Chapter 12

A New National Identity

Section 1- The Rise of Nationalism

• Nationalism is the idea that all people must come together for the good of the country.

• After the War of 1812, people were beginning to feel good about America.

• It was for many Americans:– A time of peace– A time to be proud of America– A time to give America its own identity.

This time period in America became known as the Era of Good Feelings.

James Monroe Becomes President

• In 1816, a Republican named James Monroe was elected president. He was close friends with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

• Monroe ran unopposed in 1820 and won re-election. During his campaign the United States resolved several conflicts with foreign powers.

The Rush-Bagot Agreement

• The Treaty of Ghent ended the war with Britain but the United States and Canada still disagreed about who controlled the waterways along the borders.

• Both countries wanted to keep their navies and fishing rights on the Great Lakes.

• In the spring of 1817, Secretary of State Richard Rush and Sir Charles Bagot negotiated a compromise that limited the naval power of both the United States and British Canada.

The Convention of 1818• This treaty, made after the Rush-Bagot Agreement, gave the United States

fishing rights off parts of the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts.• It more importantly set the United States and Canadian border at the 49th

parallel.• This border extended as far west as the Rocky Mountains.• Both groups also agreed to share the fishing waters of the Pacific Northwest.

Issues in Florida• Many Americans wanted to settle in Florida• Seminole Indians were attacking U.S. towns

along the border between Spanish Florida and the U.S.

• President Monroe sent General Andrew Jackson to Florida to secure the border. He invaded Florida, fought the Seminoles, and overthrew the Spanish governor. This began the First Seminole War.

The Adams-Onis Treaty

• After Jackson’s success in Florida, the Spanish agreed to settle border disputes with the U.S.

• In 1819, Spain gave east Florida to the U.S. and gave up its claims to West Florida.

• In return, the U.S. gave up its claims to what is now Texas.

• The U.S. also agreed to pay up to $5 million of U.S. citizens’ claims against Spain.

The Monroe Doctrine

• By the 1820’s most of the Central and South American colonies had declared their independence from Spain.

• This worried President Monroe because he thought that other European countries might try to take advantage of these young countries.

• On December 2, 1823, Monroe warned European powers not to create new colonies in the North and South Americas. The U.S. would view any European interference with Latin American government as a hostile act.

Section 2- Expansion and Improvements

• In the early 1800’s, more Americans were moving west.• Mount Pleasant, Ohio for instance grew from 7 families

to about 90 families in the span of 10 years.• The question of course was how the U.S. was going to

govern these newly settled lands.

The Missouri Compromise

• A major conflict arose in 1819, when Congress considered the acceptance of Missouri into the Union.

• Pro-slavery leaders of Missouri wanted the state to enter as a slave state.

• At the time, the Union included 11 free states and 11 slave states.

• Since the free northern states had larger populations, they controlled the House of Representatives.

• However, adding a new slave state would have tipped the balance in the Senate in favor of the South.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Slave_Free_1789-1861.gif

Settling the Dispute• To settle this dispute, Kentucky representative Henry Clay helped

Congress reach a compromise.• This agreement had three main conditions:

– Missouri would enter the Union as a slave state– Maine would join the Union as a free state– Slavery would be prohibited in any territories or states formed north of

36*30’ latitude-Missouri’s southern border.

Continued

• Congress passes the Missouri Compromise in 1820.

• Maine became a state on March 15, 1820.• Missouri became a state on August 10, 1821.• Clay was given the nickname “the Great

Pacificator” or peacemaker for his efforts on behalf of the compromise.

• However, the issue of slavery would continue to divide the country.

Internal Improvements• Some, like Henry Clay, wanted a strong national economy to help prevent

regional conflicts.• Clay proposed a tariff in order to accomplish this.• He thought that a tariff would encourage people to buy American products.• This would allow the revenue that was made to build roads, canals, and

waterways.• Clay’s plan became known as the American System.

New Roads• In the early 1800’s moat roads were made of dirt making land travel difficult.• The Cumberland Road was the first road built by the federal government.• It ran from Cumberland, Maryland to Wheeling, a town on the Ohio River in

present day West Virginia.• Construction began in 1815, and by 1818 the road reached Wheeling.• The National Road was later built in 1833. It stretched from Columbus, Ohio

all the way to Illinois by 1850.

Water Transportation• Water transportation was usually

quicker and cheaper than land transportation.

• Some Americans tried to make this process easier by building canals.

• The Erie Canal, running from Albany to Buffalo on the Hudson River was one of the largest projects.

• It began in 1817, and was completed in 1825.

The Election of 1824• The two main candidates were

Secretary of State John Quincy Adams and a senator from Tennessee named Andrew Jackson.

• Jackson won the popular vote but did not have enough electoral votes to win the election.

• Adams’ presidency was weakened by controversy that he made corrupt deals with Speaker of the House Henry Clay to secure the presidency. To make the controversy worse, Adams chose Clay as his Secretary of State after the House elected Adams President.

Section 3- The Age of Jackson

• Many Americans viewed President Adams as a reserved, cold member of the old upper class. This gap with the people made it very difficult for Adams to get re-elected.

• Andrew Jackson sparked a new vitality and energy that Americans wanted in a new president.

Jacksonian Democracy

• As western expansion began to take hold of America in the early 1800’s, many Americans began to get more voting rights.

• Nominating committees were formed by political parties to publicly select that party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

• Because of these new voting rights, more people began to get active in politics. Historians began calling this new era of democratic expansion Jacksonian Democracy after Andrew Jackson.

The Democratic Party is formed

• Many Americans believed that Adams stole the presidency from Jackson in the election of 1824.

• These people got together to make sure that Jackson would not loose again.

• They began to call themselves Democrats and formed the Democratic Party.

• Jackson chose John C. Calhoun of South Carolina as his Vice-Presidential running mate.

• People who sided with Adams formed the National Republican Party

Jackson’s Victory

• Jackson appealed to people for several reasons:– He was a war hero– He was born poor and worked his way up. This appealed

to farmers and hard working people.

Adams was contrasted to Jackson by being described as an upper class Harvard graduate who didn’t have anything in common with Americans.

Jackson celebrated his victory with a dinner on the White House lawn for anyone who wanted to come. This party caused a great deal of damage to the White House and Jackson was criticized for it.

Jackson’s cabinet

• Jackson rewarded some of his supporters with government jobs. This practice became known as the spoils system.

• Secretary of State Martin Van Buren proved to be one of Jackson’s strongest allies.

• Jackson also relied heavily on a group of trusted advisors that was nicknamed the “kitchen cabinet” because it sometimes met in the White House kitchen to discuss important things.

Conflict over tariffs

• Many northern business wanted high tariffs on British goods to help protect their business here in America.

• Southern people, having an economy built on agriculture, wanted low tariffs because most of their manufactured goods were imported.

• In 1828, under strong pressure from northern manufacturers, Congress passed a tariff with very high rates.

• Angry southerners called the law the Tariff of Abomination.

The Nullification Crisis• Vice President John C. Calhoun led the

opposition to the tariff.• He wrote a statement in support of states’

rights. People who favor states rights believe that the federal government’s authority is strictly limited by the Constitution.

• Calhoun’s statement said that states had the right to nullify, or cancel, any federal law they considered unconstitutional.

• This dispute between the states and the federal government became known as the nullification crisis.

• Calhoun warned that the states had the right to rebel if their rights were violated.

• Daniel Webster, a Senator from Massachusetts disagreed. He vowed, “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!”

Conflict over Nullification

• South Carolina was the first to push this issue. South Carolina passed a resolution in 1832 that said that the tariffs passed in 1828 and 1832 were null and void in South Carolina.

• Calhoun resigned from the Vice President in support of his home state.

• Jackson however strongly opposed nullification and told South Carolina that he would send troops to their state to enforce the tariffs if necessary.

• South Carolina reached a compromise with the federal government that kept a conflict from escalating.

The Second Bank of the U.S.

• In 1816, Congress opened a second federal bank.• Jackson opposed this bank as well as several states.• Maryland took action against this bank by taxing certain

branches of it.• The bank’s cashier James McCulloch refused to pay these

taxes and Maryland took him to court.• In the case of McCulloch vs. Maryland, chief justice John

Marshall made to important decisions:– Marshall said that the elastic clause in the Constitution supported

the fact that Congress had the power to open this bank.– Marshall also said that federal law was superior to state law. This

meant that Maryland could not tax the bank as it was doing.

Jackson’s other victories

• Jackson also opposed the renewing of the bank’s charter that was due to expire in 1832.

• Jackson vetoed the legislation that was passed in Congress to renew the charter.

• Congress could not get the 2/3rds majority to override so the bank closed.

• Jackson also lowered the national debt during ndso9k,

Van Buren’s Presidency• After Jackson’s second term was

over, many in Congress were still upset with him because they thought he abused his power.

• These opponents formed the Whig Party.

• The Whig party supported a weak president and a strong Legislature.

• The Whig’s chose 4 different candidates to run against the Democratic Martin Van Buren, Jackson’s Vice President.

• In the election of 1839, Van Buren won.

The Panic of 1837

• People didn’t like Van Buren the way they liked Jackson.

• Shortly after taking office, the country experienced a financial crisis.

• The Panic of 1837 led to a severe economic depression.

• This damaged Van Buren’s reputation badly even though Jackson’s previous policies were much to blame.

The election of 1840• The Whigs ran William Henry Harrison,

a general from the Battle of Tippecanoe. The chose John Tyler to be his running mate.

• They run under the popular campaign slogan, “Tippecanoe and Tyler too!”

• The Whigs called Van Buren a friend of the rich while at the same time emphasizing the common upbringing of Harrison. Harrison grew up in a log cabin and had a strong military career.

• This gave Harrison the landslide victory over Van Buren. Harrison won 234 electoral votes to Van Buren’s 60.

• A popular campaign song also came from this election: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tippecanoe_and_Tyler_too

Section 4: Indian Removal

• As American settlers moved west, American Indian leaders talked about the best way to deal with them.

• Keokuk, a Sauk leader from Illinois, wanted to compromise and avoid a war.

• Another Sauk leader, Black Hawk, disagreed.

• Black Hawk believed that U.S. officials had bribed Keokuk and other Indian leaders to gain their support.

• Black Hawk began to firmly resist all attempts to take American Indian land.

The Black Hawk War

• In 1827 the federal government decided to end years of conflict between American Indians and U.S. settlers in Illinois.

• Officials ordered the removal of all Indians from the state.

• Black Hawk and his followers ignored the order.

Outline of the battle• When the Sauk returned from their winter hunt in

1830, they found that white settlers had moved into their village.

• Black Hawk refused to be pushed out.• He came into the village under a white flag, but U.S.

troops fired upon them anyway.• Black Hawk then decided to fight.• Black Hawk began raiding American settlements and

attack U.S. troops wherever they could find them.• By August 1832, the Sauk forces were running out of

food and supplies.• Black Hawk surrendered to the U.S. and his

leadership of the Sauk.• The U.S. army began to remove Indians in the old

Northwest Territory, and by 1850 they were all gone.

The Indian Removal Act• Indian removal had also became an

issue in the southeast.• Under pressure from President

Jackson to remove these Indians, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830.

• This act authorized the removal by force if necessary all Indians in the southeast.

• Congress also established Indian Territory as a new Indian homeland. This area contained most of what is now Oklahoma.

• Congress also approved the creation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to oversee federal policy toward American Indians.

The Indian Territory• The Choctaw were the first Indians sent to the Indian Territory.• The Choctaw signed the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek that gave

7.5 million acres of their land to the state of Mississippi.• During the winter of 1831-32, the Choctaw journeyed to the Indian

Territory. The trip was disastrous. • Federal officials in charge of the trip did not provide enough

supplies. As a result ¼ of the Choctaw died from cold, disease, and starvation.

• This led many other Indian groups to resist removal when they heard the news about the Choctaw.

• The Creek decided to stay in Alabama, but in 1836 federal troops led 14,500 captured Creek, many in chains, to the Indian Territory.

• The Chickasaw, mostly from Mississippi, were moved west in the winter of 1837-38. They were promised better moving supplies but even then many Chickasaw last their lives.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Trails_of_Tears_en.png

The Cherokee Nation• Many Indians believed they could avoid

removal by adopting the culture of white people.

• Missionary societies set up schools in Indian villages and taught Indians how to read and write English.

• Sequoya developed a writing system that used 86 characters to represent Cherokee symbols.

• In 1828 the Cherokee began publishing a newspaper, The Cherokee Phoenix.

• The Cherokee also created a government inspired by the Constitution including; an election system, a bicameral council, and a court system.

Problems in Cherokee Country

• After gold was discovered in Georgia, their treaty rights were ignored by many.

• When the Cherokee refused to move, the Georgia militia began attacking towns.

• In response, the Cherokee sued Georgia saying that Georgia had no legal power within Cherokee territory.

Worcester v. Georgia

• In 1832 the Supreme Court, under the leadership of Chief Justice John Marshall, sided with the Cherokee.

• The Court ruled that the Cherokee nation is a distinct community, occupying their own territory…in which the laws of Georgia can have no force.

• The Court went on to say that only the federal government, not the states, had the authority over the Cherokee.

President Jackson’s response

• After the Supreme Court ruled Georgia’s action illegal, Georgia ignored Marshall’s ruling.

• Jackson took no action.• “John Marshall has made his decision; now let

him enforce it.” Jackson stated.• Most Americans accepted Jackson’s position.

The Trail of Tears

• After the Cherokee were left with no hope, U.S. troops began to remove them in the spring of 1838.

• Although some managed to escape in the mountains, most had to endure a 800 mile forced march which lasted from 1838-1839.

• Almost ¼ of the 18,000 Cherokee died during the march.

• Video Fragment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trail_of_Tears

The Second Seminole War• The Seminole used armed resistance in able

to keep their lands.• Seminole leader, Osceola, called upon the

Seminole to resist.• At first the Seminole won many battles.• Then in 1837, the U.S. captured Osceola,

who soon died in prison.• In 1842, the U.S. Army had captured and

removed some 4,000 Seminole and killed hundreds.

• In the Process, some 1,500 U.S. soldiers lost their lives.

• After spending millions of dollars, U.S. officials decided to give up fighting.

• The Seminole resisted removal and many still live in Florida today.

Section 5- American Culture• One of the first American writers to gain

international fame was Washington Irving.• Much of his writing often dealt with

American history.• He often used satire, a humorous style of

writing, to help Americans to learn from the past.

• Some of his most famous short stories include– Rip Van Winkle; a story about a man who

falls asleep during the Revolutionary War, and wakes 20 years later in a world he doesn’t recognize.

– The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; a story about a superstitious school teacher, Ichabod Crane, who is hunted by the Headless Horseman.

James Fennimore Cooper• Cooper was fascinated as a boy

about stories of the West and the American Indians.

• Cooper’s first book was titled The Pioneers, a five book series about the heroic character Natty Bumppo. These series of books was called the Leatherstocking Tales.

• Some of Cooper’s books also included historical events.

• In The Last of the Mohicans, the fictional story that takes place during the factual French and Indian War, Cooper was able to popularize a type of writing called historical fiction.

Catharine Maria Sedgwick

• Sedgwick tired to write literature that included more interesting heroines.

• In her book A New England’s Tale, she illustrated the landscape and culture of New England life.

• Another popular book, Hope Leslie, brought elements of the Pilgrims and the Mohawk Indians that lived in Massachusetts. It received some criticism for its portrayal of the Pilgrims.

• In another popular book, Married or Single, Sedgwick challenged the stigma that women had to get married.

A New Style of Art• Irving and Cooper inspired

painters to paint landscapes that showed the history of America and its beauty.

• The Hudson River school emerged to teach painters how to paint landscapes. Most on the inspiration came from the landscape of the Hudson River Valley.

• Thomas Cole was the most famous landscape painter.

• George Caleb Bingham tried to show a more rugged side of America by painting the west.