Unit #1: Birth of a Nation

Domestic Issues Facing the New Nation

Manifest Destiny The belief that the U.S. was “ordained” to

expand to the Pacific Including Mexican & Native American territories

Many Americans believed it was their destiny to “manifest” and conquer west

Slavery in New States Slavery was a hot issue when adding new states to

the Union Admitting Missouri as a slave state would disrupt the

balance of power between free states (North) & slave states (South)

So… Maine was added as a free state & Missouri was added as a slave state in 1820

Missouri Compromise (1820) All states added to the Union in the Louisiana

Territory after 1820 and were located north of Missouri would be added as free states

Removing the Indians Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, &

Seminoles made up the 5 major tribes in the South Pres. Andrew Jackson passed the Indian Removal Act

(1830) Granted him funds & authority to remove all Native

Americans by force if necessary Southern states began active campaigns to forcibly remove

(push west) all Native Americans

Trail of Tears 1820’s: Cherokee tribe was quite assimilated to U.S.

culture Supreme Court deemed them a “domestic dependent

nation” providing federal protection from the state of Georgia

Jackson ignored that ruling & bought their land From 1835-1838, 16,000 Cherokee migrated to land

west of the Mississippi River… some 3,000 of them died along this “trail”

Westward Expansion (summary)

1803: Louisiana Purchase; doubled territory 1845: Annexation of Texas 1846: Oregon Country 1848: Mexican Cession 1853: Gadsden Purchase; southern AZ & NM 1867: Alaska 1898: Hawaii

Slavery & Abolition

1820s: Abolition Movement was underway

William Lloyd Garrison (1828) Called for immediate emancipation

Frederick Douglass (African-American) Started anti-slavery newspaper The North Star

Turner’s Rebellion August 1831: Nat Turner (slave) organized attack on

4 plantations in Virginia Was successful in killing 60 whites

Turner & others were later captured and executed

Symbolic of one of the first successful slave revolts

Women & Reform Women began to have more of a voice in society Fought for various reforms:

Temperance movement (prohibition of alcohol) Higher education for women Women’s health Abolition of slavery (1840: Anti-Slavery Convention) Women’s suffrage (1848: Seneca Falls Convention)

Sectionalism As the Union expanded and developed, free states

(north) and slave states (south) became increasingly divided

Sectional divisions developed between North & South Economy – tariffs Slavery – expansion or abolition