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Period: to
1800-1860
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Pinckney Treaty Part 2
Under the treaty, which was called the Pinckney Treaty, Spain let the United States ship their goods down the Mississippi and store them in New Orleans. -
Pinckney Treaty Part 1
Farmers relied on the Mississippi River to ship and store their goods in New Orleans. There had been many border disputes between the United States and Spain (who controlled New Orleans). Spain did not want to be involved in U.S. trade and settlement and they threatened to close the port. President Washington knew the importance of that port and he sent Thomas Pinckney to work out a treaty with Spain. -
Interchangeable Parts
When someone's machine was broken, they would need new parts that had to be custom made. It cost a lot of money and took a long time. Eli Whiteny revolutionized the idea of interchangeable parts so that when a soldier's’ gun broke, they could simply get the same part close by instead of sending out for custom repairs. Interchangeable parts were pre-manufactured parts that were similar and could substitute for each other. -
Marbury vs. Madison Part 2
In conclusion, John Marshall created judicial review (Supreme Court can decide if a law is constitutional or unconstitutional). It gave the judicial branch more power. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition Part 1
President Thomas Jefferson selected Meriwether Lewis, his secretary, to go on an expedition to study the wildlife in the western part of North America. He also wanted Lewis to learn about the Indian nations living there so hopefully there could be trade between Americans and the Indians in the future. Lewis chose to bring Captain William Clark, a friend, with him. The journey lasted from 1803 to 1806. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition Part 2
Sacajawea, an Indian, accompanied Lewis and Clark during their expedition. She helped them learn about the Indian nations by translating and she knew a lot about herbs and medicine. -
Louisiana Purchase Part 1
At the time, Spain owned New Orleans and allowed Americans to ship and store their goods through the Mississippi River. However, Spain sometimes threatened to close the port to Americans. In 1800, Spain and France signed a treaty that gave New Orleans to France. Thomas Jefferson wanted to buy New Orleans to ensure that American farmers could always store their goods there. Thomas Jefferson sent Robert Livingston and James Monroe to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans. -
Lousiana Purchase Part 2
The French offered to sell all of the Louisiana territory which would have doubled America’s size at the time. In 1803, the United States bought 500,000,000 acres of land. Thomas Jefferson had some qualms about doing this because it did not say in the constitution that the government could buy new land. -
Marbury vs. Madison Part 1
On the last night of his presidency, Adams appointed “midnight judges” to different courts and one of them was William Marbury. When Jefferson became President he told Secretary of State, James Madison, not to send the official papers of the midnight judges' appointment. Marbury became angry so he sued Madison, in the case of Marbury vs. Madison. The case was taken to the Supreme Court and Chief Justice John Marshall decided that the Judiciary Act was unconstitutional. -
Embargo Act
When the French and the British went to war, the Americans were trading with both sides. Eventually, both the French and the British were stopping American tradind ships. To avoid war, Thomas Jefferson created the Embargo Act, which stopped all foreign trade. The hope was to cripple the other nations, but instead it harmed the United States more. The Embargo Act promoted smuggling and was later repealed in 1809. -
War of 1812
Britain was starting to impress American sailors and interfere with American trade (which violated the nations neutrality). These events led up to the federal government declaring war on Britain. During thie war, the Star Spangled Banner was written and parts of Washington DC, including the White House, were set ablaze. The war heightened the citizens’ pride for the nation. -
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent officially ended the War of 1812. Negotiators for America included John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay. Britain agreed to give up claims to the Northwest Territory, and both countries promised to work toward ending the slave trade. The treaty was signed in Ghent, Belgium, on December 24, 1814. However, the slowness of communications prevented word of peace getting to the armies in and around New Orleans. American forces won the Battle of New Orleans anyway. -
United States gains Florida
Since Florida was under Spain's control, Spain allowed African Americans to live there. One fort, known as the Negro Fort, held many runaway slaves. Andrew Jackson demanded Spain to destroy the fort but the Spanish government refused. Therefore, Jackson and American forces headed to Florida and destroyed the fort. John Quincy Adams was sent to create a treaty (called the Adams-OnÍs Treaty). This treaty called for Spain to give up Florida and in return the US would pay $5 million. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine which was passed on 1823 by James Monroe. It stated that any attempts of colonization in the Americas by European nations will be met with American resistance. Monroe stated that the United States would not interfere with the European nations and their affairs. However, he warned them not to try to take control of Latin America. -
The First Railroad (PART 1)
In 1828, the city of Baltimore built the first railroad in the U.S, called the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O). It was based off of British inventor, George Stephenson's locomotive engine; known as the Rocket. America's tourists in Britain saw how efficient and cheap railroads were, so the invention spread to America. Jobs were created, shipping expenses decreased, transportation became faster, and commerce increased. -
The First Railroad (PART 2)
Unfortunately, the railroads were not perfect, and workers for stagecoaches, canal workers, and turnpike people lost money and customers to the railroad system, so they did not offer support. When experimenters, like Jonathon Knight and Robert Stevens, stepped in, they solved problems with railings and improved the system, so trains could function more smoothly; some of their ideas are still used today. -
Tariff of Abominations
A high tax passed for imports by Congress under President Jackson that benefited the northern manufacturers. The tariff hurt the southern states very much because they imported goods that they did not make or grow. In 1833, Henry Clay came up with a compromise to lower the tariff for the southern states. -
The Whig Party (PART 1)
Politicans from the old federalist party despised Andrew Jackson and his actions, so they made a new party, called the National Republicans. Some important members included Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. In 1834 they became known as the Whigs. "Whig" comes from English politics and means a small group of people against a dictatorship. The party supported Adams plan for national growth. They also supported a strong federal government, tariff protection, and a national bank. -
The Whig Party (PART 2)
They were not successful, as they only had one president; William Henry Harrison. Unfortunately, he died a month after taking office. Eventually, they split to the "Northern Whigs" and the "Cotton Whigs" because of views on slavery. -
The Battle Of San Jacinto
The fight lasted only 18 minutes, Although the Texans were outnumbered, they killed 630 Mexicans and captured 700 more. That next day, they captured Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and forced him to sign a peace treaty, granting Texas its independence from Mexico. -
The Steel Plow
John Deere was a blacksmith, and he also assisted farmers. He was looking for more work, so he moved away from Vermont to Grand Detour, Illinois; where there were no blacksmiths. Deere realized that it was hard to till soil in Illinois, like Vermont. He wanted to help the farmers, so he started thinking, and found that a broken sawmill blade could work as the moldboard. The polished steel would let soil slide off easily and worked better than other plows at the time. -
The Panic of 1837
In 1836, President Martin Van Buren took office after Andrew Jackson and shared his beliefs in laissez faire. He did not want to interfere in individual lives, so he left the public alone. At the tire, western lands were being sold, and many speculators bought them to make more money. They borrowed a lot of money, but could not pay the banks back. Eventually, banks crashed and thousands of people lost their money. Homes were sold and business declined. The economy recovered in the 1840's. -
The Trail of Tears Part 1
President Andrew Jackson was in office and supported Georgia after Supreme Court ruled Georgia's power over the Cherokee unconstitutional. To obtain their fertile land, he passed the Indian Removal Act and forced the Cherokee west of the Mississippi River. In 1835, a few Cherokee signed the Treaty of New Echota, without consulting their people, to get paid for their land. Congress approved, but the rest of the Cherokee nation protested. -
Trail of Tears Part 2
Eventually, they were forced by the U.S. Army to march on the Trail of Tears. Many Cherokee children and elderly died from low temperatures, disease, starvation, and fatigue. -
The Telegraph
The telegraph was created by Samuel F.B. Morse in 1844. It was the first form of long-distance communication. The first successful telegraph was sent by Samuel F.B. Morse to Alfred Vail. Morse was in Washington D.C., and Vail was in Baltimore. The telegraph used a series of dots and lines that translated to English letters to spell out words. This form of communication became known as Morse Code. -
Clipper Ships
With slow transportation, trade between nations was a slow and difficult process. However in 1845, John Griffiths built the first Clipper Ship called the "Rainbow". This ship had tall masts, narrow hulls, and massive sails. These components enabled the ship to sail at unheard speeds and made national trade much easier. -
Mexican War
When President Polk annexed Texas to become part of the Union, Mexico was furious. Mexican troops attacked American soldiers in disputed land, and Polk declared war on Mexico, stating that Mexicans had "invaded our territory and shed American blood on American soil." Zachary Taylor, Winfield Scott, and Stephen W. Kearny were famous generals who quickly took over Mexico and eventually, their capital. Nicholas Trist disobeyed Polk's orders and signed the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. -
The Compromise Of 1850
When Congress issues were not getting resolved, Clay decided to write several bills to be passed in the Congress. He soon grew sick, and his bills were getting rejected so Sen. Stephen Douglas from Illinois carried on the bills, adding few new bills, which eventually earned most of the votes from the Congress. The five components of the Compromise was allowing California as our 16th state (free), dividing territories from Mexican cessions into New Mexico and Utah. This compromise ended slavery -
The Compromise of 1850 Part 2
in Washington D.C, and it settled disputes over New Mexico and Texas. Most importantly it created a stronger fugitive slave law, so that there wouldn't be anymore runaway slaves. -
Fugitive Slave Act
This act made all citizens forced to catch runaway slaves from their owners, otherwise they could be fined or jailed. The captured slaves had no right to testify or have a court trial. The judges earned $10 for sending slaves to the South and $5 for setting someone free. Judges too advantage of this and sent some people to the South even if the weren't runaways, just for the money. The act clearly favored the slave owners and made some northerners riot. Overall, it convinced them it was evil. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
After the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, Stowe saw the African Americans suffer. She realized through her own loss that many mothers suffered when their children were getting sold off to other men. In Connecticut, where she grew up, she saw the Underground Railroads and injustice, so Stowe wrote a novel based on anti-slavery. This book captured many people’s attention, especially in the North and Great Britain. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
After the Compromise of 1850 was established, the southerners thought it wasn't fair to have another free state. To reduce further conflicts, Senator Douglas proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which divided the Nebraska territory into two states, and popular sovereignty was allowed. This angered many northerners because it repealed the Missouri Compromise, which allowed no slavery to the north of the 36 degrees 30' parallel line. -
Bleeding Kansas
Groups of pro slavery men went to Kansas and destroyed many buildings. John Brown murdered men that disturbed the free state Kansas and much more occured. -
Creation Of The Republican Party
The thought of antislavery kept on growing, which allowed people to think of a new Party for anti-slavery. Northern Whigs and Democrats met and formed a party called the Republicans in 1856. Later, this party went against one of the parites for President. John C. Fremont was selected to be the first Repulican to run for President. Unfortunately, he lost because of his lack of knowledge in politics, and he only got one third of the votes. Later Lincoln also failed to become Senate. -
Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott, an African American slave, was owned by Mr. Emmerson. Mr. Emmerson died, so Mrs. Emmerson hires Dred Scott and his family out to be enslaved to other families. Scott and his wife strongly thought that this wasn't fair because Scott and his family had always lived in a free state. Dred Scott ends up filing a lawsuit against Mrs. Emmerson at the Supreme Court, with the help of anti-slavery lawyers. The Congress decided that Scott couldn't file a lawsuit because he wasn't a citizen, but -
Dred Scott Case Part 2
just property. Many northerners and anti-slavery citizens were astonished by the result and thought it was unfair. However, the southerners thought this case result gave them the legalized right to have slaves in any territory of the U.S. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown's Raid was a slavery revolt on Harper's Ferry where a white American man, John Brown, seized a U.S arsenal. Later he was caught and sentenced to death, which changed many citizen's opinions on slavery issues. -
The Election Of 1860
The Election of 1860 was between Lincoln and Bell and the Republican's first victory over one of the oldest political party. Many northerners were happy because now the Republicans were in power to "end" slavery, but the southerners felt that their votes didn't come into effect at all, so they became very angry at the politicians. -
Secession Of Southern States
Due to the Election of 1860, where the Republicans were in charge of the government, many southern states were enraged. Many southerners felt threatened because they thought that they couldn't speak out for slavery anymore. Republicans were still not willing to give up the government after years of effort. This caused the North and the South to divide, which led to the Civil War. On December 20th, 1860, South Carolina was the first state to secede from the United States.
