UNIT I: COLONIAL AMERICA

The first people to arrive in the New World (the Americas) were the Native Americans about 10,000 years ago via the land bridge connecting Asia and Alaska over the Bering Strait. However, Europeans felt they had "discovered" the New World in 1492 when Christopher Columbus, sailing for Spain, landed on the island of Hispaniola (present-day Dominican Republic) while sailing for India. From then, Spain colonized Latin American (South America and Central America) as well as the American Southwest. Portugal colonized Brazil. The rest? France colonized Quebec in Canada as well as Louisiana while the British colonized the eastern seaboard.

The English attempted to force their control over the peoples they encountered, such as in Ireland, while the other nations intermingled with the natives. The British intermingled with natives only when they first colonized so they could learn about the land. Once the British had learned what they wanted, they tried to change the culture over the people they encountered. This was due to the Protestant Reformation in Europe, when the Protestants started their own Church and saw themselves as true Christians as opposed to Catholics. The first attempt by the British to colonize the New World was in 1587 when Sir Walter Raleigh arrived on Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina. It was to serve as a point from which to raid Spainsh settlements and explore the New World. However, he became ill and returned to England. Upon his return with a good bill of health he saw no trace of the colony ever existing. to this day, no one knows what happened to the colony.

The first successful English colony was in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia, which was a mosquito infested swamp. The name of the settlement was chosen to honor King James I of England, the ruling monarch at that time. The colony was named Virginia to honor the virgin queen, Elizabeth I, who had recently died. The colonists were members of a joint-stock company, which meant that they all had to pool their resources together to pay for the voyage, establish the colony, and share in the profits made from trade. At first, the only settlers were men who were bold enough to make such a trek.The English settlers envisioned peace with the local Native Americans, but they also intended to exploit their labor and wealth. However, the Native Americans distrusted the newcomers. Problems soon arose between the two groups until John Smith rose to prominence.

Between 1607 and 1617 the colony almost died out because the Virginia Company (as the joint-stock company was called) was poorly managed. Between 1609 and 1610 colonists had no food or water except from the Native Americans because they did not know how to grow their own crops and because of the harsh winter that year. This was referred to as the Starving Time. Disease also ran rampant in the colony from the swamp areas nearby. In 1618 the colonists formed the House of Burgesses, a legislative body like today's Congress. Laws were made by this body until the Virginia Company was dissolved by King James I in 1624. After that year the king controlled the colony directly. During the first decade or so of Jamestown's existence, gentlemen refused to work. John Smith, who was an avid leader, stood up and told the colonists: "No work, no food", meaning that anyone who did not work did not eat; only those who worked would eat. From that moment on, relations between the colonists and Native Americans soured because the colonists no longer relied on Native americans for help. Therefore, peaceful trading wound up in violence due to misunderstandings between the traders. Englishmen felt that only men should farm, not women; Native Americans felt differently. These problems continued until 1646, when Native Americans began paying tribute to England.

Jamestown thrived and survived because of tobacco. The tobacco industry boomed after 1613 when a gentleman named John Rolfe developed a milder variety. He was a farmer who crossed the seeds of tobacco from Trinidad with that of Virginia to develop a new breed of tobacco. He was perhaps most famous for marrying Pocahontas. The tobacco industry exported only 2500 pounds of tobacco in 1616 but three million pounds by 1640! It was the tobacco industry and tobacco farmers who created the first plantations in Virginia along rivers for easy transport. The plantation owners hired indentured servants, who agreed to work without pay for a number of years (usually seven) with the understanding that they would be free and paid in full for thei service when their term was up. However, many of these servants were young, poor, and died of disease. The owners eventually made giant profits, and ultimately used their profits to buy more land. This became so common that the land in Virginia was owned by a few people who forced the Native Americans west. The interests of these people were catered to by the governor who was appointed by the king to serve everyone (but in reality only served the wealthy). In protest a cousin of the governor named Nathaniel Bacon led a rebellion against Native Americans without permission from the governor. In response, a group was sent by the governor to stop Bacon, but they were attacked. This rebellion, called Bacon's Rebellion, lasted until Bacon died of fever several months later. This was the first protest movement in America, led by an indentured servant. In response, the governor sought slaves rather than indentured servants to prevent future rebellions.

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Virginia was not the only location along the eastern seaboard where the English founded colonies. Another, even more famous, location was New England. This stemmed from the French colonization in Quebec, Canada after Samuel de Champlain ("The Father of New France") settled along the St. Lawrence River in 1608. Since the French did not find gold like the Spanish did in Latin America, they settled on the fur trade for money. Fur was for Quebec as tobacco was for Jamestown. The French depended heavily on the Native Americans for aid to locate the natural habitats of beavers and deer. Settlements near water routes was vital to the success of the fur trade. The French listened to the Native Americans because they were outnumbered by the Native Americans. Added into the fur trade after 1626 were the Dutch from the Netherlands when they founded New Amsterdam (present-day New York State). (In 1621 the Dutch West India Company was responsible for starting a colony in the Americas.) The Dutch settlement was along the Hudson River with a fort at Fort Orange (present-day Albany) built in 1624. The Dutch were only interested in sharing in the fur trade, not corrupt the Native Americans. Despite fur traded from the Dutch or the French, all fur was sent to Europe in exchange for guns, cloth, and jewelry to Native Americans. Interaction between Europeans and Native Americans led to spread of disease that killed Native Americans, who captured European settlers to replace the loss of tribesmen, ultimately causing war between the two groups. Another cause of war between the two groups was disputes over hunting grounds., especially between the French/Dutch and the Iroquois, the most powerful Native American tribe in the region. The Iroquois took control over the land between the Hudson River and Lake Erie during the Beaver Wars. Later, the Iroquois became allies of the English and the Dutch while they became enemies of the French.

As if the fur trade was not fought over enough, the English arrived on the scene in 1620 when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts with 102 people aboard the Mayflower. In 1630 the Great Migration occurred when 1000 English crossed the Atlantic Ocean to help found the Massachusetts Bay Colony. By 1643 sixteen thousand people lived in twenty towns (such as, Boston) for various reasons, including improving their financial position and escaping religious persecution. Most of these new immigrants were Puritans, who were members of the Anglican Church (Church of England). They wanted to "purify" the Anglican Church. Some of their dislikes? The hierarchy of the bishops, elaborate churches, elaborate worship ceremonies. They wanted simple church services, Bible readings, and more observations of the world to discover God's will. As a result of the Great Migration, forests were cleared to make room for farms to grow wheat, barley, and corn. Deer and beavers were replaced by cows and pigs. They even convinced the Native Americans to adapt their customs. In the mindset of a Puritan, social order began with personal order. No Puritan approved of anyone living alone. Everyone had to go to the same church and pay taxes to support it. The Puritan ideal? Well-ordered families in well-ordered towns in well-ordered colonies. You can imagine there would be problems with a group who felt this way, and you would be right. Puritans did not accept religiuous toleration, or different religions living together peacefully. They punished dissidents (people who disagreed with the established system). Some famous examples of these punishments include public hangings, the Salem witch trials in 1692, and the exile of Roger Williams in 1635. (He would later found the colony of Rhode Island.)

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By the mid-1600's England was considered an empire with numerous colonies in the New World. However, England did not necessarily govern its colonies directly like many other nations did. Why did England not govern her colonies directly? First, she was the supplier of many English goods to the colonies. Second, she bought many raw materials from the colonies, such as tobacco, rice, and lumber. Third, there was an English Civil War fought between 1640 and 1660 that kept England's attention away from the colonies. This all changed in 1660 when Charles II was placed on the throne, restoring the monarchy. He enforced a new trade practice known as mercantilism.

Mercantilism was an economic theory that sought to increase wealth and power of a nation by getting as much as bullion (gold, silver) as possible. Chiefly among this was keeping a favorable balance of trade, meaning that they had to export more than they imported. The only way to ensure this was by having the colonies supply raw materials to England and buy English goods. the catch was that colonies only were allowed to trade with England (or whoever their parent country was) or other colonies of the parent country, and only the parent country was allowed to manufacture the goods for the colonies.

The influence of mercantilism led to two key wants for England - as many colonies as possible, and control over colonial trade to gain a maximum profit. Therefore, England passed the Navigation Act in 1660 that stated the colonies could only sell certain goods (sugar, tobacco, cotton) exclusively to England. Trade elsewhere had to first go to England along with a tax called a duty. The catch with this law was that the colonies were only allowed to use English ships.

Mercantilism had a major effect on English politics. England began to wage war with France, Spain, and the Netherlands over trade routes and territories. In 1664 England defeated the Netherlands and took New Amsterdam from them, renaming it New York in honor of Charles II's brother James, Duke of York. In the mid-1680's James II abolished the colonial legislatures of New York and New England and created the Dominion of New England with a governor and a council appointed by the king. However, this Dominion was abolished by 1690 by William and Mary, who took the throne in the Glorious Revolution., and the colonial legislatures were reestablished after the colonists protested.

British colonial policy shifted a bit in the 1700's. Local assemblies (such as the House of Burgesses) began ruling the colonies. The House of Burgesses had two houses - an upper house with prominent members of society appointed by the king, and a lower house with elections by voting landowners determining its members. All laws were approved by the assembly. There was little direct control by England. Reasons for these local authorities included a tradition of strong local government and a weak central government, the great distance between England and its American colonies, and the colonists were proud English citizens. This policy of allowing the colonies to govern themselves was known as salutary neglect, which had as its basis the idea that neglect was the most beneficial way to make money. This allowed colonial trade to prosper without government interference. This policy was allowed by England because there was few resources in England (especially manpower) to control the colonies.

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By the 1730's England had 13 colonies along the eastern seaboard of North America. Each of these colonies was diverse, and each was expanding with their growing populations. All trade from these colonies was exclusively with England via the Atlantic Ocean, or with each other via water routes since trade by land was expensive. There were three groups of colonies - Southern Colonies, Middle Colonies, and New England Colonies. Each of these groups was different from each other, but the colonies within the group were similar.

Southern Colonies depended on staple crops like tobacco and cotton. There were five southern colonies: Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. Virginia was settled in 1607 looking for gold and to attack Spanish colonies. It was founded by a joint-stock company, but led by John Smith. It exported tobacco that was grown on plantations near rivers and tended by slaves. Very few towns existed as a result of the plantations. It was democratic, being governed by the House of Burgesses. Maryland was settled in 1632 by Catholics escaping persecution. It was led by George Calvert (Lord Baltimore) and established as a proprietary colony (owned by Baltimore with a grant from the king). Its main export was tobacco grown on plantations tended by slaves. It was also governed by an assembly. The Carolinas were settled in 1663 for small farmers looking for land. In 1712 the Carolinas were separated into North and South Carolina. They were led by William Berkeley as proprietary colonies. They depended on shipbuilding, rice, indigo, and tobacco grown on plantations and tended by slaves. They were governed by assemblies. Georgia was settled in 1732 for debtors and as a buffer zone between the English and Spanish colonies. It was led by James Oglethorpe as a proprietary colony. It depended on rice, indigo, lumber, and ship supplies for money. It had plantations tended to by slaves and was governed by an assembly.

The Middle Colonies consisted of four colonies and each was diverse. New York was settled in 1625 by the Dutch and taken by England in 1664 to expand trade. It was led by James, Duke of York. It was founded originally as a colony for the Dutch East India Company, but it became a proprietary colony after 1664. It depended on lumber, furs, trading, and shipbuilding for money. Farming was plentiful due to its fertile soil. New York City became one of the largest cities in North America at that time. It was ethnically diverse with Native Americans, English, Dutch, Scots, and African Americans living there. An assembly governed it. Pennsylvania was settled in 1637 by Quakers for religious tolerance. They were led by William Penn as a proprietary colony. They depended on trade and farming since it had fertile soil. It was known as the "Breadbasket Colony". Philadelphia became a major city. It was also ethnically diverse (Native Americans, English, Germans, Scots-Irish, and Welsh all lived there). An assembly governed it. Delaware was settled in 1638 for trade expansion. It was led by William Penn as a proprieatry colony after 1704 when it became a separate colony. (It was part of Pennsylvania before that.) It depended on trade and farming due to its rich soil. It had major cities and was governed by an assembly. It was ethnically diverse (English and Native Americans lived there). New Jersey was settled in 1664 as a trading post and a refuge for Quakers from England. It was led by John Berkeley as a proprietary colony. It depended on trade and farming due to its rich soil. It had major cities and was governed by an assembly. It was ethnically diverse (English, Native Americans, Dutch, and Scots-Irish lived there).

New England had four colonies that depended on trade and agriculture. Massachusetts was settled in 1620 by Pilgrims at Plymouth who sought to escape religious persecution. It was also settled by Puritans who established a commonwealth (Massachusetts Bay). It was led by John Winthrop as a joint-stock company. The two separate colonies merged in 1691. They depended on fishing, lumber, shipbuilding, whaling, and the triangular trade (haul goods from england to the West Indies, ship sugar from there to New England to make rum, trade rum for slaves in Africa, and trade slaves for more sugar. They had self-sufficient farms and small towns. Mostly Englishmen lived there, and it was governed by an assembly. New Hampshire was settled in 1623 by Puritans escaping religious persecution. It was led by John Wheelwright as a proprietary colony until 1641 and then controlled by a joint-stock company after separating from Massachusetts in 1641. It depended on trade and fishing since it was a coastal colony. It had self-sufficient farms and small towns with mostly Englishmen living there. An assembly governed. Connecticut was settled in 1636 as a Puritan settlement and was led by Thomas Hooker as a self-governing colony. It depended on the triangular tradeand was governed by an assembly. Mostly Englishmen lived there on self-sufficient farms or in small towns. Rhode Island was settled in 1636 as a refuge from religious intolerance of Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was led by Roger Williams as a self-governing colony with an assembly governing it. It depended on shipping and agriculture. Mostly Englishmen lived there on self-sufficient farms or in small towns.

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Colonial life in the thirteen colonies was not easy, especially if you were a woman. Men controlled the household and all jobs as well as the government. However, only the upper class enjoyed the privilege of governing. These men were known as the gentry, and they had servants to care for their every need. The average person belonged to other crafts such as farming, artisanship, or crafting. Women had no political rights because they were seen as unequal to men; therefore, they could not vote or hold office. They could not hold a job, although they helped men with work. Their primary responsibilities included staying at home to educate the kids. They could not bring about a divorce against their husbands, but they could be divorced by their husbands without any previous knowledge or reasons. As if women had it bad, African Americans had it worse. They were slaves from West Africa who were brought to the colonies via the triangular trade in the second leg of the trade, called the Middle Passage (the journey across the Atlantic Ocean). They had no rights whatsoever and were considered property. Therefore, slave owners bought and sold slaves as they saw fit. More slaves were brought to the southern colonies than to the northern colonies because of the plantations in the south.

As the colonies grew in population, room was needed to fit everyone in the colonies. Therefore, the colonists began moving west. This movement began in the 1750's for the most part, especially in New England where each family owned 45 acre farms. Each family had several children (10-15, and each child wanted a farm of his own, but there was limited land. This movement, however, also created tensions with the Native Americans who lived there as well as the French who claimed lands west of the Appalachians for themselves. How did the French and Native Americans react to this intrusion upon their land? The Native Americans moved west to escape the European farms but many died from disease and war, so they began to manipulate the British and French. The French, on the other hand, controlled these lands and refused to move because the land was fertile and the area was a strategic location where three rivers converged west of Pennsylvania and Virginia near the Ohio River. As a result, wars were fought over these lands.

Within the colonies people practiced various faiths. A large majority of colonists were Protestants but of differing Protestant beliefs. There were some Catholics and Jews. The 1730's and 1740's saw a Great Awakening, a religious movement that stemmed as a reaction against the lack of Puritan faith. It touched young men and women of all ages, and it featured traveling preachers who were mostly uneducated but who converted many people from Puritanism to Baptists. At the time Baptists were people near the bottom of the social order.

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                                    UNIT II: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Not all colonists were happy here. Some felt crowded as the population grew over time. Therefore, looking for land to live on, these colonists left the safety of the traditional borders of their colonies and moved west. However, the French had settlements in the west that these colonists intruded upon. As a result, the French demanded that these colonists leave; when the colonists did not, the French declared war. The French and Indian War, or the Seven Years' War (as it was called in Europe), featured the French and their Native American allies on one side against the colonists and the British on the other. Fighting began in 1756 in the Ohio River Valley (portions of Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Illinois) when George Washington at the age of 21 sent a group of Virginians to Fort Duquesne near the Ohio River to protect Virginian claims there. The French were ambushed, but they forced Washington to retreat. He established Fort Necessity nearby, which was taken by the French. This final struggle for control of eastern North America saw the French win battles until 1758. It was in that year that the British took Louisbourg on the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the east. That same year the British took Fort Duquesne and renamed it Fort Pitt after Prime Minister William Pitt, who had recently taken control of the British government. (Today, Fort Pitt is Pittsburgh.) In 1759 the British took Quebec. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the war and ended French control in North America since Canada and New France went to England. The Spanish took all lands west of the Mississippi River while the British took all lands east of the Mississippi River.

The colonists saw differences among themselves and the British as a result of this war. First of all, the British thought that they knew more than the colonists, which was an insult to the colonists since they lived here and the British did not. Secondly, the British swore a great deal, which insulted Puritan New England. Thirdly, the British had huge forces in the colonies, which was a sign of superiority. Not to mention, the colonists saw themselves as able to tell right from wrong, they saw the British as corrupt, and they saw themselves as equal citizens to the English.

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After the French and Indian War the British took direct control of the colonies. They had huge debts to pay for the war and felt that the colonists, as British citizens, should chip in to help pay them off, especially since the colonies' economies prospered while Britain suffered through a depression (an economic slump). Under King George III, who ruled England at that time, Britain introduced several pieces of legislation to aid in the collection of money from the colonies. One such piece of legislation was the Sugar Act of 1764, which lowered the tax on molasses to have the colonists buy more  sugar. This led to more tax money being collected. This law was strictly enforced, ending the policy of salutary neglect.

In 1763 two important events occurred. The first was Pontiac's Rebellion, during which Native Americans fought the British over trade. When the British defeated the French, they refused to trade with the Native Americans who had traded with the French previously, angering the Native Americans. However, neither side won the rebellion. The second event was the Proclamation of 1763, which stated that colonists could not move west of the Appalachian Mountains. This was to prevent war with the people who already lived there as well as to reduce the British standing army in the colonies.

In 1765 Britain passed the Stamp Act, which required stamps on all printed material. The stamp would verify that a fee was paid. It helped to raise money to support and defend the colonies. The colonists boycotted (refused to buy stamps) and even claimed, "No taxation without representation."  Several months later the Stamp Act Congress convened with representatives from nine colonies present. they declared the Stamp Act unfair because they had no representatives in Parliament. Riots erupted soon after, leading to the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766. British merchants suffered as a result of these events. In response, Parliament passed the Quartering Act in 1765, which forced colonists to house British soldiers, but the colonists refused.

In 1767 events continued to sour as the Townsend Duties were passed, taxing lead, glass, and tea. Boycotts followed. In 1770 all these duties were repealed except for the one on tea. This was viewed as a sign of British injustice. In response to all of these ludicrous pieces of legislation, the Sons and Daughters of Liberty were formed because the colonists felt the British tried to enslave them through taxes. On March 5, 1770, the two sides clashed in Boston in what has since been called the Boston Massacre. British soldiers protected tax collectors in Boston, but on this day shots were fired by someone, killing 5 people. The British soldiers fired in self-defense, but Paul Revere nevertheless called it a massacre.

The colonists further tried to unify themselves by forming the Committees of Correspondence in 1772. Sam Adams (cousin of John Adams) formed the first one in Boston, influencing the other colonies to do the same. They were to warn the world about the treatment of the colonists. In response, the British sent millions of pounds of tea to the colonies at discounted prices. Each colony turned it away. In 1773 the Boston Tea Party occurred. In 1774 the British passed the Intolerable Acts as punishment. The Massachusetts legislature was taken over by Engalnd, Boston Harbor was closed, British soldiers were housed in the colonists' residences, and British troops were tried in England for crimes.

Due to these last few events, every colony (except Georgia) met in the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia to find a peaceful solution, but they could not. On April 19, 1775 Paul revere warned of a British advance in Lexington, Massachusetts. Minutemen gathered on a field to stop the British troops from checking an alleged depot there. Someone fired the "shot heard 'round the world", and violence erupted. 8 Americans were killed and 9 wounded. British troops went to Concord, Massachusetts, but met resistance there as well. This started the revolution. It was a war for Independence between England and the colonies as well as a political/social change.

In July, 1775, the Second Continental Congress met with all thirteen colonies present. They wanted to be treated as free, not enslaved, people, and they named Washington as commander-in-chief.

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Besides the French and Indian War and the tax issues, key ideas led the drive for American independence. Among these were two documents. The first was Common Sense by Thomas Paine. Written in 1776 by the recent immigrant, it made references to the Bible, which was familiar to most people. It challenged the authority of kings and aristocrats. This approach reached people of all classes, eventually selling 150,000 copies.

The second document was the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson, a Virginian aristocrat, in June 1776 after the Second Continental Congress decided to cut ties with Britain. A committee of five people was selected to write the document - Jefferson; John Adams, a lawyer from Massachusetts; Robert Sherman, a judge from Connecticut; Robert Livingston, a lawyer from a wealthy family in New York; and Benjamin Franklin, a statesman from Pennsylvania. Jefferson wrote the draft of the document, which was accepted with few changes. There are four sections in the Declaration of Independence - the Preamble, which states the purpose of the document; the Declaration of Natural Rights (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness inbred in everyone from birth and can not be quelled), which stated that people had a social contract with  a ruler (who was to rule in the best interests of the people or be dethroned) and was based on the premise that popular sovereignty controlled the government (meaning that people decided who ruled); the Declaration of the British king's wrongs; and the Resolution of Independence.

The Declaration of Independence was presented to the Second Continental Congress on July 1, 1776, but was not accepted until July 4, 1776. It created the United States of America and announced the basic principles of American government and society (popular sovereignty and "all men are created equal").

This document, however, did not change American society drastically. Native Americans aided in the American Revolution, but many died and lost their lands as a result. Women did not gain suffrage (the right to vote) or legal power. Slaves were not freed and free African Americans had restricted rights. African Americans felt that they should be a free people as early as 1773 when the colonists said that they felt like slaves of England. Women fought for equality as early as the late 1770's under Abigail Adams. However, these changes would be slow in coming.

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The War for American Independence (1775-1783) was the second longest war in American history, behind only the Vietnam War. Before we study the actual war, we need to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of both sides. Advantages for the colonies included knowing the land, utilizing guerilla warfare, and determination to win for independence. Disadvantages for the colonies included having no army or navy, having no real government, having regional and racial differences, and not being unified for independence (a third wanted independence, a third did not, and a third were indifferent). Advantages for the British included being the most powerful nation in the world, owning the richest economy in the world, possessing the largest navy in the world, having military experience, and having Native American allies who opposed American expansion. Disadvantages of the British included fighting an unpopular war in the eyes of its citizens, sympathy for the Americans, no taxes levied to finance the war, unfamiliar territory, hard to identify the opponent, and being separated by an ocean.

The war started with the Battle of Lexington and Concord in April, 1775, but the first important battle was the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, 1775. It was actually fought on Breed's Hill but was named for Bunker Hill, which was a bigger hill nearby. It was near Boston. The American Patriots were disorganized around Boston while the British under General Gage were organized. Britain marched a mile uphill but were wiped out because they had no cover. Britain took the hill on the third try, losing 50% as casualties. America showed determination in the battle. Gage was replaced by William Howe.

Between 1776 and 1778 the war was one of morale for the Americans. In late summer 1776 General Howe led his army to NYC because of large numbers of Tories there who supported him. The Middle Colonies became important because large numbers of Tories lived there and taking NY would split the colonies in half. The British won all battles in the Middle Colonies. By October 1776 NYC was taken; Washington's army shrank from 20,000 to 6,000 because of deserters. Washington fled to Pennsylvania. To boost morale, Thomas Paine wrote The Crisis in December 1776, stating, "These are the times that try men's souls". In response, Washington rowed across the Delaware River on Christmas Eve, 1776, at night to New Jersey. He attacked Trenton the next day at dawn and captured Hessian mercenaries there. A few days later a small battle at Princeton was fought before he fled back to Pennsylvania. American morale increased, and more people joined the army. Though Washington lost more battles than he won, he knew how to inspire his troops and knew when to attack.

 In the summer of 1777 General Howe of Britain captured Philadelphia. In response the Americans hastily organized an army and captured a British army at Saratoga in upstate NY in October 1777. This was the turning point of the war because it showed that the colonists could win if they held on. Benjamin Franklin convinced the French government to align with the colonies for money and supplies. Marquis de Lafayette led a French army of 6,000 to fight the British in Europe so their forces would be divided. During the winter of 1777-1778, a Prussian officer named Baron von Steuben drilled the American forces at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and wrote a book of regulations that brought discipline to the Continental Army. That winter was brutal. In 1778 Britain was defeated in NJ, demonstrating the new American discipline.

The British began turning south to free the slaves as a demoralizing act and so that they could destroy the countryside and the farms. In 1780 Britain captured Charleston, SC, and used it as a base to conduct and win several battles. Some battles featured Patriots against Tories with no British. Lord Cornwallis, who led the British now, decided to move the British army to NY by ship in the summer of 1781. He rested in Yorktown, VA, where the French army trapped them in the south, Washington trapped them in the north, and the French fleet trapped them by sea. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781.

The Treaty of Paris of 1783 was signed in September, 1783 to end the war, declaring all thirteen colonies independent and no longer recognized King George III as ruler of North America.

Most soldiers who fought were young, relatively poor, paid little to nothing. African Americans fought but were not necessarily free, women served as spies, nurses, etc. British blockades disrupted trade, causing merchants to suffer. Cities were damaged by battles, sieges, and occupations. Inflation (a rise in prices over time) made purchasing goods extremely difficult. Continental dollars were printed to fight inflation but they lost their value. Native Americans fought alongside the British mostly and were attacked by the colonists for that decision. An American victory spelled disaster for all mother nations.

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                                      UNIT III: CONSTITUTION

George Washington retired of his own accord on December 23, 1783, after the War of American Independence was finalized. The new nation did not want a string national government because England represented a strong national government. If the new nation formed a strong national government, why did they break away from England? Congress was seen as a necessary inconvenience, so it was allowed as part of a national government. Its members were citizens of individual states, not a united nation. The mindset at the time was that the united States was a confederation (note the intentional spelling). A confederation was a loose alliance of states formed to coordinate defense and their relations with foreign nations. The States were not the United States.

The Second Continental Congress created the Articles of Confederation as a set of laws written in 1776 but not approved until 1781. It created a Congress to pass and enforce laws. They combined two branches of government - the legislative branch to pass laws and the executive branch to enforce the laws. There was no judicial branch to interpret the laws because states performed the function of the judiciary. Each state could send an unlimited number of representatives to Congress, but they all counted as one vote. Nine votes out of thirteen votes were needed to pass laws on monetary issues, a unanimous vote was needed to pass amendments, Congress could not tax anything because states donated money, Congress could not regulate any kind of commerce. These were all weaknesses of the new government. The government was weak, but it did manage to pass the Northwest Ordinance in 1787 that established guidelines for the entrance of new states. These guidelines were that the land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River was divided into several territories, and 60,000 voters had to reside there to be eligible for statehood.

State constitutions were created to establish state governments. The most radical constitution was in 1776 in the colony of Pennsylvania, which said that all white males over 21 were allowed to vote despite class or wealth. The most powerful branch there was the legislative branch because the members were reelected annually and were responsible to the people; there were term limits. It was a unicameral legislature (one house) instead of a bicameral legislature (two houses) for balance. Popular sovereignty was the key to the constitution, which protected people from the government and not the other way around. However, the upper classes felt that too much power had been given to other classes. States printed their own paper money to help people pay off their debts, but it increased the already $50 million dollar debt. Taxes were placed on shipments from other states, which outraged the citizens of other states. States quarreled with each other over lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. Nationalists (people in favor of a strong national government) felt that the central government was too weak. These were mainly former military officers, members of Congress, wealthy individuals, national heroes like Washington, Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. Their opinions were expressed publicly and privately, pinpointing the Articles of Confederation's weaknesses. They called the time between 1781 and 1787 the "Critical Period".

Why did the nationalists feel so strongly? They wanted to protect their own history. Every European nation that experimented with a republican form of government from the Roman Republic to that time fell into chaos and tyranny. Nationalists like Thomas Paine saw Americans as a model of a successful republic. The nationalists met in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1786 but only twelve people from five states arrived so they postponed the meeting until July, 1787, in Philadelphia. Before that fateful convention, Shay's Rebellion erupted in Massachusetts. Citizens protested and refused to pay taxes. Courthouses were closed because of no money. A direct tax was levied to be paid in gold or silver to fight inflation and to help merchants pay debts. The legislature refused to repeal the tax when protests became more violent. A veteran of the War of Independence named Captain Daniel Shays led the rebellion. Congress had no way of getting money to raise an army to end the rebellion so Massachusetts had to do it. By January, 1787, the army was raised and ended the rebellion. This was an important event because it showed that people would defy the government if liberty was infringed upon and it showed that the central government was weak.

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The delegates arrived in Philadelphia in May, 1787, and included people like Madison, Washington, Hamilton, and Franklin. Madison kept a diary of the proceedings to record every speech so that people would see the reasoning behind their decisions. As such, he is known as "The Father of the Constitution". He attended every session. Only Rhode Island did not send any delegates to Independence Hall.

The key issue was whether or not they should form a stronger national government, or amend the Articles of Confederation, or change the Articles of Confederation fully. The Convention was not in agreement as to the best course of action. The Virginia Plan called for a bicameral legislature with representatives in proportion to the state population in both houses, so that if a state had more people, it would have more representatives. It also called for an executive and a judicial branch, the power to levy taxes, a strong national government, and a veto power to overturn state legislative acts. On the other hand, the New Jersey Plan called for a unicameral legislature with representatives in equal proportion regardless of population size, an executive and a judicial branch, the power to tax, no veto power, and strong state governments.

The delegates were deadlocked until they developed the "Great Compromise". This called for a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives determined by state populations and a Senate with equal representation, but the issue of slaves was a crucial point. If slaves were counted in the population, the South would be strong in the House; if slaves were not counted, the South would be weak in the House. Therefore, they agreed to the "Three-Fifths Compromise", which said that all slaves would be counted, but only three-fifths of that number would be added to the population. Slaves could not vote. There would be no veto power over state legislation.

The outline of the Constitution included the Preamble, which stated, "We, the people, in order to form a more perfect union, insure domestic tranquility, and secure blessings of liberty..." The delegates wanted to ensure that the Constitution represented everyone, destroyed a confederation, prevent further rebellions, and thrive for future generations. The federal government would share power with state governments. The Constitution created a separation of powers among three branches - the executive to enforce laws, the legislative to pass laws, and the judicial to interpret laws. There was a system of checks and balances in place whereby each branch would prevent the other two from becoming too powerful. For example, the President appoints federal judges and pardons people, has the veto power, could propose laws, and negotiates treaties. Congress, however, passes amendments to overrule court decisions, impeaches judges appointed by the President, creates courts, overturn vetoes by a two-thirds vote, ratifies treaties negotiated by the President, declares war, and approves Presidential appointments. The Supreme Court declares actions or laws unconstitutional.

The House of Representatives is directly responsible to the people because it passes monetary bills. Its members serve two year terms and preserves popular sovereignty. The Senate was chosen by the state legislatures, but was changed in 1913 with the 17th Amendment , and it limits popular sovereignty. There are six year terms but only one-third of the Senate is re-elected every two years, and they give advice to the President. Congress, as a whole, can coin money and collect taxes, declare war and raise an army/navy, regulate commerce, and can pass any laws necessary to govern the nation. This last power is referred to as the Elastic Clause.

The President serves a four year term and was initially unlimited, but it was changed in 1951 with the 22nd Amendment. Voters choose electors for the Electoral College who then votes for the President. The person with the most votes is elected President, the second most becomes Vice-President (not true anymore), with the House breaking all ties. Each state has one vote in the House if there's a tie and voting continues until there's a majority. The President is commander-in-chief, can veto laws, and can make appointments.

The Supreme Court has a life term, though its members can retire, and they could be impeached. Lesser courts are added on a needed basis.

Nine state legislatures needed to ratify (pass) the Constitution for it to become the Supreme Law of the Land.

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Federalists (people who supported the Constitution) stood for a strong federal government; these were former Nationalists - people like Washington, Madison, and Hamilton. Hamilton, Madison, and John Jay of NY wrote the Federalist Papers, a collection of 85 essays published in the paper to convince the NY legislature to ratify the Constitution. It described the US as a "republican empire", an empire controlled by the people. Federalist #10 stated that factions would be refereed by the federal government and not control the government, despite differences still existing. Anti-Federalists were against the Constitution, led by Patrick Henry of Virginia. They felt that liberty was at stake because areas far from commercialized zones (that is, rivers and ports) would be influenced less by the federal government. They saw the President as a king and government as better able to tax than England. They also feared the death of local and state governments.

The Federalists wanted to reform the Articles of Confederation while the Anti-Federalists were disorganized on the national level and they offered no alternative to the weak government. George Washington, who was a national hero, supported the Constitution. He was a proven hero and not power greedy. Delaware ratified the Constitution in December, 1787, followed quickly by NJ that same month and Connecticut in January, 1788. Georgia ratified it in January, 1788, because it quickly began receiving federal aid against Native Americans. Pennsylvania ratified it in December, 1788, but it had to change its own constitution as a result. Massachusetts barely ratified it in 1788 followed by Maryland, SC, NH, Virginia, and NY. NC rejected it at first but changed in 1789 because the Constitution took effect after NY ratified it. RI ratified it in 1790. The later states ratified the Constitution because the Bill of Rights was promised as a piece of the Constitution to protect people's rights. These were the first ten amendments ratified in 1791. People who opposed the Bill of Rights felt that the Constitution was for, by, and of the people, so government meant people. Therefore, protection of rights was not needed. Others felt that a protection of rights had to be clearly added for future generations. This was the key to the ratification of the Constitution. The rights spelled out in the Bill of Rights included freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition (First Amendment), no unreasonable search and seizures (Fourth Amendment), a person can only be indicted for a federal crime by the grand jury and there can be no self-incrimination or double jeopardy (being tried for the same crime twice) [Fifth Amendment], a speedy and fair trial (Sixth Amendment), a trial by jury (seventh Amendment), and no cruel and unusual punishment.

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                                 UNIT IIIA: THE NEW GOVERNMENT

Most elected Congressmen to the new government in 1788 were Federalists. George Washington took the oath of office on April 30, 1789, in New York City. He was elected in the fall of 1788 with a unanimous vote. However, North Carolina and Rhode Island were not part of the union yet. He had a large national debt to pay off, no permanent capital for the new nation, and no federal officers to assist him in his task. Therefore, he appointed a Cabinet to assist him. The Cabinet included the heads of major executive departments and included Edmund Randolph of Virginia for Attorney General, Henry Knox of Massachusetts for Secretary of War, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia for Secretary of State, and Alexander Hamilton of New York for Secretary of the Treasury.

It was Jefferson's job to manage relations with other nations. His previous experiences in the area included serving as ambassador to France from 1785 until 1789. He was a planter, lawyer, diplomat, violinist, inventor, and architect (he built Monticello in Virginia). He was a slaveholder who ultimately freed his slaves. He supported the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but he never trusted the new government and criticized Washington.

Alexander Hamilton was young at the time of his appointment. He was a graduate of Columbia University. He had served as Washington's private secretary during the American Revolution. He headed the largest department and was responsible for paying off the large debt. He advocated a large, powerful government. 

George Washington's first term was from 1789 until 1793, having been elected in 1788. (That's why today we elect a President in even years, but his term doesn't begin until the following year.) Washington had to address the issue of how he wanted to be addressed by others, and he settled on "Mr. President". He had to establish a relationship with Congress and determine the role of the Supreme Court. He had Friday afternoon parties and elaborate birthday bashes. He was escorted by soldiers wherever he went. His Vice President was John Adams of Massachusetts. During his entire first term, all of his actions became precedents (or examples) for future Presidents to follow. He was always in the public eye as a result.

It was decided early on that New York City would be a temporary capital because a city between North and South would be needed to appease people from both regions. No one wanted to be far from the capital, and NYC was too far from the South. Therefore, in 1790 the Residence Act was passed to plan for the construction of Washington, DC. An African-American named Benjamin Bannecker surveyed the land and a Frenchman named Pierre Charles L'Enfant designed the city. 

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George Washington did not belong to any political party because he did not believe in any. He felt that they created factions. He was an active member in the political process despite that, though he could be considered a Federalist. The first political party system in the United States formed in the early 1790s. The parties were the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. It was under Washington's first term that the $50 million debt was a huge issue because the federal government also decided to resolve the state debts to make the state creditors interested in the national debt. A federal budget and a payment plan was created by Alexander Hamilton, who decided to create 2 taxes - the excise tax on whiskey manufactured within the United States and a tariff on imported goods. A percentage of taxes went to creditors each year. The First National Bank of the United States was created in 1791 to hold tax money. Jefferson opposed this plan as did others because of taxation and a strong central government (just like Britain). As a result, he resigned.

 The reasons for the political parties emerging were manyfold. First, both sides had different interpretations of the Constitution. The Jeffersonian Republicans believed in a strict interpretation while the Federalists believed in a loose interpretation. Jefferson's Republicans wanted a weak government while Hamilton's Federalists wanted a strong government. Jefferson's party was against the National Bank while Hamilton's party was for it. The Jeffersonian Republicans wanted to pay off the national debt while the Federalists wanted to use it as credit. Jefferson opposed tariffs while Hamilton supported them. Jefferson felt that agriculture was the backbone of government while Hamilton felt that business was. Jefferson opposed standing militaries while Hamilton supported them. Jefferson felt that anyone could hold power while Hamilton felt that only the wealthy could hold power. Jefferson's followers wanted to align with France because they helped us in our revolution while Hamilton's followers wanted to align with England because of our common language. Jefferson felt that our stronghold was anything while Hamilton felt that it was New England businessmen.

 The French Revolution began in 1789 shortly after Washington took office. It was fought for liberty, equality, and fraternity. It quickly eroded to the Reign of Terror in 1792 with the guillotine. France waged war against Europe in 1793. Federalists opposed the French Revolution while Jeffersonian Republicans supported it. However, Washington chose to remain neutral; merchants suffered as a result.

 Despite all these problems, Washington was re-elected to a second term in November, 1792, and took the oath of office on March 4, 1793. Almost immediately during his term a problem erupted when in 1794 the Whiskey Rebellion began. Whiskey was made from corn and transported long distances. It occurred in western Pennsylvania, and it was the first true test for the new government. Washington sent a force of 12,000 people there to quell the rebellion. It worked.

 While we suffered during the Whiskey Rebellion and stayed neutral in the French conflict, British officers and sailors were capturing American sailors overseas and conscripting them into the British navy. John Jay was sent to London to negotiate their release and end the problem. In 1794 the Jay Treaty was finalized. Jay was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at the time. Our shipping rights were guaranteed to be honored by the British, who ruled the seas at the time. Congress ratified the treaty but the people saw it as a sell out to England. Jeffersonian Republicans criticized Washington about the treaty, convincing him not to seek a third term. This decision became a precedent (example) for future Presidents. In 1796 he wrote his Farewell Address in all the papers, which warned against the divisive nature of political parties.

 In November, 1796, John Adams (Washington's Vice President) was elected President with Thomas Jefferson winning the Vice Presidency. Three new states now participated in the election process - Vermont (admitted in 1791), Kentucky (admitted in 1792), and Tennessee (admitted in 1796). Washington died in 1799 due to a blood infection.

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When John Adams took control of the nation as President in 1796, the French Revolution was still being fought. He had defeated Thomas Jefferson in the election, but Jefferson became his Vice-President. However, Adams was a Federalist and Jefferson was a Jeffersonian Republican. This was the only time in history that two different political parties served in the White House together.

Adams decided to send delegates to Paris to discuss protecting American shipping rights overseas and Jay's Treaty. French agents named X, Y, and Z told these delegates that they had to first pay a $250,000 bribe and a $10 million loan to France before they could discuss anything. The American delegates were furious because the French demanded "millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute". Since we refused this offer, French naval ships began to seize American ships in the open seas. In response, Congress increased the size of the United States army and navy and raised taxes to support the increase.

 Congress also passed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. The Alien Act required that the President deport or imprison any citizen of other countries while the Sedition Act said that no false statements about the United States government without proof. Both of these by today's standards would be unconstitutional because they infringed upon people's rights. In response to these clearly unconstitutional acts, Vice President Jefferson and Madison proposed the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which defied the Alien and Sedition Acts. These resolutions stated that the people could decide if a federal law was constitutional or not. This was dangerous ground because the people could declare anything they disagreed with unconstitutional. The debate in Congress was so intense that Congressmen assaulted each other, and the President was taunted.

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                                               UNIT IV: THE JEFFERSONIAN ERA

In 1800 there was a presidential election between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, basically. The people were disgusted with the situation over France and felt that new leadership was needed. Therefore, the popular vote went to Jefferson, even though he was seen as the route to chaos. Why? Because Adams was viewed as a monarchist. The election featured a great deal of mudslinging. Despite his victory in the popular circle, Jefferson failed to clinch the necessary electoral vote. Therefore, for the first time in our history, the House of Representatives decided the election, as specified in the Constitution. Jeffersonian Republicans won a huge majority in the Congress, but the Federalist controlled Congress would decide the election because the new Congress began its term on March 1, 1801, and the President needed to be decided before that. Voting began on February 11, 2001, and concluded on February 17, 1801, with Jefferson being declared the winner on the 36th ballot. Aaron Burr, a fellow Jeffersonian Republican, became Vice President. This election ended all Federalist influence in the federal government. However, Adams wanted to preserve the Federalist influence in the judiciary so he appointed federal judges to courts up until his last moments in the executive. He appointed Jefferson's cousin John Marshall as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This election showed that a peaceful transfer of power could occur with a change in political parties.

Jefferson's first term lasted from 1801 until 1805, and his goal was to reduce the influence of the national government. He did not address Congress personally and did not like to be addressed by any fancy titles. He cut taxes as well as the size of the armed forces and the federal bureaucracy. Though he despised it, he allowed the National Bank to continue its existence because its charter was not ready to expire until 1811. The Judiciary Act of 1801 was passed, defining the organization of the federal judiciary system (namely, it established lower courts). This law revised the Judiciary Act of 1789. It was under this new law that a federal case was brought up against the new administration by William Marbury., who was appointed by Adams as the justice of the peace for Washington, DC, before Adams left office. Jefferson refused to let the new Secretary of State James Madison deliver the commission. Marbury sued to get his job as a result because it was legal for his appointment to be valid under the old Judiciary Act. John Marshall declared that particular Judiciary Act unconstitutional, upholding Jefferson's position. This established judicial review - the power of the Supreme Court to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional.

Jefferson viewed expanding the United States as widely as possible. The Land Ordinance of 1785 (passed under the Articles of Confederation) provided for the survey and sale of Native American lands northwest of the Ohio River as well as the movement of Native Americans to reservations so that Americans could move in. This area was called the Northwest Territory. The Land Act of 1800 sold small parcels of land to Americans. To ease the transfer of land from the federal government to Americans, Jefferson created federal land offices in the west to perform the necessary transactions. However, a very important event took place in 1804 that realized Jefferson's dream.

France had taken control of Spanish land west of the Mississippi River and controlled its mouth. Jefferson sent Madison to Paris to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans for the United States in 1803. France offered us all of its possessions. Constitutionally speaking, the president did not have the power to purchase land, but Jefferson interpreted the Constitution loosely so he felt that if it benefited the country it was legal. He urged Congress to agree, but it increased our national debt while doubling our size. We purchased the Louisiana Territory for $10 million. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored the land from 1804 until 1806. They reached the Continental Divide while traveling to the Pacific.

Internationally speaking, unease crept across Europe despite American trade increasing overseas. Jefferson was reelected in 1804, although his Vice president had killed Hamilton in a duel earlier that year. George Clinton of New York was chosen as Vice President. The Twelfth Amendment was ratified in 1804 and required that the President and Vice President be of the same party. It was Jefferson's second term that saw trouble brewing. Europe waged war again, leading the French to harass our ships. The British kidnapped our sailors and searched our ships for deserters. In 1807, in response to these growing problems, Congress passed the Embargo Act of 1807 which stipulated that all trade with Europe would end with the hopes that the European economies would suffer. However, their economies continued to thrive while ours suffered. This was especially true in New England where trade was vital; smuggling became commonplace. To cut back on smuggling, the United States navy enforced the law with their small gunboats. Due to the suffering economy, Jefferson lost the Election of 1808.

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James Madison repealed the Embargo Act of 1807 when he took office. His party now called themselves the Democratic-Republicans. Many changes occurred during the first four years of Madison's presidency, beginning with colleges adding departments for women in 1809. People began studying nature to understand order.

The economy changed as a rsult of the Industrial Revolution. Factories sprung up in the early 1800s along rivers. In 1793 Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin to remove cotton seeds from cotton plants, boosting cotton production in the South. (He also invented interchangeable parts for guns to make it easier to add parts to various guns.) Because of this increased production, the slave trade ended in 1808. Factories soon shifted to steam power. In 1807 Robert Fulton sailed up the Hudson River in a steamship named Clermont. In 1811 the ship New Orleans sailed from Pittsburgh to New Orleans via the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. This led to the birth of the railroad industry. On the domestic front, the British riled up Native Americans to the point where the United States declared war on England in June 1812 the day after Britain apologized (but we did not receive it yet) because Congress was dominated by young New Englanders known as Warhawks. Madison was re-elected in 1812 due to our involvement in war. Louisiana became our eighteenth state in 1812.

When Madison began his second term, he chose a new Vice President - Elbridge Gerry. This term was dominated by the War of 1812 (1812-1815). Britain fought France in Europe while fighting us here, dividing their forces. We had a small army and navy and no allies. Native Americans out west were angry at our expansion so they helped Britain. The war was basically a land war. The US wanted to conquer Canada to remove Britain from North America and unite with Canada. However, we were poorly equipped and lost to Britain in the summer of 1812. We never again fought for Canada. We actually attacked each other at one point. The Battle of Thames (October 1813) saw General William Henry Harrison (a veteran of Indian Wars) defeat the British and Native Americans. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend (March 1814) saw General Andrew Jackson defeat Native Americans.  

There was basically only one naval battle. During the four years of the war, our fleet captured about 1000 British ships. In the summer of 1813 Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry won the Battle of Lake Erie, protecting the border between the US and Canada. The British blockaded our ports later in 1813. The British plans were simple: after Napoleon was defeated in 1814, they concentrated solely on the US. British forces in Canada tried to invade us from the North, but they were driven back. British soldiers entered Washington, DC, on August 24, 1814, and burned the city shortly after President Madison and his wife Dolly fled. After that event, the White House was painted permanently white. The British bombarded Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, an event referred to in "The Star Spangled Banner" by Francis Scott Key.

New England suffered from the British blockade and their Warhawks called for secession of New England at the Hartford Convention in December 1814. On Christmas eve, 1814, the British and Americans signed the Treaty of Ghent in Ghent, Belgium, which restored all the old boundaries between England and the US. However, after the treaty was signed, the Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, with Andrew Jackson leading the fight. This was the biggest battle of the war, but it was unnecessary because the war had ended two weeks earlier. We did not know until February, 1815, about the war's end due to slow communication. The war led to an increase in canal building, linking major rivers, especially in 1825. It became faster and cheaper to ship goods to far away places. The journalism industry boomed with increased circulation and more publications. Indiana and Mississippi became the nineteenth and twentieth states in 1816 and 1817, respectively. 

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In the election of 1816 James Monroe, governor of Virginia and a Democratic-Republican (as the Jeffersonian Republicans became known), won election with his running mate Daniel Tompkins. This election marked the end of the Federalists as a power in government. His presidency started with a high note as the United States celebrated a period of prosperity from 1815 until 1819. This prosperity led tot he creation of the Second national Bank in 1816 under Madison and whose charter would finish in 1836. Americans moved west in large numbers thanks to steamships and canals. However, in 1819, the Panic of 1819 set in. English banks demanded that the United States repay loans from before the War of 1812 so our banks urged their patrons to repay loans that had been granted. However, the money was already spent by the patrons and could not be repaid so the economy crashed. Property and jobs were lost.

 Add in to this mess the fact that the nation was becoming increasingly divided between North and South over the issue of slavery versus abolition and freedom. Each new state that entered the union entered either as a slave state (allowed slavery) or as a free state (prohibited slavery). To balance power, two states would be created relatively close in time to each other so neither side had the upper hand. This issue became vitally important in 1820 when the state of Missouri asked to enter the union as a slave state. The boundary between slave and free states was always the Ohio River, but Missouri did not connect with the Ohio River. However, if you were to draw a line, Missouri would sit north of the river, which would make it a free state. (This was decided with the Ordinance of 1787.) The North objected to Missouri's request while the South objected to the North's objection because they saw it as a limit to slavery. This issue was crucial to the balance of power in the Senate. Therefore, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was proposed, which stated that Missouri would enter as a slave state but the state of Maine would be a free state. Maine would enter the union in 1820 and Missouri in 1821, but all future states north of 36 degrees 30 minutes North would be free while those to the south would be slave. (The state of Illinois had entered the union in 1818 as a free state and Alabama in 1819 as a slave state.)

 Monroe was reelected in 1820, which was a rare election in our history because only the Democratic-Republicans existed as a political party. His running mate was again Daniel Tompkins. This period in which only one party existed was called the Era of Good Feelings. During this term, Spain began trouble with the United States and Latin America becaus eit wanted to take back all areas that had won independence from its rule - Florida, Colombia, and others. However, Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, which stated that all European powers were to stay out of the Western Hemisphere, or the United States would ensure that they stayed out. However, we were still too weak to back up our words so Britain said that it would enforce the doctrine.

 It was during this period that the nation became increasingly divided over the issue of slavery and industrialization. The North was divided into the northeast (former colonies) and the northwest (new states from territories, like Ohio). In the northwest people grew crops to ship to Europe, with families helping each other on the farms. Crops were used to feed the livestock as well as distilled into beer and whiskey. Towns sprung up along the rivers to serve as places to sell goods. In the northeast factories sprouted up near rivers with young women working in factories until they were married as well as men and children. Cities boomed now as the population grew. Farmlands were all occupied and traveling west was dangerous so people moved to cities. A famous case was Manhattan, which saw its population grow from 125,000 in 1820 to over 500,000 by 1850. Colonial families broke down because people moved out on their own now. Poverty increased due to a lack of jobs. Disease spread because of no sewerage systems. Factory workers were paid very little in wages, ultimately leading to strikes later in the century.

 The South consisted of Delaware, the southern colonies, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana; they depended heavily on staple crops, especially cotton. There was large, open land with few towns (as in colonial times).Cities included New Orleans, Charleston, and Richmond. They had a smaller population than the North which grew slowly. The economy served the needs of the plantations. Some African-Americans were free but they had little rights and no privileges (they could not vote or hold office). Slavery was used to harvest crops on plantations, regardless of whether or not they were near rivers. Most southerners, though, did not own slaves, and those that did owned only a few; they even worked alongside them on the plantations. Slaves were treated harshly, especially when slave drivers on plantations watched them. Enslaved women, though, had it the worst because they had to care for their owners' families as well as their own families. Slaves were treated as property, and any rebellions attempted to end it was put down.

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                                                                     UNIT V: THE AGE OF JACKSON

In the Presidential election of 1824 only one political party was represented - the Jeffersonian-Republicans. This election involved candidates who did not participate in the American Revolution for the first time. John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts (son of President Adams) ran against John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, Henry Clay of Kentucky, and Andrew Jackson of Tennessee.

Adams was the son of President Adams, who died on July 4, 1826, along with Thomas Jefferson. He became a Senator as a Jeffersonian-Republican in 1804 followed by a diplomat and Secretary of State under President Monroe. He wrote the Monroe Doctrine and the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819, giving Florida to the US from Spain.

Calhoun was a Senator and Monroe's Secretary of War who protected Southern interests (slavery and agriculture). Clay was the former Speaker of the House and a Senator as well as a colorful politician. Jackson was a Senator in the 1790's and a plantation owner. He was poorly educated and an iron willed military hero. He believed in the common people.

Jackson won the popular vote in the election but the electoral vote was undecided. Therefore, the House voted for the President and selected Adams because they disliked Jackson. Clay became the Secretary of State for Adams, and Calhoun became the Vice-President. This angered Jackson so he began campaigning for the next Presidential election the following year.

Adams' policies focused on industrialization and developing the economy. He proposed the American System to improve the infrastructure of the US and American industries. There would be a high tariff on imports to make domestic goods more attractive. Americans disagreed with this system. This included Jackson. During his campaigning, he used this as an issue, creating division in the political party. Thus, two political parties formed - the National Republicans, who focused on making the federal government a leader, improving infrastructure, supporting the National Bank, focusing on the middle class and Protestants, and continuing Jefferson's spirit of improvement. (They were led by Adams and Clay.); and the Democrats, who focused on shrinking the federal government, improving the infrastructure on the state and not the national level, opposing the National Bank, focusing on the common people, and continuing Jefferson's spirit of minimal government. As a result of this division, Jackson easily crushed Adams in the election of 1828 because twice as many people voted as four years earlier. Jackson's Vice-President was John C. Calhoun of SC .

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Andrew Jackson perceived the role of the President differently than his predecessor, Adams, had. He thought that the government should be as inactive as possible; he vetoed more bills in his first four years than the previous six Presidents combined just to ensure the inactivity of the government! He selected friends of his as members of his so called "Kitchen Cabinet". This was his patronage system. He did this because he did not want a single group controlling the government. He invited total strangers into the White House for his inaugural ball because he felt that the White House belonged to them.

The contract for the Second National Bank expired in 1836, but Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and Nicholas Biddle (the President of the bank) wanted to embarrass Jackson in the election of 1832 so that he would not be reelected. Jackson saw the trap involving the "monster institution" so he appealed to the public about it. In 1819 Maryland taxed the bank and fined it when the tax was ignored. The bank's president at the time - McCulloch - sued Maryland in the Supreme Court. In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) John Marshall, the Chief Justice, declared that a state could not tax a federal institution and that Congress had the power to create a bank if it was "necessary and proper for the governance of the United States". When Jackson appealed to the public, they overwhelmingly reelected him in 1832, despite the failed attempt to embarrass him. This election saw the National Republicans change their name to Whigs.

Jackson chose Martin Van Buren of NY as his Vice-President for his second term because Calhoun had resigned over the whole National Bank fiasco. Four social movements took hold of the US during the 1830's. One movement was the Great Awakening, a religious movement that took hold in New England. It followed the ideals of Transcendentalism, which stated that something more powerful than us exists and can be found in nature. Writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau wrote about such ideas. A second movement was the Temperance Movement, which sought to prohibit alcohol consumption in the US. It began in 1815 and took hold in the 1830's so much so that in 1834 the American Temperance Society was formed with 7000 affiliates and more than a million members. Through their efforts, alcohol consumption dropped. The third movement was the public education movement. The government issued a tax to pay for public schools, but people without kids and those attending private schools objected. Horace Mann of Massachusetts convinced the people that the government provided for the poor so the tax was allowed. He was the first Secretary to the Massachusetts Board of Ed in 1837 and made that state's system a model for the nation. Higher schools appeared in the 1850's, but women and African-Americans were limited in education. Compulsory education (attending school to a certain age) took root in the US. However, rural areas did not have too many schools and character education was the primary focus. A fourth movement was the abolitionist movement, which began around 1820 to end slavery in the US and emancipate all slaves. Early abolitionists started a colony in West Africa called Liberia as a haven for free and escaped African-Americans. Its capital was Monrovia, but it angered many African-Americans born in the US who saw this as a way to eliminate all of them from the nation. This practice of sending them to Liberia ended in 1831. Around 1830 abolitionists began calling for a violent revolution to end slavery. The American Anti-Slavery Society was formed in 1833 and by 1835 had 1000 local chapters and 150,000 members. The most famous member was Frederick Douglass.

Problems developed between Jackson and Congress over the issue of tariffs. In 1828 Congress passed the Tariff Act of 1828 as part of the American System, which raised tariffs on imports. Jackson called this the Tariff of Abominations. In 1832 Congress passed the tariff Act of 1832, which raised the same tariffs even higher. South Carolina nullified the tariff and refused to pay for it. this movement was led by John C. Calhoun. It threatened to secede from the US if it was forced to collect the tariff. Jackson was furious and Congress to pass the Force Bill (1833), which allowed for 50,000 troops to go to SC to force the collection of the tariff. Henry Clay, meanwhile, convinced Congress  to lower the tariff, ending the Nullification Crisis. Meanwhile, also along economic lines, Jackson wanted all Native Americans to move west outside of US borders so that their lands could be used to grow more cotton. Therefore, Native Americans, especially the Cherokee, were moved from the eastern US to Oklahoma and their reservations. The Supreme Court declared this action unconstitutional, but it was ignored. During this time of the Trail of Tears, Arkansas entered the US as its twenty-third state.

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Andrew Jackson handpicked his Vice-president Martin Van Buren as the next President, and the people did not disappoint. They elected him overwhelmingly. However, in 1837 the Panic of 1837 struck and developed into a depression that lasted the duration of his presidency. Many jobs were lost and was caused directly by the closing of the National Bank. This was the only reason why Van Buren was not reelected. During the years 1837 until 1841 more social movements influenced life in the US.

The first movement was the prison reform movement. Prisons started in the US in the early 1800's to reform people's minds, but abuses appeared by the 1840's. Dorothea Dix, a Massachusetts school teacher, was shocked by the conditions that she saw for the mentally ill and the sane. She investigated for two years (1841-1843) and urged reforms. As a result, mental asylums were created in 15 states to treat the mentally ill. The second movement was the growing abolition movement. Women now joined the movement, though certain abolitionists disagreed with their presence. The underground railroad became popular as conductors like Harriett Tubman helped escaped slaves flee to the North and Canada. Northerners, however, feared African-Americans would steal their jobs for lower wages so some abolitionists were killed by crowds in the North. The South refused to deliver abolitionist literature to their people, and Congress was under the gag rule from 1836 until 1844 because Southern representatives did not want abolitionist literature read to Congress. This was a direct violation of freedom of speech. The Liberty Party was founded in time for the election of 1840. So we see the fight for abolition intensifying on all fronts. The third movement was the women's rights movement. Prior to this period, women stayed at home, raised the kids, cared for their husbands, had no suffrage, and were banned from meetings. Some women, though, felt that women should have equal rights so middle class women of white and African-American descent joined the abolition movement and boycotts; fewer kids were raised. Women abolitionists were not accepted at the international abolitionist conference in London in 1840. Due to these events, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton led a convention at Seneca Falls, NY, in 1848 to discuss women's rights. The last movement under Van Buren was the westward movement. More Americans moved west than ever before. Native Americans on the Great Plains were dying in large numbers due to disease and raids; they lived as villagers or nomads traveling after food on horses brought from Europe. Michigan became the twenty-fourth state in the union in 1837.

During this period in US history the Mexican Empire began growing and threatening the security of the US. Spain had controlled Texas through California and dotted the landscape with presidios, or forts. Missionaries were established to convert the Native American population. However, Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821 and controlled Texas through California itself. Trade with the US increased so much so that Texas through California became economically linked with the US. Americans moved to the southwest in large numbers. Stephen Austin was given permission by Mexico to start an American colony in Texas. By 1830 more Americans lived in Texas than Mexicans. Mexico began banning Americans from moving in as a result. The Americans moving in brought slaves, but Mexico tried to prevent that practice. Mexico later saw a revolution in which Santa Anna became dictator. It was under Santa Anna's regime that the colony of Texas declared itself the Republic of Texas in 1836. Santa Anna led a force to the Alamo and slaughtered the Texans there. The Texans fought back in 1836 and defeated the Mexicans to keep their Republic alive. Tensions between Mexico and the US increased as 1840 drew closer because Americans began moving back into Texas in large numbers.

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                                                                 UNIT VI: GROWING TENSIONS

Because the US was suffering economically from the Panic of 1837 still, in the election of 1840 the people expressed their dissatisfaction with Van Buren by electing William Henry Harrison as President. Harrison's slogan was "Tippecanoe and Tyler too", which alluded to his days from the War of 1812 and his partnership with John Tyler. Harrison won in an election featuring three candidates - the third form the new Liberty Party which sought to abolish slavery. Harrison was 68 years old, the oldest president to that point, and he delivered a 2.5 hour inaugural speech in the rain, catching pneumonia, and dying on April 1, 1841. His Vice-President John Tyler became the president and refused to be the acting president as written in the Constitution. This became a precedent for all future vice-presidents in the same situation. He did not select a vice-president, which also became a precedent. There was constant quarreling between the Democrats and Whigs, mostly over slavery.

Under Tyler's term more Americans moved west, especially to Texas, California, and Oregon. This created problems with nearby nations, especially Mexico. In Texas the people sought statehood so they applied in 1844. In April, 1844, Tyler negotiated a treaty for annexation of Texas, but Congress defeated it, although it was controlled by the Whigs. Congress approved annexation in February, 1845, shortly before Tyler left office. In California Americans moved in for a better lifestyle, but they conflicted with the Mexican population there, adding fuel to the fire that was already burning from Texas. Oregon was the highly sought after prize. It sat north of California and included present-day Washington, making it border the western extreme of the US, Canada (British controlled) and Alaska (Russian controlled and including parts of Canada). Americans used the Oregon Trail through the Rocky Mountains beginning in 1842. It started in Independence, Missouri - 2000 miles away. It took anywhere from 121-139 days up to six months depending on weather. It cost $500-$1000. Trade with Native Americans was vital to its success. A temporary government was created in Oregon in 1843, and fueled the dream of manifest destiny (the belief that the US had the right to control all land in North America).

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Tyler lost the support of his party, and his entire Cabinet resigned. Therefore, he lost the election of 1844 to Democrat James K. Polk in yet another election that featured the Liberty Party. Under Polk several changes occurred in the US. First, in Oregon the Treaty of 1846 between the US and Britain divided Oregon Country along the 49th parallel.

As far as Texas was concerned, the state of Texas entered the union along with Florida in 1845 as the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth states, respectively. This decision infuriated Mexico, who broke diplomatic ties with the US. A dispute over the border between Texas and Mexico ensued. General Zachary Taylor was sent to the Rio Grande to guard the border with Mexico. Mexico saw this as an invasion because it felt that the border was the Nueces River to the north, but the US felt that the Rio Grande was the border. This "invasion" started the Mexican-American War in 1846. John C. Fremont was sent to California to protect American interests there. A skirmish in Texas in May, 1846, convinced Polk to ask for war against Mexico. Congress granted it on May 13, 1846.

American rebels in California declared the California Republic, also known as the Bear Flag Republic because of the grizzly bear on its flag on June 14, 1846. America pushed Mexico from California and took Santa Fe, New Mexico. They prevented any attempts by Mexico to reclaim it. By January, 1847, California and NM were American controlled. Zachary Taylor invaded Mexico and fought Santa Anna at the Battle of Buena Vista in February, 1847. Santa Anna declared victory, and fled to Mexico City. General Winfield Scott ("Old Rough and Feathers") pursued him and captured the city on September 14, 1847, ending the war.

The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848) established the Rio Grande as the border between the US and Mexico, gave California and NM to the US, and paid Mexico $15 million for repairs while the US assumed all debts owed by Mexico to Americans in those areas. The Wilmot Proviso (1846) amended a military appropriations bill and stated that if the US were to take Mexican land, there would be no slavery in those areas. This proviso was soundly defeated in the House of Representatives, but it increased tensions between North and South.

Another area of development across the American frontier was Utah. Mormons entered Utah in 1847 after several stays in different states. They began in 1830 after their founder Joseph Smith had a vision. He was killed in 1844 when he publicly stated that a man could have several wives simultaneously. However, the Mormons' most influential leader was Brigham Young, who became the first governor of Utah after the Mexican-American War. While all this was occurring, Iowa entered the union in 1846 and Wisconsin in 1848 to become the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth states respectively to reestablish balance of power in the Senate between North and South.

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In the presidential election of 1848 James K. Polk (Democrat) was easily defeated by Zachary Taylor of the Whigs because he avoided the issue of slavery and where he stood on it. However, he could not avoid the issue once he took office because the annexation of Mexico's territories in the southwest ended the Missouri compromise. Most new states entering the union from the region would automatically be slave states under that compromise, throwing the balance of power in the Senate in favor of the South. Southerners were told not to bring slaves into the territories, which angered them. The only significant event in his administration was the California Gold Rush of 1849. "Forty-Niners" rushed to California for a piece of the pie, but they forced Native Americans to working the mines for them. Thousands of people flocked to California in 1849, enabling it to apply for statehood that same year. It was made a free state in 1850. Sadly, that was the same year that Taylor died from a stomach ailment.

Vice-President Millard Fillmore took over the presidency and did not select a vice-president. Under his administration Congress agreed to the Compromise of 1850 to balance the interests of the North and South. California became a free state under this compromise, New Mexico and Utah would decide the issue of slavery themselves via popular sovereignty (people voting on the question in the voting booth), the sale of enslaved people became illegal in Washington, DC, but not slavery itself, and the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, requiring all escaped slaves to be returned tot heir owners without a trial. This compromise only served to delay the inevitable Civil War that was brewing in the nation. John C. Calhoun died a month after its passage.

There was a continuously growing regionalism in the US that was becoming increasingly more noticeable. Slavery distinguished the North from the South because it was accepted in the South but viewed as evil in the North. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852 to paint a vivid picture of slavery that ultimately convinced the North to oppose it. Its influence rivaled that of Common Sense and sold 300,000 copies in 1852 but millions in 20 languages throughout the world, becoming an instant bestseller. The South despised the book because it painted all Southerners as evil.

The North had large cities, more so than before, with ethnic diversity, industrialization, and railroads, which were introduced in the 1820's in England. Railroads were the fastest mode of transportation at the time, making canals obsolete. Over 20,000 miles of railroad were laid in the 1850's alone, causing towns to rapidly grow into cities. Telegraph lines dotted railroad tracks, especially in the North. But in the South, things were different. There were few cities and mostly whites and slaves lived there. Agriculture was the way of the day, evidenced by the few railroads and the many canals. Few telegraph lines existed. In the West gold was discovered in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and the northwest, leading to a huge influx of people. Boom towns crept up overnight as thousands moved in, but once the gold was gone, the people left, turning the boom towns into ghost towns. Native Americans were continually moved to more and more reservations to make room for the new people. In 1853 the continental US was finally shaped through the Gadsden Purchase, which added 30,000 square miles to the US from Mexico.

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In the presidential election of 1852 the Democratic candidate Franklin Pierce and his running mate William King defeated Millard Fillmore (Whig), ending the Whig party because the Whigs focused on issues that were no longer relevant to people's lives. Compromises were pursued although the North no longer wanted to compromise over slavery. This led to the birth of the American Party in 1854, which was comprised of nativists (natural born citizens) who formulated a secret handshake and who always responded, "I know nothing" to outsiders when they were asked questions about their positions. This response led to the nickname, the "Know Nothing Party". This political party advocated a longer naturalization process for immigrants.

In 1854 the political arena had a new supergiant in Democrat Stephen Douglas from Illinois, who was actually quite short. He raised the issue of slavery in the western territories. He wanted Chicago to benefit from industrialization through the railroad industry. He saw his opportunity to do so should both Kansas Territory and Nebraska Territory apply for statehood. (Plus, he wanted to run for President so he needed to make a legacy for himself.) He needed Democratic support. The problem was that the Democrats were based in the South where slavery was prevalent, and Kansas and Nebraska would be free states under the Missouri Compromise. Therefore, he introduced a bill in January, 1854, in the Senate whereby popular sovereignty would decide slavery in Kansas and Nebraska, blatantly ignoring the Missouri Compromise. The North was outraged because they felt the bill catered to the South, but the South was happy. Since the South had an edge with a Democrat in office, the bill was passed.

In 1854 a new political party was born - the Republicans. Their support was from white middle-class Northern Protestants, but factions existed within the party. If those factions continued, a presidential victory would not be possible. One faction was the Extreme Republicans, who wanted the Fugitive Slave Act and slavery in all territories wiped out. The second faction was the Moderate Republicans, who wanted no slavery in federal territories but accepted slavery in places where it already existed. The third faction was the former Whig Party, who wanted a strong national government to lead in the development of the economy. This division was seen in the election of 1856 when the Republican candidate, John C. Fremont, lost the election. Millard Fillmore ran on the American Party ticket and lost as well. Franklin Pierce failed to get his party's nomination because he was seen as disinterested in the future of the nation so the Democrats selected James Buchanan as their candidate, and he was elected.

To summarize the political parties in the US in the late 1850's into the 1860's:

1) Northern Democrats wanted popular sovereignty to determine slavery, and they came from different backgrounds (Northern voters in urban areas and Catholics).

2) Southern Democrats wanted to expand slavery into the new territories, and they consisted of Southerners of all kinds.

3) Republicans were anti-slavery nativists, and they were Northerners, Protestants, and former American Party members as well as former Whigs.

4) American Party was anti-Catholic, anti-slavery, pro-nativist, middle-class Northern Protestants, nativists, and they favored a longer naturalization period.