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Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris formalized British defeat in America, and recognized the independence of the United States. More importantly it nullified the British imposed Line of Demarcation opening territory between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains to American settlers. This new movement lead to the displacement of indigenous peoples in the region and proliferation of slavery in the south. -
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Post Revolutionary Era
With the advent of the Treaty of Paris, settlers were now legally permitted to settle west of the Appalachians, diffusing colonial cultures deeper into the American heartland. in the north, the Mid-Atlantic and New English settlers began a process of industrialization, focusing their economic future more on goods as opposed to the diffusion of Chesapeake and lower southerners who focused on agriculture, touting slavery with them. -
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Jefferson Administration
President Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Vice President Aaron Burr of New York (till 1805), succeeded by George Clinton of New York. Thomas Jefferson was a major figure in the early days of American expansionism. His agrarian dream of the American future contrasted with sentiments in the north, with his actions during presidency being seen as a catalyst of the divide between the south and the industrialized north in politics. -
The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchases was the acquisition and annexation of previously held French territories, overseen by the Jefferson administration. The acquisition played into the hands of Jefferson's agrarian ambitions and spurred on national pride. Not only did the purchase secure more land for the US, but expanded the potential corridor of slavery for the south, which partly became a falsehood, with much of the land being relatively barren, and incompatible with southern cash crops. -
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri compromise was crafted by none other than Henry Clay, as a one of many deals that attempted to remedy the issue of slavery in continental America. The line was drawn between Missouri and Arkansas Territories to allow Missouri to gain statehood with the institution of slavery. The line was later extended out to California, but proved as a point of contention, with more land that was granted to free states who could later rule slavery as unconstitutional. -
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Jackson Administration
The Jackson Administration was an arduous and controversial presidency, but considering American politics since Washington, this was pretty much the norm. The Jacksonian era witnessed a resurgence in Jefferson thought. Jackson facilitated the dilution of Clay's New American system revolving around industry and a national bank (which Jackson also dismantled) in lieu of the Jefferson championed ideal of agrarianism. However most pertinent was the Indian removal from lands west of the Mississippi. -
Manifest Destiny Coined
Manifest Destiny was coined in 1845 by John L Sullivan, an editor of a democratically leaning newspaper. The term Manifest Destiny has in modern times come to represent the underly narrative of the drive westwards, a sense of racial superiority to those who currently inhabited the lands out west, and the desire to expand the two opposing cornerstones of Anglo-Saxon American culture of the time: slavery and industry, the the while assimilating or condemning deviation from this norm. -
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Polk-Buchanan Administrations
The Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan Administrations reflected a tumultuous time period. Beginning with the Mexican-American War and terminating with the S. Carolinian Secession; a series of hasty, can kicking compromises were enacted by congress with the intent of retaining the union. Dodging the constitutional hot button issues of state's vs federal rights and slavery, all while organizing and adopting newly gained territory into states. -
The Annexation of Texas
The annexation of Texas into the US marks not only a flash point in international relations with Mexico, but the internal divisions over not just slavery, but the expansionist policy that was so entrenched within the establishment. Texas, a slave holding republic in the American Deep South was only admitted into the union by the republican congress with full representation in tandem with the new, sparsely populated and settled free state of Maine created from northern Massachusetts territory. -
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The Mexican-American War
The devolving relations between Mexico and the United States reached a head with the annexation the the republic of Texas, with the US inheriting the Texan border disputes with Mexico along with it. Then president Polk was the figurehead in the efforts by expanionist Democrat War hawks to fight a war of conquest against a weaker foe for more land to expand the intuition of slavery. Many Whigs opposed these actions on grounds of morality, necessity, and viability, with Dems ignoring them. -
The Oregon Treaty
The Oregon Treaty was a hasty remedy to a potentially two front war in North America and a massive backtrack in then President Polk's hyper-expansionist rhetoric. Although the establishments of slavery and expansionism often came had in hand, the compromise between British Canada and the US served as a reassurance to southern states, denying more territory to free states and as well to anti-expansionist abolitionists, a frankly curious point of agreement for the ferociously opposing sides. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 encircled the statehood of California, a newly conquered territory enriched and populated by a gold rush. IN similar fashion to the whigs during the annexation of Texas, republicans refused to admit California into the union as a free state. CA found itself both above and below the Missouri Compromise line, now being recognized by the Republicans as a deception. It was only till the creation of the UT and NV territories would could vote on slavery was the motion carried. -
The Ostend Manifesto
The Ostend Manifesto was a document drafted by American diplomats in Europe by then President Pierce's Secretary of State William Marcy. The contents of the manifesto urged Pierce to seize assets int he Caribbean such as Cuba. The document was a thinly veiled ploy by the democrat planter class to expand into the profitable sugar markets of the Caribbean and demonstrates the wandering eyre of the south in searching for lands to expand their establishment of slavery into. -
The End of the Antebellum Era
Despite all of the finger twiddling, can kicking, cane beating, and relaying on Kentuckians to solve all your problems-ing, The state of South Carolina seceded from the union, valuing its economic cornerstone, and the vast portion of their populous (despite only being 3/5ths of a person) over the democratic-republican ideals forged in the revolution against oppressors, the same in which they incited. Now begins the battle for federal rights and slavery, all kicked down the road until now.