

    • the election was so close that it had to be decided by the house of representatives

    • thomas jefferson won and it was a peaceful transfer between parties

JEFFERSON’S PRESIDENCY

• jefferson had tried to avoid war between the united states, Britain, and france

• to help defend America he started a us military academy in 1802 to eliminate the need for foreign aid

• his most important action was the purchase of the Louisiana territory

  • LOUISIANNA PURCHASE

    • 1803 for 15 billion dollars from France

    • it doubled the size of the united states

    • explored by lewis and clark with the help of sacajawea

    • they mapped the territory and found important information on the land and wildlife

• THE WAR OF 1812

  • after thomas jefferson james madison became president

  • US western expansion into the louisianna territory and Britain interfering with American shipping created tension with the US and Britain

  • the federalists were more loyal with Britain

  • in the war of 1812 U.S had a bad army poor support, and it happened mostly in the great lakes

  • andrew jackson became a hero in the war of 1812 for his campaign in the south and the battle of new oreleans

  • the treaty of ghett ended the war of 1812

  • america gained oregon territory (Britain) and Florida (Spanish)

  • the 49th parallel which was a boundary between the US and Canada divided america

  • the federalist party died off because of their positive support and relations with Britain

  • however the war of 1812 brought economic gains like transportation improvements, agricultural improvements, textile mills, and the telegraph

THE MONROE DOCTRINE

• the war of 1812 was a bad idea for the united states because the British was much stronger and George Washington had warned against how foreign affairs could harm the United states

• During the presidency of james Monroe in 1823 the Monroe doctrine was created by john quincy adams and had 4 provisions

  1) europe couldn’t colonize territory in the western hemisphere

  2) the united states and Europe were different because the united states had elected governments and Europe had kings

  3) the united states would view any European involvement with the western hemisphere that could possibly lead to war

  4) The US would stay out of europes affairs

• this made the united states very isolationist which meant they focused more on themselves rather than other countries and nations

CHANGES IN THE EAST

• the industrial revolution

  • began in England in the 1700s and started a bit later in the united states. factories were mostly built in the north where the conditions were very bad

• the cotton boom

  • eli whiteny invented the cotton gin in 1793 which sped up the process of cleaning raw cotton

  • this made it very profitable

  • the “cotton kingdom” spread across the deep south which put slaves in high demand to grow more cotton

• railroads and canals

  • the steam engine was built in England in the late 1700s

  • built trains using the steam engine

  • railroads boom very quickly and canals also grow at this time because of steam powered ships

  • canals, railroads sped up westward expansion

• immigration

  • Irish potato famine in the 1840s

  • thousands of immigrants come to america from Ireland to be promised land and greater religious freedom

  • many work building railroads and canals where they were treated very poorly for their lack of work experience, religion, and language

  WESTWARD EXPANSION

• manifest destiny

  • new york post editor John O Sullivan wrote in 1845 that it was their destiny to overspread and possess the whole of the continent which providence has given them

  • they thought that it was predetermined that the USA should stretch from the Atlantic to Pacific

  • this eventually led to President James K. Polk (1845-49 and was elected on manifest destiny platform)

    • during his presidency, he acquires the Oregon territory

    • Mexican cession from Mexico (1846)

  • these new lands will lead to controversy concerning the expansion of slavery. (compromise of 1850, kansas nebraska act, and rise of the republican party)

• why do people move to the west

  • they move to the Midwest, southwest, and Texas

  • they looked for economic opportunity, cheap land to own and farm, gold and freedom

• Texas and the alamo

  • border disputes caused by migration to texas led to armed revolt against the Mexicans

  • battle of alamo in 1836 texans fought to the last man against a massively superior Mexican force

  • texas eventually wins and becomes a state

• the Mexican war

  • 1846-1848

  • america fights Mexico over border disputes in texas (annexation of texas)

  • america wins and gets major territory that includes modern day californa, nevada, texas, Arizona, colorodo, new Mexico, and utah

• impact on American indians

  • they had violent conflicts over land and almost always defeated

  • forced off ancestral homelands in the east and west

  • andrew jackson forced indian territory/tribes to southeast and relocate to modern day oklahoma

  • this was known as the trail of tears

ANDREW JACKSON AND THE AGE OF THE COMMON MAN

• by 1828 the federalists disappeared because they were so unpopular for not supporting the war of 1812

• the democratic repulbicans turned into the democratics because they thought it spread the power to the people message

• the whig party - was the main challenger to the democratics and they focused on strengthening the nation by building railroads and canals, and wanted to improve the economy

• the know nothing party wanted to close americas borders to foreign immigrants especially the Irish

• jacksons presidency was known as the age of the common man because the government mainly represented the wealthy people but the poor and middle class people were represented during this time ( you didn’t need land to vote so they were able to have a voice in elections)

• the election of 1828 voter participation increased and the rise of interest groups emerged(people voting for needs or lifestyles) and more divisions between the north and the south

• the spoils system - jackson gave jobs to people that supported him even when they didn’t have the skills for the job

• many people criticized him because he vetoed more bills, treated native Americans poorly, and he had a reputation of being brutal and violent

SECTIONAL TENSIONS DURING JACKSON’S PRESIDENCY

• poor and middle class people became more involved in politics which lead more people to argue especially with the north vs the south

• sectional tensions between the north and the south led to civil war. one of the biggest sources of tension was the tariff which was a tax on imported goods

• since the industrial revolution started earlier in Britain it was cheaper to make goods there than in the US. the government put a tax on imports so that they would be more expensive than American goods and they were forced to buy the cheaper American ones.

• north

  • the tariff helped earned profits when people bought the now cheaper American products

• south

  • south hated the tariff because it made the things they wanted to buy more expensive and they got no benefit from it

• nullification

  • means that a state would declare a law unconstitutional and refuse to obey it

  • south Carolina nullified and refused to pay the tariff (as a independent state)

  • 1832 tariff of abominations was passed

  • if jackson allowed this then it would have threatened the survival of the united states

  • this meant that states could refuse to obey the laws of the nation making the federal government powerless. (NULLIFICATION CRISIS)

  • jackson threatened to send soldiers to collect the tariff, however there was still tension between the north and the south

RISING TENSIONS IN THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH

• the biggest issue that divided the north and the south was the issue of slavery

  • whether or not slavery should be allowed in those new states

• westward expansion and settlement that new states were being formed quickly and the populations grew

• north

  • wanted states in the west for industry and farms

• south

  • wanted the new states in the west to grow cotton

• since the nations founding there has always been an equal numbers of free and slave states in congress and both sides felt equally represented in congress

• every time a new state was formed the balance between free and slave states became unequal and tensions grew

• they created 3 compromises but they only worked temporarily because each time a new territory was added a new crisis arose and a new compromise was added

  • Missouri compromise of 1820

    • james Monroe signed

    • congress admitted Missouri to the union as a slave state

    • Maine as a free state

    • the 36 30 line of which slavery was prohibited in the Louisiana Territory, except for Missouri

    • henry clay

  • compromise of 1850

    • California is free state

    • new Mexico and utah can choose whether they are a free or slave state (popular sovereignty)

    • amended the fugitive slave act (stricter)

    • Washington dc bans slave trade

    • henry clay

  • kansas nebraska act

    • kansas and Nebraska decide for themselves whether to allow slavery through popular soverignty

    • repealed the Missouri compromise which had prohibited slavery north of the 36 30 line

    • led to the violent conflict known was the bleeding of Kansas as pro slavery and anti slavery settlers rushed to the territories (Kansas) to influence the decision

      • major violence and death as each side tried to assert control

    • stepehn douglas

SLAVERY ABOLITION AND REFORM MOVEMENTS

• in 1860 there were 4 million slaves out of 51 million people

  • they worked growing cash crops, worked in the homes of their masters, some worked in trades or industry

• they resisted their masters by running away or attacking them

• Gabriel prosser

  • attempted to lead a rebellion near Richmond in 1800 but he was reported and the uprising failed

• nat turner

  • killed nearly 60 people near Richmond and terrified slave owners throughout the south

• many brave slaves fled north to freedom along the underground railroad but the fugitive slave law forced the northerners to return the slaves if they were caught

  • southerners defended slavery because it was essential to their economy and the economy of the north whose factories used their cotton

  • claimed that slaves lived better lives than factory workers because they got a home, food, and clothing

  • abolitionists were people that wanted to end slavery completely and thought that slavery was evil

• William Lloyd garrison

  • publisher of the liberator which became one of the nations leading abolitionists

• harriet beecher stowe

  • author of uncle toms cabin

  • her moving story of the horrors of slavery inspired many people in the north to fight slavery

• susan b anthony and Elizabeth cady stanton fought for women rights and produced the seneca falls declaration in 1848

• dorothea dix fought for the mentally ill and improved care for them

• temperance movement fought to end drinking to create a more perfectionist society

• horace mann improved public education

• the second great awakening caused these cultural changes

THE DRED SCOTT CASE

• dred scott was sued for living his freedom after living in a slave state arguing that he should be free since slavery was not allowed there. the supreme court ruled against him and said that African Americans were not citizens and had no right to sue in federal court

• case on if people of African Americann decent would be considered citizens in the constitutions eyes and if they claimed the rights and privileges of whites

IMPORTANT READING TERMS

• the election of 1824

  • john quincy adams, henry clay, William Crawford, andrew jackson

  • laid the groundwork for political parties

  • john quincy adams and henry clay are the basis of the whig party

  • andrew jackson and William Crawford help create the democtatic party

  • john quincy adams wins

• john quincy adams

  • son of john adams and secretary of state

  • writer of the Monroe doctrine and winner of the election of 1824

  • supported the system of government sponsored economic development

  • hoped to encourage commerce and enhance influence in the western hemisphere

• martin van buren

  • created the democratic party along with andrew jacksn and William Crawford