Period 4 Flashcards
Embargo Act
Act put into law by Thomas Jefferson in 1807 that was the lowpoint of his presidency. Outlawed the sailing of American ships to foreign ports. This law was intended to protect American ships from the impressment of foreign forces, but ended up simply decimating the economies of port cities and reminded many Americans of the British Navigation Acts.
War of 1812
A war between the U.S. and Great Britain caused by American outrage over the impressment of American sailors by the British, the British seizure of American ships, and British aid to the Indians attacking the Americans on the western frontier. Enhanced nationalism of Americans.
Hartford Convention
Meeting of Federalists near the end of the War of 1812 in which the party listed it’s complaints against the ruling Republican Party. These actions were largely viewed as traitorous to the country and lost the Federalist much influence
Market Revolution
Connected small farmers and traders to larger markets through the use of newly developed infrastructure. For example, the development of the Illinois Central Railroad shaped Chicago as a train-city and helped open areas of Illinois to commercial farming. Also shaped the way we work and labor today; affecting how we work for a wage and “around a clock”
Steamboats
Boats that could easily paddle upstream, became vital part of America’s transportation system. Robert Fulton sailed his steamboat, the Clermont, up the Hudson River.
Toll roads
created on highways built by private companies to generate profit but were heavily avoided by Americans. Before 1830 they were owned by corporations chartered by state governments. Enforced state power.
Erie Canal
A 363 mile canal that connected the Great Lakes region to New York City; creating a dominant port of the city. Brought about the creation of new towns along the waterway (Buffalo, Rochester) Inspired the building of many other canals across the US and sparked an interest in major waterway transportation.
Telegraph
An apparatus that used electric signals to transmit a message via a wire; use of Morse Code (a series of dots and dashes representing letters of the alphabet). Allowed people to communicate ideas and the price of goods across the country.
Railroads
Connected the Western frontier to the other cities in the US; influenced trade, and stimulated the mining of coal for fuel and manufacturing of iron for materials to build trains.
Adams-Onis Treaty
remainder of Florida sold by Spain to US, boundary of Mexico defined
Southern Cities
developed as plantation-style layouts that are spread out instead of crunched together due to late colonization once transportation was made easier.
Northern Cities
Created in resemblance to European cities; small, crowded streets with apartment buildings and narrow walkways.
Cotton Kingdom
Nickname given to the American South after Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin allowed it to produce massive amounts of cotton (and become wholly reliant on slave labor)
Factory System
Intensification of all of the processes of production at a single site during the Industrial Revolution; involved greater organization of labor and increased discipline. Introduced the idea of “wages” and “working around the clock”
Samuel Slater
Immigrant who brought knowledge from Britain’s textile industry to the US
Opens first American factory in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Steel Plow
invented by John Deere during the Industrial Revolution making it easier for farmers to till the land
Mill Girls
Unmarried women from New England cities who went to work in mills where they lived in boarding houses and were supervised very closely. Families were reluctant to allow their girls to leave for the first time into stranger’s supervision, so much leisure time spent at these houses was centered around faith and God, and there were strict behavioral rules. Many of them left to get married and were soon widely replaced by immigrants (mostly Irish). Still, leaving to work in the mill gave women a sense of independence and allowed them to notice their responsibilities outside the home.
Irish Immigration
Caused largely by the potato famine in Ireland. Irish immigrants came and received much discrimination due to their Catholic faith as well as exploitation in factories due to their limited skills. Archbishop John Hughes urges them to maintain their identity, which leads to the development of Catholic schools.
German Immigration
Germans came America and were seen as mostly skilled craftsmen and settled in tightly knit communities (German triangle of St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati) Vibrant German culture emerges in America (Kleindeutschland in NYC)
Nativism
Inspired in part by the rapid influx of immigrants, Americans began to feel close ties to their country, therefore displaying xenophobic traits towards foreigners who entered.
Dartmouth College v. Woodward
1819 New Hampshire had attempted to take over Dartmouth College by revising its colonial charter. The Court ruled that the charter was protected under the contract clause of the U. S. Constitution; upholds the sanctity of contracts.
Gibbons v. Ogden
Supreme Court case that stated how regulating interstate commerce is a power reserved to the federal government
Commonwealth v. Hunt
1842 Landmark ruling of the Massachusetts supreme court establishing the legality of labor unions.
Transcendentalism
A philosophical and literary movement of the 1800s which emphasized living a simple life while celebrating the truth in nature, emotion, and imagination. (Think Thoreau and Emerson). Believed freedom was not a set of defined rights or privileges, but rather an open-ended process of self realization