Unit 3: U. S. History

The Erie Canal was an enormous project that allowed easier and safer travel from New England to the Great Lakes. It took 8 years to build and it was very profitable. A. Building canals, roads, and bridges created the nation’s infrastructure. These were financed by investors and supported by politicians. B. New York City expanded rapidly during this time. It became the financial capital of the U.S.. Two reasons were; international trade and the stock markets.

James Monroe was elected president twice, in 1816 and His time in office was called The Era of Good Feelings because of the peace and prosperity in America. B. The countries of South America had gained their independence from Spain and Portugal during this time and Monroe wanted to protect these new republics. C. The Monroe Doctrine was issued by President Monroe and it stated that the Western Hemisphere was closed to future colonization by European countries. D. This doctrine was important because it put American diplomacy on the international scene, worldwide respect.

The Industrial Revolution began in the U.S. in the early 1800’s. It started to change America from an agricultural society to an industrial society. A. Eli Whitney invented two important things that helped industrial development. The first was the cotton gin. This machine made the cultivation of cotton much more profitable and made slavery a permanent part of southern society. B. The second invention was the use of interchangeable parts in making muskets. When applied to other manufacturing it revolutionized production in America.

From the beginning settlement in the New World people looked westward for new and cheap land. This expansion allowed for new states and territories to be added to the Union. This idea of expansion became the concept of Manifest Destiny. People believed that the U.S. should stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They also believed God has designed it that way.

Reform Issues in the U.S.. A. The Temperance Movement was an effort to curb the consumption of alcohol in the U.S. This movement began in 1826 and it was started by ministers and others. The average person consumed 5 gallons of whiskey a year. Temperance was the most popular pre-Civil War reform movement. B. Horace Mann led the effort to provide free basic education to Americans. McGuffey readers, basic books on reading and moral lessons, helped teach Americans the basics in education.

C. The Women’s Rights Movement began in the 1830’s with the work and writings of Sarah and Angelina Grimke. Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony helped with Seneca Falls Convention, the first women’s rights convention in the U.S. D. The Abolitionist Movement was the movement to end slavery. William Lloyd Garrison helped found the American Antislavery Society in 1831 and they published “The Liberator”.

Andrew Jackson was elected President in 1828 and He was a General, a slave owner, and a Westerner. A. Jacksonian Democracy was an effort to include the average American in the political process. The right to vote (suffrage) was expanded to include more men, property qualifications were reduced. This caused a rise in the popularity of political culture. B. Jackson was a firm believer in American Nationalism. He believed we had a right to settle western lands, at the expense of Native Americans. C. This time period became known as “The Age of Jackson”. Jackson rewarded his followers with jobs and this became known as The Spoils System. Americans began to believe that because of Jackson any man could become President.

The slavery issue had been a part of American politics since the framing of the Constitution. A. When the Constitution was written in 1787 southern delegates demanded that slaves should be counted as three fifths of a person. This would increase the number of Congressmen from the south B. The invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney made slaves much more valuable and necessary to maintain southern agriculture. The importation of slaves was made illegal after 1808 which further increased the value of the slaves both north and south.

C. By the 1830’s the slave population in the south had exploded. South Carolina = far more slaves than white people. This population imbalance led to fear among whites. D. In 1831 a slave named Nat Turner led a slave revolt in Virginia that killed 55 white men, women, and children. In retaliation whites killed hundreds of slaves and put severe restrictions on the freedom of movement for slaves. Anti slavery talk now ends in the South. E. Abolitionism was the effort in the U.S. to get rid of slavery and it was part religious and part political. The movement was led by William Lloyd Garrison who was a newspaper editor of The Liberator.

F. Fredrick Douglas was an escaped slave who became a prominent Abolitionist. He also edited a newspaper called The North Star. He and his wife were a part of the Underground Railroad. G. Two sisters from South Carolina Sara and Angelina Grimke were effective activists for abolition. They wrote books and lectured about anti-slavery issues in New England.

The Missouri Compromise of A.Western settlement had greatly increased under Presidents Madison and then Monroe. The acquisition of Native American areas, immigration from Europe, Southern expansion of the cotton culture, and improved transportation were the causes for growth. B. The U.S. Senate was balanced in 1820 between 11 slave and 11 free states. When Missouri applied for statehood it threatened the political balance of the National government. C.Henry Clay, a Congressman from Kentucky, came up with a solution. Missouri would enter the Union as a slave state and Maine would join as a free state. Another part of the compromise stated that slavery could not expand north of 36’ 30”.

The Nullification Crisis. A. In 1828 the state of South Carolina tried to reject or nullify the Tariff of 1828, a Federal Law. B. In 1832 South Carolina, led by John C. Calhoun tried to cancel another law President Andrew Jackson issued a warning to S.C. that nullification meant disunion and they would be traitors. C. Congress decide to lower the Tariff and the crisis ended. D. The Missouri Compromise and The Nullification Crisis are two events that caused the development of Sectionalism in the U.S.. This sectionalism was the belief that the differences in the North and South were so great that they were almost two different countries.