Progress and Decline in American History

Progress and Decline in American History

Legend

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Turning Points

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Cause & Consequence

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Continuity & Change

The Louisiana

Purchase - 1803

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The Mississippi river was located in Louisiana territory and had become integral to United States trade at this time. Originally Spain owned Louisiana and in 1795 signed a treaty with the United States giving them the right to use the river and to deposit goods in New Orleans for transfer to vessels going overseas. However, in 1802 the Spanish King Charles IV signed a decree transferring the Louisiana territory to France’s ruler Napoleon, who took away Americas' access to the port's warehouses. As the United States continued to expand, having access to the Mississippi river and the ports of New Orleans was critical in order for American commerce to thrive. After he gained Louisiana, Napoleon’s plans to re-establish in the New World began to fail. It was brought to his attention that Louisiana had little worth to the French and at this time they could not afford to keep it. So, the American president Thomas Jefferson offered to buy the land from France for 15 million dollars. This was accepted and the deal was made, granting the United States with approximately 827,000 square miles of land. The Louisiana Purchase was extremely significant because it doubled the size of the United States setting the stage for further expansions in later years. As the Mississippi was a major trade route, it also gave America opportunity to produce a lot of wealth.

Lowell Mills - 1820s

The Seneca Falls Convention - 1848

Lowell, Massachusetts, was founded in the early 1820’s as a town that was planned for the manufacturing of fabrics. It introduced a new system of manufacturing and established new patterns of employment to the United States. By the 1840s, the Lowell factories employed more than 8,000 textile workers. Most of those employed were women and children who would operate the looms and other machinery. The Lowell mills were the first sign of the industrial revolution that was to come to the United States. For many of the women working in the mills, employment brought a new-found sense of freedom as they were able to earn their own money and had more educational opportunities. It also established a wage-system of payment and an hourly schedule. The Lowell mills began to establish a system that allowed for fairer labor laws and women’s equality in the work place.

Hamilton's Financial

Plan - 1790

The Seneca Falls Convention took place in 1948 in Seneca Falls, N.Y. It was the first ever woman’s rights convention held in the United States and almost 200 women were in attendance. The convention was organized by abolitionists Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott who met at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. As women, Mott and Stanton were banned from the convention floor which sparked a shared anger between them. It was this anger that provided motivation for their founding of the women’s rights movement in the United States. Cady Stanton read the “Declaration of Sentiments and Grievances,” at the Seneca Falls Convention. It detailed the injustices imposed upon women in the United States and called upon American women to unify and fight for their rights. This Convention was very significant because it marked the beginning of the women’s suffrage movement in America.

Missouri Compromise - 1820

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After the American Revolution, one of the major problems that the federal government faced was financial chaos. America was in debt from the war and had huge inflation. In 1790, Alexander Hamilton became the Secretary of Treasury of the United States under president George Washington. He was given the challenging job of restoring the economy after the period of economic hardship following the Revolution. Thus, he created his financial plan which included: building a capitol city (Washington, DC), selling government bonds, creating the first national bank, and passing the tariff of 1789. Ultimately, it accomplished the task of completely repairing the economy and also created a blueprint for the modern American capitalist economy. Alexander Hamilton's plan for economic success helped to shape the great American economy into what it is today.

Tensions began to rise between those who were pro- and anti-slavery, within the U.S. Congress and across the country, previous to the Missouri Compromise. After Missouri’s 1918 request for admission to the Union as a slave state, tensions reached a high point. This is because if Missouri was admitted, it would disturb the balance between slave and free states. In order to preserve this balance of power, Congress granted Missouri’s request in 1820 but also, admitted Maine as a free state. It also passed an amendment that prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory, creating a boundary between free and slave regions. The Missouri Compromise helped America avoid a major conflict and potentially civil war in the 1820’s. The act helped to hold the Union together for thirty more years.

The Monroe

Doctrine - 1823

On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe addressed to Congress the new United States' policy on the political order developing in the rest of the Americas and the role that Europe would be able to play in the Western Hemisphere. It essentially stated that countries in the Eastern Hemisphere were

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The California

Gold Rush

1848-55

not to expand any more into the West and therefore, Americans would stay out of European businesses. Basically, it was America’s claim to the Western Hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine eventually became a longstanding principle of America’s foreign policy. It also kept European countries from continuing to colonize the United States, thus allowing for America to expand their land and in turn, their economy.

The California Gold Rush began in January 1848, when gold was found by in California. The news of gold brought over 300,000 people to California. Many Americans came west in search of gold as well as those from both Mexico and China. The sudden influx of immigration and gold into the money supply really helped to boost the American economy. However, the people who came to California often fought against discrimination and poor conditions and most were unsuccessful in their quest to find gold. The effects of the Gold Rush were quite substantial. Many indigenous societies were attacked and pushed off their lands by the gold-seekers, called "forty-niners.” The population grew so rapidly in California because of the gold rush that it gained statehood in 1850. This is significant because it created California's modern economy and triggered the building of the transcontinental railroad. It also supports the idea of manifest destiny, where expansion would bring Americans riches.

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Wilmot Proviso -1846

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1790

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The Wilmot proviso was designed to provide funds for the war with Mexico but also prohibit slavery within the land acquired as a result of the Mexican War. The Democrats, during the 1844 election, had been divided over slavery. After James K. Polk was elected president, he advocated for larger shares of Texas from Mexico. Northern Democrats such as Wilmot, were angered by President Polk. They felt as if the national agenda was focused on southern values. Wilmot imagined California as a place where free whites could work without slave competition. Since the north had more Representatives in the House, the Wilmot Proviso passed. However, the Senate which was equally divided between free and slave states could not create a majority that would be necessary for approval of the Wilmot Proviso. Although the House of Representatives tried to pass the Wilmot Proviso several times, it failed. The Wilmot Proviso would never become a part of the law. Although it never came to fruition, this is significant because the already boiling tensions between the North and South were amplified over the Wilmot proviso and thus, became one of the major causes of the American Civil War.

War of 1812

Kansas-Nebraska Act - 1854

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The Kansas-Nebraska Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1854, allowed people within the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves if they wanted to choose whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. When this Act was put into place, it annulled the Missouri Compromise which banned slavery north of latitude 36°30´. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was strongly opposed in the North and strongly supported in the pro-slavery South, which only helped to further divide both sides. After the Act was passed, both pro- and anti-slavery supporters went in to settle Kansas trying to affect the outcome of the first election that was to take place there. Open warfare broke out and the territory earned the nickname "bleeding Kansas" as the death toll continued to rise. Congress did not acknowledge the constitution that the pro-slavery settlers had adopted and Kansas, ultimately, was not permitted to become a state at this time. The political effects of the Kansas-Nebraska Act were quite significant. When the bill was passed it worked to split the Whig Party as most Northern Whigs had opposed the bill and most Southern Whigs voted for it. At this point there was no common ground that could be found as opinions on slavery were too strong. Hostility between the North and South only continued to increase. Violations of the detested Fugitive Slave Law became more and more common. The passing of this Act was one of the major contributing factors to the Civil War.

The United States took on the greatest naval power in the world, Great Britain, in the War of 1812. It was a conflict that has had a large impact on America’s future. There were quite a few causes of the war including the British attempts to restrict U.S. trade and the Royal Navy taking American men into their military forces. Also, America still had a strong desire to expand their territory.

The United States suffered many damaging defeats when they came up against the British and Canadian troops. This included the capture and burning of American’s capitol, Washington, D.C. At the time, the nation was also too young and inexperienced to take part in another major war competently. The war was lacking the patriotic enthusiasm that had been present in the Revolutionary War. As a result, the efforts to raise men and money were lacking. The war ended with the Treat of Ghent in 1815.

In the end, America’s goal of expansion was not met and although it is not among the most successful of wars for them, it has still played a significant role in the shaping of United States. Disagreements within the United States had crippled the war effort, and domestic disaffection had threatened the Union. However, after the war a rush of national pride motivated Americans to unite and try to accomplish other national goals.

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The Mexican-American War - 1846-48

The Panic of 1837

The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States. At this time in America, there was an unstable currency and financial system that resulted in lack of confidence in both the government and national banks. In 1833, President Andrew Jackson withdrew federal deposits from the National Bank, ultimately ‘killing it.” He placed the money into state banks. Lacking money, the National Bank called in loans which caused a recession that lasted until the mid-1940s. During this time profits, prices, and wages went down while unemployment went up. The depression that followed the death of the National Bank resulted in great hardship and misery. The panic was eventually resolved, but the toll that it took on the economy was long lasting. President at the time, Martin Van Buren was not able to run the second term of Presidency and civilians were not able to rely on banks. It was the Gold Rush that helped the United States revive their economy.

The Nullification

Crisis - 1832-33

James K. Polk was the President at the time and prior to the Mexican-American War. His mindset focused primarily on expansion and ultimately deemed him the “manifest destiny” President as he believed that the United States was to spread all across the continent. There were increasing tensions with Mexico at this time and after Mexico refused to receive Polk’s offer to purchase Mexico’s northern territories, the dispute broke out into a war. The war divided Americans on the home front as many northerners became angry with Polk, thinking he was abusing his power. The war lagged on and there were more than 13,000 Americans and 50,000 Mexicans dead. The war cost the United States millions of dollars and there were many protests occurring in the north claiming that the war was being used to extend slavery. Polk sent more troops 1846 into the northern territories of Mexico where they were able to conquer New Mexico and California. After Mexico City was captured, the war ended. Polk accepted the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, when pressured by Congress, which effectively ended the war. Although the United States was able to acquire more land, it came at a cost. Many people died in this war and tensions between the north and south only increased. The issue of slavery within the new territories was raised which directly led to the Compromise of 1850, which only furthered division and eventually led to the Civil War.

Dred Scott Decision - 1857

The Indian Removal Act - 1830

The nullification crisis was a confrontation between the state of South Carolina and the federal government in 1832–33. There had been rising conflict between the North and South during the Andrew Jackson presidency. The disagreements reached a high point when the North argued for a tariff that would protect their industrialization. When the North got what they had wanted, the South was furious. This is when John Calhoun wrote the Doctrine of Nullification which stated that states within the Union had the right to void any law created by the federal government that they deemed unconstitutional.

Dred Scott was a slave owned by John Emerson of Missouri. As part of his service to the United States military, Emerson moved around America and took Dred Scott with him. When they went into Illinois (a free state) and Wisconsin Territory (a free territory), Scott met and married Harriet Robinson, who then became a part of the Emerson household. Emerson was married in 1838 and died in 1843, leaving Dred and Harriet Scott to his wife. Scott tried to buy their freedom from Emerson’s widow but she denied the sale. In 1846, antislavery lawyers helped Harriet and Dred Scott to file individual lawsuits for their freedom in Missouri. It was on the grounds that their previous residence in a free state and a free territory had freed them from slavery. The case finally reached the Supreme Court in 1857 and the decision was announced only days later. The Court ruled that a slave who had once lived in a free state and territory was not entitled to his freedom. African Americans could never be citizens of the United States and the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. dred

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President Jackson viewed the Doctrine of Nullification as an act of treason and passed the Force Bill. The Force Bill was put into place so that federal governments were able to fight resistance with military power. The nullification crisis made nationalists truly appreciate Jackson. However, those in the South became more aware of their minority position and their vulnerability to a Northern majority as long as they continued to be a part of the union. The crisis created greater separation between the North and South which only added to the tensions that eventually caused the civil war.

Prior to the Indian Removal Act in 1830, approximately 125,000 Native Americans lived on many acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Florida. President Andrew Jackson who had long supported the removal of Indians signed the Indian Removal Act. This gave the federal government the power to force Native Americans west of the Mississippi River. Removing the Indians thus allowed white settlers to expand their land further. The law that was passed required the government to negotiate removal treaties fairly, voluntarily and peacefully. However, the president unfairly coerced Native nations into giving up their lands. It was in the winter of 1831, that the Choctaw became the first nation to be removed from their lands. They made a long and harsh journey towards Indian territory on foot without food and supplies to help them survive this trek. Thousands of Native Americans died along the way. This journey became known as “the Trail of Tears.” The Cherokee were also forced off their land in this crucial way. They marched the Cherokee, in 1838, more than 1,200 miles to Indian territory. Whooping cough and typhus, were among the most common diseases encountered along the way. It is estimated that over 5,000 Cherokee died here. By 1840, most Native Americans had been driven off of their land forced to move across the Mississippi. Although supported by many white Americans, some northerners were strongly against the Indian Removal Act and led it actually led to the first female petition movement. This event began to shed light on how minority rights could be ignored by the majority and people started to turn towards petitioning for the abolition of slavery because of this.