The Nation Grows and Prospers 1790–1825

The Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution—a long, slow process, begun in Britain, that completely changed the way goods were produced– Gradually machines replaced hand tools.

– New sources of power such as steam replaced human and animal power.

– The economy began a gradual shift toward manufacturing.

– New technology transformed the textile industry. A water-powered loom that could weave cloth faster replaced older, hand-operated looms.

– Instead of working alone in their homes, many workers went to work where the machinery was—in large mills near rivers. This new system of work is called the factory system.

How Early Settlers Traveled

Great Wagon Road

across Pennsylvania

Wilderness Road opened by Daniel Boone; through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky

Flatboats down the Ohio River

into Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois

Southern trails westward from Georgia and South Carolina to Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana

Northern trails from New England, New York, and Pennsylvania into the Northwest Territory

Steamboats Improved Transportation

• Robert Fulton launched his own steamboat, on the Hudson River. It carried passengers from New York City to Albany in record time.

• Soon, steamboats were carrying passengers up and down the Atlantic coast. Steamboats carried passengers and goods on the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri rivers.

Canals Improved Transportation

The Erie Canal• Some New Yorkers had the idea of building a canal linking the

Great Lakes with the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. The Erie Canal would let western farmers ship their goods to New York.

• New York governor DeWitt Clinton persuaded the state legislature to put up money for the Erie Canal.

• Work began in 1817 and was finished in 1825. The cost of shipping goods dropped to about one tenth of what it had been and helped make New York City a commercial center.

• The success of the Erie Canal led other states to build canals, too.

The Era of Good Feelings

James Monroe• A Republican; defeated the Federalist candidate

for President in the election of 1816.• A popular, easygoing President, he hoped to

create a new sense of national unity. One newspaper wrote that the United States was entering an “era of good feelings.”

• When he ran for a second term, no candidate opposed him.

The United States Gains Florida

• Southerners worried about the Creek and Seminole Indians of Florida raiding Georgia settlements.

• In 1818 Andrew Jackson led American troops into Florida. Spain protested but was busy with revolutions in Latin America.

• Spain agreed to give Florida to the United States for $5 million.

Latin American Nations Win Independence

The Monroe Doctrine

The Background• In 1815, Prussia, France, Russia, and Austria formed an

alliance aimed at crushing any revolution in Europe. They seemed ready to help Spain take back its colonies in Latin America.

• Russia claimed lands on the Pacific coast of North America.

• The British feared their trade would be hurt if Spain regained control of its former colonies. Thus, Britain suggested the United States and Britain issue a joint statement guaranteeing the freedom of the new nations.

The Monroe Doctrine

Monroe’s Foreign Policy• President Monroe acted independently of Britain. He

issued a foreign policy statement known as the Monroe Doctrine.

• The United States would not interfere in the affairs of European nations or their existing colonies.

• At the same time, European nations should not try to regain control of the newly independent nations of Latin America.

The Jacksonian Era1824–1840

The Growing Spirit of Equality Affected Voting Rights

• The United States was growing rapidly.• Many new states were in the west, between the

Appalachians and the Mississippi.• More people gained suffrage, or the right to vote. In

western states, any white man over age 21 could vote.• In eastern states, reformers worked to expand suffrage.

By the 1830s, most eastern states had dropped the requirement that voters own land.

The Dispute Over the Election of 1824

The Candidates • John Quincy Adams, with support in New England• Henry Clay, with support in the West• Andrew Jackson, with support in the West• William Crawford, with support in the South

The Election • William Crawford became too ill to campaign.• Andrew Jackson won the popular vote.• No candidate won a majority, or more than half, of the

electoral vote. The election went to the House of Representatives.

• The House named John Quincy Adams President.

Hard feelings In the electoral vote, Henry Clay had finished last, so he was out of the running when the election went to the House. He was Speaker of the House. He urged House members to vote for Adams. Later, Adams named Clay his Secretary of State. Jackson and his supporters said that Adams and Clay had worked together to steal the election.

The Spoils System

• When he took office, Jackson fired many government employees and replaced them with his supporters.

• Critics accused Jackson of rewarding Democrats for helping to elect him instead of choosing men who were qualified.

• Jackson said he was serving democracy by letting more citizens take part in government. He felt that ordinary Americans were capable of doing government jobs.

• The practice of rewarding supporters with government jobs became known as the spoils system.

Native Americans Are Forced From Their Homeland

• The Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Seminole nations lived in the Southeast. Settlers wanted the Indian’s land for growing cotton.

• President Jackson sided with the settlers. The federal government set aside lands beyond the Mississippi and had begun to persuade or force Indians to move to land that had been set aside.

• Georgia claimed the right to make laws for the Cherokee nation. The Cherokees went to court, arguing that their treaties with the federal government protected their rights and their property. When the case reached the Supreme Court, the Court agreed that the Constitution protected the Cherokees.

• President Jackson refused to enforce the Court’s decision. In the Cherokee case, he backed states’ rights.

• Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830. It forced many Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi.

• The United States Army drove more than 15,000 Cherokees westward. Thousands perished during the march. The long, sad journey west became known as the Trail of Tears.