Chapter 8: Creating a Republican Culture

Question 1

“neomercatilist”

Answer 1

An economic policy in the early 19th century that emphasized government intervention to promote domestic industries and protect national economic interests.

Question 2

Panic of 1819

Answer 2

A severe financial crisis and economic depression that occurred in the United States, marked by bank failures, bankruptcies, and unemployment.

Question 3

Commonwealth System

Answer 3

A system of state support for economic development and infrastructure projects, particularly in the northeastern United States.

Question 4

sentimentalism

Answer 4

A cultural and literary movement in the early 19th century that emphasized emotion, morality, and human sympathy.

Question 5

companionate marriages

Answer 5

Marriages based on love, affection, and shared interests, rather than purely economic or practical considerations.

Question 6

demographic transition

Answer 6

A process in which a society transitions from high birth and death rates to lower birth and death rates as a result of industrialization and modernization.

Question 7

republican motherhood

Answer 7

A concept in the late 18th and early 19th centuries that women played a vital role in educating their children to be responsible citizens of a republic.

Question 8

manumission

Answer 8

The act of freeing enslaved individuals or granting them their freedom.

Question 9

herrenvolk republic

Answer 9

A term used to describe the United States in the 19th century, emphasizing that it was a republic of white men and perpetuating racial hierarchies.

Question 10

American Colonization Society

Answer 10

An organization founded in 1816 that advocated for the colonization of free African Americans in Africa, leading to the establishment of Liberia.

Question 11

Missouri Compromise

Answer 11

A compromise in 1820 that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining a balance of power between slave and free states.

Question 12

established church

Answer 12

A state-sanctioned or state-supported church with special privileges, often associated with colonial America and the Anglican Church.

Question 13

voluntarism

Answer 13

The principle that religious organizations should be voluntary associations, rather than state-supported institutions.

Question 14

“unchurched”

Answer 14

A term used to describe individuals or regions with low levels of religious affiliation or church attendance

Question 15

Second Great Awakening

Answer 15

A religious revival movement in the early 19th century that led to the spread of evangelical Christianity and social reform efforts in the United States.

Question 16

On what grounds does Paine argue for American independence? Where do you see the
influence of Enlightenment thinking in this argument?

Answer 16

-Paine argues for American independence on the grounds of natural rights and self-determination
-Paine criticizes the hereditary monarchy and the idea of a distant, tyrannical government ruling over the American colonies.
-The idea that government should serve the people and protect their rights, as articulated by Paine, is a core Enlightenment principle that can be traced back to thinkers like Montesquieu and Voltaire

Question 17

Trace the key events in both Britain and America from 1763 to 1776 that forged the Patriot
movement. Why did those in Parliament believe that the arguments of the rebellious
colonists were not justified? How did the Patriots gain the widespread support of the
colonists?

Answer 17

-Ended the French and Indian War, but left Britain with a massive debt and the need to manage newly acquired territories in North America

-Sugar Act: Imposed taxes on sugar and other goods, leading to colonial protests over “taxation without representation.”

-Stamp Act: Imposed a direct tax on various documents and printed materials, sparking widespread resistance in the colonies through the Stamp Act Congress and boycotts.

Townshend Acts: Imposed import taxes on items like tea, paper, and glass, leading to protests and a heightened sense of opposition.

Boston Massacre: British soldiers fired into a crowd in Boston, killing several colonists and intensifying anti-British sentiment.

Tea Act and Boston Tea Party: Colonists, led by the Sons of Liberty, protested the Tea Act by boarding British ships and dumping tea into Boston Harbor.

-Many in Parliament believed that the colonists were subjects of the British Empire and should be subject to imperial law and taxation.
-“common sense”

Question 18

How was rhetoric about slavery and freedom employed by the American colonists during the
years between 1763 and 1776? How did white colonists apply such rhetoric to themselves?
How did it affect the experiences of African-American slaves?

Answer 18

-The rhetoric of freedom, while resonant with Enlightenment principles, was often not applied to enslaved African Americans by white colonists. Slavery was deeply ingrained in colonial society, and the institution continued to thrive.

-

Question 19

What accounted for British military superiority in the first years of the war? How did the
Americans sustain their military effort between 1776 and 1778?

Answer 19

-British had better military and navy
- British had more funding
- Americans used guerilla warfare
- Americans cut off British supply lines

Question 20

What were the causes of Shays’s Rebellion, and what does this tell us about postwar America?

Answer 20

• taxes were high
• ## postwar America has the same issue as prewar America

Question 21

Why did the Western Indian Confederacy fail in its effort to limit white settlement west of the
The Appalachians?

Answer 21

• Many Native Americans became sick from the diseases carried into the New World, so by this point the populations were small
• limited technology (compared to settlers)
• were exclued from politics, treaties they signed were ignored

Question 22

According to the nationalists, what were the central problems of the Articles of Confederation?
How did the delegates to the Philadelphia convention address them?

Answer 22

-Articles of Confederation had a weak central government
- Articles of Confederation did not have enough money to keep the government running
- Constitution made a stronger central government
- added checks and balanced
- made it adaptable

Question 23

How did the Philadelphia convention resolve three contentious political issues: the
representation of large and small states, slavery, and state sovereignty?

Answer 23

• The Virginia plan and New Jersey plan were two plans of different ways to decide how many votes in Congress each state get, the Great compromise means that there are two in the senate for each state and a number in the house proportional to poplulation
• 3/5 compromise was about slavery, counting each slave as 3/5 of a person
• decided to make the Federal laws trump the state laws, but state laws could question the constitutionality of federal laws

Question 24

Why did the Federalist and first Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton insist on
creating a permanent national debt and a national bank? What was he hoping to accomplish?
Why did his Republican opponents disavow his approach to the U.S. economy? What was
Hamilton’s legacy?

Answer 24

-Hamilton believed that a national debt, if properly managed, could help stabilize the American economy. By consolidating the debts of the states and the federal government into a single, manageable entity, he sought to create a more predictable and secure financial system.

-prioritized American manufacturing

• Hamilton believed that a national bank, such as the First Bank of the United States, would provide a stable currency, facilitate trade, and encourage economic growth by providing loans to businesses and entrepreneurs.
• Hamilton’s economic policies, particularly his support for a national debt and a national bank, fueled political divisions and the formation of the Federalist and Republican parties. These divisions persisted in American politics and continue to influence economic and fiscal debates.

Question 25

How did the decisions of the Supreme Court between 1801 and 1820 alter the nation’s
understanding of the Constitution? How did they change American society?

Answer 25

• Marbury v. Madison, power of judicial review, allowing the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress
• McCulloch v. Maryland, ruled that the federal government had implied powers to create a national bank, even though the Constitution did not explicitly grant this authority
• Gibbons v. Ogden, federal government can regulate commerce between states

Question 26

What were the causes of the War of 1812? Where did Republicans and Federalists stand on
declaring and then fighting the war?

Answer 26

• Americans invaded Canada
• British impressment, the practice of forcing American sailors into British naval service
• Republicans for the war
• Federalists against it, too costly

Question 27

How did the Great War for Empire change the relationship between England & its American
colonies?

Answer 27

• Seven Years’ War
• increase in British control over the colonies
• led to attempts to raise revenue from the colonies
• created the Proclamation line

Question 28

Which groups in colonial society most actively supported the rebellion?

Answer 28

• Sons and daughters of Liberty staged many protests and boycotts
• educated elite
• Fronteirsmen
• most laypeople once the taxes were problematic enough

Question 29

What factors stood in the way of the development of a market economy in the United States
in the early nineteenth century? How did the promoters of the Commonwealth System use
government at the state and national levels to promote economic growth and the market
economy?

Answer 29

• United States was primarily an agrarian economy at this time
• banking system was fragmented
• Commonwealth System pushed for internal improvements, including the construction of roads, canals, and later, railroads. State governments, with federal support, invested in transportation infrastructure to facilitate the movement of goods and connect different regions of the country
• ## favored the use of protective tariffs to shelter domestic industries from foreign competition.

Question 30

What compromises over slavery did the members of Congress make to settle the Missouri
crisis? How did the compromises over slavery in 1820–1821 compare with those made by the
delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787?

Answer 30

• Missouri Admitted as a Slave State
• Maine Admitted as a Free State, as a counterbalance to Missouri’s admission
• Slavery Prohibited North of 36°30’ Parallel
• Made an actual decision

Question 31

Why did Protestant Christianity and Protestant women emerge as forces for social change?

Answer 31

• ## promotion of literacy and the establishment of schools, enabled individuals, including women

Question 32

Trace the relationship between America’s republican culture and the surge of evangelism
called the Second Great Awakening. In what ways are the goals of the movements similar? How
are they different?

Answer 32

• Both the republican culture of the early 19th century and the Second Great Awakening were concerned with moral and social reform. They believed in the possibility of improving society through individual and collective action
• mphasized the role of the individual
• characterized by emotional and revivalist methods, often involving passionate preaching

Question 33

What forces turned America into a capitalist society during the early years of the republic?