Nationalism and Sectionalism
A: Nationalism Unites the Country
-In 1815 President Madison presented a plan to Congress to make the U.S. economically self-sufficient
-So, the country would not need foreign products or markets
-The plan – which Henry Clay promoted as the American System – included 3 main actions
- Establish a protective tariff – made European goods more expensive and encourages Americans to buy cheaper American made products
- Establish a national bank – that would promote a single currency. In 1816, Congress set up the 2nd national bank of the U.S.
- Improve the country’s transportation system – poor roads made transportation slow and costly
B: Roads and Canals Link Cities
-Erie Canal – created a water route between NYC and Buffalo, NY
-This canal opened the area to settlement and trade
-Trade stimulated by the canal helped NYC become the largest city
-Around the 1830’s the nation began to use steam-powered trains for transportation
-In 1830, only about 30 mile of track existed in the U.S.
-But by 1850, the number had risen to 9,000 miles
-Improvements of rail travel led to a decline in the use of canals
C: The Era of Good Feelings
-As nationalist feelings spread, people shifted their loyalty away from state governments. and more toward the federal government
-Democratic –Republican James Monroe won the presidency in 1816, in this election the Federalist party offered little resistance and soon disappeared
-This was then called the Era of Good Feelings by a Boston newspaper because of the political differences giving way
-McCullough v. Maryland (1819) – MD wanted to tax its branch of the national bank, but the Court upheld that a state could not tax a national bank
-Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) – the Court ruled that interstate commerce could be regulated only by the federal government, not the state governments
-The Supreme Court under John Marshall clearly stated important powers of the federal government
-A stronger national government reflected a growing national spirit
D: Settling National Boundaries
-The nationalist sprit made U.S. leaders want to define and expand the country’s borders, but to so this that was to read agreements with Britain and Spain
-2 agreements improved relations between the U.S. and Britain
- The Rush-Bagot Agreement (1817) limited each sides naval forces on the Great Lakes
- The Convention of 1818 set the 49th parallel as the U.S.-Canadian border as far west as the Rocky Mountains
-U.S. relations with Spain were tense
-In the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, Spain handed Florida to the U.S. and gave up claims to Oregon Country
E: Sectional Tensions Increase
-Sectionalism – loyalty to the interests of your own region or section of the country, rather than to the nation as a whole
-Economic changes had created some divisions within the U.S.
- Sectionalism because a major issue when MO applied for statehood in 1817
-People living in MO wanted to allow slavery
-At the time the U.S. had 11 slave and 11 free states
-The addition of MO would upset the balance
F: The Missouri Compromise
-The nation argued for months on whether or not to admit MO as a slave or a free state
-Maine, which had been a part of MA, also wanted statehood. This left room for compromise
-Henry Clay suggested MO be admitted as a slave state, and ME as a free state
-This was known as the Missouri Compromise and was passed in 1820
-It also called for slavery to be banned north of the 36th parallel
G: The Monroe Doctrine
-Monroe Doctrine – the Americas were closed to further colonization. He also warned that European efforts to reestablish colonies would be considered dangerous threats. He also promised that the U.S. would stay out of European affairs
-This doctrine showed that the U.S. saw itself as a world power and a protector of Latin America
The Age of Jackson
Section 1: Politics of the People
A: Election of 1824
-Regional differences led to a fierce fight over the presidency
-The Democratic-Republicans split in hope of replacing Monroe
-New England’s choice was John Quincy Adams, the South backed William Crawford, Westerners supported Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson
-Jackson won the most popular votes, but not the most electoral college votes
-According to the Constitution, the House must choose the President
-Adams won the presidency with the House approval and a deal with Clay
B: Jacksonian Democracy
-Jackson felt that the election had been stolen from him, so he set out to win the election of 1828
-Jason claimed to represent the “common man” and he said Adams represented a group of privileged, wealthy Easterners
-This division eventually created to political parties:
- The Democrats cam from Jackson supporters
- The National-Republicans from Adams supporters
-Jacksonian Democracy – idea of spreading political power to all the people and ensuring majority rule
-Voting was still limited to adult white males
C: The People’s President
-Jackson related to the people very well. The fact that he was a war hero helped a lot
-He had a true and deep hatred of the British
-He was nicknamed “Old Hickory” – he was “tough as hickory”
D: Jackson Takes Office
-Shortly after taking office, Jackson’s wife died
-At his inauguration people got rowdy causing the President to flee the White House
E: A New Political Era Begins
-Jackson’s inauguration began a new political era
-Spoils System – the practice of giving government jobs to political backers
-This systems name comes from the saying “to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy”
-As president, Jackson would face 3 major issues:
- Status of Native Americans
- Rights of the states
- Role of the Bank of the United States
Section 2: Jackson’s Policy toward Native Americans
A: Native Americans in the Southeast
-Some whites hoped that the NA could adapt to the white peoples’ way of life; others wanted the NA to move
-That believed this was the only to avoid conflict over land
-By the 1820;s, about 100,000 NA remained east of the MS River
-The majority were in the Southwest and the major tribes were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole
B: The Cherokee Nation
-More than any other tribe, the Cherokee had adapted white customs
-In 1827, the Cherokee drew up a Constitution and founded the Cherokee Nation
-The discovery of gold increased demands by whites to remove the Cherokees
-The federal govt. responded with a plan to remove all NA from the Southeast
C: Jackson’s Removal Policy
-Andrew Jackson supported moving NA’s west of the MS
-He believed that the govt. had the right to regulate where the NA could live
-He thought the NA’s had one of two choices
- Adopt white culture and become citizens of the U.S.
- Or they could move into Western Territories
-They could not have their own govt. within the nation’s borders
-Georgia and other Southern states passed laws that gave them the right to take over NA, land, after the discovery of gold.
-Indian Removal Act (1830) – act called for the govt. to negotiate treaties that would require Americans to relocate West
-This policy caused much hardship and forever changed relations between whites and NA’s
D: The Trail of Tears
-The NA’s were moved to an area that covered what is now OL and parts of KS and NE
-That area came to be called the Indian Territory
-Beginning of the fall of 1831, that Choctaw and other Southeast tribes were removed from their land and moved to the Indian Territory
-In 1832, the Supreme Court, ruled that only the Federal Govt., not the states, could make laws governing the Cherokees
-The harsh journey of the Cherokees from their homeland to Indian Territory became known as the Trail of Tears
-On the trail about ¼ died.
E: Native American Resistance
-Not all the Cherokee moved west in 1838
-One of the most important leaders in the war was Osceola
-He used surprise attacks to defeat the U.S. Army in many battles
-The Second Seminole War ended in 1842
-In the Black Hawk War, the Illinois militia and the U.S. Army crushed the uprising.
Section 3: Conflicts of States’ Rights
A: Rising Sectional Differences
-Andrew Jackson took office in 1829
-The country now was being pulled apart by conflict among the 3 main sections
-Legislators from the 3 regions were arguing over 3 main economic issues
- Sale of public lands
- Internal improvements
- Tariffs
-Northeasterners did not want public lands in the West to be sold at low prices
-This cheap land would attract workers who were needed in the factories of the NE
-The Westerners wanted the low prices because more people would mean more political power
-Issues on internal improvement also pulled the sections apart
-Tariffs, since 1816, had risen steadily
-Tariffs helped manufacturers sell their products at a lower price than imported goods
-The South opposed high tariffs (pg. 365)
-This would eventually lead to conflict between the North and the South
B: Tariff of Abominations
-In 1828, in the last months of John Quincy Adam’s presidency, Congress passed a bill that significantly raised the tariffs on raw materials and manufactured goods
-This made the South angry
-Southeasterners felt the economic interests of the Northeast were determining national policy
-Southerners hated the tariff and called it the Tariff of Abominations
-Differences among the tariff helped Jackson win the election in 1828
-The South blamed Adams for the tariff, since it was passed while he was in office
-Because of this they voted against him
C: Crisis over Nullification
-The tariff of Abominations hit South Carolina hard because of their slumping economy
-Some leaders spoke of leaving the Union because of the tariffs
-Doctrine of Nullification – a state had the right to nullify, or reject, a federal law that it considers unconstitutional
-Calhoun believed Congress had no right to impose a tariff that favored once section of the country
D: The States’ Rights Debate
-The debate now was over support of a strong federal govt. or a favor of states’ rights
-This would be a MAJOR political issue from this time until the Civil War
-The Webster-Hayne Debate was one of the great debates in American History
-Hayne defended nullification, and Webster the opposite
-Webster said that it was the people not the states that made the Union
-Dinner to honor Jefferson where Jackson and Calhoun became political enemies because of their views upon states’ rights (367)
E: South Carolina Threatens to Secede
-South Carolina because of the tariffs threatened to secede from the Union
-Secession – to withdraw from the Union
-Jackson now made it clear that the would use force to see that federal laws were obeyed and the Union was preserved
-Henry Clay came up with a compromise tariff and Congress quickly passed it
-This made SC stay in the Union and stopped the nullification crisis as of now
Section 4: Prosperity and Panic
A: Mr. Biddle’s Bank
-The 2nd Bank of the United States was the most powerful bank in the country
-Nicolas Biddle was its president, he set policies to control then money supply
-Jackson disliked the bank for several reasons:
- Banks lost money in financial deals early in his career
- Thought the bank had too much power
- The bank made loans to member of Congress (influence those members and it is a conflict of interest)
- Felt the lending policies favored wealthy clients and hurt the average person
B: Jackson’s War on the Bank
-Jackson vetoed the renewal charter for the bank
-He claimed the bank was unconstitutional, even though the Supreme Court had earlier ruled that it was Constitutional
- His war on the Bank became the main issue in the presidential race of 1832
-Clay and the National Republicans said that Jackson wanted too much power as president and called him a tyrant
-The Democrats portrayed Jackson as a defender of the people
-Jacksons second term he set out to destroy the bank
-Eventually the bank went out of business, Jackson had won this war but with the economy as the victim