1800-1812Chapter 11

• Election of 1800- Adams Federalists wanted strong central government, Jeffersonians guardians of states’ rights and agrarian values

• Federalists handicapped by Alien and Sedition Acts

• Split with Hamiltonians• Preparation for war caused debt to swell, new

taxes• Federalists concentrate on Jefferson’s

personal life to defeat D-R’S

• 1800-Jefferson defeats Adams, Burr and others

• Controversial election, went to House of Reps. to break tie

• Support from South and West• States where there was

universal manhood suffrage• VP Aaron Burr• Jefferson claimed election

was “revolution”• Return to spirit of 1776• Seen as a mandate to check

growth of gov’t power• Peaceful transfer of power

remarkable achievement

• Jefferson takes office in Washington, D.C.

• Still a swampy, muddy backwater

• First party overturn in American history

• Simple, frugal style contrast to previous presidents

• Once in office saw political reality, had to reverse principles

• Able politician, used personal charm to keep party together

• Jefferson kept most Federalist programs, viewed as a moderate

• Got rid of Alien and Sedition Laws• Removed excise tax, cost

government millions of dollars a year

• Albert Gallatin (Sec. of Treasury), wanted balanced budget and reduced national debt

• Streamline bureaucracy, turned over domestic policy to states

• Revenue growth came from sale of western lands, surge in imports to America

• Jefferson’s true desire for America was a nation of farmers (agrarian republic)

• Judiciary Act 1801 passed at the end of Adams term

• Created 16 new federal judgeships• Adams and the “midnight judges”• Lifetime appointments upset

Jeffersonians, wanted to repeal act• John Marshall appointed Chief

Justice of Supreme Court• Marshall strong Federalist, committed

to power of federal government• Served 34 years as Chief Justice• Shaped American legal tradition more

than any other figure

Marbury vs. Madison• William Marbury one of the midnight

judges• Madison wanted appointment denied• Marbury sued government, Marshall

dismissed case• Marshall said Supreme Court was

not able to use powers of Constitution to make appointment

• Supreme Court became final authority on questions of constitutionality (judicial review)

• Established independence of judiciary, and separation of powers

• Jefferson wanted to reduce size of military

• Wanted to transcend wars of Europe

• Republicans distrusted large armies

• Realities forced different course of action

• Barbary States (N. Africa) kept taking American sailors

• 1801- Pasha of Tripoli declared war on US

• Jefferson sends in navy, marines

• 1805- peace treaty signed• Jefferson builds American fleet

of small gunboats• Constructed democratically in

small shipyards

• 1800- French sign secret pact with Spanish to regain control of New Orleans

• 1802- Spanish withdraw “right of deposit” to Americans

• Americans in the trans-Mississippi area wanted to descend on New Orleans

• US thought it would have to fight French to retake New Orleans

• 1803- Jefferson sends James Monroe to buy New Orleans for $10 million

• Developments cause Napoleon to sell all of Louisiana

• 1803- Revolt in Santo Domingo (Haiti) led by slaves and yellow fever defeat French troops

• Napoleon needed money to fight war in Europe, needed cash from sale of Louisiana

• US power might thwart British in New World

• French suddenly offer to sell all of Louisiana

• April 1803 treaties signed, sold to US for $15 million

• Doubled size of US• Jefferson really did not

have power to do this (president not authorized to make treaties)

• Senators did not complain, supported purchase, quickly approved action

• 828,000 sq. mi. 3 cents acre

• Avoided war with France, alliance with England

• Purchase foundation for future• It was conquest by purchase,

imperialism with a democratic face, (exception- Indians, Spaniards)

• Expanded power of federal government• Allowed Americans to be isolationist,

removed last significant European power from continent

• Exploration of Lewis and Clark, Pike provided scientific, geographic knowledge of region

• Demonstrated viability of overland route to the Pacific

• Feeble reach of government over vast territory raised fears of secession and foreign intrigue

• Demonstrated by Aaron Burr• Burr dropped from Vice Presidency,

conspired against government, foiled by Hamilton

• Bur and Hamilton duel, Hamilton killed, Burr becomes an outcast

• 1806- Plots with James Wilkinson (LA Territory governor) to create separate country of trans-Mississippi west

• Plan foiled, Burr arrested• Not enough evidence to put him on trial,

flees to Europe

• 1804 Jefferson reelected• 1805 Britain and France reign supreme

in Europe and on the seas• Cause problems for American trade• British close trade with Europe, unless it

first stops at British port• French seize all merchant vessels

(including American)• Both sides impress American seamen• 1807- Chesapeake incident

• British seize American frigate, demand surrender of American sailors

• Americans refuse and British fire on the ship

• British government admit they are wrong

• American’s upset at incident

• Warring nations in Europe depend on the US (raw materials, food)

• 1807-Jefferson decides to voluntarily cut off goods, Embargo Act• Forbid goods from US to be exported

• Hurt American economy (NE- shipping, South- agricultural products), cost people jobs

• Effects worse in US than Europe • Smuggling made a comeback, so did

Federalist party• Talk of succession in NE• 1809- Act repealed, passed Non-

Intercourse Act (could trade with all countries except GB and FR), policy until 1812

• Act extremely unpopular• Did revive American manufacturing,

foundation for future industry

• 1808- Jefferson retired after two terms• James Madison becomes president• Unable to dominate congress, problems

within Cabinet• 1809- Non-Intercourse Act (would

expire 1810), not supported by Congress• US realized it could not survive without

either Britain or France as a trading partner

• Macon’s Bill No. 2 seemed like American’s were giving in on embargoes

• 1810 France opens trade, British do not• Why did they have to?• Trade meant end of America neutrality

• 1811- War hawks dominate Congress, most from south and west

• Supported military action against British

• Tired of treatment of sailors, British interference in trade, especially farm products from the west headed to Europe

• Wanted to clear Indians out of west (move them to LA Territory)

• Two Shawnee brothers Tecumseh and the Prophet, formed a confederacy of eastern tribes

• Movement of Indian unity, resist white ways

• Frontiersmen and Congressmen thought British were behind movement

• 1811- William Henry Harrison and army attacked and defeated Indians at Tippecanoe (Indiana)

• Made Harrison a national hero, drove Indians into alliance with British

• 1813-Tecumseh dies fighting for British

• Spring 1812 Madison sees war as inevitable• War hawks want to invade Canada and wipe out

British base, stop Indian raids• Old Northwest –wanted Canada• South- wanted Florida• Madison wanted to restore confidence in America,

years of steering a middle course with FR and BR brought international ridicule, domestic division

• June 1812 Madison asks Congress to declare war• Vote was sectional- west and south support war,

New England strongly against war• New England refused to send militia into battle,

supplied British• Another war with the world’s most powerful empire

1812-1824Chapter 12

• War of 1812 was divisive• No national support• Unimpressive military outcome• Came out of the war with a spirit of nationalism• Led to rise in manufacturing, increased power of

the federal government, development of infrastructure

• American financial interests turned away from commerce and toward manufacturing

• 1812- American army poorly trained, poorly led

• Canada seen as important battleground• British weakest there, base for

operations to agitate Indians• American plan for taking Canada was

poorly conceived at the beginning of the war

• Army pushed back, Canadians were high energy, defended country well

• 1812-1813- American success on water, Oliver Hazard Perry on the Great Lakes, caused British to withdraw from forts on the Great Lakes

• USS Constitution, manned by free sailors defeats British on the ocean

• 1814- Wars against Napoleon over in Europe, British send troops to Americas

• American victory at Lake Champlain, saved upper NY and NE

• Second British force lands in Chesapeake Bay, march to Washington and burn it down, Americans hold firm at Baltimore (inspiration for Star Spangled Banner)

• 1815- Major blow at New Orleans, Americans led by Andrew Jackson defeat British

• Battle of New Orleans makes Jackson a national hero, seen as a symbol of national honor

• Battle fought after peace treaty signed

• Negotiations set in motion by Tsar of Russia• Met in Ghent, Belgium• Led by John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay• War weariness of British made them more willing

to compromise• Signed on Christmas Eve 1814• Both sides agreed to stop fighting, restore

conquered territory• Neither side won war

• New England remained a problem after the war• Minority wanted secession, mostly federalist• 1814- Hartford Convention, New England states meet in

complete secrecy to discuss grievances, seek to right wrongs

• Final report not extreme, wanted financial assistance for lost trade, wanted 2/3 vote to declare war admit new states

• Reflection of lost power of once dominant New England• Grievances dismissed in Washington, last gasp of

Federalist Party

• War of 1812 small war (6,000 killed or wounded)• Globally unimportant, huge consequences for United States• Showed American resolve to resist what they regarded as

wrongs• New respect abroad, America was here to stay• Reduced sectionalism, led to an upsurge of nationalism across

country• New heroes (Jackson, Harrison)• Indians had no British allies, gave up huge areas of land• Manufacturing began to grow because of war, less dependent

on British• 1817- Rush-Bagot Treaty limited naval armament on the Great

Lakes, solved American and British disputes over Oregon• Americans began to turn their back on Europe and develop their

own country

• After war America emerged more united

• National literature (James Fennimore Cooper, Washington Irving) using American themes, scenes (heroic isolation of main character, supernatural themes)

• American painters celebrated nature, man was small in the paintings

• Revived Bank of the United States, building of a new capital, expansion of the army and navy all demonstrated new nationalism

• Manufacturing, factories grew during the war

• After war British try to dump goods on America

• Congress passes Tariff of 1816 (20-25% added value on products)

• Started trend toward more protection of American products

• Henry Clay, senator from KY, comes up with “American System”

• Three main parts:1.Strong banking system, allow easy

credit for business growth2.Protective tariff, stimulate

manufacturing3.Building of roads and canals, bring

country together, economically and politically

• Had strong support, mainly out west (few roads)

• Hard to get money, funds were unconstitutional (1817)

• Individual states fund improvements (Erie Canal)

• NE did not support federal funds going to infrastructure, drain away population

• 1816- James Monroe becomes president (part of the Virginia Dynasty)

• Republican• Level headed executive, took goodwill

tour of US (1817)• Issues of his presidency- tariffs, banks,

sale of public lands, sectional divides• Geographic, economic expansion gave

Americans a sense of nationalism• Monroe’s two terms called Era of

Good Feelings (lasted through early 1820’s) because of growing nationalism, limited political opposition

• Was it really?

• 1819- first financial panic (deflation, depression, bankruptcies, bank failures, unemployment)

• Get rich quick fever caused by over speculation in frontier lands

• West hardest hit• Collapse in cotton prices, land values• Speculative banks (wildcat banks) were

forced by Bank of US to close, easy unregulated credit

• Bank became a financial devil (to south and west)

• Effected poorer classes• Led to reform legislation for debtors

• 1791-1819 nine frontier states joined 13 original states

• Most entered alternately slave and freeAppeal for western movement • Cheap land (appeal to European

immigrants)• Land exhaustion in tobacco states• Speculators sold land for small down

payments• Removal of Indians• Building of new roads• Steamboat made river travel easier• Land Act 1820 made land cheap

(minimum 1.25 per acre)• West had to ally with other sections

because lack of population, influence

• Sectional tension around slavery grew in this period• 1819 Missouri wants admission as a slave state• Tallmadge Amendment stipulated no more slaves in Missouri,

gradual emancipation of slaves already there• Slaveholding states angry, saw amendment as threat to sectional

balance• Even in 11 slave, 11 free states, admission would cause

imbalance• Future of slave system seen as endangered if amendment passed• If Congress could abolish slavery would it do so in all states?• Moral question raised about evils of slavery• Abolitionist did not want spread of slavery

• 1820 bundle of compromises to solve Missouri question

• Henry Clay played a leading role• Missouri admitted as a slave state,

Maine admitted as a free state (kept balance)

• Slavery not permitted north of 36 degrees 30’ north (southern boundary of Missouri)

• Both sides received something, seen as a victory for the south at the time

• “Great American Desert” seen as not suitable for slavery

• Most southern Congressmen voted against compromise

• Preserved compact of states, for the time being

• Nationalism reflected by Supreme Court• Decisions bolstered power of federal government,

at the expense of the states• McCulloch vs. Maryland (1819)- used principle

of implied powers to determine states did not have right to tax Bank of US

• Loose construction interpretation permitted government to act for benefit of people

• Cohens vs. Virginia (1821)- Supreme Court could review decisions of state courts

• Gibbons vs. Ogden (1824)- Constitution said federal government only could control commerce, not states

• Another group of decisions protected property rights

• Fletcher vs. Peck- bolstered power of federal government saying states could not limit property contracts, upheld right of Supreme Court to invalidate state laws that conflicted with constitution

• Dartmouth College vs. Woodward- contracts protected against state laws, chartered corporations part of federal control (justified by Commerce clause in const.)

• Supreme Court upheld power of national government, checked excesses of states

• Nationalism shaped foreign policy

• John Quincy Adams (Sec. Of State)

• Treaty of 1818 with Britain gave US fishing rights off coast of Newfoundland

• Fixed northern boundary of Louisiana

• 10 year joint occupation of Oregon

• Sign of new cooperation between British and US

• Florida part of crumbling Spanish Empire, Americans already claimed West Fla

• Latin American revolutions 1816-1818, cause region to loose troops

• Andrew Jackson enters region to capture slaves, punish Indians

• 1818 Jackson conquers Fla, claims it for US

• Many in D.C. think Jackson has overstepped his power, except Adams

• Adams-Onis Treaty 1819 gives FL to US, US abandons claim to Texas, fixes southern boundary of LA

• After Napoleon Europe returned to strong monarchies

• Alarmed Americans• Russia pushed south out of Alaska• Latin American revolutions crushed by

European powers• British and Americans had benefitted from

open trade with these countries• British ask Americans to declare joint

resolution renouncing European powers from interfering with Latin America

• Adams did not trust British, did not want to tie America’s hands

• Alliance would hinder American expansion

• Figured British navy would keep ports open in L.A.

• 1823 Adams starts planning Monroe Doctrine with president

• Delivered in annual message to Congress

• 2 goals1. Non colonization2. Non intervention• Era of colonization was over,

keep what they had but could not acquire more

• Hard to enforce because of small military• Made little difference to Latin American Republics• Primarily defending itself from future invasion,

looking out for American self preservation• Did not become important until 1845 (Mexican

War)• Never law, just a statement of policy• Expression of new American nationalism• Deepened American isolationism, warned Old

World to stay away

1824-1860

1825-1840

• Early 1820’s sectional differences emerge after the Panic of 1819 and the Missouri Compromise

• New types of political parties emerged, became accepted

• Emergence of two party political system

• Emergence of new type of voter: fewer property qualifications means more people eligible to vote (less restriction)

• New styles of campaigns, banners, badges, politicking

• 1828 new party, Democrats• 1830’s Whig Party emerges• Two party system part of checks

and balances of political power • More people began to vote (78%

in1840)

1824- Last of the old style electionsAdams (MA), Clay (KY), Wm. Crawford

(GA), Jackson (TN) all running for president Jackson strongest personal appeal,

support from the WestWon a majority of the vote, did not win in

electoral collegeClay (also Speaker of the House), threw

support behind AdamsClay hated Jackson (from 1818 Florida

foray)Did not like Adams either, but both were

nationalist

• 1825 vote in House gave election to Adams, Clay becomes Sec. of State (seen as stepping stone to presidency)

• Supporters of Jackson called it a corrupt bargain

• Condemned Clay• No positive evidence of

“corrupt bargain”, Clay becomes Sec. of State

• Changed political system, no more elections behind closed doors

• Adams could be an irritable loner• Great Sec. of State, poor president• Not good at politics• Did not have popular support• Kept people in office, didn't do political

favors for supporters• Nationalistic views and ideas in

contrast with national mood turning towards sectionalism and state’s rights

• Southerners thought he might take infringe on their “peculiar institution”

• Land policies and Indian policies turned off Westerners

• By 1828 Democrat-Republicans split into two groups

• National Republicans supported Adams

• Republicans supported Jackson• Jackson seem as champion of

common man• Mudslinging, accusations in

election of 1828• Vote split along sectional lines• West and South supported

Jackson• New England supported Adams• Vote split in rest of country but

Jackson won the electoral vote handily

• Demonstrated shift of political power from eastern seaboard to emerging western states

• Jackson from humble beginnings• Force of personality and power of leadership led to rise to national

prominence• First president from the west, frontier aristocrat, slave owner• Election seen as rise of “peoples champion”• Wild inauguration, supporters flooded Washington, and wrecked

White House• Conservatives saw this as the rise of the dreaded democratic mob

• Under Jackson spoils system used on a large scale (rewarding supporters with political jobs)

• Washington was due for an overturn in the established powers, many had been around since the early 1800’s

• Rewarding cronies led to scandal, but it was an important element to the development of the two party system

• Promise of “spoils” led to party loyalty instead of economic, class and geographic loyalties

• Tariffs had protected American Industry against European competition

• Invited retaliatory tariffs against American goods• Tariff raised in 1824, 1828• Southerners thought tariffs discriminated against

them• Tariff of 1828 called “Tariff of Abominations”,

“Black Tariffs”• Southerners sold goods on world market,

unprotected by tariffs, forced to buy manufactured good in a market protected by tariffs

• Northeast was having a boom in manufacturing, how was the South doing?

• Tariff was an easy scapegoat

• These feeling were heightened by the fear that the federal government would interfere with slavery

• Missouri Compromise, Denmark Vesey slave rebellion (1822), mounting pressure in support of abolition (in US and abroad)

• Tariff seen as issue to the South as a way to take a stand for states’ rights

• South Carolina took the lead• 1828 The South Carolina Exposition

secretly written by John Calhoun (vice president)

• Wrote that tariff was unjust and unconstitutional, proposed that states should nullify tariff within their own borders

• Tariff of 1832 tipped balance in SC to support nullification

• Delegates declared tariff null and void in state• Threatened to take state out of the Union• No other Southern states actively supported

SC actions• Jackson would not permit defiance, dispatched

military reinforcements to state to enforce, collect tariff

• Jackson endorsed tariff• Henry Clay stepped in to broker a compromise

• Compromise- Tariff Bill of 1833-would reduce tariff 10% over 8 years

• Debate broke down over sectional lines

• South favored compromise, Jackson would not have to use the military

• Force Bill also passed at the same time, authorized president to use military to collect tariff

• SC delegates met again repealed ordinance of nullification, but they nullified force bill

• Only winner was Clay, seen as hero that saved the country

• Since 1790’s American policy toward Indians, they were recognized as separate nations

• Acquired land through treaties, terms violated regularly as Anglo settlement pushed west

• Some tribes assimilated into American culture, some resisted it• Cherokee of GA, NC assimilated into American ways (part of 5

Civilized Tribes- Creek, Choctaw, Seminole, Chickasaw)• Cherokee embraced civilization- written constitution, written

legal code, alphabet• Some were even slave holders• Jacksonians committed to Western Expansion, viewed Native

Americans as in the way• Jackson, like many Westerners thought Indians needed to be

removed east of the Mississippi, open land to white settlement• 1830- Congress passes Indian Removal Act, appropriated

money to remove Indians to permanent reservation west of the Mississippi (act supported by Jackson, Southerners and Westerners)

• 1828- Georgia Legislature declared Cherokee tribal council illegal, asserted jurisdiction over their lands

• Cherokees appealed to Supreme Court (two separate cases)

• Court upheld rights of Indians• Jackson disagreed with the

Supreme Court, ordered removal of Indians (“Marshall made his decision, now let him enforce it”)

• Uprooted more than 100,000 Indians, westward movement known as the Trail of Tears

• 1836 Bureau of Indian Affairs established to administer relations with Native Americans

• As settlers pushed west the permanent frontier for Indians gradually shrank and many other guarantees went up in smoke

• Sauk and Fox Indians in Wisconsin and Illinois resisted eviction

• Led by Black Hawk the rebellion was crushed by American troops in 1832 (Black Hawk War)

• Seminoles waged a bitter guerilla war for seven years in the swampy Everglades (1835-1842)

• Leader, Osceola was captured under a flag of truce, some fled deeper into the swamps, 4/5’s were moved to Oklahoma

• Jackson distrusted big business and the Bank of the US

• Why?• Banks minted gold and silver coins• Paper money printed by private banks (value

fluctuated with health of bank and amount of money printed

• Bank of US source of credit, principle depository of federal money, source of credit and stability

• Acted like another branch of government

• Bank not accountable to people, existed to make a profit for investors, seen as against “American "way

• 1832 Bank War begins• Webster, Clay push for recharter of Bank to

make it a political issue in election of 1832• If passed and signed by Jackson it would

alienate his western followers, if vetoed he would loose support of wealthy, influential easterners

• Jackson vetoed, declared bank unconstitutional, found it harmful to nation

• Another instance of Jackson regarding executive branch superior to judicial branch

• Jackson expands power of executive branch

• Clay and Jackson squared off in election of 1832

• First time third party ran, Anti-Masonic Party

• Supporters in NY, Middle states, New England

• Against secret societies, support from evangelical Protestants (use political power to bring moral and religious change)

• Jacksonians against government interference in social and economic life

• First use of nominating conventions• Clay had support from businessmen and

eastern newspapers• Jackson wins election handily (219-49 in

electoral college

• Charter for Bank of US expire 1836• Fear of Biddle to bring back bank, Jackson

wants to take it out• 1833 Jackson removes federal deposits,

bleed bank dry• Had to reshuffle cabinet to find people to

support him• Biddle calls in loans from Bank to show

importance, causes financial panic• Jackson places funds in state banks (“pet

banks”), banks with pro Jackson sympathies

• Banks flood country with paper money, currency becomes unreliable

• 1836- Specie Circular required public lands to be purchased with hard currency (gold, silver currency)

• Put brakes on land speculation, sales• Causes financial panic and crash in 1837

• 1830’s new political party emerges- Whigs• Hatred of Jackson was what they rallied around• Whigs were led by Clay, Calhoun, Webster• Attracted groups alienated by Jackson- supporters

of American System, southern states righter's, northern industrialists, absorbed evangelical protestants from Anti-Masonic Party

• Progressive in support of active government programs and reforms, called for internal improvements

• Supported prisons, asylums, public schools and the market economy

• Claimed to be defenders of common man (stole from Democrats)

• Martin Van Buren chosen as Jackson’s successor

• Whigs don’t nominate single candidate, many candidates for regional appeal

• Wanted to put election in hands of House

• Van Buren won election easily • Van Buren inherited problems

over which he had no control• Did not have the force of

personality that Jackson had to deal with problems

• Depression, possible war with Canada, depression

• Panic 1837 caused by over-speculation on lands, borrowed money based on shaky currency and wildcat banks

Causes• Jackson’s policies on the Bank of the US• Rising grain prices• British Banks calling in loans• Caused commodity prices to drop, land sales to

fall off, factories closed, high unemployment and bank closures

• Whigs tried to make government more active to end depression (expansion of credit, tariffs), Van Buren kept government out of economy

• Van Buren tried to help economy through the “Divorce Bill”, keeping government out of banking by establishing an independent treasury, caused credit to shrink

• Not popular• 1840- Passed by Congress, repealed next year,

revived in 1846 and continued until the Civil War

• 1840 Van Buren runs again for president, Whigs get behind one candidate William Henry Harrison

• Harrison, war hero and Indian fighter• Views on issues vaguely known• Played as a “common man”, really

from old Virginia family• Selected John Tyler as VP• Plan was to drive corrupt

Jacksonians from White House• Harrison won, time for Whig ideas of

government action to stimulate the economy

• 1840’s American politics adopt populist, democratic style• Old aristocracy seen as bad• Politicians wanted to claim humble beginnings, politicians had

to adopt “common touch”• Resulted in formation of vigorous and durable two party

system• Both parties grew out of Jeffersonian Republicanism• Democrats were for the liberty of the individual, state’s rights,

federal restraint• Whigs supported national bank, protective tariffs, internal

improvements and moral reforms• Both mass based, appeal led to compromise within the

parties, kept extreme views from becoming dominant, reduced sectionalism

1790-1860

• Americans constantly pushed west, cheap land opportunity

• First part of 19th century new immigrants joined movement (Irish, Germans)

• New machinery allowed crops to be cultivated quicker, goods produced faster, expectations for workers changed

• New methods of transportation allowed goods, people and products to move quicker

• Origins of market oriented economy

Jackson symbolized the rise of trans-Appalachia Raw frontier seen as typically American 1850 half of all Americans under 30 Seen as restless energetic, always on the move Demographic center of America had move steadily

westward Reality of pioneer life was grim (especially for women) Rugged individualism became part of national character-

Was this true?

• People molded physical environment• Left behind fields destroyed by tobacco

cultivation• Planted “Kentucky Bluegrass” from charred

canfields,• 1820-1840 trappers, mountain men had

decimated beaver across the West• Buffalo, sea otters were hunted into near

extension for their fur• Ecological Imperialism- exploitation of

Americas natural bounty

• Many Americans revered nature• American wilderness seen as unique to

many Europeans• Wild unspoiled land one of the nations

defining attributed- move west you can always start over

• Inspired literature, painting and by the end of the 1800’s a conservation movement

• Population doubling every 25 years• By 1860 there were 33 states, 4th most populous

country in the world• Urban growth- by 1860 there were 43 cities with

more than 20,000 (1790 only 3)• Urbanization brought problems (inadequate public

services, poor housing)• 1823 Boston developed first sewer system, 1842

NYC first piped in water supply

• By 1840’s population growth comes from immigration

• Most Irish and German• What caused them to come to America?• Europe had surplus of population, running out

of room• America seen as land of opportunity• Freedom of European class system• Abundant, cheap land• No compulsory military service

• Mid 1840’s potato crop failure pushes many out of Ireland

• 1830-1860 2 million Irish come to the United States

• Newcomers too poor to buy land, stayed in cities on eastern seaboard (NYC largest Irish city in the world)

• Irish had to take worst jobs, poorest housing- viewed as a social menace

• Competed with African Americans for jobs (Irish did not support abolition)

• Formed Irish only clubs (Ancient Order of Hibernians, Molly Maguire's)

• Irish acquired property and improved lives in America

• Politicians wanted to cultivate Irish vote

• Many entered politics and gained control of political machines (NYC Tammany Hall)

• Dominated police departments

• 1830-1860 over 1.5 million Germans immigrated to US• Uprooted farmers, political refugees• German immigrants better off than Irish, had more

money• Moved to Middle West, established farms• Less political power, widely scattered population

• Germans more educated than Irish, supported public schools

• Were not supporters of slavery• Fled militarism of Europe,

became isolationists• Language, culture viewed as

suspicious by many • Settled in colonies, separate

from surrounding community• Brought Old World drinking

habits (brought beer to America)

• Immigration inflamed anti-foreign sentiment• Feared they would take jobs, worried about

“popish” newcomers• 1840’s Immigrants establish separate Catholic

school system, protect children from Protestant indoctrination

• By 1850 Catholics largest single religious group in America

• “Nativists” rally for political action, form Know-Nothing Party 1849

• Wanted restrictions on immigration, easier ways to deport “aliens”

• Promoted literature to expose foreigners (most of it untrue)

• Mass violence 1834, Catholic convent burned

• 1844 Philadelphia nativists, Irish Catholics riot

Effects of immigration a.made America more pluralistic societyb.Growth of economy really did not

jeopardize wealth of othersc. Labor of immigrants helped fuel

economic expansion

• 1750 Industrial Revolution begins in England with mass production of textiles

• End of muscle, animal power beginning of machine power

• Slow to catch on in US cheap land, labor scarce

• Capital in short supply, raw materials in America were untapped

• 1840’s rise of immigration caused labor pool to grow

• Samuel Slater from England steals plans for first textile machines

• 1791 first efficient machine for spinning cotton

• 1793 Eli Whitney invents first cotton gin (separates cotton fiber from seeds, 50X more effective than human labor)

• Changed history of America made cotton growing profitable enterprise

• Slavery had been dying out• Invention of cotton gin caused more acres

to be cleared -Cotton Kingdom moved westward (into AL, MS)

• Cotton sent to mills in New England• Factories were established in Northeast• Little manufacturing in South, capital tied

up in land and slaves

New England ideal for industrializationa)soil too poor for farming,b)dense population, markets available,c) shipping allowed for export of finished

productsd)large poor immigrant population for labore)rapid rivers good for water powered mills

• Consequences of embargo 1807 and War of 1812 was capital kept in America

• Used to invest in American manufacturing• After war British flood America with cheap goods,

Tariff of 1816 attempts to protect American manufacturing

• Eli Whitney develops idea of mass produced interchangeable parts for muskets, by 1850 became the basis of mass production

• Most factories located in the northeast (industrial plant of America)

• 1846 Isaac Singer, Elias Howe invent sewing machine (mass production of clothes)

• Patents increased 306 in 1800, 28,000 1860

• Legal status of business organizations changed

• Limited liability principle allowed investors to invest in companies

• Companies could concentrate capital• Investment capital companies used in

textiles, railroads, insurance and banking

• 1844 Invention of telegraph (Samuel Morse) brought world closer together (revolutionized exchange of information)

• Industrial Revolution end of age of close personal relationships with boss

• Spindle Cities grew up around factories to house workers

• Hours long, wages low, poor working conditions

• Could not form labor unions to improve life at work (criminal conspiracy)

• Child labor a huge problem

• Wages did rise (1820’s-1830’s), growth of middle class Americans

• More workers could vote• Supported Democratic Party of Jackson• Fight against all forms of privilege (Bank of US),

reflected anxiety about new capitalist economy• 1840 Van Buren reduces work day for federal

workers, states eventually followed• Workers gained right to strike but usually lost• They could easily be replaced by workers “fresh

off the boat” from Europe• Commonwealth vs. Hunt (1842), Mass; unions

were not conspiracies

• Women left farms, went to work in factories• Gave them greater economic independence• Lowell Mills (Mass.) seen as a model

workplace for “factory girls”• Factory provided income, protected morality• Overall employment opportunities for

women were scarce• Influence of Harriet Beecher Stowe, many

women became teachers (feminized profession)

• Vast majority of working women single

• Women married, left jobs• Work as wives and mothers called “cult of

domesticity”, glorified functions as a homemakerA.Home was women’s sphereB.Love determined choice of spouseC.Nuclear family became closerD.Home was a refuge from the industrial worldE.Number of children per family dropped

• Domestic feminism in the home, growing power and influence of women

• New ideas of raising children, family more child centered, affectionate

• Children raised by morals of “modern family” were good citizens

• Farms were changing the West• Pioneer families planted corn, lots of it• Staple market item, had many uses• Western goods floated down Mississippi

River• Fed the south• Western Farmers wanted to cultivate

more acres but soil hard to break up• 1837 John Deere introduces steel plow• 1830’s Cyrus McCormick introduces

mechanical reaper, could do the work of 5 men

• Farmers could plant more land, rise of large scale cash crop agriculture for region

• Farmers became businesspeople, looked east for a new market for their crops

• Need for cheap and efficient carriers of products

• 1790’s Lancaster Turnpike first highway (charged toll and made a huge profit)

• Turnpike building spurred western development, allowed for easy access to the West

• Use of federal funds to build roads opposed by state’s righter's and Eastern states (fear of loss of population)

• 1811 Federal government builds Cumberland Road (finished 1852)

• 1807 Robert Fulton launches steamboat craze

• Steamboats could travel upstream, against the current

• Navigable rivers two way arteries of transportation

1820- sixty steamboats on Mississippi River

1860- over 1,000• Steamboats opened up West and

South• Goods could be shipped out cheaply,

quickly• Bring in manufactured goods• New population centers grew up

along the banks

• Canal cutting craze• 1817-1825 New York financed

building of Erie Canal, linked Great Lakes and Hudson River

• Cost of shipping and time of transportation dropped

• Value of land along canal went up, new cities (Rochester, Syracuse)

• Interior cities population exploded (Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland)

• Settlers migrated from northeast to Midwest

• Railroad not limited by geography

• 1828 first RR in US• 1860 30,000 miles of track,

most of it in north• Faced opposition from canal

backers, considered as public menace

• Problems overcome by technology- differences in gauge (as time went by became more standardized), improvements in brakes, Pullman sleeping car introduced (1859)

• 1858- first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable connected Europe and US

• 1840’S-1850’s- “Golden Age of American Shipping”• Clipper Ships rapidly move freight across Pacific, eventually

replaced by steam powered ships• 1860- Pony Express established, folded after 18 months (telegraph

better)• Dying technology of wind and muscle power, replaced by

machines

• Before 1830 West linked to South by Mississippi River

• Building of RR linked North to West, robbed Mississippi River of it’s traffic

• NYC became major port of nation

• Emergence of continental economy, each region specialized in economic activity

• Market Revolution transformed country from small, scattered subsistence farmers and workshops into national network of industry and commerce

• Questions over who should regulate economy? Who owns technology?

A.Supreme Court decisions sided with liberal state laws that encouraged greater competition in the marketplace “rights of the community”

• Self sufficient households transformedA.Wage earners went to work, made money and

purchased manufactured goodsB.Home became a place of refuge from work, separate

sphere for women• Gap between have and have-nots grew, greatest in

cities• Rising wages and middle class helped diffuse potential

conflict between classes

Chapter 15

• Third revolution in antebellum period (political, economic) transformation of American character

• Reform movements motivated by changes in American character, economy

• More educated, upstanding, improve society• Promoted new religions, better public schools, rights

for women, abstinence from alcohol and abolition of slavery

• Drew reforming impulse from religion• Beginning in the 1790’s into early 19th century

Second Great Awakening transformed place of religion in US

• Most Americans in first half of 19th century attended church

• Not old Puritan theology but new rational theology based on reason and science

• Many Founding Fathers were supporters of Deism (Supreme Being endowed humans with capacity for moral behavior, belief in reason not faith)

• Deism inspired Unitarianism• Unitarianism began in New England end of 1700’s• Stressed essential goodness of human nature, not

hellfire doctrine of Calvinism

• 1800 new wave of revivals began on southern and western frontiers, called Second Great Awakening

• Converted souls, reorganized churches and spawned numerous new sects

• Affected many areas of American life from prison reform, the women’s movement and abolition of slavery

• Spread through “camp meetings” that lasted several days

• Many saved returned to old ways after meetings over, provided social outlet on lonely frontier

• Methodists, Baptists gained most converts, each sect promoted personal salvation, democratic control over church affairs

• Preachers called circuit riders• Charles Grandison Finney greatest of

revival preachers, great orator• Became president of Oberlin College

(Ohio), hotbed of abolitionism• Second G.A. caused feminization of

religion, most ardent supporters of new religions and era’s reforms

• Demonstrated ambivalence toward changing world (economic, industrial, market revolutions)

• Revivals caused fragmentation of religions

• Western New York “Burned Over District” because so many preachers came and preached hellfire and damnation

• 1830’s- Millerites (Adventists) came from this region

• Leader said Christ would return on a certain date, did not happen

• Second G.A. widened lines between classes

• Prosperous, conservative not affected by revivalism (Easterners, better educated)

• Methodists, Baptists form, newly established regions

• Less educated, less prosperous• Religions split over slavery issues (north

and south)

• 1830- Joseph Smith reported he received golden plates after a visit from an angel

• Became Book of Mormon• Truly native American religion• Opposition to Mormon beliefs,

ways caused group to migrate west

• Antagonized non-Mormons, voting as a unit, practicing polygamy, cooperative economic practices

• 1844 Smith and brother murdered by a mob in Carthage, IL

• Leadership of Mormons taken up by Brigham Young

• 1846-1847 Young leads Mormon pioneers to Utah• 1848 -5,000 settlers• Irrigation, hard work, luck, leadership of Young-

community thrived, became a frontier theocracy• Clashed with Washington government, could not

control Young• 1857 send federal army to allow US appointed

judges to serve, inability to conform to American standards of culture delayed statehood until 1896

• Tax supported primary schools for children of the poor, wealthy used private tutors

• During first half of 1800’s tax supported schools seen as good for teaching American ways and democracy

• Little red schoolhouse became a shrine of democracy• School teachers poorly trained, poorly paid• Reform brought by Horace Mann, campaigned for better school

houses, better pay, expanded curriculum• Noah Webster, wrote school books designed to promote

patriotism• William McGuffey (McGuffey’s Readers) lessons in patriotism

• Many small, denominational colleges established during this period in the South and West

• First state supported universities established (University of North Carolina 1795, University of Virginia 1819)

• Changes in curriculum from traditional religious training to modern languages and the sciences

• Women’s education grew (frowned upon earlier)• Oberlin College in Ohio opened doors to women and

blacks• Tax supported libraries, magazines, traveling lecturers

expanded zeal for learning to wider audiences

• Reform campaigns inspired by religion sought to build a more perfect society

• Appealed to middle class women as a way to escape home, enter arena of public affairs

• Reformers wanted to reaffirm traditional values in a world disrupted and transformed by the changes brought by industrialization

• Debtor’s prisons were abolished• Criminal punishment was reformed, idea of

prison as place for reform established• Treatment of mentally ill, led by Dorthea

Dix• Insane Asylums were places of brutal

treatment and she campaigned to make them more humane, idea of mental illness born at this time

• Drinking problem attracted attention of nation

• Caused decrease in efficiency of labor, higher risk of accidents in new industrial machines

• 1826- American Temperance Society founded in Boston

• Drinkers seen as scourge from Old World

• Temperance pledges signed, “Cold Water Army”

• Melodramatic books demonstrated evils of alcohol (Ten Nights in a Barroom and What I Saw There-1854)

• Alcohol consumption dropped as the century wore on, so the movement worked

• Women’s place was in the home, could not vote or own property

• Legally regarded as minors• Changing economy separated men and women into

different spheres• Women were artistic and refined, keepers of societies

conscience• During antebellum period female reformers became more

vocal• Most were from middle class families, white• Began to demand rights for women• Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony,

Grimke sisters all fought for women’s rights (many had Quaker backgrounds and were abolitionists)

• 1848- Seneca Falls Convention• Women's Rights Convention, Stanton read “Declaration of

Sentiments”, based on Declaration of Independence, “all men and women created equal”

• Things changed for women by the eve of the Civil War some had property rights, beginning to gain admission to colleges- still they could not vote

• Over 40 cooperative communities established to live out the reform minded ideals of the age, most did not last long

• Communities promised equality for all members • Many were in rural, isolated areas• Based on religious ideas and principles• Members typically worked common land and property• Many quickly ran into futility and failed, because after

the founder passed away each idealist had their own vision

• 1825- New Harmony, Indiana established by Robert Owen

• 1841 Brook Farm, Mass. Based on ideas of transcendentalism

• 1848- Oneida Community in NY practiced free love, selection of parents for superior offspring

• Did better than most, manufactured goods that supported community

• Shakers established by Mother Anne Lee, started in 1770’s and grew to almost 6,000 members, known for simple furniture

• Early American inventions centered practical gadgets, not pure science (plow, mechanical reaper, etc.)

• Some scientific talent in America• Most notably John J. Audubon, studied birds of

America in detail• American medicine primitive and life was short

(avg. 50 years)

• American architecture copied European styles

• Thomas Jefferson was the best American architect (designed Monticello, Univ. of VA)

• Competent painters, Gilbert Sullivan (portraits of Washington), John Trumbull (Revolutionary War scenes)

• Hudson River School of painters, romanticized local landscapes (misty, foggy, rainy, man very small)

• 1840’s Competition for paintings comes from daguerreotype (crude type of photo)

• Minstrel show, performers in “black face" became popular forms of entertainment

• Most influential publications up to this point were political essays (Common Sense, Federalist)

• Nationalism and spirit of independence after War of 1812, new group of writers emerged, “Knickerbocker Group”- Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, William Cullen Bryant

• American themes of nature, the supernatural and individualism

• Novels widely read in Europe, legitimized American literature

• Natty Bumppo became the archetype of the American westerner

• Began in New England• Release from liberalizing straightjacket of Puritan ideology• Reaction to John Locke and that truth is acquired through the

senses• Each person possesses an inner light or “Oversoul”• Beliefs included commitment to self- reliance, fundamental truth

came from experience• Rejected authority and conventional wisdom• Best known Emerson, Thoreau• Thoreau lived in cabin on Walden Pond in Mass. for two years

wrote Walden: Or Life in the Woods about experience• Refused to pay poll tax in Mexican-American War, wrote essay On

the Duty of Civil Disobedience• Idealistic tract promoting nonviolence• Thoreau saw civil disobedience as the right of individuals to refuse

to obey laws they feel are unjust• Walt Whitman wrote Leaves of Grass, became poet laureate of

democracy• Writings reflected leaving behind Old World, embracing new

1820-1860

• How and why did the abolition movement become more radical over the period 1815-1860?

• Define Manifest Destiny and how the belief in Manifest Destiny influenced U.S. politics and policies in the 1840s?

• What was the Compromise of 1850 and to what degree did the Compromise of 1850 delay the breakup of the Union?

• How did two of the following events contribute to the breakup of the Union?• Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act• Decision in the Dread Scott case• Raid on Harpers Ferry

Chapter 16

After Revolution slavery faced an uncertain future, it was logical to think slavery would fade away

Invention of the cotton gin in 1793 changed that Cotton became dominant crop in the south,

created demand for labor and land Quick profits from cotton drew planters to the

Gulf South during this time Caused economic spiral more cotton = more

slaves, if you had more slaves you could buy more land

Northern shippers profited from cotton trade They shipped it to England Largest American export after 1840 (1/2 of

world’s supply) Southern leaders knew that cotton production

was something they could hold over heads of British

Cotton and Slaves 1820 and 1860

South was a society run be elite wealthy planters

Very few owned large amount of slaves

They had tremendous wealth, sent children to schools outside of south (kept public education from gaining foothold)

Had a sense of duty to the public Dominance by planters caused a

huge gap between rich and poor Society almost feudal (lords,

manors and serfs) Shaped the lives of women, they

managed the house and the slave staff, most did not support abolition

Search for quick profit led to over cultivation and degradation of the environment

Those that could not make it headed West and North (Butternuts)

Economic structure became monopolistic, land owners concentrated their holdings and bought out small farmers

Land hunger led to over speculation of lands, heavy investment in slaves caused crushing debt for many planters

Dependence on one crop put South at the mercy of the world markets, caused lack of economic diversity that effect region well into the 20th century

Resentment of the northern bankers, middlemen, businessmen intensified as they grew rich off Southern cotton and made profits selling manufactured goods to the South

Slaves and high land prices kept out European immigrants, South had little ethnic diversity

1/4 of families owned slaves Typically small farmers (more like

Midwestern or Northern farmers) Many owned no slaves at all, they

were subsistence farmers (raised corn, hogs) and lived isolated lives

Had no direct stake in slave system but supported it because there was somebody on the social ladder lower than them

Mountain whites in Appalachia disliked blacks and masters and provided strong Union support in the South during the Civil War

• Free blacks in the Upper South (MD, VA, NC) traced origins to Revolution

• Lower South most free were mulattoes, some purchased freedom• New Orleans had sizeable free, mulatto community• Seen a third race, could not hold certain occupations, vote

• In the North some states would not let them live there, could not attend public schools, competed with Irish for menial jobs

• Spread of slavery in new territory grew out of prejudice not humanitarianism

• Number of slaves grew during first half of 1800’s

• King Cotton demanded tribute in slave labor

• Some smuggled into country (made illegal 1808), most growth due to natural increase

• Slaves planters biggest asset and they were treated like investments (for the most part)

• Cotton boom sucked slaves from Upper to Lower South

• Some states had majority African American populations

• Slaves sold at auction, sometimes for bankruptcy

• Led to breakup of families, became theme for Harriet Beecher Stowe and Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Conditions for slaves varied from region to region

No slaves had civil or political rights, no labor rights

Beatings and threat of beating substituted for wage-incentive system

Masters were never too harsh because of investment

1860 most slaves concentrated in “black belt” across Deep South

Region was southern frontier, life was rougher than Upper South

Majority lived on plantations

Slaves managed to maintain family life Kept some African traditions in marriage, descent,

religion Religion was mixture of Christian and African

traditions Focused on themes of persecution in the Bible Call and response preaching adaptation of caller and

dancers from West African traditions

• Slaves denied education, did not want them to get new ideas, question position

• Slaves struck back by slowing the pace of work, sabotaging equipment, took goods they produced

• All wanted freedom, some ran away• Armed rebellion never worked• 1800 Gabriel Prosser(Richmond, VA), 1822

Denmark Vesey (Charleston, SC), 1831 Nat Turner• All failed, all were hung or were killed• White southerners felt like they were under siege

(rebellions, abolitionist propaganda) developed theory of superiority over blacks

• American South was one of the world’s last bastions of slavery

First anti slavery societies appeared after Revolution, main support among Quakers

Earliest efforts were to send blacks back to Africa

1822- American Colonization Society, founded Liberia in West Africa- 15,000 went

Most slaves did not see themselves as Africans

1830’s slavery becomes moral crusade because of Second Great Awakening

1833 –British abolish slavery in West Indies Slavery became a sin Theodore Weld and “Lane Rebels” preached

anti-slavery gospel across Old Northwest

• 1831- William Lloyd Garrison publishes first issue of The Liberator, a militantly anti slavery newspaper based in Boston

• 1833- American Antislavery society founded• Black Abolitionists – David Walker (promoted

bloody end to slavery), Sojourner Truth (advocate for emancipation and women’s rights)

• Fredrick Douglass – best known black abolitionist, escaped slave

• Wrote Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, detailed his early life and escape

• Differences between Garrison and Douglass

• Garrison known as inflexible, self righteous, impractical

• Provided no alternative to country without slavery

• Denounced politics• Many abolitionist questioned the role of

women (Garrison supported women)• Douglass- used politics to end slavery• New political parties emerge in 1840’s

based on abolition of slavery• Liberty Party (1840), Free Soil Party

(1848), Republican Party (1850’s)

• Before 1830’s some antislavery sentiment in the south

• 1831 publication of Liberator, Nat Turner Rebellion, Nullification Crisis of 1832

• All turned tide in South• White southerners saw threat to way

of life, began to defend slavery• Justifications- supported by Bible,

good for civilization depraved Africans, master- slave relationship was like a family (contrasted with industrial wage earners in northern factories)

• 1836 Southerners in House pass Gag Resolution, tables all debate on slavery (defied by John Quincy Adams)

• Postmasters given permission to destroy abolitionist material across South

• Widened gap between north and south

• Abolitionists unpopular in many parts of the north• Seen as too radical• Heavy economic stake in south; cotton production

for factories, money owed to northern banks• Abolitionists seen as rocking the boat• Mobs attacked abolitionists• By 1850’s issue of territorial expansion, other

factors put many in north on side of abolitionists

Chapter 17

• Americans want Texas, remote backwater of Spanish Empire

• US abandoned claim in 1819 • 1823- new Mexican government gives land to

Stephen Austin to bring settlers• 2 conditions settlers had to become Mexican

citizens, become Catholic• Ignored by settlers, annoyed by presence of

Mexican soldiers and government• Settlers typical American individualist, did not

want to be pushed around• Slavery an issue, outlawed in Mex., settlers

brought slaves anyway• 1836 Mex. Leader Santa Ana attempts to

repress Texans independence

• Early 1836 Texans declare independence• Santa Anna attacks Alamo and Goliad

become rallying cries for Texans, galvanized Americans behind Texas cause

• Gen. Sam Houston lures Mexicans east to San Jacinto (near present day Houston), and defeats Santa Anna

• Forces Santa Anna to sign treaty giving land to Rio Grande to Texas and removing troops from region

• Mex. does not recognize agreement• Texas becomes an independent republic

but wanted to be part of the United States• Refused admission, abolitionists did not

want new slave state• Seen as a plot against slavery to

Southerners

1840’s territorial expansion dominated politics, diplomacy

War with Mexico, gained territory from Texas to California and questions of status of slavery

1841 William Henry Harrison (Whig) elected and died in office

Real leaders of Whigs Clay, Webster tried to push agenda, thwarted by John Tyler (VP, now president)

Tyler supporter of states rights Clay and others tried to push

nationalistic political agenda Whigs pushed for new bank,

tariffs; all vetoed by Tyler

• British looked down on Americans, increased tension with America

• Americans borrowed extensively from British banks (many defaulted on loans during Panic of 1837)

• 1837 Caroline incident with Canada, 1841 slaves offered asylum in Bahamas (southern fear of Caribbean becoming haven for escaped slaves), 1842 border disputes in Maine (settled by Webster- Ashburton Treaty)

1836- Texas achieves independence, not recognized by Mexico Britain, France interested in Texas as place for cotton

production, check American power Texas as independent nation threatened US Presidential campaign 1844 issue of expansion Texas annexed by joint resolution of Congress 1844 James K. Polk won election on expansion platform Texas became state 1845

Oregon enormous wilderness Claimed by many different countries until 1825, then

only US and Britain British claims based on occupation American claims based on exploration and

occupation 1830’s American missionaries settle Willamette

Valley, stimulates interest of Americans 1840’s number of Americans increases, came over

Oregon Trail British had few settlers, weaker claim than Americans

Election of 1844 between Henry Clay and James Polk

Major election issue Manifest Destiny Feeling that America’s duty was to

spread ideals of democracy across continent (idea of expansion and liberty)

Expansion ignored national boundaries, came at the expense of others

Expansionist Democrats won election felt they had a mandate to take Texas and Oregon

New President James K. Polk had 4 point program – lower tariff, create independent treasury, acquire Oregon and California

1846 US and Britain compromise on Oregon territory border (dying fur trade made British lose interest in Oregon)

Americans wanted San Francisco and San Diego Bays as ports on Pacific and to expand American trade to Asia

Americans saw weakness in Mexican control of borderlands

Polk eager to buy California, Mexicans would not sell

Wanted California to balance admission of Texas with a free state

US/Mexico issues over boundary of Texas

Mexican claim was boundary at Nueces River, American claim was Rio Grande

Rumors of British wanting to purchase California, could not be tolerated under Monroe doctrine

1846 Polk sends troops to Texas, march from Nueces River to Rio Grande

April 1846 US soldiers killed and Polk asks for war, Congress overwhelmingly supports it

Many northerners and Whigs saw this as a land grab and war for extension of slavery

Lincoln (then Rep. from Illinois) pushes “spot resolutions” to show where blood was shed on American soil

Both sides wanted war, America to teach Mexicans a lesson, Mexicans saw US a bully to the north

South and West supported war The US unprepared for the war. Ill equipped volunteers filled the

American army Advantages over the Mexican military that had outdated

equipment and little motivation to fight. American industrial base to prepare and equip an army, superior

leadership United States won easily over the Mexican forces in 1847 California- John Fremont led a revolt against Mexican rule and

declared the state “The Bear Flag Republic”

1848- War ended with Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Gave US vast new territory, paid Mexico $15 million dollars for land

Many Americans thought that US should not stop with Mexico

European countries had new respect for American military

The Mexican American War was a blatant war of conquest that would have occurred through migration eventually

The war also trained the next generation of generals (Lee, Grant) to fight America’s next war – the Civil War

Turning point in US relations with Latin America, became suspicious of “Colossus of the North”

War aroused issue of slavery and its expansion

1846- David Wilmot tries to introduce amendment that slavery should not exist in new territory, never passed the Senate but symbolized issue of slavery in territories (Wilmot Proviso)