CHAPTER 12THE NEW WEST AND FREE

NORTH(1840-1860)

Mr. Calella

American Studies I

Part OneVan Buren’s One-Term Presidency

Andrew Jackson Rich/Poor, East/West,

North/South, Slave Supporters/Abolitionists were all supporters

Guiding Principles

1. Anti-special interest

2. Economic opportunity

3. Political freedom

4. Common man

Rise of the Whig Party(Clay & Calhoun)

The Whig Party 1834 by Clay and Calhoun in response to

JacksonTook name from English party

Called Jackson “King Andrew”; WHY? Party made up NON-“Common Man”

types (high status, well educated) Supported Clay’s American System

1. National Bank with national currency

2. High Tariff

3. Internal Improvements

“King Andrew” political cartoon

1. Why does he have a “veto” scroll in left hand?

2. Symbolism of robe, crown and scepter?

3. Why standing on Constitution?

4. Who do you think made this political cartoon?

5. Would you add anything or draw it differently? What? How?

Election of 1836 Martin Van Buren is Jackson’s VP (takes

over for Calhoun in 1833) Whigs ran 3 candidates, WHY?

Strategy? Did not work b/c Van Buren had

Jackson’s blessingCommon Men gave him supportLast time until 1988!

Whigs learned they needed a “common man” candidate to win

Van Buren’s 1-Term Presidency Took office in midst of the “Panic of 1837”

England “calling in” loans to US b/c of trade deficit

Runs on banksPrice of goods and stock shares fall

Depression: not his fault, but he took Jacksonian “hands off” approach-blamed him

Bad luck for Van Buren! “Panic of 1839”Creates Dept. of Treasury to replace BUS (could

not make loans but it did regulate banks & loaning policies)

Effect of economy on how people view president? Today?

Election of 1840Van Buren vs. Harrison

Election of 1840 Whigs- “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!”

Whigs get smart and paint William Henry Harrison as “common man” (also former war hero like Jackson)

John Tyler from Va. and former Dem. to balance ticket (WHAT does that mean? Examples?)

Democrats- Van Buren Whig Strategy: “The Log Cabin” Campaign

Harrison lived in log cabin, ate “hog meat” and drank hard cider

Van Buren as uppity, aristocrat, elitist from NYREALITY-Harrison was “better off” than Van Buren

1st election to use mass appeal techniques-ACTIVITY! 4/5s of all voters turned out; Harrison wins but dies less

than a month into his presidency (Tyler more of a Dem.)

Part TwoEconomic and Industrial Evolution

Agriculture and Land Policy Factors behind Westward Movement & Increased

Agriculture Production

1. Belief in Manifest Destiny

2. Treeless prairie land in west

3. New inventions (steel plow, reaper)

4. Federal land policy (promoted “American Dream”)

Obstacles Standing in Way

1. Native Americans

2. Frontier Hardships (Examples? Think-Pair-Share)

Farming Inventions

Manufacturing Europe is “land poor, but labor rich”

How did middle and lower class make living?How much did you have to pay laborers?How was America different?

Mechanization in U.S.Mass production of goods, especially in NE (Effect on

price?)Unskilled labor (artisans not necessary)Unskilled labor wages vs. Artisan wages? Effect on

Price?

England still dominates international market b/c goods cheaper and superior in quality than US goodsExplain?

Railroads

Think-Pair-Share: create an ad showing how railroads were superior to canals.

1848 to 1852: RR track mileage doubled Why are RRs becoming so popular? How are RRs making US more interdependent? RRs Drive US Economy

1. Cheap transport for western crops to the east

2. Spur growth of new cities (Chicago, Buffalo, Cincinnati)

3. Land values near RRs go up; WHY? EXPLAIN!

4. Growth of related industries; WHICH ONES?

5. Created massive amount of new jobs

Finance of Railroads 2 requirements of all projects? Private investors: 3/4s of all capital for new RRs RRs seen as a great investment Gov’t incentives for companies to build RRs- LAND

GRANTS (land on both sides of planned track)6 square miles for each mile of trackBy 1860, gov’t gave 20 million acres of landRR Co. then sold land to settlers moving westWhy would settlers want to live near RR tracks?

People today?

RRs’ Later Effect on Civil War

RRs made NW less dependent on SouthNW free to take an anti-slavery stance

South could have preserved NW dependency by encouraging RR construction, but did not

South later hurt during Civil War b/c of less developed RR system; EXPLAIN!

South relied too much on river transport, especially the Mississippi River

Part ThreeFree Labor: Promise and Reality

The Free-Labor Ideal: Freedom Plus Labor Hope of equality and freedom-only for white

males Free Laborers: laborers who were not slaves People supported “free laborers”

Self-made manThe American Dream

Free labor ideal affirmed an egalitarian vision of human potential

Free labor movement also benefitted US education system

Discussion Questions

1. Some argued that the free-labor concept has contributed to American productivity than did any other single event, idea, or change. Do you agree? Explain.

2. Given the free labor push, how do you explain the success of the Southern slave-based economy?

3. Could the South have benefitted from the free-labor concept?

4. Who did the free labor concept leave behind?

American Poverty

Higher standard of living than Europeans

Immigrants in city slums worse off than slaves¼ of all NYC on assistance in 1850s

How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis Tenement housing & associated

problems Apartment sweat shops; everyone

worked

Tenement Living

Immigration 1840 to 1860- 4.5 million immigrants came to

US, most from Germany and Ireland Germans

Mostly skilled artisans, so no problem establishingMoved to Midwest because came with enough $

IrishMostly poor and unskilled, so remained in EastThe Great Potato FamineOvercrowded ships with diseaseFaced prejudice b/c of Roman Catholic heritage“No Irish Allowed”

1850s Immigration

Workers’ Rights 1850s-workers organized and had strikes

Why did economic downturns harm ability to strike? What were the 2 classes of people created by

industrialization? How did industrialization create these two

classes? What it Karl Marx were born an American?