A Changing Nation

A Changing Nation

Chapter 10

Building a National Identity

– After the War of 1812, the Republicans took control of the government

• In the Presidential Election of 1816, James Monroe was elected, he defeated Rufus King, the Federalist candidate by 183 to 34 electoral votes


• Monroe criss-crossed the country trying to get national unity

• While he was in Boston, a newspaper said the unity was an “Era of Good Feelings.”– He was re-elected

in 1820, no one ran against him

Building a National Identity– People began to support

federal programs and prosperity

• Henry Clay of Kentucky, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts supported federal action– Better roads and canals to

transport goods, states rights, supporting high tariffs to protect

industry


– Congress established the second Bank of the United States

• The Bank was privately owned, it loaned money to individuals and controlled the money supply

Building a National Identity– Because the British could

produce goods cheaper then the United States

• The British tried to put their American competitors out of businesses by dumping their goods in the United States

• Congress responded by placing a tariff on the price of foreign goods– This caused southerners to

pay more for their goods


– Henry Clay came up with the American System

• It proposed high tariffs and a federal program of public works

• Presidents Madison and Monroe refused to support the public

works


– Chief Justice John Marshal, led a series of important court cases

• McCulloch V. Maryland (1819)- protected the Second Bank of the United States– This strengthened the

power of the federal government

– The states did not have the power to interfere with federal programs


• Dartmouth College V. Woodward (1819) This ruled that the college was a private contract-it was similar to a private business

• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) The court case supported federal power and said that a state could have a monopoly on a business-Increased interstate commerce

Dealing with other Nations– Because Spain owned Florida, enslaved

African Americans who escaped from Georgia and Alabama went south and joined the Seminole Nation

• In 1817, Andrew Jackson went south to recapture escaped slaves

• He attacked and destroyed Seminole Villages

• He attacked Spanish towns and forced the governor to flee– This caused the Spanish to

cede Florida in the Adams-Onis

Treaty of 1819

Dealing with other Nations– The American and French

Revolution had inspired Mexico to fight for Independence in 1810.

• Father Miguel Hidalgo gathered a group of Native Americans to free several Mexican provinces (states) before he was captured and executed.

• In 1820, Mexico fought for their independence from Spain and by 1821, they were independent

Dealing with other Nations

– In South and Central America, Simon Bolivar helped lead independence movements

• By 1825, most of Latin America was no longer under European rule


– President James Monroe and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams wanted to help protect the new countries

• In December 1823, The Monroe Doctrine was passed– IT said that the United

States would not allow European nations to create American colonies or interfere with the free nations


– EUROPEAN NATIONS MUST STAY OUT OF THE AMERICAS

– In 1841, in the Act of Union, Canada, which was a British colony was given a government, the Canadian Legislature

The Age of Jackson

– Andrew Jackson was President from 1829-1837.

• He had the Nickname Old Hickory for his strength

• He grew from a poor orphan at age 14 to a wealthy president

The Age of Jackson – He lost the 1824 election

because, although he got the majority of popular votes and electoral votes, he lost the House election

• During John Quincy Adams presidency (1824-1829) he proposed a national program to build roads and canals and having a high tariff. Create a national university– He did not succeed in any

of this

The Age of Jackson

– Most states had begun to extend their suffrage

• Most adult white men could vote and hold office

• Women and African Americans could not vote

The Age of Jackson

– Andrew Jackson was voted in office because he was a normal person

• He did not support special privileges and he did not trust

government

The Age of Jackson

– In 1824, the Republican Party split and half of them became the National Republicans. Jackson’s Supporters were called the Democrats

• By 1836, the National Republicans were renamed the Whigs

• Nominating conventions began in 1831

The Age of Jackson – Jackson’s election

showed growing sectionalism and class divisions

• Jackson supporters caused a commotion during his inauguration

– Jackson began the spoils system by choosing supporters for government jobs

Indian Removal– Many Natives lived

east of the Mississippi River when Jackson became president

• They had combined their traditions and the white traditions

• There were new policies that Thomas Jefferson had passed that would try to get the natives to move voluntarily.

Indian Removal

– During the War of 1812, Natives in the North west gave up their land in a treaty

– When thy would not leave in 1825, James Monroe suggested that ALL the natives would move West

Indian Removal– Georgia passed a law

forcing the Creeks to give up most of their land

• The Cherokee nation would not leave their land

• In the lawsuit Worcester v. Georgia, Chief Justice claimed that treaties have supreme power– Andrew Jackson

wanted to move the natives and passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

Indian Removal

– In the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the Choctaw Indians agreed to give up their lands

• The government moved them but did not provide enough supplies, it was not a good situation

Indian Removal• In 1838, Martin Van

Buren forced the Cherokees to move– They were forced to

march hundreds of miles with little food or shelter

– 4,000 people died

• The Seminoles in Florida refused to move and fought three wars against the government of the United States

States rights and the economy

a. The Second Bank of the United States was used to make loans to businesses, keep money safe and had careful policies to create confidence in banks

States rights and the economy• Some people feared the

bank because they thought that they were giving too much money to businesses and not enough to farmers and merchants

• Andrew Jackson said that that Bank was only benefiting the Wealthy – When the bank needed

to renew their charter, he would not allow it


– The states were fighting against the Federal government for power, this is still an issue

– Congress passed a law in 1828 to put a tariff on iron, textiles and other products

• This helped the northern states but hurt the southern states

States rights and the economy• Vice President John C.

Calhoun of South Carolina said that states had the right of nullification – He said the Union grew

from an agreement between states and they had the right to overrule the federal government

• On the opposite side, Massachusetts’s Senator Daniel Webster said the United States was not formed by the states but by the people, a state should not be able to overrule the Federal Government


– In 1832, Congress passed another tariff law on iron and textiles

• South Carolina nullified the tariff and warned the Federal government not to force the tariffs or they would secede from the union


• Jackson put federal troops in South Carolina and asked Congress if he could use force if necessary– Congress Approved

– South Carolina did not win support from other states, and repealed the nullification


– In the election of 1836, Martin Van Buren won both the electoral and popular vote

• Because Britain had an economic slowdown, cotton prices fell and American banks could not collect their loans and went bankrupt

• In the Election of 1840, Whig Candidate, William Henry Harrison won easily over Van Buren, the Democrats were no longer in power

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A Changing Nation