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2nd Great Awakening
This was a Protestant revival movement that started in 1800 and led by preachers. It had a huge effect on American religious history that strengthened the Baptist and Methodist religions. They gained many new members and congregations. -
Cult of Domesticity
Also known as the cult of true womanhood, was an opinion most people had about women in the 1800s. They thought women should not work outside of the home, they should stay home and devote themselves to their husbands. -
Market revolution
A series of transformations which changed the manual-labor system originating in the South. Traditional commerce was out dated by improving industry with transportation and communication. The economy grew and personal wealth developed. -
Louisiana Purchase
A land deal where the US paid France $15 million for about 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River. It doubled the size of the country and gave us control of the Mississippi river. The territory included present day Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, parts of Minnesota and Louisiana west of the Mississippi River. -
Cotton gin
Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin in 1794, but it was not validated until 1807. It was a machine that separated cotton seeds from cotton fiber, and it reduced the time it took to separate dramatically. it did reduce labor of removing seeds, but it increased the need for slaves to grow and pick cotton. -
Steamboats
Built by Robert Fulton, Steamboats were water vessels propelled by a version of John Fitch's steam engine. They appeared on western rivers in the 1800s to transport produce quicker to markets and sometimes transport people. -
Cumberland road
Also known as the National Road, it was the first major highway in the US, built by the federal government. This road was the main transport for thousands of settlers to the West. It promoted westward expansion, encouraged commerce between colonies, and paved the way for the interstate highway systems. -
War of 1812
Fought between the United States and the United Kingdom over British violations of the US maritime rights. It ended with a draw and the ratification of a peace treaty, the Treaty of Ghent. It began in June 1812 and ended in February 1815. -
Battle Lake Erie
Also known as the Battle of Put-in-Bay, the US beat the British with captain Oliver Hazard Perry. Lake Erie was vital for the British to supply their western army, but America gained control of it, preventing the British from accessing the middle of the US. -
Battle of Lake Champlain
One of the most important battles during the war of 1812. Under command of Commodore MacDonough, the US naval forces defeated a British fleet and saved New York from being invaded by the British through the Hudson River Valley. -
Hartford Convention 1814
A series of meetings from December 15, 1814 to January 5, 1815 in Hartford, Connecticut. The New England Federalists Party met to discuss the ongoing War of 1812 and their complaints about the wrongs that had been done. This convention determined the future of their party and how they would choose candidates. -
Missouri Compromise
The compromise of 1820 settled a dispute between the North and South about admitting states as free or slave. Missouri was admitted as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Also, slavery was excluded from all new states north of the southern boundary of Missouri for the Louisiana purchase. -
Erie Canal
Built to allow navigation from NYC and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. It was the longest artificial waterway, and greatly developed the economy of NY and the US. It prompted long-scale commercial and agricultural development and immigration. -
Spoil system
The spoils system was introduced by Andrew Jackson after he won the presidential election in 1828. It was a political tactic of hiring civil servants who are loyal, supportive, and friends to the president and his political party for government jobs. It's a reward to the people who helped him win, and keeps people he trusts as appointees. -
Indian Removal Act 1830
President Andrew Jackson signed this act into law which gave the president the ability to grant unsettled lands west of the Mississippi to tribes in exchange for desired Indian lands within the existing state borders. Some tribes went peacefully, but many did not want to relocate and had to be forced. -
Specie Circular
President Andrew Jackson issued this US executive order which required payment for government land to be in gold and silver. It prevented working-class Americans from buying federal land in the West. This act led to the Panic of 1837 and eventually changed the American Political Party System. -
Public school movement
The common-school movement was led by Horace Mann in Massachusetts who advocated taxes to finance public schools so all children could attend, rich or poor. The movement's goals were to provide free education for all (white) children as well as to train and educate teachers. -
Panic of 1837
President Jackson issued the Specie Circular to force payment of federal lands which resulted in state banks collapsing, businesses going bankrupt, and widespread unemployment and distress. It got resolved by finding ways to secure people's money in banks. -
Women's rights Movement
During the late 1800s women began to form organizations to fight for the right to vote and to gain economic and political equality. Not everyone agreed with these new ideas, but women apart of the movement wanted education and to gain the right to work with equal pay. -
Seneca Falls Convention '48
The Seneca falls Convention, held in New York, was the first women's rights convention in the US. It plays a very important role in starting the women's suffrage movement, and ensuring the women's right to vote seven years later. The convention was organized for women, by women.
