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Oregon Trail
Many people moving to Oregon County and other Western areas followed the 2000 mile Oregon trail. This trail followed over the Plains, Rocky mountains, and after that it forked. The trail was laid down by hunters and fur trappers from 1811-1840, people started travelling out west in the spring of 1843 in wagons piled with all their belongings. The emigration of 1843 was very large, the emigration the following year was not nearly as large, but in 1845, the 1000 from 1843 tripled and became 3000. -
Era of Good Feeling
The Era of Good Feelings was a 10 year time period in the 1800s when the U.S. enjoyed feelings of peace, pride, and progress. A Boston editor coined the term during Monroe's visit to New England early in his presidency. National unity was emphasized by 2 decisions in the Supreme Court. McCulloch vs Maryland was the first one, the Court asserted the implied power of Congress and allowed the creation of a national bank. Gibbons vs Ogden was the second case, in this case, the Court said the states -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a compromise made to settle disputes about Missouri being a slave or slave free state. Missouri applied to the Union as a slave state, and that started debates, because it would tip the balance. To protect the power of the free states, the House passed a special amendment. It declared that the US would accept Missouri as a slave state, but importing enslaved Africans into Missouri would be illegal. -
McCulloch vs. Maryland
President Jackson tried to attack the national bank and place a tax against them. Some states tried to limit their power, Maryland even placed a tax against their branch, but their cashier, James McCulloch, refused to pay the tax. The state took him to court and the case resulted in being sent to the Supreme Court. In the end, in McCulloch v. Maryland, the bank was ruled constitutional. -
Jacksonian Democracy
This refers to the ascendency of Andrew Jackson and the democratic party. Political parties held nominating conventions where party members chose the candidates. Candidates were previously chosen by the party leader. This period of time expanding democracy was called the Jacksonian democracy, it stretched between the 1820s & 30s. -
The Adams-Onis Treaty
The Adams- Onis Treaty was a treaty signed to settle the disputes between America and Spain. The U.S. was having a dispute over its southern border with Spanish Florida, the dispute was over having Americans settle in Florida. At the same time, conflicts between the Seminole and the U.S. were arising, so Jackson’s troops marched into Florida where the First Seminole War started. During the war, Jackson was able to take over military posts, overthrow the governor of Florida. Jackson took action w -
Santa Fe Trail
In 1821 the Santa Fe Trail became the first American commercial highway. The Santa Fe Trail continued being one of the nation's greatest trails and was used for adventures and expanding out west. The trail connected Santa Fe to Missouri and New Mexico. When the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war in 1848, the trail connected America to new SW territories. Commercial freighting was used on the trail and the trail also used by stagecoach lines, adventurers, gold miners, etc. -
Monroe Doctrine
In the early 1820s, most Spanish colonies in the Americas had declared independence, these political circumstances surrounding these revolutions reminded American leaders of the Revolutionary War. Mexico broke free from Spain in 1821, and Monroe got worried, he was afraid that European rivals would try to take control of newly independent countries in Latin-America. Secretary of State Adams said that the U.S. had always been friendly with the Europeans, and did not want to be in anymore wars wit -
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Congress passed the Bureau of Indian Affairs to help manage the removal to western lands. The Choctaw were the first to be sent to the new territory. They were sent there during a disastrous winter trip, about ¼ of the Choctaws died from cold, disease, or starvation. -
Spoils System
President Jackson rewarded his supporters with government jobs. This practice, of giving back to political backers, was called the spoils system. The system comes from the saying "to the victor belong the spoils [valued goods] of the enemy." Most of Jacksons supporters were in the cabinet, but one of them was even Secretary of State. -
Tariff of Abominations
Tariffs became one of President Jackson's first issues. Before Jackson took office, Congress put a tax on imports. Many southerners were angry and called it the Tariff of Abominations. John Quincy Adams signed the tariff legislation even though he did not support it. -
Indian Territory
After the Indian Removal Act was passed, there were a lot of Native Americans and nowhere for them to live. Congress opened up Indian Territory in Oklahoma. Calhoun was a supporter of this plan, but some weren't. Calhoun suggested that the removal and placement of Indians would protect them from further conflict with the US. -
Nationalism
The U.S. had been successful with negotiations with foreign countries, and Americans were feeling a great sense of nationalism. Nationalism is a feelings of pride or loyalty to a nation. This unity found a supporter in Henry Clay, KY Senator. -
Nationalism
The U.S. had been successful with negotiations with foreign countries, and Americans were feeling a great sense of nationalism. Nationalism is a feelings of pride or loyalty to a nation. This unity found a supporter in Henry Clay, KY Senator. -
Indian Removal Act
Native Americans had lived in settlements stretching from Georgia to Mississippi. But, the President wanted this land to open up the land for more American settlements. In 1830, Congress ,under pressure from Jackson, passed the Indian Removal Act. This act authorized the removal of Native Americans that lived east of the Mississippi. -
Nullification Crisis
Vice President Calhoun's view was controversial, and drew many people who challenged it. Many of Calhoun's challengers were from northern states that benefitted from the tariffs. Conflicts from the supporters and the protesters against the nullification grew deeper. The dispute between the 2 side became known as the nullification crisis. -
Whig Party
A new party was formed in 1834 to oppose Jackson. They were called the Whig party. The Whig party believed that there should be a weak president and a strong Congress. The Whigs were named after an English party that opposed the monarchy, and they thought President Jackson was using his power like a king. -
Alamo
The Alamo was an abandoned mission near San Antonio. It later became an important battle site in the Texas Revolution. Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission. The attack was later called the Battle of the Alamo. The Mexicans won this battle with President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. -
Trail of Tears
Georgia wanted to remove the Cherokee, but the Cherokee claimed they were an independent nation and Georgia could not remove them. In the Court case of Worcester vs. Georgia, the Court stated the Cherokee nation was a distinct community and Georgia had no force over them. Georgia ignored the decision, and Jackson did not take any action to enforce the ruling. In spring of 1838, the US troops began to remove the Cherokees and the Cherokee was sent on an 800 mile forced march that became known as -
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was what America believed to be obvious fate to settle land all the way to the Pacific Ocean in order to spread democracy. O'Sullivan coined the term in 1845. He wrote that it was "America's manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty." In the mid-1800s, manifest destiny was tied up with the slavery issue. -
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a period in American history which began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought—mostly by sailing ships and covered wagons—some 300,000 gold-seekers (called "forty-niners", as in "1849") to California. While most of the newly arrived were Americans, the Gold Rush also attracted some tens of thousands from Latin America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The effects of the G -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was a treaty signed by the U.S. and Mexico in 1848. It ended the Mexican-American War in favor of the U.S., this war started over a territorial dispute over Texas. The treaty gave the U.S. another 525,000 square miles of land including "the land that makes up all or parts of present-day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming." This treaty also recognized the Rio Grande as America's southern boundary. -
Sectionalism
Sectionalism is the disagreements between the different regions. Sectionalism happened even during the Era of Good Feeling. One problem was when Missouri applied to Congress to be a slave state. At the time the Amount of states in the Union was 11 and the amount in the Confederacy was 11, so the resolved it in the Missouri Compromise. -
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase was an agreement between the U.S. and Mexico in 1854. In this agreement, the U.S. agreed to pay Mexico $10 million for a 29,670 square mile portion of Mexico. This purchase provided land needed for a southern transcontinental railroad. The Gadsden Purchase also resolved any conflicts left between the U.S. and Mexico from the Mexican-American War. -
States Rights Doctrine
Vice President Calhoun was a fellow southerner and was outraged when the Tariff was passed. Calhoun did many things to protest the tariff, one thing was the sates' rights doctrine. This doctrine stated that since the states formed the federal government, they should be able to have greater power than the national power. He thought the states should be able to reject any national law they deemed unconstitutional.
