Lecture

Honors U.S. History Name:

Mr. Irwin
Week 7 Period:

Chapter 3-1 – Life in the New Nation

America Moves West

THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE OF 1787– When our country was still operating
under the Articles of Confederation, Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785,
which established a plan for surveying land in the Northwest Territory. In 1787, Even
though Native American groups claimed this land, Congress followed up by providing a
procedure for dividing the Northwest Territory into “no fewer than three states and no
more than five states.”

From this ordinance, the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin were
created.

Students are to read handout titled “Geography Spotlight – The Land Ordinance of
1785.”

MOVING WEST – By the late 1700s and beyond, Americans were moving west, into
new lands. To makes such a journey required courage, practical know-how,
determination, and probably, a little luck.

DANIEL BOONE – Has become a symbol of the type of rugged individuals who made
their way west into unknown and unexplored territories. After spending years exploring
Kentucky, Boone was hired in 1775, to help create the Wilderness Road (sometimes
called the Wilderness Trail), through the Cumberland Gap, a low spot in the
Appalachian Mountains.

Boone had been a well known citizen in the Ohio Valley. In addition to being a hunter
and a trapper, he was also a member of the Kentucky legislature. In 1799, he moved to
Missouri. When he died there in 1820, his fame as a bold and tough pioneer spread
across the nation.

THE WILDERNESS ROAD – Began in Eastern Tennessee and ended where Louisville,
Kentucky is today. It became the main route to the lands west of the Appalachians for
thousands of settlers, including Boone’s own family.

POPULATION GROWTH SPURRED THE SURGE WESTWARD – In 1780, about 2.7

million people lived in the original 13 states. By 1830, the population had grown to 12
million people in 24 states. Much of this growth came as the result of children born in
America.
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Between 1800 and 1849, the average woman had five children. As young people
matured, they had their dream of becoming successful land owners and farmers. The
open land west of the Appalachian Mountains seemed to be the place where this dream
could be converted into reality.

MANY SETTLERS WENT TO THE NORTHWEST – By 1830, there were hundreds of

thousands of Americans living in the newly established states of Ohio, Indiana, and
Illinois. Nearby Michigan was converted from a U.S. territory, to a state in 1837,
becoming a border state between the U.S. and Canada.

Most of the settlers in this region traveled downstream, by river from Western
Pennsylvania and Virginia, or had traveled by land, northward from Kentucky and
Tennessee, bringing their entire families with them.

1820 - THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE – In 1819, Congress began debating the

admission of Missouri as a state. The underlying issue was slavery. Several members
of Congress objected to admitting Missouri as a slave state because they were
concerned that this would increase the power of Southern states in the U.S. Senate.
Southern members of Congress countered this argument by stating that the U.S.
government had no right to dictate to the states regarding slavery.

After months of heated debate, in 1820, Congress reached what is now called the
Missouri Compromise. Under this compromise, Missouri would be allowed to enter the
U.S. as a slave state, and Maine would be allowed to enter the U.S. as a free state.
This arrangement maintained the balance in Congress between slave and free states.

Congress further agreed that as the United States expanded westward, states north of
36 Degrees, 30 minutes north latitude would enter as free states, and states entering
below that latitude would enter as slave states.

FLORIDA – Under the Pickney Treaty of 1795, the United States had agreed that
Florida would remain a Spanish territory. The U.S. and Spain also agreed to control
Native Americans living within each countries territory, and to prevent them from
attacking people in the other country.

When Seminole Indians from Florida began attacking U.S. settlers in southern Georgia,
army general, Andrew Jackson sought out the Seminoles, by invading Florida. After a
few weeks, Jackson claimed possession of the entire western part of Florida, which in
turn, upset Spain. Although Congress was unhappy with Jackson for causing a
diplomatic problem with a foreign country, in negotiations with Spain, President Monroe
and his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, accused Spain of failing to uphold their
end of the Pickney Treaty, by not controlling the Florida Seminoles.

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In1819, the U.S. and Spain agreed upon the Adams-Onis Treaty. In the treaty, Spain
gave up Florida, as well as a long held claim on the Pacific Northwest. As the result of
this treaty, the United States would be able to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Ocean.

TEXAS – In 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain. In a move to encourage
trade and to develop the northern portion of Mexico, American, Stephen F. Austin was
given a charter to establish a colony in Texas. In 1822, Austin founded his colony in
east Texas, with several hundred families. By 1824, approximately 2,000 people had
emigrated to the colony, and by 1835, the number had swelled to more than 30,000.

As the population of Austin’s colony increased, the Americans living in Texas began to
demand more political control. They wanted slavery to be allowed in east Texas, and
they wanted to have the same rights under Mexican law as they had under American
law, in the U.S.

Around that time, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna declared himself dictator of
Mexico, and launched an effort to enforce Mexican law in east Texas. Americans living
there chose to revolt against Mexico, and sought to establish their own sovereignty.

A clash between the Texans and Mexican soldiers in 1835, put the Texans in open
rebellion against Mexico.

In 1836, General Santa Anna led an army across the Rio Grande River to subdue the
rebellion. On February, 23, 1836, Santa Anna’s army began its attack on the Alamo.
After 13 days of fighting, Mexican troops scale the Alamo’s walls. The 187 Texans
inside were killed, including William Travis, who led the Texans in the battle, and the
famous frontiersman, Jim Bowie who played a large role in the fight.

Later, in March, Santa Anna’s troops executed 300 Texas rebels in Goliad. What
happened at the Alamo and at Goliad enraged other Texans. Six weeks after the
incident at Goliad, Commander in Chief of the Texas army, Sam Houston, along with
900 Texas soldiers killed 630 of Santa Anna’s troops, and captured the General himself.

Santa Anna was given his freedom after agreeing to the Treaty of Velasco, which
granted Texas its independence. In September, 1836, Sam Houston was elected the
first and only president of the short lived Republic of Texas.

In 1845, during the presidency of James Polk, the U.S. Congress annexed Texas.

THE OREGON COUNTRY – In 1818, the U.S. and Great Britain signed a treaty
agreeing to joint occupation of an area in the Pacific Northwest known as the Oregon
Country. This opened the door for Americans to migrate further west. In 1843,
organized wagon trains began carrying masses of migrants to the Oregon Country.
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Groups intending to make the trip, would typically travel to Independence, Missouri.
From there, they would link up with other settlers who were moving to Oregon. This
would be a 2,000 mile journey across the Great Plains, over the Rocky Mountains, and
then along the Oregon Trail. Most came in search of land and trading opportunities.
Many would not survive the arduous and dangerous trip.

In the Treaty of 1849, the U.S. and Great Britain agreed to divide the Oregon Country
along the 49th parallel, with U.S. territory below that line on the map.

REPUBLICAN VIRTUES – Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution states, “The
United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of
Government…” Under a republican form of government, the people elect officials to
perform governmental duties on their behalf, thus the power of government comes from
the citizenry.

As individual states wrote their own constitutions (which is required by the U.S.
Constitution), many of them focused on the relationship between state government and
public education. A number of state constitutions encouraged the development of free
public education. Between the late 1700s and the early to mid 1800s, the idea that in
addition to teaching the academic subjects, schools should be a place to develop
character, by promoting certain virtues, evolved.

The virtues of self-reliance, industry, frugality, harmony, and the sacrifice of individual
needs for the overall good of community, became known as republican virtues. These
“republican virtues” were American attitudes and perspectives considered necessary to
successfully facilitate self-government.

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN 19TH CENTURY AMERICA – We must keep in mind that in
the early years of our country, men and women were unequal in their positions in
society. Women had no direct role in governmental matters; no women signed the
Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation or the U.S. Constitution, and
there were no women U.S. Senators or Representatives. It wasn’t until the 19 th
Amendment was ratified in 1920, that women gained the right to vote.

Women were the mothers, wives and teachers in American society. Up until the
Industrial Revolution, while men attended to business and political matters, women ran
the households (which included rearing and educating their children). As American
society evolved, women were expected to extol republican virtues upon the children in
their care.

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION – Between the late 1700s and the early 1800s,
useful inventions grew out of what has become known as the Industrial Revolution.
This “revolution” was based upon the quest to design and build various kinds of

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machines that could be used to produced and manufacture products quicker, more
efficiently, and less expensively than by hand, or with the aid of animals.

English inventors are credited with starting the Industrial Revolution, however, it seems
only logical that eventually, the “revolution” would spread to America. When
Englishman, Samuel Slater emigrated to the United States in 1789, he brought with him
knowledge of mechanical machines that were being used in England to produce fabric.
On American soil, he built a machine similar to the ones that he had worked with in
Europe. As the result of Slater’s machine, the American textile industry would be
revolutionized. By 1814, there were about 240 textile mills operating in America (mostly
in Pennsylvania, New York and in the New England states). Other American inventors
would join the “revolution” by coming up with new ideas to improve manufacturing
techniques in industries other than textiles.

3 KEY AMERICAN INVENTORS –

• 1793 & 1798: Eli Whitney – The cotton gin in 1798; interchangeable rifle parts in
1798.

• 1795 – 1807: Robert Fulton – use of steam power for digging and for
commercial steamships.

• 1814: Frances Lowell – The first completely mechanized cotton mill.

CHANGES IN TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS -

• River Travel - Steam powered riverboats made it possible for western
farmers and southern planters to ship their goods to markets around the
world.

• Canals - To further transportation and commerce, American innovators built

artificial waterways, or canals. The most well known was the Erie Canal.
Built by the state of New York, the Erie Canal stretched for 363 miles, and
connected the Hudson River with Lake Erie.

• Roads - The federal government financed the construction of the Cumberland

Road. Construction began in Cumberland, Maryland in 1811. By 1830, the
road had been extended to Columbus, Ohio. Private companies also built
roads and made their profits by collecting tolls to use the roads.

• Railroads -

MECHANICAL TECHNOLOGIES - The early 1800s, including the time period of the
War of 1812, launched the U.S. forward in technology and process oriented thinking.

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 • Samuel Slater and other English immigrants brought technology over from
Europe which enabled the American textile industry to increase production
substantially.

• The use of steam as a source of energy allowed inventors to experiment with and
come up with useful ways to harness this power.

o Although not the first to apply the use of steam to watercraft, American,
Robert Fulton was a pioneer in this area. After launching his first
steamboat in 1807, Fulton became famous throughout the country.

• The U.S. government and private weapons manufacturers began working

together in order to produce weapons that would have completely
interchangeable parts.

o This method of manufacturing found its way into other industries.

o As the result, America began developing a system of “job shops” in which

component parts were made at a number of different manufacturing facilities.

o Parts from these “job shops” would then be transported to a final assembly
plant where the product would be completed.

Slavery or Abolition:
By the 1820s, abolition, the movement to free American slaves had taken hold. More
than 100 anti-slavery societies cropped up. Some proposed that the U.S. “resettle” the
African Americans back to Africa. Other abolitionists demanded that the African
American slaves remain in the U.S. and be set free.

Well Known Abolitionists:

William Lloyd Garrison:
One of the most radical white abolitionists, a young editor, and active in religious reform
in Massachusetts.

• Was the editor of an antislavery paper in 1828.

• Three years later, he started his own paper, the Liberator, to deliver a more hard line
demand for the immediate emancipation of slaves.

• Garrison’s radical beliefs included the philosophy that any means necessary should
be used to abolish slavery.
Frederick Douglass:
An African American who escaped from slavery and became an abolitionist.
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• He was known to be an eloquent speaker. William Lloyd Garrison once heard
Douglass, as the result he began sponsoring Douglass to appear and speak at
various antislavery rallys.

• Like Dr. Martin Luther King , who would come to prominence during the Civil Rights
movement 150 years later, Douglass hoped that abolition could come about without
violence.

Plantation Life:
In most instances, slavery was characterized by hard work and harsh conditions,
although there were exceptions. Even though there were households that treated their
slaves pretty well, slaves were considered chattel, or property and under slavery, they
would never be able to attain a status of respect or equality.
Common Slave Jobs:
House servants, cooks, farm hands or field workers, livery workers.

Nat Turner’s Slave Rebellion:

One of the most well known of the many slave “rebellions.” In August 1831, Turner and
more than 50 followers attacked four plantations and killed about 60 whites. Eventually,
Turner along with many of his group were captured and hanged.

This incident caught the attention of much of the nation. It both frightened and outraged
slave owners. American reaction was split. As the result of the Turner Revolt,
abolitionists began to step up their efforts of advocacy of abolition, while many slave
owners became more harsh with their slaves. Various states passed new more strict
laws concerning runaway slaves.

Underground Railroad:
Women had a societal role that excluded them from many business environments.
They had their “place” in what at this time was a male dominant society. Women had
no voting rights. Women got involved in a variety of activities, such as social & religious
groups and clubs. As the result, many women became advocates of change relating to
a variety of issues, including women’s rights and the abolition of slavery.

Harriet Beecher Stowe:

Author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Manifest Destiny:
A 19th century belief that the United States would inevitably expand westward to the
Pacific Ocean and into Mexican territory.

1823 – 1846 The War With Mexico:

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The Republic of Texas:

Missouri Compromise:
A series of agreements passed by Congress in 1820 – 1821 to maintain the balance of
power between slave states and free states.

California Statehood:
Due to a large part, the California Gold Rush, the California territory had grown quickly,
and by 1849, California applied for statehood.

This caused much debate in Congress. Southerners wanted the Compromise of 1820
to apply to California. If they got their way, California would enter the U.S. as a slave
state.

Naturally, most northerners wanted California to enter the U.S. as a free state.

The California constitution forbade slavery. The California statehood issue was at the
top of the 31st Congress’ agenda in December of 1849. Of equal importance, Congress

Compromise of 1850:
In December 1849
The Compromise of 1850 had provided for popular sovereignty in New Mexico and Utah

Popular Sovereignty:
A system in which the residents vote to decide an issue.

Kansas-Nebraska Act:

Additional Topics:

Dred Scot Decision

“Bloody Kansas”

Westward Expansion

The Mormon Trek

The Gold Rush of 1849

- Lecture Not Yet Complete -

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