The British stated that the dividing line between the colonists and the Native American Indians was the Appalachian Mountains
Erie Canal The Erie Canal connected the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River
Download 168.25 Kb.
|
Erie Canal The Erie Canal connected the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River Governor DeWitt Clinton of New York was the driving force behind the project New York legislators became interested in the possibility of building a canal across New York in the first decade of the 19th century Shipping goods west from Albany was a costly and tedious affair; there was no railroad yet, and to cover the distance from Buffalo to New York City by stagecoach took two weeks Work began on “Clinton’s Ditch” in August 1823 Teams of oxen plowed the ground, but for the most part the work was done by Irish diggers who had to rely on primitive tools The effect of the canal was immediate and dramatic Settlers poured into western New York, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin Goods were transported at one-tenth the previous fee in less than half the previous time Barge loads of farm produce and raw materials traveled east as manufactured goods and supplies flowed west In nine years, tolls had paid back the cost of construction Later enlarged and deepened, the canal survived competition from the railroads in the latter part of the 19th century Today, the Erie Canal is used mostly by pleasure boaters, but it is still capable of accommodating heavy barges The Erie Canal benefitted farmers and merchants Migration to California in the 1840s The discovery of gold nuggets in the Sacramento Valley in early 1848 sparked the Gold Rush, arguably one of the most significant events to shape American history during the first half of the 19th century As news spread of the discovery, thousands of prospective gold miners traveled by sea or over land to San Francisco and the surrounding area; by the end of 1849, the non-native population of the California territory was some 100,000 (compared with the pre-1848 figure of less than 1,000) A total of $2 billion worth of precious metal was extracted from the area during the Gold Rush, which peaked in 1852 On January 24, 1848, James Wilson Marshall, a carpenter originally from New Jersey, found flakes of gold in the American River at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Coloma, California At the time, Marshall was working to build a water-powered sawmill owned by John Sutter, a German-born Swiss citizen and founder of a colony of Nueva Helvetia (New Switzerland) The colony would later become the city of Sacramento As Marshall later recalled of his historic discovery: “It made my heart thump, for I was certain it was gold.” Just days after Marshall’s discovery at Sutter’s Mill, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ending the Mexican-American War and leaving California in the hands of the United States At the time, the population of the territory consisted of 6,500 Californios (people of Spanish or Mexican decent); 700 foreigners (primarily Americans); and 150,000 Native Americans (barely half the number that had been there when Spanish settlers arrived in 1769) Though Marshall and Sutter tried to keep news of the discovery under wraps, word got out, and by mid-March at least one newspaper was reporting that large quantities of gold were being turned up at Sutter’s Mill Though the initial reaction in San Francisco was disbelief, storekeeper Sam Brannan set off a frenzy when he paraded through town displaying a vial of gold obtained from Sutter’s Creek By mid-June, some three-quarters of the male population of San Francisco had left town for the gold mines, and the number of miners in the area reached 4,000 by August As news spread of the fortunes being made in California, the first migrants to arrive were those from lands accessible by boat, such as Oregon, the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii), Mexico, Chile, Peru and even China Only later would the news reach the East Coast, where press reports were initially skeptical Gold fever kicked off there in earnest, however, after December 1848, when President James K. Polk announced the positive results of a report made by Colonel Richard Mason, California’s military governor, in his inaugural address Throughout 1849, people around the United States (mostly men) borrowed money, mortgaged their property or spent their life savings to make the arduous journey Thousands of would-be gold miners, known as ’49ers, traveled overland across the mountains or by sea, sailing to Panama or even around Cape Horn, the southernmost point of South America The Gold Rush undoubtedly sped up California’s admission to the Union as the 31st state In late 1849, California applied to enter the Union with a constitution preventing slavery, provoking a crisis in Congress between proponents of slavery and abolitionists According to the Compromise of 1850, proposed by Kentucky’s Senator Henry Clay, California was allowed to enter as a free state, while the territories of Utah and New Mexico were left open to decide the question for themselves The Civil War What led to the outbreak of the bloodiest conflict in the history of North America? A common explanation is that the Civil War was fought over the moral issue of slavery In fact, it was the economics of slavery and political control of that system that was central to the conflict Geographic differences had led to the development of different economies in the North and the South The South with its fertile land and long growing season had developed a plantation economy depended on slave labor The North did not have a long growing season and as such, farms were small and manufacturing and shipbuilding became important economic activities Another key issue was states’ rights The Southern states wanted to assert their authority over the federal government so they could abolish federal laws they didn’t support, especially laws interfering with the South’s right to keep slaves and take them wherever they wished Another factor was territorial expansion The South wished to take slavery into the western territories, while the North was committed to keeping them open to white labor alone Meanwhile, the newly formed Republican Party, whose members were strongly opposed to the westward expansion of slavery into new states, was gaining prominence The election of a Republican, Abraham Lincoln, as President in 1860 sealed the deal His victory, without a single Southern electoral vote, was a clear signal to the Southern states that they had lost all influence Feeling excluded from the political system, they turned to the only alternative they believed was left to them: secession or withdrawing from the Union, a political decision that led directly to war The Purchase of Alaska In 1867, the American flag flew for the first time in Alaska This marked the formal transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States Alaska was only separated from Russia by the Bering Strait The Russians had been the first Europeans to significantly explore and develop Alaska During the early 19th century, the state-sponsored Russian-American Company established the settlement of Sitka and began a lucrative fur trade with the Native Americans However, Russian settlement in Alaska remained small, never exceeding more than a few hundred people By the 1860s, the Russian-American Company had become unprofitable So, the tsar and his ministers chose to sell Alaska to the Americans Seeing the giant Alaska territory as a chance to cheaply expand the size of the nation, William H. Seward, President Andrew Johnson’s secretary of state, moved to arrange the purchase of Alaska Agreeing to pay a mere $7 million for some 591,000 square miles of land – a territory twice the size of Texas and equal to nearly a fifth of the continental United States – Seward secured the purchase of Alaska at the ridiculously low rate of less than 2¢ an acre Later myths to the contrary, most Americans recognized that Seward had made a smart deal with the Alaska Purchase Still, a few ill-informed critics did not miss the opportunity to needle the Johnson administration by calling the purchase “Seward’s Folly” and “Seward’s Icebox” or joking that the administration had only bought the territory to create new political appointments like a “Polar Bear’s Bureau” and a “Superintendent of Walruses” Johnson’s opponents (who were trying to impeach him at the time) also succeeded in delaying approval of the $7 million appropriation But after a year of squabbling, Congress approved the purchase, and Russia formally transferred control of the vast northern land to the United States Within a few decades, Alaska would prove to be an amazing treasure trove of natural resources from gold to oil, proving Seward’s wisdom and exposing the shortsightedness of those who had once poked fun at the purchase The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad In 1862, the Pacific Railroad Act chartered the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies, and tasked them with building a transcontinental railroad that would link the United States from east to west Over the next seven years, the two companies would race toward each other from Sacramento, California on the one side and Omaha, Nebraska on the other, struggling against great risks before they met at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869 After General Grenville Dodge, a hero of the Union Army, took control as chief engineer, the Union Pacific finally began to move westward in May 1866 The company suffered bloody attacks on its workers by Native Americans – including members of the Sioux, Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes – who were understandably threatened by the progress of the white man and his “iron horse” across their native lands Still, the Union Pacific moved relatively quickly across the plains, compared to the slow progress of their rival company through the Sierra Ramshackle settlements popped up wherever the railroad went, turning into hotbeds of drinking, gambling, prostitution and violence and producing the enduring mythology of the “Wild West” In 1865, after struggling with retaining workers due to the difficulty of the labor, Charles Crocker (who was in charge of construction for the Central Pacific) began hiring Chinese laborers By that time, some 50,000 Chinese immigrants were living on the West Coast, many having arrived during the Gold Rush This was controversial at the time, as the Chinese were considered an inferior race due to pervasive racism The Chinese laborers proved to be tireless workers, and Crocker hired more of them; some 14,000 were toiling under brutal working conditions in the Sierra Nevada by early 1867 By contrast, the work force of the Union Pacific was mainly Irish immigrants and Civil War veterans To blast through the mountains, the Central Pacific built huge wooden trestles on the western slopes and used gunpowder and nitroglycerine to blast tunnels through the granite When the transcontinental railroad was completed, it encouraged westward expansion as it made movement west easier Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), author of the Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. president, was a leading figure in America’s early development During the American Revolutionary War (1775-83), Jefferson served in the Virginia legislature and the Continental Congress and was governor of Virginia He later served as U.S. minister to France and U.S. secretary of state, and was vice president under John Adams (1735-1826) Jefferson, who thought the national government should have a limited role in citizens’ lives, was elected president in 1800 During his two terms in office (1801-1809), the U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory and Lewis and Clark explored the vast new acquisition Although Jefferson promoted individual liberty, he was also a slaveowner After leaving office, he retired to his Virginia plantation, Monticello, and helped found the University of Virginia Jefferson was also a strict constructionist but modified his views to purchase the Louisiana Territory Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (1818-95) was a prominent American abolitionist, author and orator Born a slave, Douglass escaped at age 20 and went on to become a world-renowned anti-slavery activist His three autobiographies are considered important works of the slave narrative tradition as well as classics of American autobiography Douglass’ work as a reformer ranged from his abolitionist activities in the early 1840s to his attacks on Jim Crow and lynching in the 1890s For 16 years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an inspiring and persuasive speaker and writer In thousands of speeches and editorials, he levied a powerful indictment against slavery and racism, provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people, embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals He published The North Star, an abolitionist newspaper Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman became famous as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad during the turbulent 1850s Born a slave on Maryland’s eastern shore, she endured the harsh existence of a field hand, including brutal beatings In 1849 she fled slavery, leaving her husband and family behind in order to escape Despite a bounty on her head, she returned to the South at least 19 times to lead her family and hundreds of other slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad Tubman also served as a scout, spy and nurse during the Civil War Two things sustained Harriet Tubman: the pistol at her side and her faith in God She would not hesitate to use the pistol in self-defense, but it was also a symbol to instruct slaves, making it clear that “dead Negroes tell no tales” Timid slaves seemed to find courage in her presence; no one ever betrayed her Tubman collaborated with John Brown in 1858 in planning his raid on Harpers Ferry The two met in Canada where she told him all she knew of the Underground Railroad in the East Advising him on the area in which he planned to operate, she promised to deliver aid from fugitives in the region Brown’s admiration for her was immeasurable, and he wanted her to accompany him on the raid Tubman planned to be present but was ill at the time and could not participate Tubman’s resistance to slavery did not end with the outbreak of the Civil War Her services as nurse, scout, and spy were solicited by the Union government For more than three years she nursed the sick and wounded in Florida and the Carolinas, tending whites and blacks, soldiers and contrabands Tubman was a short woman without distinctive features With a bandanna on her head and several front teeth missing, she moved unnoticed through rebel territory This made her invaluable as a scout and spy under the command of Col. James Montgomery of the Second Carolina Volunteers As leader of a corps of local blacks, she made several forays into rebel territory, collecting information Armed with knowledge of the location of cotton warehouses, ammunition depots, and slaves waiting to be liberated, Colonel Montgomery made several raids in southern coastal areas Tubman led the way on his celebrated expedition up the Combahee River in June 1863 For all of her work, Tubman was paid only two hundred dollars over a three-year period and had to support herself by selling pies, gingerbread, and root beer Elizabeth Cady Stanton Prominent 19th century suffragist and civil rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) became involved in the abolitionist movement after a progressive upbringing She helped organize the world’s first women’s rights convention [the Seneca Falls Convention] in 1848, and formed the National Women’s Loyal League with Susan B. Anthony in 1863 Seven years later, they established the National Woman Suffrage Association With her advocacy of liberal divorce laws and reproductive self-determination, Cady Stanton became an increasingly marginalized voice among women reformers late in life However, her efforts helped bring about the eventual passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave all citizens the right to vote In 1848, with the help of Mott, she organized the world’s first women’s rights convention Despite Mott’s reluctance, she insisted on including the right to woman suffrage in its resolutions In 1851, Cady Stanton met Susan B. Anthony, with whom she formed a lifelong partnership based on their common dedication to women’s emancipation Three years later, she addressed the New York legislature on an omnibus women’s rights bill In 1860, most of the legal reforms she sought in women’s status, with the notable exception of enfranchisement, were secured Dorothea Dix Dorothea Dix (1802-1887) was an author, teacher and reformer Her efforts on behalf of the mentally ill and prisoners helped create dozens of new institutions across the United States and in Europe and changed people’s perceptions of these populations Charged during the American Civil War with the administration of military hospitals, Dix also established a reputation as an advocate for the work of female nurses Her own troubled family background and impoverished youth served as a galvanizing force throughout her career, although she remained silent on her own biographical details for most of her long, productive life Prisons at the time were unregulated and unhygienic, with violent criminals housed side by side with the mentally ill Inmates were often subject to the whims and brutalities of their jailers Dix visited every public and private facility she could access, documenting the conditions she found with unflinching honesty She then presented her findings to the legislature of Massachusetts, demanding that officials take action toward reform Her reports – filled with dramatic accounts of prisoners flogged, starved, chained, physically and sexually abused by their keepers, and left naked and without heat or sanitation – shocked her audience and galvanized a movement to improve conditions for the imprisoned and insane As a result of Dix’s efforts, funds were set aside for the expansion of the state mental hospital in Worcester Dix went on to accomplish similar goals in Rhode Island and New York, eventually crossing the country and expanding her work into Europe and beyond Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln, a self-taught Illinois lawyer and legislator with a reputation as an eloquent opponent of slavery, shocked many when he overcame several more prominent contenders to win the Republican Party’s nomination for president in 1860 His election that November pushed several Southern states to secede by the time of his inauguration in March 1861, and the Civil War began barely a month later Contrary to expectations, Lincoln proved to be a shrewd military strategist and a savvy leader during what became the costliest conflict ever fought on American soil His Emancipation Proclamation, issued in 1863, freed all slaves in the rebellious states and paved the way for slavery’s eventual abolition, while his Gettysburg Address later that year stands as one of the most famous and influential pieces of oratory in American history In April 1865, with the Union on the brink of victory, Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed by the Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth; his untimely death made him a martyr to the cause of liberty and Union Over the years Lincoln’s mythic stature has only grown, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest presidents in the nation’s history Separation of Powers The term “trias politica” or “separation of powers” was coined by Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, an 18th century French social and political philosopher His publication, Spirit of the Laws, is considered one of the great works in the history of political theory and jurisprudence, and it inspired the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Constitution of the United States Under his model, the political authority of the state is divided into legislative, executive and judicial powers He asserted that, to most effectively promote liberty, these three powers must be separate and acting independently. Separation of powers, therefore, refers to the division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another To prevent concentration of power and provide for checks and balances. The traditional characterizations of the powers of the branches of American government are: The legislative branch is responsible for enacting the laws of the state and appropriating the money necessary to operate the government The executive branch is responsible for implementing and administering the public policy enacted and funded by the legislative branch The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the constitution and laws and applying their interpretations to controversies brought before it By separating power, tyranny is prevented Bicameral Legislature A bicameral system is a system of government in which the legislature consists of two houses The Constitution provided for the structure and powers of Congress in Article I It created a bicameral legislature, set qualifications for holding office in each house, and provided for methods of selecting representatives and senators The House of Representatives is based on the population of each state There are two senators for every state As per the Constitution, the U.S. House of Representatives makes and passes federal laws The House is one of Congress’s two chambers (the other is the U.S. Senate), and part of the federal government’s legislative branch The number of voting representatives in the House is fixed by law at no more than 435, proportionally representing the population of the 50 states The role of the Senate was conceived by the Founding Fathers as a check on the popularly elected House of Representatives Thus, each state, regardless of size or population, is equally represented Further, until the Seventeenth Amendment of the Constitution (1913), election to the Senate was indirect, by the state legislatures Senators are now elected directly by voters of each state. The Senate shares with the House of Representatives responsibility for all lawmaking within the United States For an act of Congress to be valid, both houses must approve an identical document The Senate is given important powers under the “advice and consent” provisions (Article II, section 2) of the Constitution: ratification of treaties requires a two-thirds majority of all senators present and a simple majority for approval of important public appointments, such as those of cabinet members, ambassadors, and judges of the Supreme Court The Senate also adjudicates impeachment proceedings initiated in the House of Representatives, a two-thirds majority being necessary for conviction Civilian Control of the Military The head of the armed forces is a civilian or a person not in the armed forces Many of the most important decisions of the presidency have been made in wartime, in the president’s role as commander-in-chief As Commander-in-Chief of the United States’ armed forces, the President is ultimately at the head of the chain of command for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and the Coast Guard While many former military generals such as Washington, Jackson, Grant and Eisenhower have served as president, there is no requisite of former military service to become Commander-in-Chief This is an important concept in the Constitution, making the ultimate head of the armed forces an elected civilian and not a member of the forces directly under his command Civilian control of the military serves to balance the needs of defense and security with accountability to the democratic populace The military has weapons and thus power and to ensure that it does not overthrow our democratic system of government and create a military dictatorship, a civilian is in charge of the military Directory: cms -> lib -> NY01000029 -> Centricity -> Domain -> 353 353 -> The Vietnam War and Changing U. S. Policies Review us history/E. Napp Name: Activity 1: Matching 353 -> Striving for Equality – Obstacles and Successes us history/Napp Name 353 -> A time to Review The Fifties and Sixties us history/Napp Name 353 -> Two Hundred and Fifty Facts to Pass the U. S. History and Government Regents us history/Napp Name 353 -> August 22, 1968 New York City no more miss america! For immediate release on September 7th 353 -> Objective: To identify and explain significant effects of the European Encounter with the Americas 353 -> Atlantic Slave Trade World History/Napp 353 -> Thematic essay question 353 -> E. Napp Objective: To identify and explain the causes and effects of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Download 168.25 Kb. Share with your friends:
|