us civil war - origins Flashcards
what is federalism
national and state laws have shared responsibilities.
federal: declare war, maintain armed forces
state: maintain schools, local governments
strengths and weaknesses of federalism
+ maintains connections between Americans and their state
+ easier to control when delegating power
+allowed early us government to achieve and maintain stability
- overlap of boundaries means it difficult to assign blame
- different taxes for each state
- less governmental powers for state
what is the 10th ammendment
if its not mentioned inthe constitution, and not explicitly said to be prohibited, then its up to state government to decide on what to do
how did the 10th amendment affect slavery
if the federal governemnt doesnt have a strong stance on slavery, it would be dependent on state governments to decide and slavery could still existw
what did the north think of federalism?
- wanted strong federal government
- policies such as infastructure and tarrifs were seen as necessary
- federal governemnt was in north
what did south think of federalism?
- wanted weak federal government
- wanted more autonomy
- thought government was promoting northern interests at the expense of southern interests
what was the nullification crisis 1832-33
1832-33
powers not delegated to the states by the constitution, nor prohibitied are reserved to the states
what was the 1828 tarrif act
aim: to protect factories by taxing imports from europe to raise the prices of foreign goods, to encourage the us economy
what was the impact of the 1828 tarrif act??
if the us taxed britain, britain could tax the us, meaning it would hurt their economy due to the cotton and textile industry.
it would make it difficult for britain to pay for cotton that they imported from the south
what did south carolina think of the 1828 tarrif act?
they believed they could nullify the law is they didnt think it was in their best interest and so they would stay in the union.
they hoped other southern states would rally behind them and their stance
what was the force act?
allowed us to enforce federal laws
had the goal of forcing south carolina to pay federal import tariffs
passed in response to the nullification crisis
what was the compromise tarrif act of 1833
adopted to gradually reduce taxes over the next decade until it matches the levels set in 1816
what did the democrats believe
- opposed federal government
- favoured state rights
- opposed tarrifs
- supported by south and poorer immigrants
- supported westward expansion
what did the whigs believe?
- favoured government
- supported tariffs
- seen as party of buisness and old elites
- some whigs supported social reforms such as abolition of slavery
what is sectionalism?
loyalty to one’s own reigons or section of the country, rather than the country as a wholeco