History 7A Midterm 2
Founding Documents
1776 - 1792. Includes the Declaration of Independence (marked the formal separation of the colonies), state constitutions, the Treaty of Paris, Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution; so linked in ideology that they are often confused. Made abstract concepts like inalienable rights more concrete and made it possible for a large population to understand it. Integral in creating an effective American identity. These documents were what made the United States unique from other countries, in that they had a written constitution. This way, it was clear when governments were overstepping their boundaries or when citizen rights were violated. Also prevented future revolutions and conflicts such as the American Revolution.
State Constitutions
1776-1778. were the respective constitutions of each state, which preceded the U.S. constitution. --Separate from federal govt. Documents that designed state governments to make their laws supreme; part of nation-building; united as sovereign states that produced their own rules that were laws of the land. The definition of a state constitution in the 18th century was quite different than that of today's states. During this period, people were still suspicious of centralized federal government due to recent conflicts with Britain. So, states and their constitutions had way more power.
Declaration of Independence
1776. Document authored by Thomas Jefferson on behalf of the Continental Congress to formally declare the independence of the 13 colonies from the British Empire. It was formally released on July 4, 1776, the day of celebrated American independence. Originally a statement by the Continental Congress, it was a personal pledge of commitment on the part of the delegates, a public indictment of King George II, and a strategic attempt to persuade the world (specifically France) to join the revolutionary side. Not written to be a timeless, bounded text; audience: the people signing it, fellow colonists, France; lays the foundation for French entry into the war, meant for international audience
Trans-Appalachian Migration
1783. A mass movement of people beginning in 1783 and consisted of farming households moving West across the Appalachian mountains. Two take-aways: (1) high population in the East --> increase in the population in the West. Altered demographics. (2) wanted to remove British impediments --> powerful demographic force that had been formally defined as off-limits; not just independent farmers, mainly commercial farmers who needed large plots of land.
Treaty of Paris
1783. document that granted official British recognition of U.S. Marked the U.S. as a geographical entity with real boundaries; important part of imagining a nation; only founding document that refers to the U.S. geographically; officially ended the American Revolution. Key provisions included recognition of American independence and cession of Western lands from Britain to the United States.
Shays' Rebellion
1786. name given by opponents; western MA farmers objected to government actions and sought to put government in line; rebels targeted county courts in response to heavy taxation and inflation. important because MA and national leaders saw this as an enormous rebellion and put together a huge army to put it down -->voices supporting central government increase AND constitutional foundation. Was a regulation (not a rebellion) that was composed of farmers and rural folks who were losing their lands thanks to economic policies that favored the merchants, such as direct taxes in Massachusetts. Demonstrated the governments' fragility since Shay and farmers were able to storm government facilities and almost win. Proves the weakness of the Articles of Confederation.
Constitutional Ratification Debate
1787-1788. Ideological rift between Federalists and anti-Federalists; by 1788, 9 states ratified; fight was protracted and close in many states which proved to be a real exercise in democratic participation; Federalists proved to have an advantage in printing demonstrated by their Federalist Papers and were proponents of the checks and balances present in the Constution to prevent the fears of the anti-Federalists; anti-Federalists mainly objected to the lack of a Bill of Rights (approved in Congress in 1789 and ratified in 1791 by states) and were scared of the possibility that the central government would be too oppressive and grow too powerful, concerns of the anti-feds were eventually addressed.
Indian Removal
1820s-1830s; shift in American policy against Indians that led to the Trail of Tears; 1825: 125,000 Indians east of the MS River shared a common predicament exacerbated by War of 1812; deliberate and innovative policy and was not a trend; controversial in the U.S. and prompted political debate; two main policies: (1) land cessions (2) civilization programs; policy shift: image of Indian assimilation into European-style civilization in Jefferson's America (1808), Jackson does not believe in possibility of Indians being a part of the U.S. but can be protected by their removal to specific areas (1828)
Metamora
1829; famous play by white federalists debuted in NY and was a retelling of King Phillip's War (Algonquians vs. Puritans); sympathetic to the natives; title refers to Metacom/King Phillip; curse of him against white people was applauded. most successful play of 19th century America but not out of protest of Indian Removal. clear strategy central to the formation of new American culture shows long-standing white investment in playing Indian (later African American and racial 'others') to represent American-ness; audiences responded positively to the cultural independence of Americans represented by Metacom; figured out what gave U.S. a national character
Indian Removal Act
1830; congressional appropriation of money to kick Indians off of their lands and relocate them to new lands; It was signed by President Andrew Jackson in 1830. The law authorized the president to negotiate with southern Indian tribes for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi RIver in exchange for their desirable lands within state borders (especially in the Southeast). Basically, the Act allowed the Indians financial and material assistance to travel to their new locations and start new lives and guaranteed that Indians would live on their new property under the protection of US government forever. A number of northern tribes were peacefully resettled in western lands considered undesirable for the white, while in the Southeast, Five Civilized Tribes (Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, Cherokee) refused to trade their cultivated farms for the promise of strange land in the Indian Territory with a so-called permanent title to that land. Significance: It was the first major legislative departure from the US policy of officially respecting the legal and political rights of the American Indians. The Act paved the way for the forced expulsion of American Indians from their land into the West in terms of "Trail of Tears" which was a forced resettlement of the Indian population. For example, the Cherokee worked together as an independent nation to stop this relocation, but they were unsuccessful on the Trail of Tears
Manhattan Grid
A land ordinance map that was commissioned by the New York State legislature in 1807 which entailed how the streets and avenues in Manhattan would be organised. This was shown through a succession of squares corresponding to different street names. This grid was analogous to the 1785 land ordinance map drawn up by Thomas Jefferson. this new system was evenly spaced, identically numbered streets at perpendicular angles to one another, which was made to fulfill the idea of an increased population; 1860: population was closer to what it is now than what it was in 1790. Laid the foundation for many cities to follow. Changed the idea of property in the United States, property can be bought and sold.
Universal Manhood Suffrage
A political ideal granting all adult white men the right to vote; promoted by Jackson, and he was a beneficiary of this action; democratizing principle; redefined voting away from idea that you had to own land; did not apply to children, slaves, and women, which became more significant because of the absence of a land requirement; voting associated with being a white male --> the "common man" that allowed Jackson to win presidency; this occurred because states admitted to the union between 1816-21 had lax voting requirements in their constitutions --> other states to rewrite or amend theirs; 1825-1860: many Americans entered unfamiliar world of electoral politics; eliminated class privilege, but now linked to race and gender
Edwin Forrest
Actor who played Metamora; wanted to boost his career and support playwriting --The first real American celebrity. His only stipulation was that he wanted to star as a native american. This was his breakthrough performance. Edwin Forrest, an American actor in the early 19th century, was one of the first Americans to have the celebrity reputation as a stage actor. The play that launched his success was Metamora written by John Augustus Stone. Forrest commissioned a contest for this play to be written, stipulating that he would play a Native American. He based this character off of Pushmataha, a Choctaw chief indian who allied with the US in the War of 1812. Forrest met him and learned how to imitate a Native American Indian which he then used in Metamora. Significance: The bigger story of the 1820s is how should Americans be thinking and talking about Native Americans. Metamora shows how Americans at this time were trying to do this and, more broadly, trying to use this relation to distinguish themselves from Europeans as American. This could arguably be called an American war for cultural independence as the Americans were trying to establish themselves as their own country following the War of 1812. The United States was able to survive as a country during this war economically and politically. Now the country was trying to prove itself culturally, which Europe decidedly thought it lacked considering how young the country was in comparison. Using the Native Americans, the United States was able to extend its timeline and further enrich its culture to in an effort to achieve cultural independence from Europe.
First U.S. Party System
Based on a division of the role of the national government stemming from the different constitutional visions of the Founders; Federalists: enthusiastic about the role of commerce, interested in England as model and rival, concentrated in NE, saw disorder and bloodshed in the French Revolution, did not have vested political interest in slavery, more sympathetic to abolitionist movements because of association with UK; Republicans: suspicious of England (monarchy and empire), celebrated image of agrarianism and equality, played itself out in domestic and foreign policy, sympathetic to France especially in French Revolution and saw the U.S. as their political ally, party of slavery due to strength in the South and hostility to abolitionism
Pushmataha
Def: (1810-1830s) a Choctaw chief, warrior and diplomat. Argued that there is no point in going to war against the whites which were much better equipped for war, and that diplomacy should be used instead. Following Pushmataha, the joint Choctaw-Chickasaw council rejected Tecumseh and instead supported the United States in the 1812 war. Pushmataha led forces against other indian groups (Creek Redsticks) and helped Andrew Jackson defeat them. However, by 1820, Jackson pressured Pushmataha to trade his lands in the Mississippi for western lands (which he knew were barren and occupied). However, since he had no allies left (Britain, Spain or the Creeks), Pushmataha was forced to accept the exchange. Pushmataha died few years later (1824) from a virus while he was doing diplomatic work in the capital. Significance: other than having a significant role in aligning the Choctaws and the Chickasaw with the US in the war, and exchanging the lands, Pushmataha's white-Indian relations inspired Edwin Forrest (which was his friend). Forrest commissioned a contest for this play to be written, stipulating that he would play a Native American. He based this character off of Pushmataha, a Choctaw chief indian who allied with the US in the War of 1812. Forrest met him and learned how to imitate a Native American Indian which he then used in Metamora.
Worcester v. Georgia
Def: (1832) A Supreme Court case between Samuel Worcester, a white Protestant missionary living on Native American lands, and the state of Georgia. Georgia had a criminal statute that non-Native Americans could not live on Native American lands without having a license issued by the state. The Supreme Court deemed this unconstitutional as the states had no authority to negotiate with foreign Indian nations. That power was reserved only for the federal government. Significance: This decision set the precedent for dealing with Native American tribes as international entities; this meant that only the federal government could negotiate with Native American tribes. However, as the ruling was not in favor of President Andrew Jackson's policy towards Native Americans at the time, he is known for his response, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!" He chose to ignore the Supreme Court decision alongside the state of Georgia and the Supreme Court was unable to enforce it at the time. He told the Cherokee to either fall under Georgia's jurisdiction or relocate. Def: (1832) A Supreme Court case between Samuel Worcester, a white Protestant missionary living on Native American lands, and the state of Georgia. Georgia had a criminal statute that non-Native Americans could not live on Native American lands without having a license issued by the state. The Supreme Court deemed this unconstitutional as the states had no authority to negotiate with foreign Indian nations. That power was reserved only for the federal government. Significance: This decision set the precedent for dealing with Native American tribes as international entities; this meant that only the federal government could negotiate with Native American tribes. However, as the ruling was not in favor of President Andrew Jackson's policy towards Native Americans at the time, he is known for his response, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!" He chose to ignore the Supreme Court decision alongside the state of Georgia and the Supreme Court was unable to enforce it at the time. He told the Cherokee to either fall under Georgia's jurisdiction or relocate.
Peale's American Museum
Def: A museum that showcased the natural history of America, created by Peale. Significance: Americans longed for some sort of collective history to relate to in terms of their country. In Europe, there were castle ruins, etc., that were proof of a history long before present generations. However, because the natives that lived on the American continent left behind scattered mounds and few cities, it was a difficult past to connect to. When large extinct animals were found just under American soil, then, Peale was quick to make an effort to showcase them as a testament to America's impressive history of large animals. It was a popular museum as a result as people reveled in the glory of being American, and being part of an impressive history.
Washington Irving
Def: An American Author of Knickerboker's History of New York which was published in 1809 along with various other major writings. Significance: This book is what led Irving to become a celebrity among his readers and would later become an influential editor of Anaelectic Magazine, reprinting several famous poems, including one that would later become the Star-Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the United States. He was also the first major bookseller across America or Europe. This book represented the Dutch in a really negative light. Irving made fun of them by depicting them as silly, drunk, fat., etc., which is in part what caused them to be written out of American history completely in later years (no one took them seriously). The significance lies in the comparison of this retelling of Dutch migration and the story of Puritan migration. Puritans were always depicted as pious, hardworking, virtuous, etc. It was clear who was going to be writing the remainder of America's history from that point on.
Jacksonian Democracy
Def: Andrew Jackson, president of the United States from 1829 to 1837, brought in a new age of Democracy, giving a new meaning to the word and redefining the Presidency and executive branch. Jackson was elected in 1828 following the election of John Quincy Adams, which many deemed as the Corrupt Bargain due to his selection by House of Representatives Speaker Henry Clay who was then appointed by Adams as Secretary of State. Jackson was the popular choice and used his populist support to win the Presidency, running on the campaign that he is a humble, frontier man, who speaks for the will of the people. Jacksonian Democracy specifically speaks to the idea that democracy is representative of the people, free from corruption, and serves the populus directly. Significance: Jacksonian Democracy defines the time period of Jackson's Presidency but more broadly the era of representing the common man and universal manhood suffrage. This is where the Democratic party we see today originated from, although different in exact values. Voting rights were expanded for white males and the president was redefined to speak for and represent the voice of the people. Jacksonian Democracy represents the will of the people, the common man, and the strengthening of the government. This was the dominant political view during this era.
Mason Locke Weems
Def: Author of the story of Washington and the cherry tree. It's a fictional tale. Significance: Fulfilled the American longing to establish a unified identity and have a venerable leader to look up to. He purposefully highlighted Washington's traits of honesty, piety, responsibility, etc., in order to give citizens someone to look up to like "Hey! That guy's cool and he leads my country! I'm so happy to be American!" It made Americans feel like they had a personal insight into a celebrity's life, and unified them as a result.
comte de buffon
Def: Buffon was the lead scientist in France who elaborated a theory for America: a degeneracy. He states that the Americas were a wet and swampy continent and that it emerged belatedly from the waters. To him this meant that there were less animals and more bugs in return. Thus, the continent could not properly sustain life and wasn't a place where people should move or even wanted to move. This created a problem for Americans. Significance: Thomas Jefferson in turn had a Moose brought to France for the sole purpose of proving Comte de Buffon wrong. This proved to help the Americans with their purpose of establishing legitimacy and history for themselves and internationally.
Leatherstocking Tales
Def: By James Fenimore Cooper, who is the first American author to make a living off writing novels. Describes frontier life. Relevant 1823-1841. One of the more notable works is The Last of the Mohicans. The main character was a white man that went by many different names (Deerslayer, etc.), and was characterized by his seemingly superior features due to his connection and communication with the Indian populations. Though he did communicate and get along with some Indians, he was out to go to war with others. Significance: What's interesting about these stories is that they are about Indian history. While they point out the relationships between Indian and white populations as being dangerous, they also point out the conspicuous presence of Indians in white life. The main character develops moral, physical, aesthetic, intellectual advantages because of his connection to the Indians and to the frontier. All of these things point to the American desire, during this time, to adopt/fabricate an Indian identity, including a collective pageant of playing Indian and an interest in their culture, in order to distinguish the young U.S. from a European identity. Other examples of this adoption of culture include Edwin Forrest's performance of Metamora and Lydia Maria Child's Hobomok.
David Crockett
Def: David Crockett is a frontier hero from Tennessee who entered politics in 1820. The Whig party painted Crockett as a frontier hero and a person who does not know how to speak eloquently but knows how to kill indians and animals. The Whig party nationally circulated autobiographies to launch him into presidency. Crockett eventually lost in TN because he advocated for Indians and voted against Indian Removal Act. The Indian Removal Act incentivized Southern Indians to move west of the Mississippi River with financial and material compensations. Crockett was eventually killed in 1836 in Alamo. Significance: After the rise of the Second Party System, which is the time period between the presidency of Jackson and the fall of the Whigs. The Whigs portrayed their candidates' heroism and natural abilities. During this time, both parties are trying to find people that are seen as relatable, i.e. not very well educated, but possessing somewhat populist, masculinist, or boisterous traits, as well as the qualities of a frontiersman. Politics begins to be defined along lines of gender, not wealth, religion, etc. David Crockett is an example of the Whigs's election strategies. Candidates' auto biographies easily spread because the federal government gave cheap postage rates for these campaigns. Frontier hero, common man → masculine identity → american identity, Republican Party attempt to counterbalance andrew jackson. CULTURAL ICON --> character in a play based on him
Election of 1824
Def: Four candidates ran in the election: Quincy Adams, Jackson, Crawford and Clay. They were all representing splinters of the dominant Democratic-Republican party. Quincy Adams and Jackson were the leading candidates, but the other two won enough states to prevent either from getting a majority of electoral college votes. Thus, according to the guidelines set out by the 12th amendment, the election went to the house of representatives where they were directed to elect someone out of the top three vote getters. Despite Jackson winning a plurality of the electoral and popular votes, Clay, the speaker of the house who finished fourth, allegedly made a "corrupt bargain" with Quincy Adams where he secured the presidency for Quincy Adams in exchange for being nominated secretary of state. Andrew Jackson had plurality of popular and Congress vote as he gained supporters from Southern colonies and expressed no political opinions, which drew supports from both sides of the major divide. Furthermore, Jackson represented the common man. However, Henry Clay, the speaker of the House, directed his supporters to Adam and got him elected, and Clay became the secretary of state. Significance: Highlighted a number of issues with the U.S. political system at the time: major sectional divides; no defined/functional party system; continued issues with vice presidential selection; undemocratic nature (plurality vote winner not selected), etc. It also set the stage for the next election, where Jackson would defeat Quincy Adams, which created the second U.S. party system (see below). → bc van buren wanted to unite the country and make the issue of slavery not as central to politics, unite the country with broader issues.
Free Black Communities
Def: Free Black Communities emerged in the 1790's as a result of manumission, gradual abolition, and the free slaves from Haiti after the war. The biggest free black community in the US was Philadelphia. Those in free black communities typically went to churches, and thus the free black communities contributed to the growth of religion such as methodism. Racism was prominent in these communities, so African Americans would rely on churches as a source of social support and enduring the political violence. Significance: The growth of free black communities in the 1790's is significant in that it contributed to a rise of racist sentiment within colonies. Although slavery was being progressively abolished in New England and the Middle Colonies, sentiments of racism were at an all time high. The free black communities furthered the sectionalization of slavery, and contributed to the growing divide between the North and the South-- a divide that would only grow larger and larger into the 18th century.
2nd Bank of the U.S.
Def: In 1811, Hamilton's Bank of the United States expired, leading to numerous state chartered banks. These banks, because they did not have to worry about a central bank putting regulations on them, began to print absurd amounts of bank notes. This led to a dramatic dis-uniformity in national banking systems; for example, bank notes west of the Appalachians had to be discounted 50% for anyone to accept them. OVERPRINTED MONEY. After the war was over, the Republicans chartered the 2nd bank of the united states to fix these problems and stabilize the money supply. During this time, the first major economic depression in America occurred as bankruptcy soared. This made many people suspicious of the paper economy. It stabilized with new management around 1823, but then had to deal with Jackson's opposition to it. Jackson eventually drew all federal funds and redistributed them among state banks, and the 2nd bank responded by calling in loans, decreasing the amount of paper money in circulation. Thus, another recession ensued. Significance: One significant aspect of this bank was that it brought up constitutional details on centralized economic power and the power of the executive branch to light. Jackson, who was so adamant on destroying the bank, claimed that it exasperated the divide between the rich and the poor by unfairly monopolizing the economy. He claimed that richer folks were using it to unfairly sway sociopolitical and economic issues, another ploy to exploit the poor. Additionally, this issue tested the true extent of executive power. After the bank's charter passed easily through congress, Jackson promptly vetoed it. For reference, in the U.S.'s political history thus far, only 9 total vetoes had occurred. Jackson managed to use 12 all in his time as president, citing constitutional grounds. This highlighted a growth in executive power overall, and tested the constitution's authority in terms of whether or not a federal bank was constitutional and whether or not the executive head could wield so much power.
5 Civilized Tribes
Def: It designates the Cherokee, Choctaw, CHickasaw, Creek and Seminole Indians in Oklahoma where is former Indian Territory. The word "civilized" applied to the five tribes indicates the extensive economic ties with white people or assimilation into American culture. For instance, some members of these southeastern tribes had adopted European clothing, spoke English, practice Christianity and owned slaves. The Cherokee also established a strong central government with a constitution based on the U.S. constitution. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorized President Andrew Jackson to accelerate the westward movement of Europeans by relocating Indian tribes to unsettled land west of the Mississippi River. While the act had explicitly provided for the purchase of land from willing groups, the Five Civilized Tribes had little desire to leave their established communities. Significance: Challenged by a US government that refused to respect Indian property rights or the rulings of its own judiciary, Five Civilized Tribes were left with few options. The Seminole waged a prolonged and costly guerrilla war. The process of forced removal came to be known as the Trail of Tears due to the unnecessary death and hardship that characterized it. Weren't able to be assimilated, thus the cherokee syllabie → threat to US. → interfering with the idea of westward expansion!!!!!
Cherokee syllabary
Def: The Cherokees used a written alphabet which was an 85 character syllabary which was devised in 1821 by Sequoyah. Significance: The syllabary was effective and within a decade, most of the Cherokee nation had learned to read, which eroded one of the most culturally significant differences between whites and indians. On another hand, the syllabary taught people the language that separated them. Ultimately, the relationship between cultural and political integration was ambivalent. The Cherokees became a prominent advertisement for the willingness and capacity of traditional Indian societies to attain what white Americans regarded as civilization.
Manumission
Def: The individual removal of slaves into freedom. The upper south/Chesapeake region turned to manumission between 1790-1810. Because the tobacco economy was experiencing an economic downturn, slaves had loss their value to slaveholders in the Chesapeake. Emancipation bills were attempted in the region, but unsuccessful. Many slaves were thus individually manumitted by their owners. Significance: The result of manumission was an increase of free blacks and growth to free black communities. It's important to note that migration across the Trans Appalachian mountains and the slave trade had affected the lives of slaves far more than manumission. Nonetheless, manumitted slaves were still a portion of the growing free black communities and furthered the sectionalization of slavery that would continue to grow in the coming century.
Louisiana Purchase
Def: The purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France by Thomas Jefferson in 1803. Note that the 1763 Treaty of Paris had transferred the Louisiana Territory from France to Spain. However, in 1800, Spain had secretly ceded this territory back to France. After Napoleon's failed efforts in the colony of St. Domingue due to the Haitian Revolution, he was no longer motivated to continue his military efforts in the Americas. He ordered that the territory be sold, and Thomas Jefferson thus purchased it for $15 million. This doubled the size of the United States. Spanish colonial presence was troublesome because they controlled the Mississippi River.
Indian mounds
Def: dated to the time of the Mississippian civilization (10th to 14th centuries). The mounds can be found throughout North America and were sometimes used as burial grounds. Initially the mound weren't given much attention or significant and they were often destroyed by farmers working their lands. But later, when Europeans dismissed the history of the continent and when the theory that suggested that America was a "swampy" young land that couldn't have had a long history or sustained large animals, there was a renewed interest in the mound that provided proof of a long history like the one in Europe. Significance: the mounds were used to show that America was valuable in its history, and that it is not a young land. There were also several theories as to which civilization was responsible for the mounds. The settlers didn't believe, or refused to admit, that the Native's ancestors were responsible for them, since it would suggest that they are "improving the land" and that the are not savages as they seen them. Some theories included the lost tribes of Israel, as well as some other civilization that was destroyed and killed by the Natives who replaces them.
Election of 1800
First closely contested election; between Jefferson and Adams; even though Republicans outpolled Federalists, the electoral college did not pick between Burr and Jefferson initially --> House vote, which only picked Jefferson after many ballots; major political moment because regarded as a regime change --> idea of this as a bloodless revolution; confirmed the genius of the Constitution and the fitness of U.S. politics; would not have been won without 3/5 clause, which demonstrated the power of slave-holding states
Haiti
Independent country in the Caribbean of freed black slaves; the second anti-colonial revolution occurred there where Toussaint Louverture (leader of the resistance) secured the abolition of slavery in 1794 and created the independent nation in 1804; became the second democratic republic in the New World and the region's first independent black nation; demonstrated a threat to slavery; shows the violent end to this entrenched institution; many newly freed Haitians moved to USA; only American admin to grant support to them was the Adams Federalist administration because Republicans were not supportive (Feds saw this as a move against France, whereas Republicans were threatened by antislavery movements and abolitionism)
William Apess
Pequot Methodist minister who lived in NE; culturally integrated b/c of acceptance of Christianity, time in the Army, and ability to speak English; wrote "A Son of the Forest" published in 1829; about bound labor; story of a soldier's adventures; story of sudden recalled experience of conversion to Christianity which occurred in a moment in a garden when he hears a voice and was granted salvation; writings not all about being Indian, which was part of an attack on U.S.-Indian policy during Indian Removal period; writing was religious testimony and political protest. In effect, Apess was leader of one of the first Indian rights movements
NY State Constitution of 1821
One of the older states that produced more liberal franchise standards by amendment/rewriting; in this document, voters included any adult white male citizen who contributed in any material way to state (paid state/local taxes, served in the militia, or worked on highways); covered 80 percent of adult men in a state where only 1/3 of them were eligible to vote a year earlier; if the man had African ancestry, they had to own $250 worth of property, which effectively barred them from voting Def: It extended the right to vote to all white male citizens in New York who paid taxes, served in the military, or contributed to public works. Afro americans had property qualifications. The NY State Constitution extended the right to vote to all adult male citizens who payed taxes or did some kind of military service/public service in New York. This meant that 80% of New York men could now vote. Out of 30,000 Africans in New York, only 298 of them were allowed to vote. White males did not believe that people under 25, women, and african americans should have the right to vote. Significance: Previously, only ⅓ of men were allowed to vote in the New York area and key voting criteria was based on a man's property. After the passing of the NY State Constitution of 1821, 80% of men were allowed to vote. However, the NY State Constitution of 1821 stipulated that African-American men were to have $250 in order to vote. There were 30,000 African-Americans in New York at the time and only 298 were allowed to vote. This was not a story of the expansion of American democracy as certain peoples were still not allowed to vote.
Gradual abolition
Process by which slavery ended legally in many northern states, typically by laws that declared children born to slaves after a certain date to be free and that liberated those already enslaved once they reached a particular age; negotiation trend that dominated the Middle States; ensured people that slavery would eventually cease to exists; provided compensation for slaveholders; ratified notion that slavey was incompatible with American ideals about republicanism, biracial society, and labor; created a majority free black community in northern cities; led to greater sectionalization of slavery
3/5 Clause
Provision of the Constitution that counts slaves as 3/5 of a person for taxation and representation purposes. 2 misunderstandings: (1) way of diminish African American humanity (3/5 was familiar fraction for compromise, African Americans did not want to be counted because it was not in their interest since they could not vote and was only a dispute between slave-holding and non-slave states) (2) taxation did not make a big difference, whereas representation made a huge difference; immediate effect was to provoke one of the first national conversations about the legitimacy of slavery; ultimately, acted as a political bonus for slaveholders that would increase their voice in Congress and presidential elections up to Civil War. The compromise that was the result of southern states versus northern states. Since votes were dependent on the population size of a given state, the south wanted to include slaves in these numbers. The north did not, because they did not have a reliance on plantation farming like the south.
Articles of Confederation
Ratified in 1781, created a weak central government among independent sovereign states that could not tax or raise standing army. Governed the US prior to the Constitution. The government had no executive or judicial branch and had a legislature with equal vote. Represented the fear that many had towards centralized government. American hesitancy to place too much power in government after experiencing the struggles of the British crown and Parliament. Eventually led to Shay's Rebellion and the writing of the Constitution.
Washington D.C.
Zone between MD and VA that was a neutral federal district that was selected as the capital since it was not dominated by one political party. A kind of compromise between north and south. The Capital was significant because it concentrated all three branches of government in one place and was a unifying city for politics and society. The slow growth of the city at first soon picked up and it was a place the United States could put faith and hope behind.
2nd U.S. Party System
The highly organized national political competition between Whigs and Democrats during the second quarter of the 19th century. Def: The second party system includes the Whigs and the Democrats. Whigs sought internal improvements, communications, and commercial expansion while the Democrats were interested in territorial expansion. The whigs were associated with the middle class, and with native-born protestants who were evangelical reformists. Meanwhile, the democrats included catholic immigrants who advocated religious pluralism. Democrats were also slaveholders and urban workers. They were suspicious in government investments. Significance: Prior to the formation of the 2nd U.S Party System, there were no political party system to organize. The 2nd U.S. Party System is the origin of the Democratic party. It was formed by Martin van Buren who believed that that the country would be better served by the competitions of two big parties because big clashes would help to clarify.
Alexis de Tocqueville
liberal political figure in France who came from a privileged English background. He entered the United States in 1831 along with Gustave de Beaumont as part of a French-funded program to study U.S. prisons as a center of incarceration and an example of moral reformation. He is known for publishing Democracy in America in 1835. Significance: Democracy in America highlighted America's democracy from an aristocratic, French perspective. Most importantly it mentions themes of democracy in America such as the jury system, public opinion in politics, and equality (legal, social, economic, and economic condition which was controversial). It also touches on the significance of voting and exercising one's political voice in the American landscape. Alexis de Tocqueville was known for his emphatic generalizations of American culture. Democracy in America slowly faded from public view until it was revived during the Cold War era. Equality of conditions → habits, laws, customs, → first democracy that worked.