The economic aspects of America during 1690 to 1700 were mainly based on the growth of tobacco. Tobacco was the main staple crop throughout this period and was the driving force of the colonies in the seventeenth century. Its enormous influence shaped entire economic systems and changed the social conventions between the European powers. During this time, tobacco was what kept the existence of the colonies. Tobacco prices also fluctuated, such as with the War of the Grand Alliance which depressed the prices, and the entry of the French later on which was an important factor in raising the prices of tobacco once again. The price of farm tobacco tends to fall when the price of servant labor rises. The fall transportation costs of servant labor would also cause a fall in the servant labor itself. The tobacco trade experienced a series of changes in its underlying organization. The early “singly adventure system”, where a group of English merchants teamed up to fund a voyage, bought tobacco in America at several different locations, but this was also unsuccessful at the time because the ships took six months before they maintained a full cargo. This problem was later solved when American partnerships made sure that the tobacco was ready to load when the English ship arrived in port. With the trade of tobacco also came the price of labor.
The transition from servant to slave labor in the Chesapeake region began in the 1690’s, and almost 80% of the labor force was composed by slaves. Servants also typically indentured themselves to pay for their transportation to the colonies from England. Most of the slaves came from the Barbados Market. From the economic point of view, slaves are a durable capital good that reproduces itself. The economy did not only take place in the colonies.
In 1700, The House of Bourbon gains the Spanish throne. Changes in the administration and policies concerned the Americas because there was increase of commercial trade, tax reduction, support of agricultural and livestock programs, and an enlargement of local militias.
Politics
1690-1700
«
Colonies
began being chartered:
Virginia, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New York, New
Jersey, and Georgia were all labeled as royal colonies. This meant
that the crown chose the officials and council for the upper house and the lower
house was voted in by the landholders. Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware were all proprietary
colonies. This meant that the council was appointed by the by the
proprietors the colonies and the lower house was elected by the people who had
enough land. Connecticut and Rhode Island were the only self-governing colonies.
The upper and lower houses in the legislature in self-governing colonies were
chosen by the voters and elected their own governors. In all the colonies, the
lower house was voted on by those who owned enough land to vote.
«
King
Phillips war: The Indians were trying to
resist the English encroachment and their only hope was a pan-Indian alliance.
In 1675, Massasoit’s son, Metacom, also known as King Phillip forged an
alliance and mounted a series of coordinated assaults on English villages in new
England. The war ended in 1676 with 52 Puritan towns attacked, twelve destroyed
and hundreds of colonists and Indians dead. Metacom’s wife and son were sold
into slavery, while he was captured, beheaded and his head was carried on a pike
and displayed in Plymouth. The war slowed the westward march of English
settlement and left a lasting defeat on New England’s Indian’s. The Indians
were never a serious threat to the New Englanders again.
«
King
Williams War: Both France and England
didn’t consider America at this time worth the commitment of regular troops so
guerrilla warfare prevailed. French-inspired Indians ravaged with torches and
tomahawks the British colonial frontiers. Peace was found in the Treaty of
Utrecht in 1713 where England was rewarded with French populated Acadia and
Newfoundland as well as Hudson Bay
«
Leisler’s
rebellion: in New York which was
between landlords and merchants and led to a bloody insurgency.
Economics
of 1730 –1740:
v Three specific economic regions: New England, Middle colonies, and Southern colonies.
Ø
New England:
· Main focus of economics was the practice of shipbuilding and fishing in order to take advantage of the coastline.
· The people of New England also wanted the town of New Haven to become a flourishing seaport.
Ø
Middle Colonies (New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and
Pennsylvania):
· The Middle colonies or the “Bread colonies” as they were called because of their heavy export of grains were very efficient it their production of raw goods.
· Lumber and shipbuilding played a vital role to the colonies as well as deep river estuaries and harbor-simulated commerce.
Ø
Southern Colonies (Plantation Colonies):
· Large plantations were their main economic growth, on which they grew rice, tobacco, and staple crops.
· Southerners also provided lumber, timber, and the most beneficial to them, the slave trade.
· The slaves provided little to no pay for heir services. Plantation owners could work the slaves from sun up to sun down to get their maximum moneys worth.
v
Triangular Trade.
· In the early 1730’s the American people expanded their economic base away from the British over to the French West Indies.
· The Triangular Trade works in the way that the New Englanders sent rum to Africa in return for slaves. From there the slaves are either transported over to the southern colonies to be sold off or to the French West Indies Islands. Once on the West Indies Islands the slave’s work to produce sugar and molasses, which is later, traded for timber and foodstuffs from the North American colonies.
v
The Molasses Act of 1733.
· In order to control the colonist’s means of production and economical growth the British parliament issued a law restricting the colonists from trading with foreign markets.
· This law was especially made to defeat the trade between the colonists and the French West Indies. The Molasses Act of 1733 would have completely disrupted the colonist’s means of living if properly enforced.
·
But the colonists found ways
around it. They would bribe merchants and smuggle goods to foreign traders.
v The Hat Act of 1732.
·
Responding to pressure from the
British hat makers and other interest groups, Parliament passed a law that
prohibits the export of American made hats in England.
·
The Hat Act attempted also
to limit local production by allowing colonial hat makers to have no more than
two apprentices.
ESP Outline- 1780- 1790:
POLITICAL:
ECONOMIC:
SOCIAL:
ESP
1780 – 1790 Outline
Economic:
·
Revolutionary War ended
and the country went into a post-war economic depression.
·
Prominent Loyalists
properties were split into sections to be offered to those who were just
immigrating, and those who were less fortunate.
·
This debt caused many to
go into a sort of panic mode, possibly blaming it on the fact that Britain was
no longer a major trade partner and the new country was just blossoming as a
massive trade power.
·
Ex soldiers on the
frontier became feeling uppity. This
anxiety came to a head in Daniel Shays, and Shays’ Rebellion.
Shays’ Rebellion was not only a strike out against the failing economy,
but also a chance for the American people to see that the Articles of
Confederation were a poor way of governing for an economically troubled country.
·
Articles did not have any
way of regulating commerce between the states, creating taxes, or the power to
enforce federal laws. they forbid
the states from making alliances with other countries, or joining other
countries created the precedent of the states as a strong single union.
·
Constitution was
established it created a national currency, adopted the power to tax, and
regulate commerce. Made federal law
supreme law that all the states must obey.
·
Independence was a small
draw back because the commerce with England was now limited to those parts of
the British Empire that were still loyal.
·
Country was able to enjoy
free trade with outside nations, which it had never had access to before.
·
New imports were arriving
from China such as Ginseng and from the northern areas of the Baltic.
Social:
·
characterized by change.
·
Paris Treaty named the
United States as an independent nation.
·
aristocratic were not held
on the pedestal that they had been before.
·
Soon higher social
democracy would become apparent, after being stimulated by trade organizations
for laborers and artisans.
·
people were beginning to
work and earn wages in order to support their family, rather than serve as
indentured servants.
·
absolving of necessary
land ownership in order to vote. All
people were allowed to vote in the new government.
·
primogeniture, an
inheritance law granting all property of a passed parent to the eldest son, was
ended.
·
new statutes of religious
freedom. Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, helped to separate the
institutions of church and state.
·
abolitionist movement also
began soon after the war. Quaker
societies advocated abolitionism as the first challengers of slavery, and
created the first antislavery society.
Political:
·
revolutionary war ended
with the Paris Treaty and the recognition of the United States as an independent
nation. .
·
Second Continental
Congress assembled and drafted the Articles of Confederation= loose alliance of
the former thirteen colonies.
·
need for a revision of the
current government. congress called upon several of the greatest minds of the
time. Washington, Madison, Hamilton, Jay, Jefferson, and Franklin.
asked by congress after the failure of the Articles to “revise” them
to create a more practical plan for government.
·
new Constitution for the
US would establish a tighter union among the states.
·
allowed the government the
right to tax, enforce supreme federal law, and to regulate commerce between the
states.
·
The Constitution
established three separate branches of government and a system of checks and
balance, which is what essentially keeps our country running smoothly, and
guarantees that no branch gains more power than any other.
·
The Constitution was not
readily accepted by the states however, and nearly split the country in two.
·
Federalist
cause supported ratification of the Constitution
·
anti-Federalists worried
of another tyranny like England’s.
·
problem of representation.
wanted representation to be based on population.
small states would have little to no say.
Great
Compromise was reached. the House
of Representatives would be based on population, and the Senate would be fixed
at the number two.
The first major political event of the decade was the election of 1800, between the Federalist John Adams and the Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson won the election, causing the downfall of the Federalist Party, a force that had been dominant up to this point. After Adams’ defeat, the Federalists went on to nominate candidates in the next few elections, with very little success, and by 1824 the party had ceased to function. The Federalists were essentially a party of the elite, and their strong leaders had built a solid political and financial foundation for America. However, by the turn of the century, the aristocratic Federalists had become out of step with the democratic reforms of the time. They failed to appeal to the common people, and this caused their downfall. The decline of this aristocratic party cleared the way for the great democratic advances made during the era of Jeffersonian democracy, and marked a shift of the political power from the elite citizens to the common man.
Jefferson’s democratic ideals were very different than those of his Federalist predecessors. Immediately upon his election, Jefferson did away with the objectionable Alien and Sedition Acts, and he pardoned those who had served sentences under these policies. Jefferson envisioned America as a republic of independent farmers, living under a central government that exercised only enough power to uphold the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. However, Jefferson could not stop the march of progress as America became increasingly industrialized and urban.
Though Jefferson was a pacifist leader who was opposed to maintaining a standing army, he did not falter in defending the rights of Americans when the need arose. When the pirates along the Barbary Coast make a practice of blackmailing and plundering American merchant ships, Jefferson built up the newly formed navy and sent them to the Mediterranean to battle the pirates of Tripoli. Foreign nations developed a new respect for the United States, now seeing it a country willing to defend its rights.
The case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803, which concerned a dispute over judicial commissions, marked the first time the Supreme Court invalidated a federal law. Chief Justice Marshall thus set the precedent for judicial review, the power of the courts to determine the constitutionality of acts of Congress. Judicial review has become an essential component of the checks and balances system upon which the three branches of government operate.
The Louisiana Purchase, the greatest triumph of Jefferson’s presidency, had significant political implications. Buying the vast Louisiana territory from France for $15 million, Jefferson doubled the size of the nation, secured the western half of the continent, eliminated a potential conflict with France and set the foundation for America’s expansion into a major world power. This set the precedent for the acquisition of foreign territories by purchase and provided for the noninterventionist future of American policy.
After the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson sent out two explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, on an expedition to gain information about the territory. Lewis and Clark spent two years exploring the region, gathering scientific observations and drawing maps. The Lewis and Clark expedition was important in further establishing America’s claim to the territory, an issue that would come to play during the expansionist movement of the 1840s.
The Embargo Act, passed in 1807, had significant economic implications. The act was passed in response to British and French mistreatment during the Napoleonic Wars. A response to foreign impressment and the Chesapeake affair, the Embargo Act prohibited the export of all goods from the United States. Jefferson hoped that these embargo measures would force the British and French to respect American rights. The Embargo Act backfired and caused a nationwide economic depression that was not fully relieved until after the War of 1812. During this time, the New England shippers had to seek an alternative means of profit. They built hundreds of new factories throughout the region, laying the groundwork for New England’s industrial future.
Robert Fulton created the first steam vessel, the Clermont, in 1807. Allowing travel against the current of the river, the steamboat played a significant role in spreading the population to the West and South, areas with abundant navigable rivers. Steamboat facilitated trade to and from these regions and lowered shipping costs.
As America developed at this time it became increasingly industrialized and urban. The developments of the late eighteenth century, such as Samuel Slater’s factory system, Eli Whitney’s cotton gin and the concept of interchangeable parts paved the way for the development of industry. When the Embargo Act of 1807 restricted trade and made agricultural production less profitable, many people moved to the cities to work in the factories. The population of unskilled workers or “drifters” steadily increased. While the degree of social mobility was somewhat exaggerated, it was greater than in most other nations. The beginnings of the Industrial Revolution also marked the start of a steady flow of immigrants to America. All of these factors led to a diversification of the United States’ population.
1810-1820
ESP
Economic-
Social-
Political-
Outline of the 1830’s
· From 1830 to 1840, the US experiences a time of social and political change
· After the revolutionary election of 1828, the decade of the 1830’s experienced a shift in power from the wealthy elite to the “common man.”
· Free thought changed literature and evoked the need for social reform. The Second Great Awakening is an example of such a social reform. Charles Grandison Finney was most notable reformer and abolitionist who led mass revivals in New York City and Rochester in 1830 and 1831. Many sects and formed because of the movement such as evangelist, Methodist, Unitarian, and Baptist. Many were missionaries in the west and throughout far off places of the world such as Asia and Hawaii.
· The fight for the rights of the common man also promoted the interest to educate him so that he may make the right decisions of the nation. Thus, education in the 1830’s further increased as well as for example, the first textbooks were made, the McGuffey’s Readers.
· The influx of Irish and German immigrants was due in part to the new national spread of equality and democracy, which appealed to the poor, third class immigrants both socially and economically. The stir of immigration to the US however caused friction in the.
· With the successful election of Andrew Jackson in 1828, the politics in the following decade now shifts from the aristocratic, coastal communities to the western, frontier communities, as the common man becomes the center of politics.
· In the following elections in 1832, 1836, and 1840, presidential campaigns make slogans such as “Hard Cider” and “from the log cabin” showing appeal to the voters of the frontier community.
· The invention of campaigns during this time period allowed for politicians to travel and reach the public informing them of the reason why he deserves their vote.
· The nullification crisis alone is enough proof that there was great tension between the North and the South as they seemingly loathed one another. Agitation began ten years previous when in 1820 a bill was passed by the House in favor of an openly protective system. Due to the Tariff’s seemingly bias to the North, the South was so disgruntled by the fact the Tariff supports the North’s economy that South Carolina threatened secession. In effect, Jackson exercised his iron-fisted rule by making the Force Bill to allow him to threaten military force against South Carolina’s defiance. Nullification was first suggested by Henry Clay. The whole doctrine of nullification was overthrown by Mr. Webster in his speech on January 26, 1830. However much debate there went on between the radical secessionists of South Carolina and the Unionists, the Nullification crisis was simply and peacefully resolved through a reduction in the Tariff.
· The question of whether or not to admit Texas as a state in the union after its 1836 independence created a heated argument because Texans were major exploiters of slavery. Admitting Texas in the Union would offset the balance of slave and free states in the union.
· The Peggy Eaton Affair -- The split between Calhoun and Jackson made a further split between North and South and further influencing politics and sectionalism.
· While the 1830’s were a time for freedom and flourishing of democracy, Andrew Jackson was one of the most dictatorial presidents. He ruled congress as if he were the only one in charge. His presidency is seen as one of the most powerful in the history of the US. He greatly influenced decisions in congress such as the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
· The major debate on the economic system of the US was whether to recharter the Bank of the United States and its constitutionality. Jackson, opposed to large corporations and monopolies, naturally objected to it. Henry Clay was on the other end of the spectrum. Clay looked upon the bank issue as an opportunity to gain reputation with the public. Jackson vetoed the recharter bill and declared it unconstitutional even after the Supreme Court ruled otherwise (this further strengthened Jackson’s power).
· The effects of Jackson’s decisions on the Bank will eventually lead to the Panic of ‘37 during Martin Van Buren’s presidency. Due to the lack of a strong national bank, the local “wildcat banks” crumbled and hence came economic depression. This economic system, though freer and less monopolistic, was weak a high risk. The Panic of 1837 showed that the economic system mainly in the west was based on high-risk speculation and gambling.
1840-1850 Social
i. North – most states banned slavery
ii. South – slavery is a part of Southern plantation lifestyle.
i. Mostly a North mov’t – seen as a desire to abolish slavery and destroy Southern lifestyle
ii. Writers and speakers –Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass (Narrative of the life of FD), David Walker, William Lloyd Garrison (Liberator), Arthur/Lewis Tappan, Lyman Stowe and Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom’s Cabin).
i. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo – gave California and Texas territory to USA.
i. Moved because of potato famines in 1848 and 1849
ii. Congregated in Northern industrial cities because lack of money to purchase farmland – worked as low-class laborers
iii. Caused some social/racial discontent with competing city workers
iv. Banded together and formed an effective political power
i. Immigrated because of famines and political troubles
ii. More financially stable – able to buy farmland and blend into the American society as farmers
iii. Contributed to more liberal political view and democratic ideas
i. Gender roles during this time extremely separated
ii. Joined with other reform mov’ts along with Women’s Rights
iii. Leaders – Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell (first female med. grad), Margaret Fuller (edited The Dial).
iv. Other feminists used dif. Approaches – Lucy Stone refused to take on husband’s last name, Amelia Bloomer invented lady’s pants “Bloomers.”
v. Women’s Rights Convention @ Seneca Falls, NY in 1848.
i. Dorothy Dix pushed for better treatment of insane and criminals. Include “reform and release” and hospitals for mentally ill.
i. Grammar schools
1. Because of new universal male suffrage in North, tax-aided primary education sprang up to educate the children so that they can use their pwr of vote.
2. Horace Mann – broadened curriculum, improved teacher standards, longer school years
3. Noah Webster – dictionary and reading lessons, helped standardize American language and promote patriotism through children’s lessons.
4. William McGuffey – lessons in morality, patriotism and idealism.
ii. Secondary schools
1. female schools – established by Emma Willard and Mary Lyon.
2. Public lectures – lyceum lecture tours sponsoring such speakers as Emerson and Douglass.
iii. Temperance – anti-alcohol
1. Neal Dow – “Father of Prohibition,” used legislation in the 1850’s to ban alcohol
iv. Socialism/Utopian societies
1. Believing in internal human goodness and the benefits of living together in peaceful cooperation instead of competition.
2. established various communities and colonies where all would theoretically profit.
3. Brooks Farm (1841), Oneida Colony (1848).
ESP
Section- 1840-1850
Economic:
- By 1840, the Revolution was in full bloom, and each momentous
invention was followed by a more creative invention. The developments of the Revolution had contributed to the
wealth and economic power of the country. In
fact, by the end of the century, the United States was the world leader in
manufacturing, and the American economy had emerged as the largest and most
productive in the world.
- Important inventions such as the sewing machine by Elias Howe in 1846,
which increased the demand in textile products, and the telegraph by Samuel
Morse in 1844, which led to better communication in the complex business realm,
significantly altered the history of the United States.
-Widely adopted by 1850, Eli Whitney’s principle of interchangeable
parts became the basis of modern mass-production, assembly-line methods.
- New modes of transportation played a large part in the economic
prosperity of the United States from 1840 to 1850. Travel upstream of rivers was made possible by the
development of steamboats. By 1860,
about one thousand steamboats ran up and down the rivers of the United States in
excess of 10 miles an hour.
- Thousands of miles of railroads had been constructed in the United
States by 1840, mostly concentrated in the North. By 1860, just twenty years later, over 30,000 miles of
railroad track had been constructed throughout the country, diminishing the
importance of man-made canals such as the Erie Canal.
Social:
- Second Great Awakening: Began in about 1800 and continued for several
decades. Methodists and Baptists
attracted the most souls from the huge “camp meetings” that took place on
the frontier, in which thousands of people prayed and learned religion from
preachers. Both sects stressed
personal conversion, democratic control of the affairs of the church, and
emotionalism.
- Millerites, or Adventists, rose from Western New York in the 1830s.
William Miller had interpreted the Bible to mean that Christ would return
to earth on October 22, 1844. When
Jesus failed to appear, the movement was almost destroyed.
- The awakening tended to widen the lines between classes.
Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Unitarians
consisted of wealthy members of society. Methodists,
Baptists, and the members of new sects tended to be less wealthy. When the churches faced the slavery issue, religious
diversity reflected social problems.
- By 1840, the idea came along that prisons should reform as well and
punish criminals, and came to be called “reformatories”.
- In 1843, after traveling 60,000 miles in eight years and gathering
information on insanity, Dorothea Dix petitioned the Massachusetts legislature.
Her description of the squalid cells and conditions that the mentally ill
were forced to live resulted in improved conditions and a gain for the concept
that the mentally ill were not willfully perverse.
- Temperance movement: Hard and monotonous lives led to excessive
drinking, which threatened the
sanctity of the family and decreased the efficiency of labor. The introduction of poorly safeguarded machinery increased
the risk of dangerous accidents.
- American Temperance Society was formed in 1826.
Foes of drinking had two major lines of attack: temperance, and
prohibition. The temperance
movement stressed the ability of individuals to know when to stop drinking.
The prohibition movement stressed the banning of alcohol altogether in
the United States. This second line
of attack led to the Maine Law of 1851, which prohibited the manufacture and
sale of liquor in Maine
- Women’s Movement: As the century neared the halfway point, women
reformers began to gather strength. Prominent
among them: Lucretia Mott, whose anger had been aroused in 1840 when she and
several female counterparts were not recognized at the London antislavery
convention; Elizabeth Cody Stanton, a feminist who shocked other women by
advocating suffrage for women; and Susan B. Anthony, a militant lecturer for
women’s rights. Other women
immersed themselves in the men’s world by practicing what were considered to
be men’s jobs.
- Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female graduate of a medical
college. Margaret Fuller edited The
Dial, and supported the fight of Italy to bring unity and republican
government back to their country.
- At the Woman’s Rights Convention of 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York,
Elizabeth Stanton read a “Declaration of Sentiments”, which stated that
“all men and women are created equal”.
This meeting at Seneca Falls officially launched the modern women’s
rights movement.
- Abolitionist Movement: The
first devised solution to the problem was the transportation of blacks back to
Africa. In 1817, the American
Colonization Society was founded for this purpose. Over the next four decades, over 15,000 freed blacks were
sent to Liberia, a Republic on the African Coast established for former slaves.
- Prominent among abolitionists was William Lloyd Garrison, publisher of
the antislavery newspaper The Liberator. Black abolitionists also distinguished themselves during this
period. Sojourner Truth, a freed
black women, fought tirelessly for black emancipation and women’s rights.
Martin Delaney, a freed black man, was one of the first black leader to
take seriously the notion of relocating freed slaves to Africa.
The greatest of the abolitionists was Frederick Douglass, an escaped
slave who lectured widely for the cause. In
1845, he published his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass, which depicted his origins as a slave and his struggle to learn to
read and write, and his eventual escape to the North.
- Abolitionists looked to politics to end slavery.
In 1840, the Liberty party was formed, followed by the Free Soil party in
1848 and the Republican party in the 1850s.
In the South, proslavery whites responded by defending slavery as a
positive institution, one that removed blacks from savage society and placed
them in a civilized society.
- Mass immigration of Irish and Germans: In the mid 1840s, a terrible plight attacked the potato crops
of Ireland, forcing tens of thousands of poor Irish people to flee to America.
The newcomers swarmed into larger eastern cities, where they lived in
squalor, and were hated by native workers as wage-depressing competitors for
jobs. There was also a huge influx of refugees from Germany.
Between 1830 to 1860, over a million and a half Germans came to America.
Most were uprooted farmers, displaced by crop failures and other
hardships. Others were liberal
political refugees.
- The invasion of immigrants into the United States inflamed the
prejudices of so-called “nativists”, who feared that the foreigners would
outbreed, outvote, and overwhelm the old “native” stock.
These “nativists” rallied for political action, and in 1849, they
formed the “Know-Nothing” party, which stressed rigid restrictions on
immigration and naturalization and pushed for laws authorizing the deportation
of poor foreigners.
Politics:
- Primarily characterized by the desire for acquisition of land and the
increasing sectionalism of the South and North.
- In 1842, war was narrowly avoided with Britain, and instead was fought
of war of words between American authors and British authors.
The troubles with Britain eventually lead to a dispute over the boundary
of Maine. The British were
determined to build a road westward from the seaport of Halifax to Quebec, but
the proposed route ran through disputed territory that had also been claimed by
Maine. This lead to a small scale
lumberjack clash, known as the “Aroostook War”, which was halted by the
actions of the London Foreign Office.
- In 1842, London sent to Washington a nonprofessional diplomat who
speedily established cordial relations with Secretary of State Webster.
The two statesmen eventually came to a compromise over the disputed
territory. This action set the
Northern boundary of the United States near Maine in stone, ensuring they would
not invade Canada for the time being.
- After Texas had supposedly won its independence from Mexico in 1836,
Mexico had
been preparing to reconquer the province. As a result, the Texans maintained a costly military
establishment. Britain wanted for
Texas to be an independent establishment so that it could set a foothold on
Texas soil. If Britain managed to
make Texas their puppet state, then the dependence of British looms on American
fiber would end, and Britain would no longer have to worry about being cut off
in time of war.
- Texas became a leading issue in the presidential election of 1844.
Also making its appearance at the election was the doctrine known as
Manifest Destiny, in which Americans believed that the American people were
“manifestly” destined by God to spread their democratic institutions over
the whole of North America and possibly South America.
Expansionist Democrats were strongly swayed by Manifest Destiny.
James Polk, an expansionist, won the election narrowly over Henry Clay.
Three days before his term ended, President Tyler passed a joint
resolution through the House of Representatives, resulting in the adding of
Texas to the Union.
- Struck by a desire for expansion westward, the number of Americans in
Oregon was suddenly multiplied in the 1840s.
“Oregon fever” seized hundreds of restless pioneers, and by 1846
about five thousand Americans had settled south of the Columbia River.
-In the 1840s, gold was discovered in San Francisco, leading to a
nationwide stampede to California. Eager
to purchase the newly populated California from Mexico, Polk sent John Slidell
to Mexico City as minister late in 1845. Slidell was instructed to offer a maximum of $25 million for
California and adjoining territory. Already
angered at the American annexation of Texas, the Mexican people would not permit
Slidell to present his proposition. Polk responded by sending four thousand men under General
Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande, near Mexican forces.
When the Mexican troops crossed the river and attacked General Taylor’s
command, Polk sent a war message to Congress, thus beginning the
Mexican-American War.
- The war lasted for two years, ending with the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo on February 2, 1848. The
treaty confirmed the American title to Texas and yielded the enormous area
westward to Oregon and including California.
The total expanse yielded in the treaty was about one-half the size of
Mexico. The United States agreed to
pay $15 million for the land. Even today, however, harsh
Mexican sentiments toward the United States can still be found in Mexico.
- Sectionalism had been increasing between the North and the South
primarily due to the issue of slavery. The
southerners, upset that the antislavery northerners held a majority in the House
of Representatives while the Senate was controlled by neither section, saw the
war with Mexico as their big chance to increase the power of the South.
The South believed that if the United States won the war and conquered
Mexico, then the territory of Mexico could be divided into individual slave
states. Having no room to expand but westward, the proslavery
southerners supported the war as the chance to gain power in the House of
Representatives. Despite their
scheme, the South did not obtain what they wanted, as Mexico was never
destroyed. Had the United States
decided to carve up Mexico into new states, and had they been slave states, then
the South would have had all the power it needed to win the Civil War.
- When William Harrison of the Whig party died of pneumonia just four
weeks into his presidency in 1841, Vice President John Tyler took over.
The Whig Congress hastened to pass laws of financial reform, the first of
which was to end the independent treasury system that had been established by
President Martin Van Buren. After
Tyler signed this bill, Clay then drove through Congress a bill for a “Fiscal
Bank”. President Tyler, however, hostile to the idea of a
centralized bank, quickly vetoed the bill.
The Whig leaders were stunned, but tried again, this time passing a bill
providing for a “Fiscal Corporation”. Once
again, the president vetoed the bill, and as a result was formally expelled from
the Whig party.
- When the Whigs attempted to pass a protective tariff that would distribute among the states the revenue from the sale of public lands in the West, Tyler wielded an emphatic veto, unable to see the purpose in squandering federal money. Quickly the Whigs redrafted the bill, chopping out the distribution scheme and pushing down the rates to about 32 percent on dutiable goods. Reluctantly, Tyler signed the law of 1842, realizing the need for additional revenue. This new tariff bill helped America’s economy recover by gathering much needed federal money.
ESP Section: 1850-1860
During the decade of 1850 to 1860, the nation was divided. It was divided in every way possible, economically, politically, and most of all, socially. Economically the three regions (south, north, and west) of the United States all prospered in a way specific to that region. Though there were all interdependent, they shared nothing but profits in common. Socially the U.S. was divided the most. Two factions could be wrought out at this time: the north and the south, or in other words the free soil and the slave soil. Slavery proved to the issue that divided the nation socially. It would continue to do this until ultimately resolved, which would later occur in the Civil War. Lastly, the country was also divided politically. As different were the beliefs were of Republicans and Democrats, during this time of turmoil, the country shared leaders from each party, each leader proving to have different beliefs over the presiding conflict of slavery. What these leaders contributed to the country also divided the country within itself. As Abraham Lincoln predicted right before the Civil War, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Economically, the U.S. was divided into three main sections at this time. The West was known to be the ‘bread basket of the United States’. As more and more people went west, they utilized the soil for food production. This food production turned into mass food production with the invention of the steel plow and the horse-drawn reaper. Soon, production had increased as much as 400%. The West was actually considered to be part of the north since it was free soil land. Yet, the north, referring to the more eastern region, was known for industry. Much of the industry in the north were textile mills, which processed cotton from the south. As opposed to the south, the north was more industrialized than agricultural. Booming with factories, mines, canals, and railroads, the north focused on manufacturing and transportation, not agriculture. Lumber, iron, coal, and textiles were all part of the northern economy. The south was what fed the economy of the northern states. Known as ‘King Cotton’, the southern states completely relied upon the institution of slavery. Without slaves, the south would not have had prosperity or nearly as much cotton. Slaves often worked up to 80 hours a week in the south, thus pushing along the cotton economy. The south exported most of its cotton to the north where it was then materialized in textile factories. Thus, the north depended on the south for cotton for their factories and the west for their food (which was transported by railroad and/or canals and then exported) while both the west and south depended on the north.
As different as the north and south were, their different economies proved to lead to the conflict that tore the sections up socially, the conflict of slavery. Socially the United States was divided the most at this time. The north and south became bitter enemies over the conflict of slavery. The south defended the ‘institution’ as the north deemed it cruel and evil. One of the first major social impacts during this time was the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This novel damned the south and slavery and emotionally changed the country. It angered the north at the south as the south deemed the novel to be false in its accusations, beginning the social conflict over slavery. Later, what was known as ‘Bleeding Kansas’ also divided the country socially. As the new territory was allowed to choose between slavery or free soil with popular sovereignty (as deemed in the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854). The north and south went at it in every war, including violence, media, written commentary, and raids. This further issue over slavery pushed the north and south farther away from each other in terms of beliefs and what was socially and morally right. This issue over slavery would continue until resolved in the American Civil War.
Lastly, the political aid of this time period contributed greatly to the social problem over slavery. Many choices made by the government at this time revolved around the problem of slavery which further stirred the public consent and dissent. The first thing that enraged the north and appeased the south was the Compromise of 1850. The main product of this was the Fugitive Slave Bill, which made it illegal for northerners to help fugitive slaves. It also allowed for the ‘property’ to be returned to the south. Later, in 1854 Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed people settling in the new territory to choose between slavery and free soil. Again, this caused violent outbreaks among southerners and northerners at this time. The leaders of our government also shaped the country politically. In 1856 James Buchanan was elected to the presidency. Buchanan was a Democrat and sought public liking. Consequently, when he supported the Dred Scott decision in 1857, he was soon disliked by many northerners. The Dred Scott decision, made by chief justice Roger Taney, denied freedom to a slave and his wife and further decreed that no Negro could ever become a U.S. citizen. This decision won the support of the south, yet the outrage of the north. This turned around in the election 1860. Up for election was the republican and slavery hating Abraham Lincoln. Completely opposite to his opponent, a hopeful Buchanan, Lincoln won the presidency and proved to be a completely opposite and helpful leader for the nation. Detested by the south and liked by the north, Lincoln was an advocate for abolition of slavery. He once said, “No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.” His leadership proved to later end the cruel ‘institution’ with the Thirteenth Amendment after the Civil War.
As the strong points of a country have shown, the nation at the time of 1850-1860 was very divided. Economically the regions were completely different. One rural as opposed to one modern and industrialized. Socially the nation was divided the most. Over the conflict of slavery came the abolitionist movement, violence, and the future Civil War. Slavery divided the south and the north and created physical turmoil in new territory, such as Kansas and Nebraska. Politically the country was also divided. As the leader went from being a Democrat and supporter of slavery, the time period ends with Lincoln, a Republican and opponent of slavery. The government also contributed to the conflict of slaver socially. Political choices made by congress created the rifts between the north and the south. As time went on, these rifts only proved to widen.
ESP
Condensed: 1860-1870
1860
Democratic
Party splits into the Republican and Democratic Party.
New York
revised its women's rights laws, and now allowed women to keep their wages and
own property.
Nov. 6:
Lincoln is elected President.
Dec. 20:
South Carolina secedes the Union
1861
Jay
Cooke and Company was started to sell bonds supporting the war.
Morrill
Tariff Act is passed.
Lincoln
suspends writ of habeas corpus.
Jan.:
Kansas joins the Union.
Jan.
9-Feb. 1: More Southern states
secede and form the Confederate States of America. (Georgia, Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas)
Feb. 9:
Jefferson Davis becomes the president of the Confederate States of
America.
Mar. 4:
Lincoln is inaugurated President.
Apr. 12:
Confederates start to fire on Fort Sumter.
Apr. 15:
Lincoln sends 75,000 volunteers to put down the violence.
Apr.
17-May 20: Virginia, Arkansas,
Tennessee and N. Carolina join the Confederate side.
July 21:
First Battle of Bull Run, Manasas, Virginia
Aug. 5:
Congress passes the first ever income tax.
It took 3% of any income over $800.
Sept.
25: African-Americans are allowed
to join the Union Navy.
1862
McClellan's
Peninsula Campaign
Apr.
6-7: Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee.
Apr. 16:
Conscription is enacted by the Confederate Congress.
May 20:
Union passes Homestead Act.
June25-July
1: Seven Days Battles, Virginia.
August
29-30: Second Battle of Bull Run,
Virginia.
Sept.
17: Battle of Antietam, Sharpsburg,
Maryland.
1863
The
Pacific Railway Act was to connect the western U.S. with the east.
Lincoln
announces the 10% plan.
Jan. 1:
Emancipation Proclamation takes effect.
Feb. 25:
National Bank Act is passed by the Union’s Congress.
Mar. 3:
Conscription begins for the Union.
May 1-6:
Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia.
June 20:
W. Virginia enters the Union.
July
1-3: Battle of Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania.
July
13-16: NYC has riots in protest of
the draft.
1864
Congress
enabled companies to hire workers from abroad.
Wade-Davis
bill is proposed.
June 8:
Lincoln nominated for President.
Sept. 2:
Atlanta falls to General Sherman (Union).
Nov. 8:
Lincoln is re-elected.
1865
Freedmen's Bureau is established.
Southern states pass the Black Codes
Jan. 31:
Union passes the 13th amendment. (Slavery is forbidden.)
Feb.
3: Lincoln and Sec. Of State,
Steward, meet with Confederate commissioners of peace in Virginia.
Mar. 4:
Lincoln is inaugurated for a second term.
Mar. 20:
Confederate Congress allows slaves to be armed.
Apr. 9:
Lee surrenders to Grant in Appomattox, Virginia, to end the Civil War.
Apr. 14:
Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, and Andrew Johnson becomes
President.
May 29:
Johnson announces that he will admit the Southern states back into the
Union.
Dec. 6:
The 13th amendment is ratified, and Johnson reports that the Union is
restored.
1866
Apr. 9:
Johnson vetoes the Civil Rights act, but it is passed by Congress
June 13:
The 14th amendment is approved by Congress. (Civil rights for ex-slaves.)
Southern
Homestead Act is passed by Congress.
KKK is
founded
1867
Reconstruction
Act is passed over Johnson’s veto.
Command
of the Army Act and Tenure of Office Act are passed to restrict Johnson’s
control of the army and cabinet.
President
Jackson suspends Sec. Of War Stanton.
1868
Feb. 21:
Sec. Of War, Stanton, is dismissed.
Feb.
24-May 16: Johnson is impeached,
but not convicted.
June
22-25: Most Southern states are
admitted back into the Union.
Nov. 3:
Ulysses S. Grant is elected President.
1869
Congress
passes the 15th amendment.
Gould
and Fisk gold crisis.
Transcontinental
railroad is finally completed.
Women
are granted the right to vote in the Wyoming Territory.
1870
15th
amendment comes into effect.
The
Enforcement Act is passed to protect Black voters.
Remaining
Southern states are admitted to the Union.
Congress passes the Force Acts in order to battle the KKK's violence.