● Period 4 begins with Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, and ends with growing abolitionism. Why is this important?
○ 1800 marks the first Democractic-Republican presidency, which was much different from the previous Federalist era of presidents.
○ The end of Period 4 marks the beginning of the conflicts that separate Period 5 from Period 4.
○ The new Democractic-Republican in office symbolizes a coming change in America’s politics and foreign policy, and the growing abolitionism results from changes and growth in America’s economy. Hence, the key ideas (listed below)
● Politics: Changes in foreign policy, how each president deals with foreign affairs as well as the growing domestic issues
● Economy: causes of the Market Revolution, role of transportation and technology
● Social: growing divide between North and South, Nativism, the Second Great Awakening, the role of women in society, causes of the growing abolitionist movement
○ Louisiana Purchase: purchase of A LOT of land in the Great Plains region from the French
■ Lewis and Clark were sent to explore and map the area → Gave way to more westward expansion, as well as Native American conflict
■ Unique in that Jefferson, who supported a strict interpretation of the Constitution, bought the land without consulting Congress (who had the Constitutional power to do so), due to the urgency of the deal (was afraid another nation would grab the deal if he did not accept it from the French on the spot). In other words, he had to use broad powers to purchase the land, violating his own political beliefs.
○ Embargo Act of 1807
■ Cut off all trade due to impressment and harassment from British and French, who were in the midst of their own war (Britain vs France) and were trying to encourage America to join their side.
● Gave way to economic change (See Economy)
■ Result of Washington’s farewell “neutrality” message (See Period 3 Study Guide)
○ Non-Intercourse Act 1809
■ America reopened trade with everyone but British and French
○ Macon’s Bill No. 2
■ America reopened trade with British and French
■ Violated by British, inciting pro-war sentiment in the Americans and leading to the War of 1812
○ War of 1812
■ Treaty of Ghent: Ended in a truce with no clear victory (British stay in Canada, America keeps its original land)
■ Growth of American nationalism due to the avoidance of loss against their former mother country
○ Hartford Convention
■ Convention of Federalists who were planning on seceding from the US in the middle of the War of 1812 when America wasn’t doing so well
■ Bad timing: announced their secret scheme just as General Jackson won a huge victory
■ Result: Federalists lost their credibility, and their political party was destroyed
○ Americans no longer dependent on Britain for economic prosperity, as manufacturing grew as a result of the War of 1812 (see Economics)
○ Era of Good Feelings: no opposing political party, a period of general political peace in America
○ Appointed Chief Justice John Marshall to the Supreme Court
■ Federalist views
■ Ruled the National Bank as constitutional
■ Established Judicial Review: Supreme Court has the right to review the constitutionality of the laws that Congress passes
■ Established Interstate Commerce as commerce that federal authorities had a right to intervene in
○ Panic of 1819
■ Result of quick market growth (see Economics)
○ Monroe Doctrine (1823)
■ Declares that colonies were no longer allowed in North and South America
■ Established during the time that many Latin American nations were gaining independence from their European colonizers
■ Result: America exerts itself as a Western hemisphere power
■ Note: British were still in Canada, and simply ignored this doctrine
○ Missouri Compromise: 36°30° line
■ Dealt with the growing slavery issue, stating that no slavery was allowed above this line, with the exception of Missouri. Maine was admitted as a free state.
■ Essentially stalled the Civil War
○ Corrupt Bargain: concerns the Election of 1824, with a “corrupt bargain” between JQ Adams and Henry Clay that allowed JQ Adams to win the presidential election.
■ Due to Congress’ suspicion regarding Adams, he was unable to put forth any significant change during his presidency
■ The corruption between the wealthy in this event, however, fuels the next president: Andrew Jackson.
○ Focuses internally → more involved in domestic affairs rather than foreign policy
○ Nicknames: Common Man’s President, Democratic President
■ Judge for yourself with the details below if this nickname suited him well.
○ Used the Spoils System
■ “Vote for me, and I’ll reward you by giving you a federal position/job”
○ Jacksonian Democracy
■ Believed in a smaller government, with less power in the hands of elites
■ Expanded voting rights to all white men
■ Develops the electoral college
● *Note how his policy here seems to be influenced by his loss in the corrupt 1824 election, as well as his perspective as a Common Man (he was not a wealthy elite).
■ Reshaped the presidency - instead of using power to expand government, he used it to limit it.
○ Indian Removal Act
■ Relocation > Assimilation (see Other Groups to Consider)
○ Nullification Debate
■ Tariff of Abominations 1828: an extremely high tax on imports
■ South Carolina was extremely unhappy and threatened to secede
■ A compromise was reached for a lower tariff, as Jackson favored a unified nation over his beliefs in states’ rights
■ This sparks another states’ rights vs federal power debate
○ Destruction of the Second National Bank
■ Openly defies Chief Justice Marshall’s ruling that the National Bank was constitutional. He removes all federal funds from the National Bank, leaving the bank bankrupt
■ Causes the Panic of 1837
○ Whigs: promoted government activism
■ Similar to Federalists
○ Rose due to Jackson’s Democratic party
○ Causes
○ Political: Natives are being driven out, increased westward expansion
○ Economic: market growth
○ More people voting because of Jackson
○ An active political leader, often involved in compromises (especially with the Missouri Compromise and Tariff Compromise concerning the 1828 import tariff)
○ Clay’s American System
■ Economic self-sufficiency
■ Protective tariff to protect American businesses
■ Second National Bank (blocked by Jackson)
■ West and South ← → North: exchange goods with each other
○ Sudden burst of American businesses and manufacturing, and as a result, America could support its own economy without as much trade. How did this happen?
Causes of the 1800s Market Revolution
○ North: very industrialized, market economy, many businesses and the transportation to support the region
○ West: commercial farming, sold crops to North
○ South: agriculture, cash crops, isolated farms did not produce a severe need for infrastructure
○ Aided the growth of industry by promoting faster production alongside increased demand
○ Factories, mills, telegraph (transactions even from far distances), Eli Whitney’s cotton gin and interchangeable parts
○ Industry based: many factory jobs, many businesses
○ Infrastructure heavy: needed to support the factories
■ Railroads, roads, telegraph lines
○ Toxic environment due to pollution
■ Crowded areas, slums, air filled with smoke from factories
○ Lack of wealth distribution: huge gap between the rich and poor
■ Elites → business owners
■ Middle Class → mainly white Americans in high employee positions
■ Working Class → often people of color who worked menial jobs in factories
○ Immigrants: came mainly from Ireland and Germany
■ Increased population growth and westward expansion
○ Nativism: Response by many white Americans that hated the problems caused by high immigration rates
■ Prejudice against any foreigner, especially immigrants and people of color
○ Agriculture based, rural communities
○ “Cotton Kingdom” → known for their biggest cash crop: cotton
■ Though they still planted tobacco
■ Slavery dependent as a result
○ Rigid social structure: difficult to move up
■ Aristocratic elites = more land = more political power
■ Rich farmers often outcompeted smaller farmers, leading to land owned by few elites and poor whites working on these fields
○ Isolated communities, different from the crowded North
○ Lacked infrastructure like railroads and proper roads
■ Used mainly waterways for trade
○ (The Frontier)
○ Commercial Farming: dependent on how well their goods sell in the market
○ Region becomes a symbol of freedom and equality
■ Easier to advance in society in the West
■ A place to restart their life
■ Away from the East’s frequent financial Panics
○ Expansion into this area was encouraged by government
○ Religious revival that centered around the fact that one’s destiny is in one’s own hands
■ Don’t need clerical authority to be saved; you can save yourself and go to heaven through your own efforts
○ Inspired by Enlightenment
○ Spurred moral sentiment, leading to the Temperance Movement
■ Temperance Movement (1830-1860s)
● Led by women who were afraid of the effect their drunken husbands had on their family
● Not truly effective until Period 7
■ Prison Asylum Reform
○ Also inspired by the moral sentiment that grew from the Second Great Awakening
■ Inspired by the story of Frederick Douglass
○ Side by side with other reform movements
○ Grew in the North where the Awakening centered and where the idea wasn’t absurd
○ Aided by publications, used the press to circulate opinion
■ William Lloyd Garrison: very critical of slavery in his own press company, used his newspapers to circulate his views
○ Set in motion the events leading to the Civil War in Period 5
○ Sided with the British during the War of 1812
■ Heavy losses in land and their people due to the fighting
■ Loss of British protection on American lands led to increased American expansion
○ Indian Removal Act: Trail of Tears and the Cherokee
■ Many tribes were relocated to reservation lands, and the long trek from their tribal lands to these highly unsupportive lands was called the Trail of Tears
● Many died as they were forced to move
■ Cherokee: a highly assimilated tribe that lived the accepted, civilized, American life of farming in the now-Georgia region. However, once gold was found to be in their lands, they were forced off the land despite their already assimilated life under the Jackson presidency. They, too, were forced onto the Trail of Tears.
○ Westward expansion destroyed their lands.
■ The building of railroads to accommodate the Western farms into the Northern market impeded on tribal lands, especially in the Great Plains.
■ Buffaloes were purposely killed by Americans to protect incoming trains, as well as to remove an essential food source that supported Native American life.
■ Natives of the Great Plains region were also then forced onto reservation lands.
○ Increased slavery as a result of the the growing farms in the South and the increased dependence on the cotton cash crop
■ Increase in chattel slavery (breeding slaves from already bought slaves)
○ Were often converted to the religion of their master, usually Christianity
○ Kinship ties: family connections between unrelated slaves under the same master
■ Helped them cope with the loss of related family members through the auction systems
○ Committed small acts of defiance to help themselves deal with slavery
○ Black Codes: customs created for blacks to restrict their actions and govern their behavior in Southern society
○ Gaining power in society as they slowly get more involved in politics
○ Women’s Rights Movement: inspired by the large amount of women participating in the other reform movements of the time
■ Becomes more popular in later periods
○ Their role, however, was still heavily involved at home.
***Note: Understand how the political and economic affairs have heavy effects on the changes in society. They are massive causes of the growing sectionalism observed in this period. Understanding these major connections will better help you remember the major events and policies in this period, as well as help you see the cause/effect this period has with Period 5.