Chapter 24
How were the indigenous people treated by these new governments in the Americas?
After the American Revolution, tens of thousands of settlers entered territories previously guaranteed to Amerindians by treaties with Britain. Indigenous leaders responded by forging military alliances with British officials in Canada and with other native peoples. Throughout the 1820s native peoples lost lands to settlers across the Midwest and Southeast. The 1828 presidential election of Andrew Jackson, a veteran of earlier wars against native peoples, brought matters to a head. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced the resettlement of Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, and other eastern peoples to land west of the Mississippi River. Nearly half these forced migrants died on this journey, known as the Trail of Tears. The U.S. government forced the Comanche, who had long dominated the southern plains, to cede their traditional lands in Texas in 1865. In the 1870s the government of Argentina used a large military force armed with modern weapons to crush native resistance on the pampas. Chile, Argentina, and the United States, national governments justified military campaigns by demonizing native peoples. Newspaper editorials and the speeches of politicians portrayed Amerindians as brutal and cruel and as obstacles to progress.
Who was Andrew Jackson and how did he challenge constitutionality?
Andrew Jackson was a political leader who relied on charisma and their ability to mobilize and direct masses of citizens outside the authority of laws. he increased the power of the president at the cost of the Supreme Court and Congress.
Who was Jose de San Martin and how did he facilitate Latin American independence?
But the government in Buenos Aires did manage to support a mixed force of Chileans and Argentines led by José de San Martín, who crossed the Andes Mountains to attack Spanish forces in Chile and Peru. During this campaign, San Martín's most effective troops were former slaves, who had gained their freedom by enlisting in the army. After gaining victory in Chile, San Martín pushed on to Peru in 1820, but he failed to gain a clear victory there. Unable to make progress, San Martín surrendered command of patriot forces in Peru to Simón Bolívar, who overcame final Spanish resistance in 1824.
Name and describe two examples of regionalism.
In South America, Bolivar tried to create Gran Colombia by including Venezuela, Columbia, and Ecuador, but Venezuela and Ecuador broke off before his death in 1830. Also, the Viceroyalty of New Spain had included Central America and Mexico, but after independence, this union failed when local elites broke with Mexico in 1823 to form the Republic of Central America.
Describe the obstacles to constitutional governments in Latin America.
Latin American nations found it particularly difficult to define the role of the Catholic Church after independence. In the colonial period, the Catholic Church was a religious monopoly that controlled all levels of education and dominated intellectual life. Many early constitutions aimed to reduce this power by making education secular and by permitting other religions. The church reacted by organizing and financing conservative movements. Conflicts between liberals who sought the separation of church and state and conservatives who supported the church's traditional powers dominated political life in the nineteenth century. Limiting the power of the military was another obstacle to the creation of constitutional governments in Latin America. The wars for independence elevated the prestige of military leaders, and, when the wars were over, military commanders rarely proved willing to subordinate themselves to civilian authorities. Frustrated by the chaotic workings of democracy, many citizens saw dictatorships led by the heroes of independence as better protection for their lives and property.
Describe how Mexico achieved independence during the early 1800s.
The first stage of the revolution against Spain occurred in central Mexico, where ranchers and farmers had aggressively forced Amerindian communities from their traditional agricultural lands. Crop failures and epidemics afflicted the region's rural poor, while miners and the urban poor faced higher food prices and rising unemployment as well. With the power of colonial authorities weakened by events in Spain, anger, and fear spread through towns and villages in central Mexico. On September 16, 1810, the parish priest of the small town of Dolores, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, rang the church bells and attracted a crowd. In a fiery speech, he urged the crowd to rise up against the oppression of Spanish officials. Tens of thousands of the rural and urban poor soon joined his movement. While they lacked military discipline and weapons, they knew who their oppressors were, the Spanish and colonial-born whites who owned the ranches and mines. Recognizing the threat posed by the angry masses following Hidalgo, most wealthy Mexicans supported the Spanish authorities. The military tide quickly turned, and Spanish forces captured and executed Hidalgo in 1811. The revolution continued under the leadership of another priest, José María Morelos, a former student of Hidalgo's. A more adept military and political leader than his mentor, Morelos created a formidable fighting force and, in 1813, convened a congress that declared independence and drafted a constitution. Despite these achievements, loyalist forces defeated and executed Morelos in 1815. Although small numbers of insurgents continued to fight Spanish forces, colonial rule seemed secure in 1820, but news of the military revolt in Spain unsettled the conservative groups who had opposed Hidalgo and Morelos. In 1821 Colonel Agustín de Iturbide (ah-goos-TEEN deh ee-tur-BEE-deh) and other loyalist commanders forged an alliance with insurgents to declare Mexico's independence. The conservative origins of Mexico's independence were made clear by the decision to create a monarchical government and crown Iturbide emperor. In early 1823, however, the army overthrew Iturbide and Mexico became a republic. When Iturbide returned to Mexico from exile in 1824, he was captured and, like Hidalgo and Morelos, was executed by a firing squad.
Who was Simon Bolivar and how did he facilitate Latin American independence?
The son of wealthy Venezuelan planters. He effectively mobilized political support and held the loyalty of his troops. Although initially opposed to the abolition of slavery, he agreed to support emancipation in order to draw slaves and freemen to his cause and to gain military supplies from Haiti. Bolívar was also capable of using harsh methods to ensure victory, proclaiming in 1813 that "any Spaniard who does not . . . work against tyranny on behalf of this just cause will be considered an enemy and punished; as a traitor to the nation, he will inevitably be shot by a firing squad."
What regional wars did the Americans face during the 1800s?
The war of 1812 b/w America and Britain 30 years after they got their independence Following independence Argentina faced British and French naval blockades, and British naval forces systematically violated Brazil's territorial waters to stop the importation of slaves. Mexico faced the most serious threats to sovereignty, defeating a weak Spanish invasion in 1829, a French assault on the city of Veracruz in 1838, and a large-scale French invasion in 1862. Mexico also faced a grave threat from the United States. In the 1820s Mexico had encouraged Americans to immigrate to its northern province of Texas. By the early 1830s Americans outnumbered Mexican nationals in Texas and were aggressively challenging Mexican laws such as the prohibition of slavery. An alliance of Mexican liberals and American settlers rebelled in 1835 and gained independence for Texas in 1836. In 1845 the United States made Texas a state, provoking war with Mexico a year later. The surrender of Mexico City in 1848 to American forces compelled Mexico to accept a harsh treaty that forced it to cede vast territories to the United States, including present-day New Mexico, Arizona, and California. In return Mexico received $15 million. When gold was discovered in California in 1848, the magnitude of Mexico's loss became clear. As was clear in the Mexican-American War, wars between Western Hemisphere nations could lead to dramatic territorial changes. Chile established itself as the leading military and economic power on the west coast of South America when it fought two successful wars against an alliance of Peru and Bolivia (1836-1839 and 1879-1883). The second contest, the War of the Pacific, forced Bolivia to cede its only outlet to the sea and Peru to yield rich mining districts. Argentina and Brazil fought for control of Uruguay in the 1820s, but a military stalemate eventually forced them to recognize Uruguayan independence. Then, in 1865, Argentina and Uruguay joined Brazil to wage war against Paraguay (War of the Triple Alliance). After five years of warfare, the Paraguayan dictator Francisco Solano López (fran-CEES-co so-LAN-oh LOH-pehz) and more than 20 percent of the nation's population had died. Paraguay then experienced military occupation, loss of territory, and economic penalties.