Lewis and Clark Expedition
- Congress pays for a trip to explore the new land (Louisiana) 1804.
- Jefferson gives them 4 pages of specific instructions. Draw maps, what kind of soil, plants, animals… Lewis and Clark
- Trip took over 2 years to complete.
- They came home in 1806 with biological samples.
- One reason they didn’t have problems with Native Americans was Sacagawea.
Cotton gin
- Cotton gin, 1790s.
- Cotton gin is a machine that takes all the seeds out. One slave with a cotton gin can clean 50 pounds. This makes slavery a money maker again.
- Thomas Jefferson wrote “Notes On the State of Virginia.” to get outside investors. Passage about slaves. Jefferson talks about slaves just like he talks about livestock. “Been exposed to our home and art but don’t appreciate it.”
Richard Allen
- Born a slave in 1760.
- Slave for a time in Delaware, converted to methodism. His master also converted and decided that slavery was a sin. He allows Allen to work on the side and save money to buy his freedom.
- Converted to methodism and eventually bought his freedom.
- Forms the AME in 1816.
Nullification Controversy
- A crisis of expansion that deals with sectionalism. North vs. South. The problem with expansion is that North vs. South debate over various things. Nullification is about tariffs. .
- In 1832, there is a huge tariff and South Carolina says they will nullify the law.
- Jackson created the Force Bill to make people follow the law.
Black Hawk’s War
- Black Hawk was the leader of Sac and Fox Indians. 1832
- Jackson sends an army to tell Black Hawk his tribe has to move west.
- Black Hawk refuses to surrender. Army chases him north and catches up with him on August 3. Over the course of 8 hours, the army kills 850 Indian warriors.
- They capture Black Hawk and force him to move West.
Whigs
- The whig party is composed of people who hate Andrew Jackson.
5 groups:
Anti-masons
Nativists (city)
Pro-Henry Clay (country/Kentucky/west)
Pro-Daniel Webster (east)
Pro- Calhoun (South) - A national party
Election of 1840
- The first modern 2 party election in U.S. history.
- Whigs focus on blaming democrats for the depression.
- Both parties are alike. Both are non-sectional. Two national parties
- Whigs won the election.
Expansion- what role does expansion play?
Expansion played a huge role in the growth of the new nation because it created three issues in the country and Jacksonian America lead to expansion across space and expansion of political power.
There were three issues that arose when the new nation was expanding. The first one was the nullification controversy. This is when the South and the North split in opposing views over the tariffs. When South Carolina tried to revolt against these tariffs, Jefferson created the Force bill and this cause every president after him to have more power. The second issue was the bank controversy. In 1819, the bank began to collapse and people began to lose their land. The bank becomes stable in the 1820s and stabilizes the people economically. The third problem was Indian removal. Americans wanted more land, and they turn to taking the land of Indians. The Trail of Tears was in 1838 and Congress passed the Indian Removal Act.
In Jacksonian America, less people are living in scattered neighborhoods. Individualism and equality spread, though women, free blacks and Native Americans would argue that they did not feel or were not treated equally. However, it did transition America from an agricultural land to an industrial one. During this time, Americans expanded beyond the space of land, and they wanted to conquer the frontier. Democracy and political powers spread, and the Force Bill is an example of something that strengthened presidency power.
America expanded as they pursued land and strengthened political powers. Jacksonian America had a huge impact on America as it transitioned the world from an agricultural world to an industrial one.
