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Time Period 4 Contextualization
Time period 4 is filled with a lot of reforms and finding what defines what is "American." 1800 is an important year due to the election of 1800 in which there was a peaceful transition of political powers between opposite parties. 1848 had the Revolutions of 1848 which resulted in European monarchies collapsed, affecting the US as well due to close trade relations. -
Industrialization
The US at this point is beginning to dive into the world os industrialization with the held of steamboats, the cotton gin, and interchangeable parts. -
Religious
The 2nd Great Awakening was a revival of religious activity through emotional preaching which led to reform movements such as the asylum movement. -
Romantic Movement
This time period was also heavily influenced by the romantic movement. This led to an emphasis on human emotion which was seen through various published works such as The Liberator(1831), The North Star(1845), and On Civil Disobedience(1849). Despite being about separate topics and different forms of literature they all used a focus around human emotion and were influenced by the idea of individualism. -
Relationships
The US and the Europeans eventually held out a "don't talk to me" type relationship. The US refused to allow any European interference in the western hemisphere and in return the US would mind its own business as well. This also led to the Adams-Onis Treaty (1819) and the Monroe Doctrine (1823). -
Economic Panics
The first economic panic occurred in 1819 during the Panic of 1819. This is now called the "Great Depression." During this time, stocks and banks were failing to lead to a lot of lost property and money as well as an incredibly high increase in unemployment. The Panic of 1837 was an echo of this first one which occurred due to a lack of confidence in the banks. -
Territory and Slavery
As the US gained a lot of new territories, they had to make a lot of decisions such as what territory should allow slavery leading to conflict over the topic. At first, the Tallmadge Amendment was proposed (restricting slavery) but then the Missouri Compromise was passed, introducing Maine as a state. -
Social Movements
This time period had various movements such as the asylum movement, the public school movement, and the women's rights movement. These all had similar goals: gaining more of something for a group of people. The asylum mvt was to change how people viewed the mentally ill and the public school mvt was to bring education to more children. -
Native Americans
As the US gained more territory and wanted to expand westward, the Native people were pushed off their land and forced into smaller places leading to various issues. It became such an issue that the Cherokee had enough and filed for a court case leading to Cherokee Nation v GA. Even Worchester v GA was an issue involving Native being mistreated and pushed off their lands due to the Indian Removal Act of 1830. -
Women's Rights
Before the Women's Rights Mvt, there was the Cult of Domesticity which enforced the patriarchal hierarchy in everyday life. However, the WRM led to rights such as suffrage for women. The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's right convention which led to the discussion of the social, civil, and religious condition of women.
