The New Nation

America: Pathways to the Present Chapter 7 Life in the New Nation (1783–1850) America: Pathways to the Present Chapter 7: Life in the New Nation (1783–1850) Section 1: Cultural, Social, and Religious Life Section 2: Trails to the West Section 3: The Great Plains and the Southwest Cultural, Social, and Religious Life Chapter 7, Section 1 • How did Americans try to advance the culture of the new nation? • What were some important social changes of the early 1800s? • How did a renewal of religious faith affect Protestant churches? Cultural Advancement Chapter 7, Section 1 Increased prosperity meant that more Americans had the time to devote themselves to scholarship and art. • Mercy Otis Warren • Playwright and political activist • Urged women to take part in intellectual activities in addition to their responsibilities in the home. • Benjamin Rush • Doctor, scientist, and revolutionary. • Represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress • Argued that there was a physical basis for mental illness. • Benjamin Banneker • Mixed African American and white ancestry. • Writer, inventor, mathematician, and astronomer • Surveyed the nation’s new capital, Washington, D.C. • Charles Willson Peale – Painter, soldier, politician, scientist, and inventor • Peale’s Museum, helped bring the enjoyment of art and science to ordinary citizens. • Phillis Wheatley – African American poet born into slavery. – Educated by her owners when they recognized her intelligence, – International fame for her poetry. Education and Republican Virtues Chapter 7, Section 1 Education • Some Americans began to see education as a way to develop a rich and uniquely American culture. • Although some state constitutions called for free public schools, few state governments provided them, and private academies filled the gap. Republican Virtues • Americans wanted their schools to teach republican virtues, or the virtues that the American people would need to govern themselves in the new republic. – – – – – • Self-reliance Hard work Frugality Harmony Sacrificing individual needs for the common good. Many Americans looked to women to set the standard for republican virtues. Social Changes Chapter 7, Section 1 Population Growth Mobility New Rules for Courtship and Marriage •The United States was (and remains) a mobile society •Americans seek opportunity by moving west •Movement did not allow a person’s social position to be defined •As American society became less ordered and less certain, women began putting more effort into choosing the right marriage partner. •1780 •2.7 million people •13 states •1830 • About 12 million •24 states •Mostly due to an increase in the number of children born to each family. •In 1820, half of all Americans were under 17 years of age. • Many preferred a long period of courtship before marrying. •Marriage was a matter of survival •Few decent employment opportunities existed. Religious Renewal Chapter 7, Section 1 • Second Great Awakening – Powerful religious movement of the early 1800s – Began in the backcountry of Kentucky and Tennessee and spread around the nation. – An evangelical movement which affected Protestant Christians. • Evangelical movements emphasize – – – – Authority of the Christian Bible Salvation through belief in Jesus Demonstration of faith. Evangelical faiths were democratic in character, » Allowing any believer to achieve salvation » Emphasizing the importance of the congregation, or the members of the church over church leaders. – The revival, also called a camp meeting, was popular during this time. • People were brought back to a religious life by listening to preachers and accepting belief in Jesus. • The revival movement brought women increased power. New Denominations and African American Worship Chapter 7, Section 1 New Denominations • During the Second Great Awakening, many Protestant denominations, or religious subgroups, experienced rapid growth. – – – – – Baptists Methodists Unitarians Mormons Millennialists. African American Worship • In many churches, white and black traditions blended together. – • Members of both groups sang spirituals, or folk hymns. Some African Americans felt unwelcome in predominately white churches. – – African Americans began starting their own churches Several joined to found the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1816. Trails to the West Chapter 7, Section 2 • Why and how did settlers cross the Appalachians? • How did the United States expand into Florida? • What factors motivated American migrants bound for the Pacific? Crossing the Appalachians Chapter 7, Section 2 • The growing and youthful American population sought new lands, away from the crowded Atlantic Coast – Trans-Appalachia • • • • • The region west of the Appalachian Mountains. Settlers took several main routes west, including the Cumberland Road. – Many of these routes ended in the Ohio Valley. Difficult life – Most settlers moved as families, although some young men moved alone. – Once they settled on a piece of land, families worked hard to clear their land of trees and underbrush, plant crops, and build a log cabin. Most new settlers were white, but many African Americans also crossed the Appalachians. By 1830, hundreds of thousands of Americans had settled in the Michigan Territory and the three new states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Forcing Native Americans West Chapter 7, Section 2 The Government’s Removal Plan • Settlers seeking land west of the Appalachians did not want to compete with Native Americans. • The government created a plan to pressure Native American groups to move further west to the Louisiana Territory, an area which lay well beyond current settlements and was seen as unfit for farming. Native American Response • While most Native American groups peacefully cooperated with federal agents, some fought bitterly against removal. • Diseases brought by white settlers caused epidemics which reduced the Native American population. Expanding Into Florida Chapter 7, Section 2 • • • • In 1795, the United States had signed the Pinckney Treaty with Spain. – Florida would be controlled by Spain, and the United States would be allowed free use of the Mississippi River through Spanish lands. – Both the United States and Spain agreed to control the Native Americans within their borders. The United States began acquiring parts of Florida in 1810, beginning with West Florida and parts of East Florida. While Spain was preoccupied with uprisings in its other colonies, the Seminoles, a Native American group living in Florida, increased their raids on settlements in northern Georgia. General Andrew Jackson, – Assigned to protect the settlers – Thought that the United States should possess Florida – Jackson chose to invade Spanish Florida. The Seminole Wars Chapter 7, Section 2 Response to Jackson’s Invasion • Jackson’s forces quickly swept through Florida. – – • Congress threatened to condemn him Most Americans applauded his actions. President Monroe and his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, decided to make the best of Jackson’s actions. – They accused Spain of breaking the Pinckney Treaty by failing to control the Seminoles. The Adams-Onís Treaty • Spain was in a poor position to argue with the United States. • Spanish representative Luiz de Onís and Adams developed the Adams-Onís Treaty. – – – Spain agreed to cede Florida to the United States. The United States agreed to cede its claims to a huge territory in the present-day southwestern United States. The treaty also fixed the boundary between the Louisiana Purchase and Spanish territory in the West. Bound for the Pacific Chapter 7, Section 2 • • • • Manifest destiny – Obvious or undeniable fate to extend its reach from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Oregon Country – Native Americans lived there for centuries – The area that stretched from northern California to the southern border of Alaska – White settlers known as mountain men began trading with these Native Americans in the late 1700s. – The United States, Great Britain, Russia, and Spain all claimed rights to the Oregon Country. – Russia and Spain soon gave up their claims, and the United States and Great Britain agreed to joint occupation of the area. Oregon Trail – Main route across the central plains and the Rocky Mountains – Through mountain passes, low spots that allow travelers to cross over to the other side of a mountain range. Traders traveled along the Santa Fe Trail to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Overland Travelers Chapter 7, Section 2 • • • • The trip westward – Difficult and expensive – Many pioneers enjoyed the challenge of moving west – Others sought land to settle on or sell for a profit. Missionaries – Traveled west, hoping to convert Native Americans to Christianity. Mormons also moved west – Seeking their own land outside the United States. – Settled Salt Lake City and other towns in what became the Utah Territory. Gold at Sutter’s Mill, California – January 1848 – Began the California Gold Rush. • Thousands of settlers, mostly unmarried men, poured into California. • Towns sprang up overnight where gold was found • Disappeared when most of the gold was extracted. – Ghost towns, or abandoned communities, dotted the area. The Great Plains and the Southwest Chapter 7, Section 3 • How did the lives of Plains Indians change from the 1500s to the 1800s? • How did Spain integrate California and the Rio Grande valley into Hispanic North America? • Why did Texas fight to win its independence from Mexico? Plains Indians Chapter 7, Section 3 • Great Plains – Vast grassland that lies between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. – Many Native American groups lived there • • Horse and bison, were particularly important to the Native Americans of the Great Plains. – – • • Included the Crow, the Cheyenne, the Sioux, the Comanche, the Blackfeet, the Apache, the Navajo, the Pawnee, and the Mandan. – Some of these Indians were farmers – Others were nomads who continually migrated instead of living permanently in one place. Horses • Introduced to North America as early as the 1500s, • Helped nomadic groups move from place to place. Bison • provided food as well as raw materials to make clothing, utensils, and other equipment. During the 1700s, some nomadic groups developed into warrior cultures. Agricultural Native Americans, caught between white settlers and their warrior neighbors, suffered greatly from disease and other hardships. Hispanic North America Chapter 7, Section 3 Spanish Colonies • In the late 1700s, Spain faced growing threats to its North American territory. • The Spanish government tried to ease these threats by establishing better relations with the Comanche and the Navajo. • Spain also attempted to secure the area that is the present-day state of California. Beginning in the late 1700s, Spanish soldiers and priests built a network of missions and presidios, or forts, along the California coastline. California and New Mexico • Presidios and missions in California thrived, due in part to the Native Americans who were forced to work for them. • Spanish settlements in presentday Texas and New Mexico were not as successful. • Settlements in New Mexico began to revive in the late 1700s. Effects of Mexican Independence Chapter 7, Section 3 • • • • Mexico gained its independence from Spain through the Treaty of Córdoba, signed on August 24, 1821. The new government in Mexico loosened the rules affecting trade with American merchants. – Northern parts of Mexico, including present-day California, New Mexico, and Texas, began trading more with the United States than with other parts of Mexico. New policies, however, did not always benefit these territories. In 1833, the Mexican government took control of California’s missions and farmland and handed them over to wealthy, influential Mexican citizens. These new Mexican policies allowed the United States to develop strong economic ties with California and New Mexico long before it gained political control over these territories. Background to Texas Independence Chapter 7, Section 3 Mexico and American Settlers • Mexican policy in the 1820s encouraged American immigration. • By 1830, more Americans than Mexicans lived in Texas. • As their numbers swelled, Americans demanded more political control. – In particular, they wanted slavery to be guaranteed under Mexican law. Santa Anna and Texan Self-Rule • In 1833, General Antonio López de Santa Anna took power in Mexico, soon making himself dictator. • Santa Anna’s actions united Texans behind the cause of self-rule. A clash between settlers and Mexican troops in October 1835 began the Texas War for Independence, with Sam Houston commanding the rebel forces. Texas Fights for Independence Chapter 7, Section 3 • Battle of the Alamo – December 1835 – Santa Anna held rebel forces under siege for 13 days before overcoming the Texan Alamo fortress. – Over 100 Texans were killed. • March 2, 1836, – Texans formally declared the founding of an Independent Republic of Texas. • April 28 – Rebels defeated Santa Anna’s troops and forced him to recognize the new Texan republic shortly thereafter. • “Remember the Alamo!” • Texans – Elected Sam Houston as their first president – Drafted a constitution modeled on that of the United States. • Included a provision which prevented the Texas Congress from interfering with slavery. • The Texas War for Independence would influence United States relations with Mexico as well as the issue of slavery in America.