The Long 19th Century

Jessica Gunn History 141 Course #50587

Background Readings

Building American States: The United States In the 1780s leaders of the colonies created a constitution that gave

power to the federal government for general issues and the individual states for local issues.

In the 1860’s, a civil war was sparked because of differences over slavery and the rights of individual states as opposed to the federal government . Slavery was abolished and the federal state became stronger.

The westward expansion of the Euro-Americans dislocated the indigenous native population.

From 1845-1848 the Mexican-American War was fought resulting in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, where the U.S. bought Texas, New Mexico and California from Mexico.

Introduction: The Americas in the 19th Century In the 18th and 19th centuries, almost all the lands of the western hemisphere

won their independence from European colonial powers. The great influx of Asian and European immigrants to the U.S. contributed to

the transformation of the Americas. The immigrants increased the ethnic diversity of the populations and

stimulated political, social, and economic development. Because of the diversity of the population, freedom, equality, and a

constitutional government was a struggle.

Background ReadingsBuilding American States: Canada Canada was colonized both Britain and France. New France became part of the British empire after the British victory in

the Seven Years‘ War from 1756-1763. In 1781 a large number of British loyalists fled the United States and

sought refuge in Canada. In the war of 1812, Canadian forces defended themselves from U.S.

incursions. Pride in their victories and anti-U.S. sentiments created a way to smooth over differences between French Canadians and British Canadians.

From 1840-1867 the British imperial governors of Canada hoping to avoid a civil war similar to the American one, expanding home rule in Canada and permitted the provinces to govern their own internal affairs.

The British North America Act of 1867 joined Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick and recognized them as the Dominion of Canada.Building American States: Latin America

Simon Bolivar's Gran Colombia broke into its three parts: Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. The rest of Latin America fragmented into numerous independent states.

Spanish and Portuguese colonial governments were very autocratic so few Latin American leaders had little experience with self-government.

Rebellions became more common because there was no institutionalized means of expressing discontent or opposition.

During the Mexican Revolution from 1911-1920, middle-class Mexicans, peasants and workers fought to over throw Porfirio Diaz.

The Little Ice Age A period of unusual cooling in the

Northern Hemisphere• Extended from 1300 to 1850.• Followed the Medieval Warm Period.• Average 4 degree difference from today.• Crops began to fail leading to starvation.• Cholera, typhus, and bubonic became

pandemics.• Entire populations died off.• New ways of farming and different crops

evolved.• Orbital cycles of the Earth, low sunspot

activity, far off volcanic activity, volcanic eruptions, and Ocean Conveyor interruption are possible causes being explored.

Frontiers of the Americas

The Louisiana Purchase In 1803 the United States bought 828,800 square miles of land known as the territory of Louisiana from France. James Monroe and Robert Livingston traveled to Paris to negotiate the purchase in 1802. The final cost of the Purchase was $15 million. The Purchase doubled the size of the United State. Thomas Jefferson decided to purchase Louisiana because France

and Spain had the power to block American trade access to the port of New Orleans if they chose to.

Napoleon feared that the continuing war between France and Britain seemed unavoidable and required funding.

Frontiers of the Americas

The North American Frontier Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied

• A German ethnologist and naturalist.• Led an expedition up the Missouri River in 1832.• Studied the tribal culture of the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians.

Karl Bodmer• A Swiss painter.• Accompanied Prince Maximilian on his expedition to the

Great Plains.

Frontier Violence in South American Jorge Luis Borges

• Born Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo in 1899 in Buenos Aires.

• Argentine writer, essayist, poet, translator and librarian.• Was director of the Argentinian National Public Library. • Was a professor of literature at the University of Buenos Aires. • Died in 1986.

Crossroads of Freedom The Haitian Revolution• Occurred from August 14, 1791 to January 1, 1804• The Saint-Domingue Slave Revolt launched the Revolution.• The French Revolutionary government granted citizenship to

“wealthy free people of color” but not all white plantation owners complied with this decision.

• Fighting broke out between former slaves and whites triggering a civil war.

• By 1792 slaves controlled a third of the island and the French Legislative Assembly granted civil and political rights to free blacks.

• British troops enter St.Domingue in an attempt to colonize and reinstate slavery.

• In 1794 the National Convention formally abolished slavery.• Estimated deaths reached 100,000 blacks and 24,000 whites.• In 1799 The War of Knives begins between Rigaund and

Toussaint and the U.S. resumes trade with the colony.• Napoleon issues a Proclamation on Saint-Domingue.• In 1801 Toussaint conquers Santo Domingo and gains control

over the entire island.• In 1803 the last French troops leave Saint-Domingue.• Jean-Jacques Dessalines declares himself emperor of Haiti.

Crossroads of Freedom Indian Mutiny of 1857• Began on May 10th in Meerut, India.• Sepoys of the British East India Company mutinied

because they became disgruntled over things such as caste favoritism in the ranks and the belief that the British intended to occupy and mass convert the Hindus and Muslims to Christianity.

• Other mutinies and other civil rebellions broke out.• Became a patriotic revolt against European

presence.• Sikhs of Punjab refused to join the rebellion fearing

that it would lead to the return of Islamic rule.• All the Gurjar villages between Meerut and Dehli

were involved in the revolt but the British regained control in the area in July.

• The last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah was exiled in 1858.

• The East India Company was dissolved by the Government of India Act 1858. India was now ruled by the British Crown.

Crossroads of Freedom The Crimean War• July 1853, Russia occupies territories in the Crimea controlled by

Turkey.• Unwilling to negotiate concessions Turkey goes to was with Russia.• November 1853, the Russians destroy the Turkish fleet at Sinope in

the Black Sea. The Britain and France joined the war against Russia.• British troops arriving in Turkey contracted cholera and malaria and

within a few weeks an estimated 8,000 men were sick. Florence Nightingale and a group of thirty-eight nurses went to Turkey to aid the sick soldiers.

• September 1855, Sevastopol fell to the Allied troops and the new Alexander II agreed to sign a peace treaty at the Congress of Paris in 1856.

Crossroads of Freedom The French Intervention in Mexico• Napoleon III of France initiated the Treaty of London

which was signed by Spain, Great Britain and France.

• 1862 – The French, Spanish and British fleets arrive in Veracruz, Mexico.

• May 5, 1862 – Mexican forces defeated the French in the Battle of Puebla.

• 1863 – The French take the capitol of Mexico City.• 1864 – Maximilian of Habsburg accepted the crown

and became Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico.• 1865 – Mexican forces began to defeat Imperial

Forces.• 1866 – Napoleon III orders withdrawal of French

forces.• 1867 – Republicans take Mexico City and

Maximilian is executed.