Transcript Tecumseh - Lou Wangberg

Tecumseh
201
• A Shawnee chief, Tecumseh and his
brother, the Shawnee Prophet, tried to
unite Native American tribes in Ohio and
Indiana to keep the region under native
control and ward off white rule. His forces,
however, was were defeated in the 1811
Battle of Tippecanoe. Tecumseh allied
with the British during the War of 1812.
202
Tariff of Abominations
203
• Southern politicians called the 1828 tariff
the “Tariff of Abominations” because it
seriously hurt the South’s economy while
benefiting Northern and Western industrial
interests. Resistance to the tariff in South
Carolina led to the Nullification Crisis.
204
Henry David Thoreau
205
• A disciple of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry
David Thoreau was a prominent
transcendentalist writer. Two of his most
famous writings are Civil Disobedience
(1849) and Walden (1854). Thoreau
advocated living life according to one’s
conscience, removed from materialism
and repressive social codes.
206
Transcontinental Treaty
207
• Also known as the Adams-Onis Treaty, the
Transcontinental Treaty was signed in
1819 between the U.S. and Spain. By the
terms of the treaty, Spain ceded eastern
Florida to the U.S., renounced all claims to
western Florida, and agreed to a southern
border of the U.S. west of the Mississippi
extending all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
208
Trail of Tears
209
• Despite the Supreme Court decision in
Worchester v. Georgia, federal troops
forced bands of Cherokee Indians to move
west of the Mississippi between 1835 and
1838. Their journey, in which between
2,000 and 4,000 of the 16,000 Cherokee
people died, became known as the Trail of
Tears.
210
Transcendentalism
211
• Transcendentalism was a spiritual movement
that arose in the 1830s as a challenge to
rationalism. Transcendentalists aimed to
achieve an inner, emotional understanding of
God rather than a rational, institutionalized
one. They believed certain concepts such as
the truth and freedom were inborn. Among
the more prominent transcendentalists were
the writers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry
David Thoreau.
212
Treaty of Ghent
213
• Signed on Christmas Eve in 1814, the
Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812
and returned relations between the U.S.
and Britain to the status quo ante bellum
(in other words, the way things were
before the war).
214
Panic of 1819
215
• The panic of 1819 was the start of a two year
depression caused by extensive speculation,
the loose lending practices of state banks, a
decline in European demand for American
staple goods, and mismanagement within the
Second Bank of the United States. The panic
of 1819 exacerbated social divisions within
the United States and is often called the end
of the Era of Good Feelings.
216
Panic of 1837
217
• The panic of 1837 punctured the economic
boom sparked by states’ banks loose
lending practices and over-speculation.
Contraction of the nation’s credit in 1836
led to widespread debt and
unemployment. Martin Van Buren spent
most of his time in office attempting to
stabilize the economy and ameliorate the
depression.
218
Edgar Allen Poe
219
• Edgar Allen Poe was a fiction writer who
gained popularity in the 1840s as a writer
of horrific tales. He published many
famous stories, including “The Raven”
(1844) and “The Cask of the Amontillado”
(1846).
220
Quasi-war
221
• Quasi-war was the term widely used to
describe French and American naval
conflicts occurring between 1798 and
1800. Although neither nation declared
war on the other, they carried out hostile
naval operations against each other.
222
Sacajawea
223
• Sacajawea proved an indispensable guide
to the Lewis and Clark expedition, from
1804 to 1806. She showed the men how
to forage for food and helped them
maintain good relations with the Native
American tribes in the Northwest.
224
Second Bank of the
United States
225
• The Bank, charted in 1816, served as
depository for federal funds and a creditor
for state banks. It became unpopular after
the panic of 1819, and suspicion of
corruption haunted until its charter expired
in 1836. Its president, Nicholas Biddle, had
sought re-charter early in 1832 which
President Jackson vetoed.
226
Second Great
Awakening
227
• The Second Great Awakening emerged in
the early 1800s partly as a backlash
against American growing secularism and
rationalism. A wave of religious revivals
spread throughout the nation, giving rise to
a number of new (largely Protestant)
denominations during the second quarter
of the nineteenth century. Revivalist
ministers often stressed self-determination
and individual empowerment.
228
Shay’s Rebellion
229
• When economic depression struck
Massachusetts in the mid-1780s, farmers
in particular suffered. In August 1786,
western Massachusetts farmers violently
tried to shut down three country
courthouses in order to prevent
foreclosure proceedings. The rebellion
was easily put down, but it alerted many
government officials to the weaknesses
under the Articles of Confederation.
230
Specie Circular
231
• In 1836, Jackson issues the Specie Circular,
an executive order, in an attempt to stabilize
the economy, which had been dramatically
expanding since the early 1830s as a result
of state banks’ excessive lending practices
and over-speculation. The Specie Circular
required that all land payments be made in
gold and silver rather than in paper money or
credit. The resulting contraction in credit
precipitated an economic depression known
as the panic of 1837.
232
Spoils system
233
• The name “the spoils system” arose from
the adage “To the victor go the spoils.”
The spoils system provided for the
removal and replacement of all highranking officials within the executive office
who were members of a new president’s
opposition. These offices would then be
filled by loyal members of the winning
party.
234
Gag rule
235
• During the 1830s, abolitionists send endless
petitions to Congress demanding the
outlawing of slavery in Washington, D.C. In
1836, Southerners pushed the gag rule
through Congress, which tabled all
abolitionist petitions and prevented antislavery discussions. It was repealed in 1844,
under increased pressure from Northern
abolitionists and from those concerned with
the rule’s restrictions of the right to petition.
236
William Lloyd Garrison
237
• William Lloyd Garrison, the founder of the
abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, was
the most famous white abolitionist of the
1830s. Known as a radical, he pushed for
equal legal rights for blacks and went so
far as to encourage good Christians to
abstain from all aspects of politics,
including voting, in protest against the
nation’s corrupt and prejudicial political
system.
238
Macon’s Bill No. 2
239
• Macon’s Bill No. 2 was James Madison’s
1810 ploy to induce either Britain or
France to lift trade restrictions. Under
Macon’s Bill No. 2, U.S. trade sanctions
were lifted with the promise that if one
country agreed to free trade with the U.S.,
sanctions would be re-imposed against the
other nation.
240
James Madison
241
• Madison began his political career as a Federalist,
joining forces with Alexander Hamilton during the
debate over the Constitution. He was one of the
authors of The Federalist Papers and an advocate
of strong central government. He is called “The
Father of the Constitution.”
• He later became critical of excessive power in
government and left the Federalist Party to join
Thomas Jefferson in the Republican Party. As a
Republican he served as the nation’s fourth
president, from 1809 to 1817.
242
Horace Mann
243
• Horace Mann was the most prominent
proponent of public school reform. Appointed
secretary of the Massachusetts Board of
Education in 1837, he reformed the school
system by increasing state spending on
schools, lengthening the school year, dividing
the students into grades, and introducing
standardized textbooks, among other
changes. Mann set the standard for public
school reform throughout the nation.
244
Marbury v. Madison
245
• In this 1803 case, Chief Justice John
Marshall ruled that the Judiciary Act of
1789 was unconstitutional because
Congress had overstepped its bounds in
granting the Supreme Court the power to
issue a writ of mandamus (an ultimatum
from the court) to any officer of the United
States. This ruling established the
principle of judicial review.
246
John Marshall
247
• John Marshall served as Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court from 1801 until his death in
1835. Under his leadership, the Court
became as powerful a federal force as the
executive and legislative branches.
Marshall’s most notable decision came in
Marbury v. Madison. During James Monroe’s
term in office, Marshall delivered two rulings
in 1819 that curtailed states’ rights and
exposed the latent conflicts in the Era of
Good Feelings.
248
McCulloch v. Maryland
249
• In the case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819),
the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John
Marshall ruled that the states could not tax
federal institutions such as the Second Bank
of the United States.
• The ruling asserted that the federal
government wielded supreme power in its
sphere and that no states could interfere with
the exercise of federal powers. A
denunciation of states’ rights, this ruling
angered many Republicans.
250
Missouri Compromise
251
• The Missouri Compromise resolved one of
the United States’ earliest sectional
conflicts, involving the status of Missouri
as a slave or free state once admitted to
the Union. The Missouri Compromise of
1820 admitted Missouri as a slave state,
admitted Maine as a free state, and
prohibited slavery in all land north of 36
30’ in the remainder of the Louisiana
Territory.
252
James Monroe
253
• Monroe served as president from 1817
until 1825. His presidency formed the core
of the Era of Good Feelings, characterized
by the consolidation of the one-party
system, an upsurge of American
nationalism encouraging political harmony,
and Monroe’s efforts to avoid political
controversy and conflict.
254
Monroe Doctrine
255
• President Monroe issued the Monroe
Doctrine in December 1823. The doctrine
asserted U.S. ascendancy in the Western
Hemisphere.
256
Lucretia Mott
257
• Lucretia Mott was an outspoken proponent
of women’s rights and with Elizabeth Cady
Stanton organized the Seneca Falls
Convention in 1848.
258
Mormonism
259
• Joseph Smith founded the Church of LatterDay Saints, also known as Mormonism, in
1830. The core of the church’s tenets are
derived from the Book of Mormon, a book of
revelation similar in style and form of the
Bible. The Mormons moved steadily
westward during the early 1830s, seeking to
escape persecution. During the late 1840s, a
new leader, Brigham Young, led the
Mormons to present day Utah, where they
settled.
260
National Republican
Party
261
• Led by Henry Clay and John Quincy
Adams, the National Republicans were
one of the two new political parties that
emerged in the late 1820s to challenge the
dominant Republican party (the other
being Democrats). The party found its core
support in the industrializing Northeast.
During Jackson’s second term in office,
the National Republican Party
reconfigured itself as the Whig Party.
262
Non-Intercourse Act
263
• After the repeal of the Embargo Act, this
1809 law restricted the trade with Britain
and France only, opening up trade with all
other foreign ports.
264
Nullification Crisis
265
• The Tariff of 1828 hurt the Southern economy
while benefitting Northern and Western
industries. For this reason, Southerners
called it the “Tariff of Abominations”. Vice
President John C. Calhoun denounced the
tariff as unconstitutional and urged the states
nullify the tariff within their own borders.
South Carolina did so in November 1832,
punctuating a debate over tariffs and states’
rights that raged between 1828 and 1833.
266
Force Bill
267
• Part of the Compromise of 1833, the Force
Bill authorized President Jackson to use
arms to collect customs duties in Southern
Carolina.
268
Proclamation of
American Neutrality
269
• In the early 1790s, Britain and France
went to war. The American public was torn
over which nation to support. The South
pulled a pro-French foreign policy while
North advocated a pro-British policy.
Issued in April 1793, the Proclamation of
American Neutrality was George
Washington’s response to the division of
the nation, stating that the US would stay
out of the war.
270
John Jay
271
• John Jay played an important role in the
establishment of the new government
under the Constitution. One of the authors
of The Federalist Papers, he was involved
in the drafting of the Constitution.
• He also negotiated the highly controversial
“Jay’s Treaty” with Great Britain in 1794.
272
Jacksonian Democracy
273
• Andrew Jackson was a “common man” who rose
to power because of looser voting
requirements– more “common men” could vote.
Jackson’s ascendancy to the presidency
symbolized the egalitarian political conditions in
the US as compared to other nations. His actual
political practices, like the Kitchen Cabinet, were
not as democratic. While all white males could
vote, blacks and women were still not allowed to
vote.
274
Judicial Review
275
• Established by Chief Justice John
Marshall in Marbury v. Madison (1803),
the principle of judicial review held that the
Supreme Court could declare an act of
Congress unconstitutional.
276
Judiciary Act of 1789
277
• The Judiciary Act of 1789 created the
court system. The act established a
federal district court in each state and
affirmed that the Supreme Court exercised
final jurisdiction in all legal matters.
278
Kansas-Nebraska Act
279
• The Kansas-Nebraska Act, passed in
1854, divided the Nebraska territory into
two parts, Kansas and Nebraska, and left
the issue of slavery in the territories to be
decided by popular sovereignty. The
Kansas-Nebraska Act nullified the
prohibition of slavery above 36 30–
latitude provided for in the Missouri
Compromise of 1820.
280
Kitchen Cabinet
281
• Opponents of Jackson dubbed his circle of
informal advisors the “Kitchen Cabinet”
because its members were all his close
political allies and exercised more
influence on his decisions than his formal
presidential cabinet did. Instead of serving
as a policy forum to help shape the
president’s agenda, as previous cabinets
had done, Jackson’s cabinet assumed a
mostly passive and supportive role.
282
Lewis and Clark
283
• Meriwether Lewis and William Clark,
known collectively as Lewis and Clark,
were commissioned by Thomas Jefferson
to explore the new territory of the
Louisiana Purchase. They traveled 3,000
miles between 1804 and 1806, collecting
scientific data and specimens and charting
the territory to the west of the Mississippi.
Their journey spurred national interest in
exploration and settlement of the West.
284
Loose Constructionists
285
• Loose constructionists favored a loose
reading of the Constitution, especially of
the elastic clause, in order to expand the
powers of the central government to
include implied constitutional powers, not
enumerated ones. Led by Alexander
Hamilton, loose constructionists formed
the core of the Federalist Party.
286
Louisiana Purchase
287
• Negotiated in April 1803, during Thomas
Jefferson’s presidency, the Louisiana
Purchase nearly doubled the size of the
nation and opened the West to exploration
and settlement. With the Louisiana Purchase
came not only expansion but also strife:
border disputes with foreign powers as well
as congressional debates over the admission
of new states from the region (whether the
states would be slaveholding or free).
288
Toussaint l’Ouverture
289
• Toussaint l’Ouverture led the Haitian
Revolution, which resulted in a successful
overthrow of French colonial rule in Haiti.
This revolution set up the first black
government in the Western Hemisphere
290
Citizen Genet
291
• Citizen Genet was sent to the U.S. in 1793
by the new French government, which had
come to power after the French
Revolution. He sought American aid in
France’s conflicts with Britain and Spain.
However, the U.S. had already declared
itself neutral in the conflict, and Genet’s
visit strained diplomatic relations between
the U.S. and France.
292
Impressment
293
• In the early 1800’s the British practiced a
policy known as impressments whereby
the British naval deserters, whom they
would force or impress back into service.
Often, naturalized or native born
Americans were also seized, provoking
outrage in America. Impressment was one
of a string of British violations against U.S.
neutrality rights in the early 1800’s that
helped spark the War of 1812.
294
Independent Treasury Bill
295
• The Independent Treasury Bill was signed
into law in 1840. The bill established an
independent treasury to hold public funds
in reserve and prevent excessive lending
by stat banks, thus guarding against
inflation/ The Independent Treasury Bill
was a response to the panic of 1837,which
many blamed on the risky and excessive
lending practices of state banks.
296
Indian Removal Act
297
• Passed in 1830, the Indian Removal Act
granted Jackson the funds and authority to
move Native Americans to assigned lands
in the West. The Indian Removal Act
primarily targeted the Cherokee tribe in
Georgia, as part of the federal
government's broad plan to claim Native
American lands inside the boundaries of
the states.
298
Andrew Jackson
299
• Jackson, president from 1829 to 1837,
was a strong willed and determined leader
who opposed federal support for internal
improvements and the Second Bank of the
United States and fought for states rights
and Native American removal. His
opponents nicknamed him King Andrew I
because of his extensive and
unprecedented use of the veto power,
which they viewed to be against the spirit
of democracy.
300
Jays Treaty
301
• Jays Treaty signed in 1794, provided for
the removal of British troops from
American land and opened limited trade
with the British West Indies, but said
nothing about British impressment” of
American sailors. While the American
public criticized the treaty for being too
favorable to Britain, the treaty was a
diplomatic feat of the Washington
administration, since it preserved peace
with Britain.
302
Corrupt Bargain
303
• Although Andrew Jackson won the most
popular and electoral votes in the 1824
election, he failed to win the requisite
majority and the election was thrown to the
House o Representatives. Speaker of the
House Henry Clay backed John Quincy
Adams for president, ensuring Adam’s
victory. Adams then rewarded Clay by
making his secretary of state. Jackson and
his supporters denounced Adams and
Clays corrupt bargain.
304
Whiskey Rebellion
305
• In 1791, Alexander Hamilton pushed a
high excise tax in whiskey as part of his
federalist economic policy. In July 1794,
violence broke out in western
Pennsylvania, the are most hurt by the tax.
In a show of national strength, George
Washington himself led a force of
militiamen to crush the rebellion.
306
XYZ Affair
307
• In response to continued French
aggression at sea, John Adams sent a
diplomatic envoy to France to negotiate for
peace in 1797. Charles de Talleyrand, the
French foreign minister, refused to meet wit
the U.S. delegation and instead sent three
anonymous agents. X Y Z to try to extort
money from the Americans in exchange for
negotiation rights. This widely publicized
attempt at extortion aroused outrage
among the American people.
308
John Tyler
309
• Tyler became president of the United
States in 1841, when Williams Henry
Harrison died after one month in office.
310
Nat Turner
311
• Nat Turner led a slave rebellion in 1831
Virginia. This led to deaths of 20 whites
and 40 blacks, and reinforced the Virginia
legislature’s law against emancipation. It
also led to the gag rule, which outlawed
any discussion of slavery in the H of
Representatives.
312
John Adams
313
• Adams served as Americas second
president from 1797 to 1801. A federalist,
he supported a powerful centralized
government. His most notable actions in
office were the undertaking of the Quasiwar with France and the passage of the
Alien and Sedition Acts.
314
John Quincy Adams
315
• As James Monroe's secretary of state, he
devised the Monroe Doctrine and worked
to clarify the nation’s borders. As president
form 1825-1829, Adams proved a less
adroit politician. Facing opposition from
Congress and refusing to engage in
political maneuvering to win support,
Adams served a rather unproductive term
as president. He failed to push any of his
proposals through Congress.
316
The Age of Reason
317
• Thomas Paine’s, The Age of Reason was
published in three parts between 1794 and
1807. A critique of organized religion, the
book was widely criticized as a defense of
Atheism. Paine's argument is a prime
example of the rationalist approach to
religion inspired by Enlightenment ideals.
318
War of 1812
319
• The War of 1812,between U.S. and Great
Britain, lasted until 1814. Although it ended
in stalemate with the Treaty of Ghent, the
American public believed the U.S. had won
the war after news spread of Genera
Jackson’s decisive victory battle at the
Battle of New Orleans, which occurred two
weeks after the signing of the Treaty. For
years following this apparent victory, an
ebullient spirit of nationalism and optimism
pervaded America.
320
War Hawks
321
• A group of westerners and southerners led
by John Calhoun and Henry Clay, the War
Hawks pushed for war against Britain.
They objected to Britain’s hostile policies
against U.S. ships, including impressment
and the seizure of shipping goods, and
advocated fighting instead of submitting to
this disgraceful treatment. They also
hoped that, through war, the U.S. would
win western, southwestern, and Canadian
territories.
322
Virginia and Kentucky
Resolutions
323
• The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions(
1798) condemned the Federalists broad
interpretations of the Constitution and
instead argued that states’ rights
superseded federal powers. The
arguments concerning states’ rights and
nullification would resurface in the tariff
issues and slavery, issues that led to the
Civil War.
324
Martin Van Buren
325
• Martin Van Buren served as Secretary of
State during Jackson’s first term in office
and as vice president during his second.
As Jackson’s handpicked successor, Van
Buren won the presidency in 1836. Beset
by the Panic of 1837 and unable to win
over Jackson’s opposition, the Whigs, Van
Buren lost his bid for reelection in 1840.
326
Utopian Communities
327
• Utopian Communities sprang up in the
U.S. beginning in the late 1820’s. In these
small experimental communities.
American reformers attempted to build
perfect societies and present models for
other communities to emulate. Most of
these communities collapsed by the late
1840’s.
328
American System
329
• Henry Clay’s brainchild, the American
System proposed series of measures,
including tariffs and federal support for
internal improvements, geared toward
achieving national economic selfsufficiency. In the late 1820s and 1830s,
the National Republican Party wholly
backed the American System while the
Democrats opposed it.
330
Alien and Sedition Acts
331
• These 1798 acts gave the government
unprecedented power to infringe upon the
individual liberty. Federalist claimed that
these acts were essential for national
security. Republicans countered that they
were politically motivated and served only
to deny Americans their rights to fair trials
and free speech. The acts were the
undoing of the Federalist. Jefferson won
the presidency in 1800 base largely on
popular dissatisfaction with the acts.
332
Worcester v. Georgia
333
• In the Case of Worcester v.
Georgia(1832), Chief Justice John
Marshall ruled that the Cherokee tribe
comprised a “domestic dependent nation”
within Georgia and thus deserved
protection from harassment. Known as a
vehement Indian hater and eager to
secure Native American land for the U.S.
settlement. Andrew Jackson refused to
abide by the decision. The Cherokee
removal continued on unabated.
334
Daniel Webster
335
• One of country’s leading statesmen in the
first half of the nineteenth century.
Webster was a federalist lawyer who won,
most notably the Dartmouth College(1819)
and McCulloch v. Maryland(1819) cases in
the Supreme Court. Webster became a
powerful defender of Northern interests,
supporting the 1829 tariff and objecting to
nullification. Webster, who opposed many
of Jackson’s policies, became a leader of
the Whig Party.
336
George Washington
337
• Washington led the Continental Army to
victory in the Revolutionary War and
became the nation’s first president in
1789. He intervened little in legislative
affairs and concentrated mostly on
diplomacy and finance. A Federalist, he
granted Alexander Hamilton a great deal
of support in his Federalist economic
campaign. Washington declined to seek a
third term and retired from the office in
1797 after serving two terms in office.
338
Bank Veto
339
• The ban veto refers to Andrew Jackson’s
1832 veto of the bill that provided a
renewed charter for the Second Bank of
the United States. The veto marked the
beginning of Jackson’s five-year battle
against the national bank.
340
Battle of the Alamo
341
• In 1836, Texas fought for its
independence form Mexico. Thousands of
Mexicans attacked the Alamo, a fortress in
San Antonio, Texas, which was defended
by less than two hundred Americans. The
Mexicans killed the Americans, including
frontiersman Davy Crockett. The cry “
Remember the Alamo” inspired the
Americans to defeat the Mexicans at San
Jacinto.
342
Ralph Waldo Emerson
343
• Ralph Waldo Emerson was a leader of the
transcendentalist movement and an
advocate of American literary nationalism.
He published a number of influential
essays during the 1830s and the 1840s
including “Nature” and “Self Reliance”
344
Seneca Falls Convention
345
• Organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth
Cady Stanton in 1948, the Seneca Falls
Convention issued a Declaration of
Sentiments, modeled on the Declaration of
Independence, that declaration that all
men and women were created equal.
• It is considered the beginning of the
American feminist movement.
346
Congressional caucus
347
• The congressional caucus was a
centralized group of politicians that chose
presidential candidates during the early
days of the United States. It denied the
population any real say in the nomination
process and became a symbol of
undemocratic elitist rule. Resented by
much of the American public, the caucus
lost its influence in the early 1820s.
348
Henry Clay
349
• Henry Clay had a vast impact on the
politics of the Era of Good Feelings and
the Age of Jackson. He engineered the
American System, a program aimed at
economic self-sufficiency. As a speaker of
the house during Monroe’s term in office,
he was instrumental in crafting much of
the legislation that passed through
Congress. He led the Whig party until his
death in 1852.
350
Cotton Gin
351
• Invented in 1793 by Eli Whitney, the cotton
gin separated the fibers of short cotton
from the seeds. The mechanization of this
task made cotton plantations much more
efficient and profitable, giving rise to a
cotton-dominated economy in the South.
352
John C. Calhoun
353
• Was involved in politics throughout the Era
of Good Feelings and the Age of Jackson.
Calhoun served as James Monroe's
secretary of war, as John Quincy Adam’s
vice president, and then as Andrew
Jackson’s vice president (during Jackson’s
first term only) A firm believer in states’
rights, Calhoun clashed with Jackson over
many issues, most notably nullification.
354
Battle of Tippecanoe
355
• Led by future president William Henry
Harrison, U.S. forces defeated Shawnee
forces in the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.
The U.S. victory lessened the Native
American threat in Ohio in Indiana,
356
James Fennimore
Cooper
357
• James Fennimore Cooper was an
influential American writer in the early 19th
century. His novel, The Pioneers(1823),
The Last of the Mohicans(1826), and
others, employed distinctly American
themes.
358
Erie Canal
359
• Begun in 1817 and finished in 1835, the
Erie Canal was America’s first major canal
project. The canal stretched from Albany
to Buffalo, New York, measuring a total of
36 miles.
360
Era of Good Feelings
361
• The Era of Good Feelings describes the
period between the end of the War of 1812
and the rise of Andrew Jackson in 1828,
during which the United States was
governed under a one-party system that
promoted nationalism and cooperation.
The era centers on the presidency of
James Monroe who strove to avoid
political conflict and strengthen American
nationalism and pride.
362
Embargo Act
363
• Thomas Jefferson endorsed the Embargo
Act in December 1807, ending all of
America's importation and exportation.
Jefferson hoped the embargo would
pressure the French and British to
recognize U.S. goods. The embargo,
however, hurt the American economy
more, leading to the act’s repeal in March
1809.
364
Hartford Convention
365
• A meeting of Federalist near the end of the
War of 1812, in which the party
enumerated its complaints against the
ruling of the Republican Party. The
Federalist, already losing influence, hoped
that antiwar sentiment would give support
to their cause and return them to power.
Perceived victory in the war, however
turned many against the Federalists, whose
actions in Hartford were viewed as
traitorous.
366
Bank of the United
States
367
• The Bank of the United States was
chartered in 1791 as a controversial part
of Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist
economic program.
368
Electoral College
369
• The U.S. public does not vote directly for he
president; instead, they vote in statewide
elections for electors. The electoral college
is the group of representatives chosen by
voters to vote directly for the president and
the vice president. Each state is given one
electoral college vote for every senator
(two) and representative (at least one) from
that state. When presidential elections are
held in each state, the winner in the state
receives all of its electoral votes.
370
Dorothea Dix
371
• Dorothea Dix, a Massachusetts
schoolteacher, studied the condition of the
insane in poorhouses and prisons. Her
efforts helped bring about the creation of
insane asylums, where the mentally ill
could be more humanely treated.
372
Democratic Party
373
• Formed in opposition to the Federalist
Party during the Washington
administration, the Democratic Party aimed
for minimalist government. The Democrats
championed states’ rights and fought
political domination by the economic elite.
They opposed tariffs, federal funding for
internal improvements, and bigger
government. The party was transformed in
the 1930s when FDR’s New Deal policies
won them the support of urban workers,
blacks, and women.
374
Walt Whitman
375
• Walt Whitman was an avid reader and
disciple of Ralph Waldo Emerson. His
major work, Leaves of Grass, published in
1855, celebrated the diversity and
democracy of America.
376
Battle of New Orleans
377
• In January, 1815, the Battle of New
Orleans occurred after the Treaty of Ghent
ended the War of 1812, because
Americans were unaware of the treaty.
General Andrew Jackson successfully
defended New Orleans against thousands
of British troops. Although the U.S. did not
officially win the war, this battle helped the
U.S. prove it was one of the top world
powers.
378
Zachary Taylor
379
• Zachary Taylor, a Whig, served as
president from 1849 until his death in
1850. Taylor advocated popular
sovereignty and in 1849 encouraged
California to apply for statehood as a free
state, thereby igniting the controversy that
led to the Compromise of 1850.
380
Camp Meetings
381
• During the Second Great Awakening,
religious revivals on the frontier took the
form of camp meetings at which hundreds
or even thousands of people of various
denominations met to hear speeches on
repentance and to sing hymns.
382
Roger B. Taney
383
• Taney served as Chief Justice of the
United States from 1836 until 1864. In
support of slavery laws, he delivered the
majority opinion on Dred Scott v. Sanford.
384
Milliard Fillmore
385
• When Zachary Taylor died on July 9,
1850, Vice President Milliard Fillmore took
over as president and served out the
remainder of Taylor’s term, until 1853. He
helped pushes the Compromise of 1850
through Congress.
386
Popular Sovereignty
387
• First espoused by Democratic presidential
candidate Lewis Cass in 1848 and
eventually championed by Stephen A.
Douglas, popular sovereignty was the
principle stating that Congress should not
interfere with the issue of slavery’s
expansion, but rather leave the question
up to each territory. Popular sovereignty
became the core for the Democratic
position on slavery’s expansion during the
1850’s
388
Free Soil Party
389
• A political party supporting abolition, the
Free Soil Party formed in 1848 from the
merger of a northern faction of the
Democratic Party, the abolitionist Liberty
Party, and the antislavery Whigs. The Free
Soilers nominated Martin Van Buren as
their candidate for president. The relative
success of the Free Soil Party
demonstrated that slavery had become a
central issue in national politics.
390
James K. Polk
391
• Polk served as U.S. president form 1845
to 1849. A firm believer in expansion, Polk
led the U.S. into the Mexican War in 1846,
in which the U.S. acquired Texas, New
Mexico, and California. Many Northerners
saw Polk as an agent of Southern will
aiming to expand the nation in order to
extend slavery into the West.
392
Know-Nothing Party
393
• The American or “Know-Nothing,” Party
largely took the place of the Whig Party
between 1854 and 1856, after the latter’s
demise. The Know-Nothings focused on
issues of anti-slavery, anti-Catholicism,
nativism, and temperance. The party
collapsed during the latter half of the
1850s, in part because of the rise of the
Republicans.
394
Nathaniel Hawthorne
395
• Nathaniel Hawthorne was an early
American fiction writer. His most famous
work, The Scarlet Letter (1850), explored
the moral dilemmas of adultery in Puritan
community.
396
Great Debate
397
• The so-called Great Debate was an eightmonth discussion in Congress over Henry
Clay’s proposed compromise to admit
California as a free state, allow the
remainder of the Mexican Cession (Utah
and New Mexico territories) to be decided
by popular sovereignty, and strengthen the
Fugitive Slave Act. Clay’s solution was
passed as separate bills, which together
came to be known as the Compromise of
398
Buffalo Bill Cody
399
• William H. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was a
famous scout and showman who was
awarded the Congressional Medal of
Honor for his role in fighting the
Cheyenne.
400