American History 1841 to 1860

Social, Political, and Economic

Project By Robert Stanton

Thesis

• From 1841 to 1860, the United States changed socially, politically, and economically. While many changes were good there's always a bad one here and there. What has shaped the US into what it is, is its way to learn and fix what has been found to be wrong.

Social-We The People

• The 1840s and 1850s saw a huge growth in the American population soaring into the 20 millions and quickly rising with immigration increasing from all over Europe.

Social-SlaveryIn the mid-1800s, slavery

was a hot topic that could be found in many newspapers and conversations, with many people for and against it, it faced much debate.

Social-La Amistad

• African people who were being boated to Cuba as slaves took over the ship in hopes of saving their own lives. They were captured and taken to trial, in 1841 after the case was taken to the Supreme Court, the verdict stated that the Africans were illegally taken and in 1842 the survivors were taken back to Africa.

Social

• The 1840s to 1850s was a time period of much social change. Many new things became popular while many common things became old fashioned or just plain obsolete.

Social-Music

• New music was being cranked out by musicians in the forties and fifties like mad in the forties, ballads had become the new craze.

Social-Literature

• Even though the United States faced much turmoil socially and politically, literature was one of a few aspects that was facing good change. Every year faced dozens of Books, Dramas, Poems, and Non-Fiction especially by the famous writer Edgar A. Poe.

Political-Presidents

• This time period had many presidents, the

forties had more presidents than almost

any other decade. These 20 years faced 7

presidents.

Political-Slavery• The 1840s and 1850s saw much

slavery debate. In this time period, many groups formed in the hopes of abolishing slavery and creating a country where “All men are created equal”

Political-International

• In the 1840s and 50s, there were many countries with claims to pieces of North America. This is a time period where many treaties would be made, battles fought and debates would be commonplace when the topic of land ownership was brought up.

Political-Manifest Destiny

• The mid 1800s was jam-packed with expansionistic views and the 40’s and 50’s were no exceptions. “Manifest Destiny” was the phrase coined saying that it was our God given right and Duty to expand our country’s borders as much as possible.

Political-Parties

• The 1840s and 1850s was a time of much political change with new parties forming and dissolving.

• Whig Party political party formed and died in this time period. Free Soil Party was formed in 1848 and dissolved in 1854. The 1850’s saw the creation of the Republican party.

Political-Major Events

• In 1848, the Communist Manifesto is published.

• In the 1850’s, one of the first attempts at prohibition-failed.

• The Great Irish Potato Famine• The 50’s sees the first trans-

pacific telegraph cable and the railroads passing canals in transportation use.

Economic-Immigration

• The 1840’s saw the largest immigration rate in the US to date. Almost one and a half million people immigrated into the US due to situations like crop failure and starvation.

Economic-Gold Rush

In the 1840s and 50s, three notable gold rushes struck America.

• The California Gold Rush in 1848

• Pikes Peak Gold Rush in Colorado 1859

• Northern Nevada Gold Rush in 1850

Economic-Expansion

• With the addition of states like New Mexico and Texas, new industries and businesses were built.

• With such a situation, the country faces economic prosper. Especially with the expansion, agriculture boomed.

Economic-Commercial Products• The 1840s and 50s

were decades with amazing and useful creations that would become every day things sold commercially.

Economic-Transportation Revolution

The United States is a massive country. With large size come the need to travel large distances quickly. Railroads quickly became the leading source of transportation especially with steel being produced so easily, railroad construction became less expensive and much easier.

Conclusion

• The 1840s and fifties was a time of major social, political, and economic change. Both for the good and the bad. Despite the hardships faced in these times, the US managed to pull through.

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irate-ship.jpg• http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~tjb25/harnett2.jpg• https://www.forcefieldmagnets.com/catalog/images/cat_book.jpg• http://www.politicalinformation.net/encyclopedia/USPresidentialSeal.jpg• http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/gifs/broken-chains.gif• http://schools.look4.net.nz/geography/country_information/outline_maps/files_OM/namerica.jpg• http://southdakotapolitics.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/06/24/immigration_family_004.jpg• http://mappery.com/maps/American-Expansion-1818-1853-Map.mediumthumb.jpg• http://www.chrismadden.co.uk/yah/invention-of-wheel.gif