Essay: American history

Chapter 9: Describe the issues leading to the start of the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain (and its Native American allies).
Prior to the War of 1812, many foreign and domestic issues arose that made avoidance of a war against Britain virtually impossible. James Madison, the President during this crisis, attempted to maintain the peace but many factors led to his decision to fight. The embargo act, which cut off all American trade with other countries in an attempt to stop Britain from seizing U.S. ships as well as force them to change their actions, failed and brought ruin to the economy so the Non-Intercourse act was enacted in its place. This was also ultimately a failure and the British restrictions on U.S. trade and seizure of U.S. vessels and men became a large factor in deciding to break the peace between the two countries. The French Revolution and Napoleonic wars were also a factor in starting the war of 1812 because of the tendency for the U.S. to become involved in foreign affairs despite a stance of neutrality which later led to the Embargo Act and, additionally, the British began impressing Americans into the British navy and the involvement in the war harshly hurt the American economy due to bans on trade. In combination, the impressment of Americans, embargoes on trading, and the damage to the economy all led to the war against Britain.
Chapter 10: Describe how the Transportation Revolution changed the way that people and goods were moved around the country after the War of 1812.
A dramatic increase in the efficiency and technological advances in transportation, including railroads, canals, steamboats, and roads, led to many changes in the lives of Americans. Some of these changes included bringing communities together and reaching new areas that were previously isolated, while also beginning the push towards a more urban society. Advancements in transportation made it possible for a market economy to thrive because of the ability to quickly reach more places across the nation and accelerate the economic development of the country. The invention of the steamboat and use of canals allowed for very efficient transport across rivers which benefited many farmers who preferred this over land transport due to the lower costs. This allowed the interior portion of the U.S. to become a thriving place for trading while boosting the economy and creating a faster way to transport goods. Canals also allowed for the connection of places that would otherwise not be as easily accessible as well as allowing for transport in both directions, thereby considerably cutting down on the time it would take to move goods. In combination, this all allowed for America to become less dependent on foreign trade while simultaneously boosting the U.S’s economy greatly due to a flourishing internal market of trade.
Chapter 11: Describe some of the major policy positions held by the new Democratic and Whig Parties that emerged by the end of Andrew Jackson’s presidency.
During Andrew Jackson’s presidency, many divisive issues arose in American politics that culminated in party polarization. The Democratic party was formed by Martin Van Buren and, when the party was founded, they supported Andrew Jackson for the Presidential election. These early Democrats preferred states’ rights over a strong central government, wanted westward expansion, opposed high tariffs, and were pro-slavery/anti-black. This political party became a major part of politics and would remain powerful until the beginning of the Civil War. On the other hand, the Whigs were formed as an antithesis to Andrew Jackson and the Democrats. They supported a stronger central government, wanted a Second Bank of the United States, promoted protective tariffs, embraced the “American System” which advocated for aggressive construction and improved transportation, and promoted public education, humane prisons, and improved treatment for disabled and mentally ill. Politicians in the Whig party include John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Abraham Lincoln, and Henry Clay while many members of this party joined the women’s voting rights and temperance movements. The Democrats would later gain prominence in the South while Whigs were prevalent in the North.
Chapter 12: Contrast the changes taking place in northwestern and southern agriculture in the years after the War of 1812.
After the War of 1812, many agricultural technology advancements occurred and spurred change in the Northern and Southern portions of the US. Developments such as the steel plow and the grain reaper changed American agriculture for the better by creating new highly efficient, effective, and fast machinery that allowed for the expansion of agriculture. The Northwest utilized both of these inventions to greatly expand their agribusiness by producing large amounts of grains, such as wheat, and exporting them both domestically and internationally. The development of the grain reaper and the steel plow allowed farmers to utilize small plots of land to produce large quantities of grain while also creating more land to use for farming. The southern part of the US differed agriculturally in that cotton was the predominating crop while they also made use of slave labor. The use of slaves to grow and pick the cotton spread quickly throughout the south and led to the formation of the plantation farmers who owned many slaves that did their labor for them. This was a dynamically different method of cultivating agriculture from the Northwest, which did not use slaves and grew different crops.
Chapter 13: Describe with some examples how evangelical Christianity influenced many of the major social reform movements of the pre-Civil War period.
Evangelical Christianity found a peak during the Second Great Awakening that occurred during the 1790s-1840s when many different reform movements were taking place. Many of the major religious leaders during the Second Great Awakening promoted a theme of redemption for America and saving the souls of its citizens. Timothy Dwight, a major player in this religious awakening, desired a more stern and controlled society that would better honor God and help with issues such as poverty and crime. For workers, this line of thinking led to a promotion of abstinence from alcohol, sexual activity, and obedience towards their bosses. The attempt to remove sin from society encouraged morality and encouraged abolition of slavery, promotion of temperance, and advocated for women’s rights as well as their position in society, all as a way of increasing moral purity. The revival of Evangelical Christianity brought with it a promotion of abstaining from alcohol during the temperance movement, campaigning for women’s rights in the church and community, and the abolition of slavery in order to improve the lives of African Americans in America. This was all stemmed from the desire to save souls and restore the morality in America.
Chapter 14: Define Manifest Destiny and its contribution to American expansion before the Civil War.
The concept of Manifest Destiny was first thought of by the editor of the Democratic Review, John O’Sullivan. Manifest Destiny is the belief that it is America’s God-given right to expand across the Western Hemisphere. This also encompassed the belief that American politics and morality to the entirety mankind while becoming a powerful ‘empire of liberty’. The concept of expanding across the globe was not new for Americans, although there was a newfound sense of racial and ethnic destiny that seemed to infect politicians. Americans began moving westward into Texas and Oregon which helped to spur the desire for more land and an increased need for annexation. Since this concept was around prior to the Civil War, it helped to boost the egos and morale of Americans due to a belief that this country was superior and deserved to spread its power and bring peace and prosperity with it. Manifest Destiny would ultimately lead to a bloody and brutal way of achieving this goal although much more land was acquired in the process.
Chapter 15: Describe the factors contributing to the rise of the Republican Party in the North following the breakup of the Whigs and the inability of the American Party to survive as its potential successor.
The Republican Party was formed in response to the growing unrest in the country as well as forming a coalition against slavery, if not emancipation then at least not allowing for expansion. The Republican Party quickly gained the support of northern Democrats as well as nativists and people opposed to slavery. “Bleeding Kansas” was a catalyst for the Republican movement due to the violence that began with proslavery activists pouring into Kansas to vote as an act of intimidation. This event showed that people who were proslavery were not opposed to violence as well as silencing free speech. The Dred Scott v. Sandford case also proved to ignite support for the Republican party due to the proslavery Court ruling that African Americans did not have any rights which, therefore, caused Republicans to retaliate against this outcome and further dividing the North and South. Sectional divide was a recurring issue that stemmed from the rise of the Republican party although their desire for free labor and “superior” society was what pushed many northern Whigs and Democrats to switch to this new party.
Chapter 16: Describe some of the strengths and weaknesses each side possessed during the Civil War. What factors ultimately allowed the Union to prevail?
The North was advantageous in its economic productivity in the manufacturing sector as well as farming which proved to be highly beneficial during war, they had a significant amount of manpower compared to the South, and highly effective leadership from Abraham Lincoln in spite of his lack of military experience. The North struggled with distributing goods at the beginning of the war, financial issues, and a geographic disadvantage since most fighting took place in the South and it was difficult to travel through. The South, on the other hand, was advantageous in having excellent military leadership who had significant prior experience, diligent work to maintain adequate supplies, and the fact that most of the fighting was done on home territory. The South struggled with not being able to keep up with war demands, a lack of manpower, an essentially worthless currency, and an economy that was not suited for war efforts. In the end, the Union was able to conquer the South due to the advantage of larger quantities of materials such as weapons, food, food, men, etc. The Confederacy simply couldn’t keep up with the thriving economy and factories in the South as well as the huge amounts of manpower they possessed and the strong leadership that came in to play.