The Making of America Flashcards
Give some factors in why slavery caused tension in the south
Economic - Most of it’s wealth came from growing crops such as tobacco, rice and cotton
Religious - Slavery was dividing the christian faith as the south preached that God had made black people to serve white people
Political - A compromise was made that slaves were now counted as 3/5 of a person
Who invented the cotton gin
Eli Whitney in 1793
How did the cotton gin affect the plantations
Sped up the cleaning of cotton by 50 times
Banks speedup the expansion of cotton fields and slavery by loaning thousands of dollars
Owners developed the ‘pushing system’ to increase productivity
When was the Louisiana Purchase
1803
230 million acres
What was the cotton kingdom
Deep south states became known as the ‘cotton kingdom’
New orleans tripled in size from 1803-1819 becoming th 4th biggest city in the USA
From 1820 cotton made up ..% of all USA exports
40
What is the Missouri compromise
1819 - a battle began over wether states from the territories of the Louisiana purchase would allow slavery
Both sides worried that if there were more slave states than free, they would be able to control the government through it’s increased votes
In 1820 the Missouri compromise was created to solve the issue
Who is Andrew Jackson
President who openly supported slavery, used his power as president to open the cotton business up even more
Strengthened slavery by taking lands away from the indigenous American tribes
What 3 points could you make on why slavery expanded in the USA
1) Cotton gin (Eli Whitney)
Pushing system is 6x faster
More slaves needed to pick as new technology
2) USA purchased Louisiana clone 1803
Boosted slavery along south
`405 of exports
Cotton kingdom
3) Missouri compromise
1819 battle
More slaves states added
What three points could you make on expansion, expulsion and exploitation
1) Expansion
Louisiana purchase 230 million acres
Usa transformed form colonies to a country
NW and SW territories divided into neat grids of 6 mile squares each divided into 36 sections( 640 acres each)
2) Expulsion
Indian removal act 1830
Creeks - 7,000 us troops removed 18,000 into concentration camps
3) Exploitation
Slavery
Cotton kingdom
Pushing system
When was the Indian removal Act
1830
Give some pull factors that attracted settlement to the west
- Word spread that the west had a good climate for farming
- 1841 ‘Pre-emption act’. In Oregon, farmers would be given first opportunity to buy surrounding land, deterred land speculators.
- 1845 ‘Manifest of Destiny’. Some believed that it was God’s mission to convert the Indians of the west to christianity
- By 1840, mountain men had mapped routes and trails to do the 2000 mile journey to the west, people felt more secure abut going
Why were the Mormons unpopular
People disagreed with the vision of land ownership
Thought Joseph Smith acted like a powerful king
Unpopular due to opposition to slavery by slave holders
Agressive in trying to convert people
Why was the mormon settlement of Utah a success
People saw Young as the closest link to God so it was easy for orders to be followed
Carefully planed like how church owned all the land as quantity was based on each person’s need
How did Californian gold rush occur
1848- James Marshall found a goldmine in the mountains.
People made their way from the port town of San Fransisco
In december, the president confirm that there was gold which caused people form afar to rush in
How did the Californian gold rush affect the economy
San Fransisco expanded rapidly with it’s own police force
Merchant were able to sell their basic supplies (spades) for 5 times the price
How did the Californian gold rush affect the individual miners
Gold panning was impossible from 1852, me were instead employed by big companies to dig tonnes of quartz crystals. Many returned home rejected
How did the Californian gold rush affect the land and environment
By 1859, the surface gold was nearly all gone
Mining companies realised that it was quicker and cheaper to blast hills with high powered water jets destroying whole hillsides.
Chemicals used to extract gold killed fish and wildlife, flooding became a major problem with some towns being completely washed away
How did the tensions between miners and Native Americans develop form the Californian gold rush
1850 - California passed an act for government and protection of Indians, any Indian who could not prove he had a job could be arrested and sold to white settles as labour.
Native americans believed that hills had their own souls, which were now being destroyed
Give 3 economic factors caused by slavery which caused the civil war
Against - The population of the North was expanding rapidly and this created Southern paranoia that they would loose all their power in congress
Against - Harriet Stowe’s novel ‘Uncle tom’s Cabin’ sold 300,000 copies in first 3 months, Lincoln met her and said ‘so this is the little lady who started the big war’.
Against - 1854 - Kansas Nebraska act, pro slavery members of congress said that two states could vote if they wanted slavery (reversal of Missouri compromise) , Anti + pro slaver campaigners poured into the territories leading to violent clashes between the two sides.
Agree - Economies of the North and South relied heavily on slavery and encouraged slave holders that it’s natural. Northern factory owners thought it was unfair competition, since they had to pay their workers.
Give some aspects of improvement for black men from the civil war
Second Confederate Act - Some generals took initiative to allow black people in army. New act meant that any piece of land taken by the US army meant all slaves were free in that area (Sea Islands)
1863 - Lincoln announced that if the Union won the war, all slaves would be free.
More white people away fighting in the war, so more jobs available in North and those black men were the key victors of the Union with many seeing them as ‘real people’.
….., first black regiment in South Carolina, many followed. ….of Northern black men joined the army
1862
70%
In 1865, how many freed slaves were taught how to read and write
200,000
When was the civil war
1861 - 1865
Give one evidence of progress in 1865
Lincoln granted the freedom of all slaves, when congress passed the 13th amendment
Give some evidence if betrayal in 1865 (3)
December - Jackson announced that the reconstruction phase was over, which shocked most of the Republican party.
The state government of the south were back in the hands of plantation owners, some without even swearing an oath to the Union.
Southern states introduced ‘black codes’ which limited the rights of black workers, banning black + white marriages,, and not allowing them to hold weapons.
Give some evidence of progress from 1866-1870
14th amendment said that all persons born in the US were to be seen as citizens regardless of their race.
1867 - black people in Washington were given the vote for the first time.
1867 - All those who fought against the union in the civil war were banned from voting, also required army officers to go to South to protect the rights of black people.
What is the Pacific railroad Act
July, 1862 - Pacific Railroad Act, meant that the Us government would provide money for any company willing to link the East and West.
Government also offered free land either side of the track, which could be sold to settlers.
Companies received…….acres of land for every…….they built
6400
Mile
How much money was the government offering to encourage companies
$50 million
How much did the government pay to survey routes
$150,000
Give 3 positive impacts of the railroad
Thousands of workers received jobs
Towns emerged on the plains (good for cattle trade)
Network of lines spread across to the West
Give some negative impacts the railroad had
Central Pacific Company employed 12,000 Chinese migrants to do the dangerous work, 150 died
Sanitation was poor and disease was a danger as they lived in temporary tents
Railroads divided the plains where the Indians hunted Buffalo
Americans came to dominate the plains
What is Cattle driving
By the 1850’s when beef became a popular food in America, cattle men rounded up large herds and drove them North to market, sometimes as far as California and Chicago
What were cattle towns
Became known as ideal places to bring cattle for transport to the cities of the North and East. First towns were often violent but in the 1870’s gun laws were introduced and sherifs were employed to keep everything in order. Most cowboys were young men on low wages.
What are cow ranches
Cattle ranches on the plains - cowboys realised it was more efficient to set up ranches on the plains themselves. Led to a security of grass and water for buffalo herds
What was the Homestead Act
1862 - Lincoln passed it which promised 160 acres of land for a small fee to families who farmed it for 5 years.
How many homesteaders moved from Kansas alone in the 1870’s
Over half a million
How did homesteaders solve the isolation problem
Gradually this started to decrease as more homesteaders moved on to the plains, churches and schools were built.
What was Red Clouds War
1865 - 1868, Discovery of gold lead to conflict between the Lakota Sioux and the Us army. One gold miner found a trail to the gold mine, but it went through hunting ground son Lakota Sioux, broke Fort Laminae Treaty.
Red cloud and other Lakota leaders launched attacks on army forts, Captain Fetterman was lured out of his fort and entire troop of 80 men was killed
Government amsted defeat and signed a treaty that promised that Us troops and settlers would not enter their lands again.
What was Sand Creek Massacre
1864, Gold was discovered on Pikes peak and Americans poured into the surrounding lands, Us government forced Indians into a small reservation.
The Indians failed to produce enough food on the area and many warriors were forced to hint outside the reservation.
John Chivilngton led attack, 105 Cheyenne children and women dead warriors dead
What was the Little Crow War
1861, Santee Sioux were forced to give up 28 million acres of land in exchange for a small reservation in Southern Minnesota - a lack of meat and corn meant they faced starvation “if they are hungry, let them eat grass or their own dung”.
Sioux attacked surrounding land killing 500 white settlers, US army surrounded them and executed Little Crow.
Give some factors that caused the Native American culture to be destroyed
Lots of plains Indian children sent away to be educated in English speaking schools, so looks of their culture and their indigenous language started to fade
Military power - Most indians were being rounded up into reservations. Badly run with little food + healthcare, made sure that the Indians would never gain be able to win a victory on the Us army
Wealth + Culture - Buffalo hunters killed 3 million buffalo , with 16 million kilos used as fertiliser. The destruction of buffalo was the primary cause of the warfare between Indians and Us troops.
Homesteaders on the plains fences off their water, stopped Indians from roaming freely on their horses
Big factories paid people to pick wild foods such as berries, increased the competition for food
The Us started splitting the tribes apart, stopped tribes reuniting as they had done in previous wars. Also diluted their identities.
Indian children were required to change their names and convert to christianity, deprived them of being able to pass their culture and heritage through generations.
When was the ‘Friends of the Indians’ set up
1883, boarding school americanised native american children and erased their culture
