U3L8: Unit 3 Review Matching

Foundations of the Executive Branch: George Washington's Presidency

• Role of the First President:

  • George Washington served as the $1^{\text{st}}$ President of the United States, establishing vital traditions and operational precedents for the executive office.
  • Issued a Farewell Address at the close of his presidency to offer guidance to future leaders and say goodbye to the American people.

• Precedents Established by Washington:

  • Precedents are defined as traditions or examples created by the first president for future presidents to follow.
  • Selection of a Cabinet: Formed a group of advisors chosen by the president and approved by the Legislative Branch to provide counsel on key issues such as education, transportation, defense, and finances.
  • Two-Term Limit: Established the tradition that a president should serve a maximum of $8\text{ years}$ ($4\text{ years}$, followed by an additional $4\text{ years}$ if re-elected), even if widely popular, to safeguard against tyranny and abuse of executive power.
  • Title of the Executive: Chose to be addressed with the simple title "Mr. President."
  • State of the Union Address: Established the annual tradition of delivering a "State of the Union" speech directly to the legislature.

• Cabinet Division and Conflicting Philosophies:

  • Thomas Jefferson (Secretary of State): Handled foreign affairs and issues related to international countries; maintained a strict interpretation of the Constitution.
  • Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury):
  • Advised on economic policies, taxes, and financial stabilization.
  • Advocated for the creation of a national bank to organize and secure the nation's financial system.
  • Promoted the collection of taxes to pay off national revolutionary debt.
  • Member of the Federalist Party who advocated for a loose interpretation of the Constitution.

• Warnings Issued in the Farewell Address:

  • Avoid Political Parties: Cautioned against factionalism and the internal divisions caused by political parties.
  • Maintain Neutrality: Advised the United States to stay neutral in foreign disputes and avoid entangling foreign alliances.

Constitutional Interpretation and Territorial Doubling: Thomas Jefferson's Presidency

• Role of the Third President:

  • Thomas Jefferson served as the first Secretary of State under Washington and later became the $3^{\text{rd}}$ President of the United States.
  • Oversaw landmark foreign and domestic actions, including signing the Embargo Act and authorizing the purchase of the Louisiana Territory.

• The Constitutional Interpretation Debate:

  • Strict Interpretation: The belief that the Constitution must be followed exactly as written, meaning the federal government holds only those powers explicitly stated. Jefferson initially hesitated to purchase foreign land because the Constitution contained no explicit clause permitting the government to acquire foreign territory.
  • Loose Interpretation: The belief that the Constitution allows flexibility and implied powers in specific circumstances. Jefferson ultimately shifted his perspective from a strict interpretation to a loose interpretation to approve the Louisiana Purchase.

• The Louisiana Purchase ($1803$):

  • Purchased from France for approximately $15\text{ million dollars}$.
  • Doubled the geographic size of the United States.
  • Secured complete American control of the Mississippi River, ensuring trade access for western farmers.
  • Secured control of the strategic Port of New Orleans.
  • Commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (the Lewis and Clark Expedition) to explore, map, and document the newly acquired western lands.

Expansion of Executive Power: Andrew Jackson's Presidency

• Role of the Seventh President:

  • Andrew Jackson served as the $7^{\text{th}}$ President of the United States, marked by an unprecedented expansion of presidential authority and executive power.

• The Spoils System:

  • Defined as the political practice of appointing friends, political allies, and party supporters to government jobs rather than selecting individuals based on qualifications or merit.

• Indian Removal Policies:

  • Indian Removal Act ($1830$): Legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by Jackson that initiated the systematic, forced relocation of Native Americans from their ancestral eastern homelands to designated "Indian Territory" west of the Mississippi River.
  • Worcester v. Georgia ($1832$): Landmark Supreme Court case where the Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee Nation, deciding that Native Americans had the legal right to keep their sovereign lands. President Jackson openly defied the judicial branch by ignoring the ruling and proceeding with the forced expulsion of Native populations.
  • The Trail of Tears ($1830$–$1850$):
  • A brutal $1{,}000\text{ mile}$ forced march that Native Americans walked under military escort to reach the designated Indian Territory in modern-day Oklahoma.
  • Approximately $\frac{1}{4}$ of the Native American population died along the journey due to exposure, starvation, disease, and harsh conditions.

Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny: Ideology and Timeline

• Historical Context of Expansion:

  • Timeframe: Late $1700\text{s}$ through the $1800\text{s}$.
  • Underlying Causes: Intense economic desire for land and natural resources, coupled with the national belief that American territorial dominion across the continent was preordained.
  • Manifest Destiny Defined: The widespread belief that the United States was destined by God to expand its borders across the entire continent, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean (East Coast) all the way to the Pacific Ocean (West Coast).
  • Key Leaders and Groups Involved: President Thomas Jefferson, President James K. Polk, President Andrew Jackson, American settlers, Native American nations, and Mexico.

• Chronological Timeline of Territorial Acquisitions:

  • $1783$: United States boundary established following the American Revolution, comprising the original $13$ States and the Ohio River Valley.
  • $1803$: Louisiana Purchase acquired from France.
  • $1819$: Spain cedes Florida to the United States (Adams-Onís Treaty).
  • $1845$: Annexation of Texas as a U.S. state; the phrase "Manifest Destiny" was coined and used in public discourse for the first time.
  • $1846$: United States acquires the Oregon Territory through a treaty boundary agreement with Great Britain.
  • $1848$: The Mexican Cession acquired following the defeat of Mexico in the Mexican-American War.
  • $1853$: Gadsden Purchase finalized along the southern border of modern New Mexico and Arizona.
  • $1860$: Manifest Destiny realized as U.S. borders spanned continuously from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast.

Technological Innovation and Transportation Networks

• Progression of Western Transportation Methods:

  • Settlers and traders utilized four successive primary transportation methods across the nineteenth century: Rivers, Canals, Wagons, and Railroads.
  • Wagons allowed initial overland transport along rugged western trails.
  • River flatboats and steamboats facilitated navigation along major waterways like the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

• Transformative Infrastructure Projects:

  • Erie Canal: Connected Lake Erie to the Hudson River in New York, directly linking western agricultural producers in the Midwest to the Atlantic and East Coast markets.
  • Transcontinental Railroad: Linked eastern rail networks directly to the Pacific coast, providing rapid transcontinental transit across plains and mountains.

• Economic and Logistical Effects of Infrastructure:

  • Made the movement of settlers, agricultural commodities, and industrial trade goods significantly faster, easier, and cheaper.
  • Successfully integrated the agricultural interior of the Midwest and West with the commercial centers of the East Coast.

Drivers of Western Migration: Economic Opportunities and Federal Incentives

• The California Gold Rush ($1848$–$1849$):

  • Gold was initially discovered on the West Coast in California in $1848$.
  • In $1849$, tens of thousands of prospectors (known as "forty-niners") rushed west seeking quick wealth.
  • While the overwhelming majority of individual miners did not strike it rich, the migration rapidly populated California and accelerated western statehood.

• The Homestead Act ($1862$):

  • Enacted by the federal government to stimulate permanent agricultural settlement across the Great Plains.
  • Granted $160\text{ acres}$ of free public land to any individual who met the following conditions:
  • Had to be at least $21\text{ years}$ of age (or head of household).
  • Agreed to settle and farm on the Great Plains.
  • Built a permanent dwelling on the property.
  • Actively cultivated, farmed, and maintained the plot for a minimum duration of $5\text{ years}$.

Consequences and Conflicts of Expansion: Slavery, Native Removal, and the Mexican-American War

• Expansion of Slavery:

  • As settlers moved westward, plantation agriculture expanded into new southern and western territories.
  • Created bitter sectional disputes over whether slavery would be legally allowed in newly admitted western states, dramatically heightening national tensions over cash crop production.

• Escalation of Conflict with Native Americans:

  • Encroachment by American settlers onto Native homelands resulted in broken treaties, systematic land theft, widespread violence, and forced federal displacement.
  • U.S. military forces were repeatedly dispatched to suppress Native resistance, leading to numerous armed engagements and widespread destruction of tribal autonomy.

• The Mexican-American War ($1846$–$1848$):

  • Origin of Border Dispute: Following the U.S. annexation of Texas in $1845$, a bitter boundary dispute emerged between Mexico and the United States.
  • The United States and the State of Texas claimed the international border was marked by the Rio Grande River.
  • The Mexican government maintained that the border remained further north at the Nueces River.
  • Outbreak of Hostilities:
  • President James K. Polk ordered U.S. military troops into the disputed border zone between the Rio Grande and Nueces rivers.
  • Mexican troops responded to the deployment by confronting the American unit; U.S. soldiers were overwhelmed, resulting in $15$ American army members killed.
  • Polk utilized the skirmish to declare that American blood had been shed on American soil, successfully convincing Congress to declare war on Mexico within weeks.
  • Outcome and Legacy:
  • The United States defeated Mexico, concluding the conflict in $1848$.
  • Mexico ceded vast territories under the Mexican Cession, including present-day California, New Mexico, and Arizona.
  • The victory fulfilled President Polk's territorial ambition of realizing Manifest Destiny by extending the nation's contiguous boundaries to the Pacific Ocean.