CH09.PPTNATION BUILDING AND NATIONIONALISM
America: Past and Present
Chapter 9
Expansion and Migration
- American perspective shifts from Europe to West after 1815
- Land perceived as rich, unsettled
- Continent held in part by the English, Spanish, and Indians
Extending the Boundaries
- John Quincy Adams--expansionist secretary of state from 1816 to 1824
- Adams-Onis Treaty secures all Florida, U.S. boundary to Pacific
- Settled "West" still mostly east of Mississippi River
North America, 1819
Settlement to the Mississippi: Indian Removal
- Indian Removal policy begins after 1815
- Some Indians retain tribal homelands
- Some Southern states claim jurisdiction over the Indians in their borders
- Former Indian land sold to speculators
Settlement to the Mississippi: Settlers Move In
- By 1840 over 1/3 of U.S. population lives west of the Appalachians
- Speculators sell land parcels to settlers on credit
- Settlers immediately enter commercial farming to pay off debt
- Access to markets gained by network of market towns, regional centers
The People and Culture of the Frontier
- West settled to escape overpopulation, rising land prices, worn-out soil
- Settlers bring culture with them
- Cooperation, strong community necessary for survival
- Land values rise rapidly in a few years
- Price rise encourages rootlessness as many sell out and move on
A Revolution in Transportation
- Primitive land transportation in the East was offset by shipping via the coastal waterways
- After the War of 1812 political leaders recognized the need the need to improve the country’s transportation network
Roads and Steamboats
- National Road from Cumberland, Maryland to Wheeling, Virginia
- Private turnpikes built by entrepreneurs
- Roads useful but unprofitable
Roads and Steamboats (2)
- Network of rivers encourage economic development
- Flatboats transport down river early
- Steamboats transport upriver after 1811
- Upriver capabilities reduce costs
- Steamboat traffic stimulates Congress to establish safety regulations
The Canal Boom
- Erie Canal first transportation link between East and West, 1825
- Canal cuts East-West transportation costs dramatically
- Canal stimulates commercial growth of New York City
Emergence of a Market Economy
- Canals cut shipping expenses for western farmers and eastern manufacturers
- Steamboats on the rivers also reduced shipping costs and stimulated commercial agriculture
The Beginning of Commercial Agriculture
- Lower transportation costs mean greater income for the farmer
- Sale to distant markets involves farmers in a complex system of credit
- Market stimulates specialization
- Ohio Valley produces wheat
- Lower South produces cotton
Commerce and Banking
- Commercial farming stimulates new system of marketing
- Farmers borrow on future crops
- Use of credit stimulates banking
- State banks increase after 1812
- 1816--Second Bank of the United States created to check state banks
- Bank’s easy credit sparks Panic of 1819
Early Industrialism
- Rise in manufacturing after 1812
- Traditional methods but innovative financing through “putting out” system
- “putting-out”--merchants deliver raw materials for farm families, artisans to process
- Textile industry leads development of factory system
The Politics of Nation Building After the War of 1812
- Politics a one-party system after 1812
- Interest groups no longer take differences into the political arena
- Federal executive, legislature largely irrelevant to domestic economy
- Supreme Court exerts influence on economy by deciding crucial cases
The Republicans in Power
- Republicans begin adopting Federalist measures after War of 1812
- 1815: establish high tariffs
- 1816: charter a national bank
- federal aid for internal improvements
- Federal efforts to stimulate economy falter
- Madison, Monroe see Constitutional conflicts
- Efforts provoke sectional conflict
Monroe as President
- James Monroe elected President in 1816, reelected in 1820
- Monroe seeks national harmony
- Takes no action in Panic of 1819, believes president above such matters
- Provides no leadership controversy over Missouri
The Missouri Compromise: The Issues
- 1817--Missouri applies for statehood as slave state
- Northerners believe South over-represented in House of Representatives
- House rejects unless slavery abolished
- South wishes to preserve balance between slave states and free states
The Missouri Compromise: The Solution
- Missouri admitted as slave state
- Maine admitted as free state
- Slavery banned elsewhere in Louisiana Purchase above the latitude of 36E30'
- Missouri controversy exposed deep rift between North and South
The Missouri Compromise,
1820-1821
Postwar Nationalism and the Supreme Court
- John Marshall chief justice 1801-1835
- Marshall uses position to encourage national growth
- Believes Constitution exists to protect the industrious
- Protects individual property rights against government interference
- Marshall uses court decisions to limit powers of the states
Nationalism in Foreign Policy:
The Monroe Doctrine
- When Latin American nations revolt, U.S. supports new republics
- European ruling classes fear rebellion might prove contagious
- France was encouraged to squelch Spain's rebellious colonies
- Great Britain asks U.S. to cooperate against French in Latin America
Nationalism in Foreign Policy: Monroe Doctrine (2)
- Monroe persuaded that U.S. alone must protect Latin American independence
- 1823--Monroe Doctrine warns European nations out of the Western Hemisphere
- Doctrine also promises U.S. will not interfere in European affairs
- Refocuses U.S. from worldwide struggles against tyranny to national development
The Troubled Presidency of John Quincey Adams
- James Monroe supports John Quincy Adams to succeed him
- Adams intelligent, keen interest in progress, loyal to nation, not sectional
- Nearly loses election of 1824
- A "gentleman" in an age of rising democracy
- Term of office fails because of fiercely contending sectional interests
The End of the “Era of Good Feelings”
- There were sharp divisions over how to achieve national greatness
- Elite nonpartisan statesmanship would soon give way to a more contentious democratic process
