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Nationalism
Nationalism is feelings of pride and loyalty to a nation. Americans started to get a rising sense of nationalism because of the successful negotiations with foreign powers. Henry Clay believed to make this sense even stronger to make the national economy strong. So, he developed the plan called the American System that was a series of measures intended to make the United States economically self-sufficient. Then he used the protective tariff to build new roads and canals. -
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Era of Good Feelings
The Era of Good Feelings is the era of peace, pride, and progress from1815-1825. America built new roads and reinforced the power of the federal government with two court cases. -
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McCulloch v. Maryland
President Jackson wasn’t always for the federal government being in charge. He opposed the second bank of the United States. The bank had a 20 year charter that allowed it to act as the government’s financial agent. Most of the bank was privately owned. Many states, mostly in the south, opposed the bank as well. Maryland tried to pass a tax to limit the bank’s operations but one of the bank’s cashiers refused to pay the tax. Mr. James McCulloch went to court and he won the trial. -
Adams-Otis Treaty
General Andrew Jackson led US troops into Florida to capture Seminole raiders who attacked US forts and helped slaves escape. This began the first Seminole War. While Jackson was in Florida he took over Spain’s military posts and even overthrew the Governor of Florida without President Monroe’s consent. This upset Spanish leaders so the US and Spain negotiated the Adams-Onis Treaty (John Quincy Adams and Luis de Onis had talks about letting Americans live in Florida). -
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Sectionalism
Even during the Era of Good Feelings there were disagreements between the different regions known as sectionalism. For example, in 1819 Missouri wanted to enter the Union as a slave state but that would tip the balance between there being 11 slave states and 11 Free states. This led to the Missouri Compromise. -
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Jacksonian Democracy
The Jacksonian Democracy expanded America’s democracy. This started when Andrew Jackson was not elected president by the House of Representatives, although many common people and slave states supported him. -
Missouri Comprimise
1819 there was a dispute in Congress about whether to make Missouri a slave state or a free state. They tried to settle the dispute with an amendment to free the slave children in the state and make importing slaves into Missouri illegal but it didn’t work. So, Henry Clay came up with the Missouri Compromise. The compromise had three main conditions: Missouri would be a slave state, Maine would join as a free state, and slavery would be prohibited in any new territory north of 36 degrees 30'. -
Monroe Doctrine
The US and Britain worried about European powers trying to take over the new independent latin countries. So, President Monroe and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, came up with the Monroe Doctrine that basically was a statement of American policy. warning European powers not to interfere with the Americas. -
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Spoils System
The Spoils System is the practice of giving government jobs to political backers. This happened right after Andrew Jackson became president. -
Tariff of Abominations
A year before Jackson became president northern manufacturers wanted a tariff on imported woolen goods to protect their industries from foreign competition. The British were driving American businesses out of business. So, Congress put a high tariff on imports. However, the southerners disliked this tax and called it the Tariff of Abominations. -
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Nulification Crisis
The debate on the taxes rose between the two regions. They either thought states should be able to reject a federal law if they deem it unconstitutional. The dispute became known as the nullification crisis. -
States' Rights Doctrine
The States’ Rights Doctrine stated that since the states had formed the national government, state power should be greater than federal power. Vice President, John C. Calhoun, said that because of this document states had the right to reject any federal law they judged to be unconstitutional. Of course he was talking about the tariff of abomination because it hurt his home state, South Carolina’s, economy. -
Indian Removal Act
President Jackson wanted to open the settlements from Georgia to Mississippi to American farmers but the Native American that lived there were in the way. So Congress, pressured by Jackson, passed the Indian Removal Act which authorized the removal of Native Americans who lived east of the Mississippi River to lands in the west. -
Indian Territory
During the Indian Removal Act the Indians east of the Mississippi River were removed from their homes. The government had to move the Indians somewhere so they put them in what was called Indian Territory which is present day Oklahoma. -
Bureao of Indian Affairs
Many believed that separating the Indians from settlers would keep from further conflicts. So, to manage the Indian removal, Congress made a new government agency called the Bureau of Indian Affairs. -
Whig Party Begins
When Jackson decided not to run in 1836, Congress nominated Vice President Martin Van Buren. A new political party formed to oppose Jackson. They called themselves Whigs and favored the idea of a weak president and a strong Congress. -
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Trail of Tears
After the Cherokee resistance, they were finally forced to move. They marched 800-miles to Oklahoma. They suffered from disease, hunger, and harsh weather, so they called it the trail of tears. -
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Oregon Trail
When the Indians moved west so did the Americans. Soon mountain men were hunting beavers and selling them in the Americans and Europe. However in the 1840s the trade began to dwindle. New settlers soon replaced the mountain men and were encouraged by their heroic stories. Many wanted to move to the new Oregon country. They traveled along the Oregon Trail, which was about 2,000 miles. Many went in wagon trains and some even brought cattle along with them. -
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Santa Fe Trail
Settlers also moved to the southwest. The Santa Fe Trail led from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was originally a Native American trading route. The trip went across blazing desert and rough mountains terrain. -
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Mantifest Destiny
Americans already needed more land to for their booming county. They moved as far west as they possibly could. Some believed it was America’s manifest destiny, or obvious fate, to settle all the way to the Pacific Ocean in order to spread democracy. -
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Donner Party
The Donner Party was a group of western travelers who went to California but were stranded in the Sierra Desert Mountains during winter. The party began its journey west in 1846. Trying to find a shortcut the left the main trail and got lost. When they reached the Nevada Mountains they got trapped by heavy snows. They were found starving in February of 1847. Of the original 87, 42 died. -
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California Gold Rush
In January 1848, John Sutter sent a carpenter to build a sawmill beside nearby river. While working near Sutter’s Mill, Marshall found a picked up a chunk of gold! Sutter and Marshall wanted to keep the gold a secret but word got out. In 1849, 80,000 good-seekers came to California. -
Treaty of Guadalupe
America wanted to buy California and New Mexico from Mexico but Mexico wouldn’t sell. So, the two countries went to war. America was better equipped and had more recruits. After much dispute over land, the war between America and Mexico finally ended. The Treaty of Guadalupe forced Mexico to give much of its northern territory to the US. -
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Forty-Niners
Many rushed to California for a chance to strike it rich. The migrants in 1849 were called forty-niners. They made California’s population jump from 800to 25,000 by 1850. -
Gladsden Purchase
America’s minister to Mexico, James Gladsden negotiated the Gladsden Purchase which was how the US would pay for the land. Under the terms of the Gladsden Purchase, the US government paid Mexico $10 million and in exchange the US received the southern parts pf what are now Arizona and New Mexico.
