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| Was chartered in 1816, five years after the First Bank of the United States lost its own charter. It was initially headquartered in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, and had branches throughout the nation. The Second Bank was chartered by many of the same congressmen who in 1811 had refused to renew the charter of the original Bank of the United States. The Second Bank of the United States was chartered because in the War of 1812, the U.S. experienced severe inflation and had difficulty in financing military operations. Subsequently, the credit and borrowing status of the United States was at its lowest levels since its founding. Like the First Bank, the Second Bank was also chartered for 20 years, and also failed to get its charter renewed. It existed for 5 more years as an ordinary bank before going bankrupt in 1841. | ||
| It is intended to artificially inflate prices of imports and protect domestic industries from foreign competition, especially from competitors whose host nations allow them to operate under conditions that are illegal in the protected nation, or who subsidize their exports. | ||
| Cumberland Road was one of the first major improved highways in the United States to be built by the federal government. Construction began in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland on the Potomac River. It crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) on the Ohio River in 1818. Plans were made to continue through St. Louis, Missouri on the Mississippi River to Jefferson City, Missouri, but funding ran out and construction stopped at Vandalia, Illinois in 1839. | ||
| Steam engines were developed and adapted in the late 18th century for use on ships, but did not become widely used until the early 19th century; by 1838 trans-Atlantic service was available. Growth in their use was rapid on United States rivers, and seaworthy steamships gradually replaced sailing ships for commercial shipping through the latter 19th century. Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston were the main minds behind improving the steamboat. It made trading and the moving of goods easier in the United States and began the age of canals. | ||
| After the war there was a need for a better transportation system because without one, manufacturers would not have access to the raw materials they needed for domestic markets. A new idea of using government money to fund the building of new roads came into play. Therefore the National Road was built after Ohio entered the union in 1803. Roads made transportation costs across the mountains lower than ever before. In the first three decades of the 19th century, Americans built more than 10,000 miles of turnpikes, mostly in New England and the Middle Atlantic States. Roadbeds were smoothed and hardened to aid year round use. Curves were straightened and bridges replaced fords. This prompted a predictable surge in traffic and gave a big boost to the developing economy. Toll roads continued to carry much of the interior commerce of the United States until newer technologies, particularly steamboats and railroads, surpassed them. | ||
| Fur traders created a wholly new commerce with the West. At first, fur traders did most of their business by purchasing pelts from the Indians, but then, White Trappers entered the region and began to hunt beaver of their own and began to make a profit off of that. Trappers ("Mountain Men") moved west from the Great Lakes region and began to establish themselves in Utah and in parts of New Mexico. Furs were becoming scarce in the East, so Andrew Henry and William Ashley founded the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and recruited white trappers to move permanently to the Rockies. The Rocky Mountain Fur Company was different from the other fur companies because instead of building forts or trading houses, they let their whit trappers to live on their own. Every summer the mountain men and traders for the Rocky Mountain Fur Company would gather to trade the pelts. Trappers and mountain men lived peacefully and successfully with the Native Americans and Mexicans that shared the land. | ||
| Major Long was the leader of the first scientific exploration up the Platte River. His party included several scientists who studied the geography and natural resources of the area. Eventually, Long became one of the most prolific explorers of the period, covering 26,000 miles in five expeditions. | ||
| A term of periodization used by political scientists and historians to describe the political party system existing in the United States between roughly 1792 and 1824. It featured two national parties competing for control of the presidency, Congress, and the states: the Federalist Party created by Alexander Hamilton and the Democratic-Republican Party created by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. | ||
| the defeat of Adams in 1800 by his Vice President, Thomas Jefferson, who had previously served as Washington's Secretary of State, marked the true beginning of the Virginia Dynasty, which is usually associated with what is now called the Democratic-Republican Party, although it was generally referred to as simply the "Republican" or "Jeffersonian" Party at the time. Jefferson served two terms before retiring, in the Washingtonian precedent, in favor of his Secretary of State, fellow Virginian James Madison, the so-called "Father of the Constitution." Although the War of 1812 greatly weakened Madison's popularity in the Northeast, especially in New England which consequently discussed secession, he was nonetheless re-elected rather easily in 1812 and was able to assist another Virginian who had remained loyal to him and the party, James Monroe, to be elected President in 1816. By the end of Monroe's first term the Federalist Party had essentially disbanded and Monroe was re-elected in 1820 without any real opposition, receiving every electoral vote except one, which went for Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams. (Much later a myth arose that the dissenting elector had done so in order that George Washington would be the only president in American history to be elected unanimously.) Monroe's second term marked the end of the Virginia Dynasty. In the election of 1824, supporters of William H. Crawford portrayed him as "the rightful and legitimate successor of the Virginia Dynasty," but the Democratic-Republican Party splintered. John Quincy Adams won the disputed 1824 election over General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, then considered to be part of the Southwest. | ||
| (April 28, 1758-July 4, 1831) Was the fifth President of the United States, serving two terms from 1817 to 1825. Monroe was the last Founding Father of the United States, the last one from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation to become the U.S. President. His presidency was marked both by an "Era of Good Feelings"-a period of relatively little partisan strife-and later by the Panic of 1819 and a fierce national debate over the admission of the Missouri Territory. Monroe is most noted for his proclamation in 1823 of the Monroe Doctrine, which stated that the United States would not tolerate further European intervention in the Americas. | ||
| Though Andrew Jackson had the most popular and electoral votes in the election of 1824, John Quincy Adams won the election in the House of Representatives with the help of Henry Clay's endorsement. He experienced many political and diplomatic frustrations during his term as President. His policies and nationalistic ideas were opposed by the Jacksonians. He lost a conflict with Georgia concerning the removal of Indian tribes. He received opposition from southerners after signing what they called the "tariff of abominations." His supporters, mostly the remaining Federalists, called themselves the National Republicans and supported his views of economic nationalism. His term in office ended when he was defeated by Andrew Jackson in the 1828 election. | ||
| As Speaker of the House, he defended the southern states in the Missouri Compromise. After the Senate settled the dispute by adopting the Thomas Amendment, he guided it through the House of Representatives. When he ran for President in 1824, he finished last in popular and electoral votes. When the election came down to the last two the last two candidates, he supported John Quincy Adams because Andrew Jackson was Clay's most dangerous political rival in the West. Adams shared his nationalistic views and support of Clay's American System for the economy. Adams won the in the house of Representatives only with the help of Clay's endorsement. | ||
| The secretary of war; introduced a bill that would have used the funds owed the government by the Bank of the United States to finance internal improvements. | ||
| The operation of stop continuing raids on American territory by Seminole Indians south of the border. Andrew Jackson used these orders as an excuse to invade Florida, seize the Spanish forts at St. Marks and Pensacola, and order the hanging of two British subjects on the charge of supplying and inciting the Indians | ||
| The 7th president of the United States but in his early life, Jackson was left orphaned and alone. Throughout his life, Jackson was criticized for his steadfast opinions and autocratic manner, but he nonetheless proved himself a savvy and thoughtful politician. In the elections of 1824, he won the popular vote but subsequently lost the Presidency after the election was thrown into the House of Representatives. Jackson quickly turned his attention to 1828 and won a solid victory in that year. Jackson's Presidency was marked by four major issues: The Second Bank of the United States, the Tariff of 1828, the Nullification Crisis, and Indian Removal. Jackson spent much of his eight years as President trying to destroy the national Bank, which had been chartered by Congress in 1816 as a national center for fiscal policy. He helped modernize the nation and forever define his term of office as the mini-Enlightenment now known as Jacksonian America. | ||
| This agreement, also called the Transcontinental Treaty, was made during the administration of President James Monroe and settled long‐standing disputes between the United States and Spain and it became a source of heated international debate. The treaty established definitive western boundaries for the Louisiana Purchase, following the Sabine, Red, and Arkansas Rivers to the 42nd parallel (northern part of California), and running along that line to the Pacific (basically it was one of the critical events that defined the U.S.-Mexico border). The treaty drew a definite border between Spanish land and the Louisiana Territory. | ||
| A period of high foreign demand for American farm goods and thus of exceptionally high prices for American farmers (all as a result of the disruption of European agriculture caused by the Napoleonic Wars). The rising prices for farm goods had stimulated a land boom in the western United States. Fueled by speculative investments, land prices soared. The availability of easy credit to settlers and speculators fueled the land boom. A series of failures by state banks resulted in financial panic, which many Americans, particularly those in the West, blamed on the national bank. Thus began a process that would eventually make the Bank's existence one of the nation's most burning political issues. Six years of depression followed. | ||
| When Missouri applied for admission to the Union as a state in 1819, slavery was already well established there. Representative James Tallmadge, Jr. of New York proposed an amendment to the Missouri statehood bill that would prohibit the further introduction of slaves into Missouri. In 1819, there were eleven free states and eleven slave states. The admission of Missouri would upset that balance and increase the political power of the North over the South. Complicating the Missouri question was the application of Maine for admission as a new, free state. Senator Jesse B. Thomas of Illinois proposed an amendment prohibiting slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase territory north of the southern boundary of Missouri (the 36° 30' parallel). Nationalists in both North and South hailed this settlement as a happy resolution of a danger to the Union. | ||
| John Marshall dominated the Court for over three decades and played a significant role in the development of the American legal system. Most notably, the Court established that the federal courts are entitled to exercise judicial review, which is the power to strike down laws that violate the Constitution. Thus, Marshall cemented the position of the American judiciary as an independent and influential branch of government. Furthermore, the Marshall Court made several important decisions relating to federalism, shaping the balance of power between the federal government and the states during the early years of the republic. | ||
| A case in which the United States Supreme Court vacated the conviction of Samuel Worcester, holding that the Georgia criminal statute, prohibiting non-Indians from being present on Indian lands without a license from the state, was unconstitutional. The opinion is most famous for its dicta, which lays out the relationship between tribes and the state and federal governments, building the foundations of the doctrine of tribal sovereignty in the United States. | ||
| The Monroe Doctrine is a United States policy that was introduced on December 2, 1823, which stated that further efforts by European countries to colonize land or interfere with states in the Americas would be viewed, by the United States of America, as acts of aggression requiring US intervention. The Monroe Doctrine asserted that the Western Hemisphere was not to be further colonized by European countries and that the United States would neither interfere with existing European colonies nor meddle in the internal concerns of European countries. The Doctrine was issued at a time when many Latin American countries were on the verge of becoming independent from the Spanish Empire and the United States, reflecting concerns echoed by Great Britain, hoped to avoid having any European power take Spain's colonies. | ||
| In the United States presidential election of 1824, John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825, after the election was decided by the House of Representatives. The previous few years had seen a one-party government in the United States, as the Federalist Party had dissolved, leaving only the Democratic-Republican Party. In this election, the Democratic-Republican Party splintered as four separate candidates sought the presidency. Such splintering had not yet led to formal party organization, but later the faction led by Andrew Jackson would evolve into the Democratic Party, while the factions led by John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay would become the National Republican Party and later the Whig Party. This election is notable for being the only time since the passage of the Twelfth Amendment in which the presidential election was decided by the House of Representatives, as no candidate received a majority of the electoral vote. This presidential election was also the only one in which the candidate receiving the most electoral votes did not become president (because a majority, not just a plurality, is required to win). It is also often said to be the first election in which the president did not win the popular vote, although the popular vote was not measured nationwide. At that time, several states did not conduct a popular vote, allowing their state legislature to choose their electors. | ||
| When the House of Representatives had to choose between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay threw his support behind Adams. Even though Jackson had had more electoral votes Adams won because of clays support. Later Adams made Clay his Secretary of state and this became known as the corrupt bargain. | ||
| A tariff on imported goods made in 1828. This was made in part because of demands from Massachusetts and Rhode Island woolen manufacturers. They said that The British were dumping textiles on the American market at artificially low prices. The administration however had to accept duties on other items to win support from the middle to western states. The tariff antagonized the original supporters for the bill because of this. Now manufacture goods had to be weighed against having to pay more for raw materials. Southerners dubbed this bill the tariff of abominations. | ||
| A rematch between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. As the current Vice President, John C. Calhoun had sided with the Jacksonians. Unlike the 1824 Election, no other major candidates appeared in the race, allowing Jackson to consolidate a power base and easily win an electoral victory over Adams. The Democratic Party drew support from the existing supporters of Jackson and their coalition with the supporters of Crawford (the "Old Republicans") and Vice President Calhoun. |
