America's History Volume 1 Instructor's Manual

FIFTH EDITION
I N S T RU C TO R S R E S O U R C E M A N UA L
Americas History
Volume 1 To 1877
Bradley T. Gericke
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
Bedford/St. Martins
Boston New York
Copyright 2004 by Bedford/St. Martins All rights reserved. Instructors who have adopted Americas History, Volume 1 to 1877, Fifth Edition, as a textbook for a course are authorized to duplicate portions of this manual for their students. Manufactured in the United States of America. 7 6 5 4 3 f e d c b a For information, write: Bedford/St. Martins, 75 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116 (617-399-4000) ISBN: 0312405871
Preface
The questions historians pose about the past are often more illuminating than the answers that are revealed. It is the process of inquiry that propels the historical method forward and provides our profession the unique ability to contribute to the human condition. This Instructors Resource Manual should be a valuable tool for every teacher who loves the questions of American history. Designed for use with Americas History, Fifth Edition, by James Henretta, David Brody, and Lynn Dumenil, it contains a vast array of relevant and informative material for the novice and veteran instructor alike. It has been thoroughly edited and revised to achieve greater clarity and precision of expression while maintaining the essential features of the previous edition that have proven so successful. Since every instructor teaches history differently, the resources presented can feasibly be used in a variety of ways, giving you many options for designing and redesigning a course to focus on specific topics or areas of interest.
Chapter Resources
Instructional Objectives presented in a question format open each part and chapter. Instructors can use the objectives to organize and refine their delivery, to craft exams, and to aid students understanding of the reading. A Chapter Summary provides a succinct recap of the texts most essential issues and arguments. This information is fully dissected in the Chapter Annotated Outline. As quick surveys of the full reading, these complete outlines reflect the narrative of the text and serve as excellent memory joggers. They should prove quite useful to keep at lectern-side or when preparing speaking notes before class. The Lecture Strategies for each chapter outline key themes that instructors may wish to consider and suggest ways that the text may be presented. To prompt in-class discussion, and particularly effective for new instructors or those coming to the subject material for the first time, there are Class Discussion Starters. This feature consists of questions with several possible responses to help students interact with the factual information in the text. Chapter Writing Assignments provide questions that seek to build upon the text and require a longer, more developed answer to address. This feature may assist instructors to fashion quizzes or exams. Students can gain practice in working with primary material through the Document Exercises. Both Document Discussion questions and Writing Assignments provoke discussion and encourage student reflection about the American Voices, Voices from Abroad, American Lives, and New Technology features in the textbook. Skill-Building Map Exercises highlight key aspects of the texts maps and help students to understand how maps can enhance their comprehension of the written narrative. Each chapter has a Topic for Research that provides direction for further study and can be a starting point for instructors who wish to pursue more fully a particular period or topic. This manual serves as a keystone for the comprehensive collection of ancillaries available for Americas History, Fifth Edition. To help instructors utilize this wealth of resources we have added a section on How to Use the Ancillaries Available with Americas History to all chapters in the Instructors Resource Manual. This detailed, chapter-by-chapter guide outlines specific supplementary readings and custom-made online activities that will provide integrated support to the U.S. history survey and allow instructors to customize their course to suit their students needs. For a full description of all of these ancillaries, please see the Preface to Americas History (p. vii).
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Preface
Acknowledgments
This manual was made possible by the combined efforts of many people. While there are far too many to list individually, there are several whom I would particularly like to thank: development editor Corinne McCutchen, whose talented and incisive editorial work elevated this manual with fresh scholarship; editorial assistant Elizabeth Harrison, whose expert guidance directed this project from beginning to end; production editor Tina Lai, whose watchful eye ensured consistency and accuracy in the text; and, most important, my wife Tonya, whose instinctive acumen and steadfast commitment created the opportunity for this project to become a reality. Perhaps the highest compliment that can be paid to a text is that it spends little time on the shelf. Such is our hope for the Instructors Resource Manual. If we have done our job well, the copy you hold today will soon be dog-eared and tattered. Please let us know how we have done, and best wishes for your journey through Americas History. Bradley T. Gericke
Contents
Preface iii How to Use the Ancillaries Available with Americas History 26
PART ONE
3 The British Empire in America,

16601750 27 1
1
The Creation of American Society,

14501775
Part Instructional Objectives Thematic Timeline 2 Part Essay 3
1 Worlds Collide: Europe, Africa, and America,

14501620 5
Chapter Instructional Objectives 5 Chapter Summary 5 Chapter Annotated Outline 6 Lecture Strategies 9 Class Discussion Starters 10 Chapter Writing Assignments 11 Document Exercises 11 Skill-Building Map Exercises 13 Topic for Research 14 How to Use the Ancillaries Available with 14 Americas History
4 Growth and Crisis in Colonial Society,

17201765 38
2 The Invasion and Settlement of North

America, 15501700 16
Chapter Instructional Objectives 16 Chapter Summary 16 Chapter Annotated Outline 17 Lecture Strategies 21 Class Discussion Starters 22 Chapter Writing Assignments 23 Document Exercises 23 Skill-Building Map Exercises 25 Topic for Research 25
5 Toward Independence: Years of Decision,

17631775 49
49
Chapter Instructional Objectives Chapter Summary 49 Chapter Annotated Outline 50
vi
Contents
Lecture Strategies 53 Class Discussion Starters 53 Chapter Writing Assignments 55 Document Exercises 55 Skill-Building Map Exercises 56 Topic for Research 57 How to Use the Ancillaries Available with Americas History 57
THINKING ABOUT HISTORY:
Class Discussion Starters 87 Chapter Writing Assignments 88 Document Exercises 88 Skill-Building Map Exercises 89 Topic for Research 90 How to Use the Ancillaries Available with Americas History 90
9 The Quest for a Republican Society,

58
Slavery, Racism, and the American Republic
17901820
92
PART TWO
The New Republic,

17751820
59
59
6 War and Revolution, 17751783

Chapter Instructional Objectives 63 Chapter Summary 63 Chapter Annotated Outline 63 Lecture Strategies 67 Class Discussion Starters 67 Chapter Writing Assignments 68 Document Exercises 68 Skill-Building Map Exercises 70 Topic for Research 70 How to Use the Ancillaries Available with Americas History 71
63
Federalism as History and Contemporary Politics 100
PART THREE
Economic Revolution and Sectional Strife,

18201877
73 101
101
7 The New Political Order, 17761800

10 The Economic Revolution,

18201860 105
8 Dynamic Change: Western Settlement and

Eastern Capitalism, 17901820
Chapter Instructional Objectives Chapter Summary 83 Chapter Annotated Outline 84 Lecture Strategies 86
83
83
11 A Democratic Revolution,
18201844 115
115
Chapter Instructional Objectives
Contents
vii
Chapter Summary 115 Chapter Annotated Outline 116 Lecture Strategies 119 Class Discussion Starters 120 Chapter Writing Assignments 121 Document Exercises 122 Skill-Building Map Exercises 123 Topic for Research 123 How to Use the Ancillaries Available with Americas History 124
Skill-Building Map Exercises 144 Topic for Research 144 How to Use the Ancillaries Available with 144 Americas History
14 Two Societies at War, 18611865

146
12 Religion and Reform, 18201860

125
15 Reconstruction, 18651877
156
13 The Crisis of the Union, 18441860

Chapter Instructional Objectives 135 Chapter Summary 135 Chapter Annotated Outline 136 Lecture Strategies 139 Class Discussion Starters 141 Chapter Writing Assignments 142 Document Exercises 142
135
Religion in American Public Life
166
PA RT O N E
The Creation of American Society

14501775
Part Instructional Objectives
After you have taught this part, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. What were the main characteristics of traditional European society, and how successfully did European settlers replicate that society in America? 2. How did the Columbian Exchange affect the lives of Europeans and Native Americans? 3. How did whites, Native Americans, and Africans interact socially and economically? 4. How did traditional English notions of government give way to calls for political sovereignty and representative assemblies in America? 5. How did family roles, immigrants, and changing religious values affect the emergence of a new American identity?
Thematic Timeline
ECONOMY
From Staple Crops to Internal Growth
1450 Native American subsistence economy Europeans fish off North American coast 1600 First staple export crops: furs and tobacco
SOCIETY
Ethnic, Racial, and Class Divisions
Sporadic warfare among Indian peoples Spanish conquest of Mexico (15191521) English-Indian warfare African servitude begins in Virginia (1619)
GOVERNMENT
From Monarchy to Republic
Rise of monarchical nation-states in Europe
RELIGION
From Hierarchy to Pluralism
Protestant Reformation begins (1517)
CULTURE
The Creation of American Identity
Diverse Native American cultures in eastern woodlands
James I rules by divine right in England Virginia House of Burgesses (1619) Puritan Revolution Stuart restoration (1660) Bacons Rebellion (1675)
Persecuted English Puritans and Catholics migrate to America
Puritans implant Calvinism, education, and freehold ideal
1640
New England trade with sugar islands Mercantilist regulations: first Navigation Act (1651)
White indentured servitude in the Chesapeake Indians retreat inland Indian slavery in the Carolinas Ethnic rebellion in New York (1689)
Religious liberty in Rhode Island
Aristocratic aspirations in the Chesapeake
1680
Tobacco trade stagnates Rice cultivation expands
Dominion of New England (16861689) Glorious Revolution (16881689) Rise of the representative assembly Challenge to deferential politics
Rise of toleration
Emergence of African American language and culture
1720
Mature yeoman farm economy in North Imports from Britain increase
Scots-Irish and German migration Growing rural inequality
German and Scots-Irish Pietists in Middle Atlantic region Great Awakening
Expansion of colleges, newspapers, and magazines Franklin and the American Enlightenment First signs of an American identity Republican innovations in political theory
1760
Trade boycotts encourage domestic manufacturing
Uprisings by tenants and backcountry farmers Artisan protests
Ideas of popular sovereignty Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775)
Evangelical Baptists in Virginia Quebec Act allows Catholicism (1774)
ocieties are made, not born. They are the creation of decades, even centuries, of human endeavor and experience. The first American societies were formed by hunting and gathering peoples who migrated to the Western Hemisphere from Asia many centuries ago. Over many generations these migrants called the Native Americans came to live in a wide variety of environments and cultures. In much of North America, they developed kinship-based societies that relied on hunting and farming. But in the lower Mississippi Valley, Native Americans developed a hierarchical social order similar to that of the great civilizations of the Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas of Mesoamerica. The coming of Europeans and their diseases tore the fabric of most Native American cultures into shreds. Native Americans increasingly confronted a new American society, one dominated by men and women of European origins. The Europeans who settled America sought to transplant their traditional societies to the New World their farming practices, their social hierarchies, their culture and heritage, and their religious ideas. But in learning to live in the new land, the Europeans who came to Englands North American colonies eventually created societies that were distinctly different from those of their homelands in their economies, social character, political systems, religion, and culture.
Government In the meantime, whites in the emerging American societies created an increasingly free and competitive political system. The first English settlers transplanted authoritarian institutions to America, and the English government continued to manage their lives. But after 1689 traditional controls gradually gave way to governments based in part on representative assemblies. Eventually, the growth of self-rule would lead to demands for political independence from England. Religion The American experience profoundly changed religious institutions and values. Many migrants left Europe because of the conflicts of the Protestant Reformation and came to America seeking to practice their religion without interference. The societies they created became increasingly religious, especially after the evangelical revivals of the 1740s. By this time many Americans had rejected the harshest tenets of Calvinism (a strict Protestant faith), and others had embraced the rationalist view of the European Enlightenment. As a result, American Protestant Christianity became increasingly tolerant, democratic, and optimistic. Culture The new American society witnessed the appearance of new forms of family and community life. The first English settlers lived in patriarchal families ruled by dominant fathers and in communities controlled by men of high status. By 1750, however, many American fathers no longer strictly managed their childrens lives. As these communities became more diverse and open, many men and women began to enjoy greater personal independence. This new American society was increasingly pluralistic, composed of migrants from many European ethnic groups English, Scots, Scots-Irish, Dutch, and Germans as well as enslaved West Africans and many different Native American peoples. Distinct regional cultures developed in New England, the Middle Atlantic colonies, and the Chesapeake and Carolina areas. Consequently, an overarching American identity based on the English language, British legal and political institutions, and shared experiences emerged very slowly. The story of the colonial experience is both tragic and exciting. The settlers created a new American world but one that warred with Native Americans and condemned most African Americans to bondage even as it offered Europeans rich possibilities for economic security, political freedom, and spiritual fulfillment.
Economy Many European settlements were very successful in economic terms. Traditional Europe was made up of poor, overcrowded, and unequal societies that periodically suffered devastating famines. But with few people and a bountiful natural environment, the settlers in North America replaced poverty with plenty, creating a bustling economy and, in the northern mainland colonies, prosperous communities of independent farm families. Indeed, this region became known as the best poor mans country for migrants from the British Isles and Germany. Society However, some of the European settlements became places of oppressive captivity for Africans. Aided by African slave traders, Europeans transported hundreds of thousands of workers, from many African regions, to the West Indies and the southern mainland colonies and forced them to labor as slaves on sugar, tobacco, and rice plantations. Slowly and with great effort, they and their descendants created an African American culture within a social order dominated by Europeans.
CHAPTER 1
Worlds Collide: Europe, Africa, and America

14501620

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. How did Native American peoples structure their societies? Why did each society develop different economic, social, and political systems? 2. What were the main characteristics of traditional European society? 3. How did the European Renaissance and Reformation affect the organization of American society? 4. Why did European nations pursue overseas exploration and colonization? 5. Why do historians describe the contact between Europeans and Native Americans as the Columbian Exchange? 6. How did the Spanish invasion of the New World affect the lives of peoples in the Americas, Europe, and Africa?
Chapter Summary
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the predominantly agricultural civilizations of Europe and America made contact, with significant and irreversible consequences. The Western Hemisphere was inhabited by diverse societies ranging from small clans and tribes with limited agriculture in eastern North America to larger tribes and civilizations that supported vast agricultural systems in Central and South America. In the latter societies, elaborate social hierarchies controlled large subject populations by force and economic subjugation. In Europe, kings, aristocrats, and a small mercantile elite owned most of the land and acquired wealth
through taxes and rents extracted from the majority of people, who lived difficult, although settled, lives farming the land and struggling to produce enough to sustain themselves. Social order was maintained through the rigorous discipline of the force of custom and the cycle of the seasons, both of which were given meaning by Catholic doctrine, and by subsuming self-interest to the dictates of the church, nobility, community, and family. Religious fervor, first during the Crusades and then during the Protestant Reformation, triggered economic and political forces that transformed European society. Contact with the Arabs through the Crusades reintroduced Europeans to classical thought, contributing to the emergence of the Renaissance ideal of civic humanism, which celebrated public virtues and service to the nation. Machiavelli supplied a less idealistic program by which monarchs could increase their power at the expense of the nobility. Encouraging rulers to shape the world to their own benefit by empowering their states through trade, a principal known as mercantilism, contributed to the emergence of the monarchical nation-state. Portugal established a mercantilist system down the coast of Africa and into subcontinental Asia, and Spain extended its power across the Atlantic into Central and South America. The French and the English made initial forays that were cut short by internal political and religious discord. After exploring the Caribbean for gold, the Spanish probed coastal settlements on the mainland. In 1513, Juan Ponce de Len searched for gold and slaves along the coast of Florida. That same year Vasco Nez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Darien (Panama), becoming the first European to see the Pacific Ocean basin. These men were hardened veterans and explorers to whom the Spanish Crown offered plunder, estates in conquered territory, and titles of nobility in return for the establishment of a Spanish empire.
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Chapter 1 Worlds Collide: Europe, Africa, and America, 14501620
In 1519, Hernn Corts, a Spanish conquistador, landed on the Mexican coast and conducted a military campaign against the Aztec peoples. In the late 1520s the Spanish conquest entered a new phase when Francisco Pizarro led a military expedition against the Incas in the mountains of Peru. Once the conquistadors had triumphed, the Spanish government quickly created a bureaucratic empire of its own, headquartered in Madrid. The conquistadors, in fact, controlled the native population and ruthlessly exploited the Native Americans. The establishment of a Spanish empire in the Americas profoundly affected life in Europe and Africa as well. In a process of transfer known as the Colombian Exchange, the conquistadors brought horses and European grains and grasses to the Americas. They also brought smallpox, influenza, and measles, which killed hundreds of thousands of native peoples. In exchange, American foods like maize and potatoes were introduced to Europe and Africa. While the Spanish conquest of the Americas was under way, widespread opposition to the Catholic Church exploded in Europe. In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous Ninety-five Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenburg. Luther attacked the Catholic Church for corrupt practices and attacked some of its doctrines as well. Support for Luthers position emerged in several places for differing reasons. Some German monarchs used Lutheranism to wrest political power from the Catholic Church. John Calvin established a repressive Calvinist state in Geneva, Switzerland. Calvin stressed the omnipotence of God and the absolute corruption of human nature, both components of his doctrine of predestination. Under King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I, Protestantism became the official religion of England. Gold and silver from Mexico and Peru made Spain the wealthiest nation in Europe. An ardent Catholic, King Philip II of Spain tried to root out Protestantism in the Netherlands. The ensuing conflict witnessed revolt and the establishment of the Dutch Republic in 1581. Philips expenditure on foreign wars undermined the Spanish economy and led to the runaway inflation in Europe from 1530 to 1600 known as the Price Revolution. While Spanish power in Europe declined over the course of the sixteenth century, England emerged as an important European state. A contributing factor was the state-supported expansion of the merchant community. Mercantilism sought to stimulate revenue and to provide the home country with a favorable balance of trade. By 1600 the success of these merchant-oriented policies made overseas colonization possible for the British. Most of those who migrated from Britain were yeomen farmers, peasants, and middle-class people who sought economic opportunity. The fact that they would establish farms and merchant communities would profoundly shape the nature of their interaction with the Native
Americans and the subsequent development of British North America and the future United States.
Chapter Annotated Outline

I. Native American Worlds A. The First Americans 1. The first people to live in the Western Hemisphere were migrants from Asia; most came between 13,000 B.C. and 11,000 B.C. across a land bridge connecting Siberia and Alaska. 2. Glacial melting created the Bering Strait and isolated the people of the Western Hemisphere for three hundred generations. 3. Around 6000 B.C. the ancestors of the Navajos and the Apaches crossed the Bering Strait, followed by the ancestors of the Eskimos around 3000 B.C. 4. For centuries, Native Americans were huntergatherers; they developed horticulture around 3000 B.C. 5. Agricultural surplus led to populous and wealthy societies in Mexico, Peru, and the Mississippi River Valley. B. The Mayas and the Aztecs 1. The flowering of civilization began among the Mayan peoples of the Yucatn Peninsula and Guatemala; they built large religious centers and urban communities. 2. An elite class claiming descent from the gods ruled Mayan society and lived off the goods and taxes of peasant families. Beginning around A.D. 800, Mayan civilization declined. 3. A second major Mesoamerican civilization developed around the city of Teotihuacn; by A.D. 800, Teotihuacn had also declined. 4. In A.D. 1325 the Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitln (Mexico City), where they established a hierarchical social order and subjugated most of central Mexico. 5. By A.D. 1500, Tenochtitln had grown into a metropolis of over 200,000 inhabitants, and the Aztecs posed a formidable challenge to any adversary. C. The Indians of the North 1. The Indians north of the Rio Grande had smaller, less coercive societies; in A.D. 1500, most of these societies were self-governing tribes composed of clans. 2. Clan leaders resolved feuds and disciplined individuals, but because clan leaders were not as coercive, they had less power than the Mayan and Aztec nobles. 3. Some tribes exerted influence over their immediate neighbors through trade or conquest; by
A.D. 100, the Hopewells had spread their influence through Wisconsin and Louisiana. 4. For unknown reasons the Hopewell trading network gradually collapsed around A.D. 400. 5. In the Southwest the complex Hohokam and Mogollon cultures developed by A.D. 600, and the Anasazi culture developed by A.D. 900. Drought brought on the collapse of both of these cultures after A.D. 1150. 6. The advanced farming technology of Mesoamerica spread into the Mississippi Valley around A.D. 800; the Mississippian society was the last large-scale culture to emerge north of the Rio Grande. 7. By A.D. 1350, overpopulation, disease, and warfare over fertile bottomlands led to the decline of the Mississippian civilization. 8. Horticulture was a significant part of the lives of the women of the eastern Woodland peoples, and because of the importance of farming, a matrilineal inheritance system developed. 9. Due to their adeptness at farming, these Indian peoples ate well, but their populations grew slowly. 10. By A.D. 1500, there were no great Indian empires left to lead a military campaign against the European invasion. II. Traditional European Society in 1450 A. The Peasantry 1. There were only a few large cities in Western Europe before A.D. 1450; more than 90 percent of the population were peasants living in small rural communities. 2. Cooperative farming was a necessity, and most farm families exchanged their surplus farm products with their neighbors or bartered it for local services. 3. Most peasants yearned to be yeomen, owners of small farms that provided a marginally comfortable living, but few achieved that goal. 4. As with the Native American cultures, many aspects of European life followed a seasonal pattern; even European birth patterns appear to have been seasonal. 5. Mortality rates among the peasants were high; life consisted of little food and much work. 6. The deprived rural classes of Britain, Spain, and Germany constituted the majority of white migrants to the Western Hemisphere. B. Hierarchy and Authority 1. In the traditional European social order, authority came from above; kings and princes lived in splendor off the labor of the peasantry. 2. Collectively, noblemen had the power to challenge royal authority; after A.D. 1450, kings
began to undermine the power of the nobility and create more centralized states. 3. The peasant man ruled his women and children; his power was codified in laws, sanctioned by social custom and justified by the teachings of the Christian Church. 4. The inheritance practice of primogeniture forced many younger children to join the ranks of the roaming poor; there was little personal freedom or individual fulfillment for these peasants. 5. Hierarchy and authority prevailed because they offered a measure of social stability; these values shaped the American social order well into the eighteenth century. C. The Power of Religion 1. The Roman Catholic Church served as one of the great unifying forces in Western European society; the Church provided a bulwark of authority and discipline. 2. Christian doctrine penetrated the lives of peasants; to avert famine and plague, Christians offered prayer and turned to priests for spiritual guidance. 3. Crushing other religions and suppressing heresies among Christians was an obligation of rulers and a task of the new orders of Christian knights. 4. Between A.D. 1096 and 1291, successive armies of Christians embarked on Crusades; Muslims were a prime target of the crusaders. 5. The Crusades strengthened the Christian identity of the European population and helped broaden the intellectual and economic horizons of the European privileged class. III. Europe Encounters Africa and the Americas, 14501550 A. The Renaissance 1. Stimluated by the wealth and learning of the Arab world and the reintroduction of Greek and Roman texts, Europe experienced a rebirth; the Renaissance had the most impact on the upper classes. 2. A new ruling class of moneyed elite merchants, bankers, and textile manufacturers created the concept of civic humanism. This concept celebrated the public expression of virtue and public service. 3. Works by artists such as Michelangelo, Palladio, and da Vinci were part of a flowering of artistic genius. 4. Following Niccol Machiavellis advice in The Prince (1513), an alliance of monarchs, merchants, and royal bureaucrats challenged the power of the agrarian nobility.
5. The increasing wealth of the monarchical nation-state propelled Europe into its first age of expansion. 6. Because Arabs and Italians dominated trade in the Mediterranean, Prince Henry of Portugal sought an alternate oceanic route to Asia; under Henrys direction, Portugal led European expansion overseas. 7. By the 1440s the Portuguese were the first Europeans engaged in the African slave trade. B. West African Society and Slavery 1. Most West Africans farmed small plots and lived with extended families in small villages that specialized in certain crops; they traded goods with one another. 2. West Africans spoke many different languages and formed hundreds of distinct groups, the majority of which lived in hierarchical societies ruled by princes. 3. Most peoples had secret societies that united people from different lineage and exercised political influence. 4. Their spiritual beliefs were varied; some were Muslim, but most recognized a variety of deities. 5. At first, European traders had a positive impact on the West African peoples by introducing new plants, animals, and metal products and by expanding the African trade networks. 6. Inland trade remained in the hands of Africans because the death rate among Europeans was often 50 percent a year due to disease. 7. A small portion of West Africans were trade slaves, mostly war captives and criminals sold from one kingdom to another. 8. Europeans soon joined the West Africans long-established trade in humans; by 1700, Europeans shipped hundreds of thousands of slaves to American plantations. C. Europe Reaches the Americas 1. While they traded with the Africans, the Portuguese continued to look for a direct ocean route to Asia. 2. Bartholomew Das sailed around the southern tip of Africa in 1488, and ten years later Vasco da Gama reached India. 3. In 1502, Vasco da Gamas ships outgunned Arab fleets; the Portuguese government soon opened trade routes from Africa to Indonesia and up the coast of Asia to China and Japan. 4. The Portuguese replaced the Arabs as leaders in world commerce and African slave trade. 5. Spain followed Portugals example, but they sought a western route to the riches of the East.
6. Christopher Columbus, a Christian and Genoese sea captain, set sail on August 3, 1492, with the support of Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, and financially backed by Spanish merchants. 7. In addition to searching for riches, Ferdinand and Isabella wanted Columbus to carry Catholicism to the peoples of Asia. 8. On October 12, 1492, Columbus landed on what he thought was the Indies and called the native inhabitants Indians; he had actually landed at the present-day Bahamas. 9. Although Columbus found no gold, the monarchs sent three more expeditions over the next twelve years; the Spanish monarchs wanted to make the new land they called Las Indias a Spanish empire. D. The Spanish Conquest 1. To encourage adventurers to expand its American empire, the Spanish crown offered plunder, landed estates, titles of nobility, and Indian laborers in the conquered territory. 2. In 1519, Hernn Corts and his fellow Spanish conquistadors landed on the Mexican coast and overthrew the Aztec empire. 3. Moctezuma, the Aztec ruler, believed that Corts might be a returning god and allowed him to enter the empire without challenge; the empires collapse was mainly due to internal rebellion and death by disease. 4. In the late 1520s the Spanish conquest entered a new phase when Francisco Pizarro overthrew the Inca empire in Peru; the Incas were also easy prey due to internal fighting over the throne and disease brought by the Spanish. 5. In little more than a decade, Spain had become the master of the wealthiest and most populous regions of the Western Hemisphere. 6. The conquests devastated the Native American population, and survivors were forced to work on plantations. 7. The Spanish invasion of the Americas had a significant impact on life in Europe and Africa due to a process of transfer known as the Columbian Exchange. 8. Native Americans lost part of their cultural identity; a new mestizo, or mixed-race, culture emerged. 9. Indians who resisted assimilation lacked the numbers or the power to oust Spanish invaders; for the original Americans, the consequences of the European intrustion were tragic and irreversible. IV. The Protestant Reformation and the Rise of England A. The Protestant Movement
Lecture Strategies
1. Christianity ceased to be a unifying force in European society as new religioius doctrines divided Christians into armed ideological camps of Catholics and Protestants. 2. Over the centuries the Catholic Church became a large and wealthy institution, controlling vast resources and political power throughout Europe. 3. Martin Luther publicly challenged Roman Catholic practices and doctrine with his Ninety-five Theses; the document condemned the sale of indulgences by the Church. 4. Luther argued that people could be saved only by grace, not good works. He dismissed the need for priests to act as intermediaries between Christians and God and downplayed the role of high-ranking clergymen and popes by naming the Bible the ultimate authority in matters of faith. 5. As peasants mounted violent social protests of their own, Luther urged obedience to established political institutions and condemned the teachings of religious dissidents more radical than him. 6. The Peace of Augsburg allowed princes to decide the religion of their subjects; southern German rulers installed Catholicism, and Northern German rulers chose Lutheranism. 7. In his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536), Protestant John Calvin preached predestination the idea that God determines who will be saved before they are born. 8. Despite widespread persecution, Calvinists won converts all over Europe. 9. When the pope denied his request for a marriage annulment, King Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church and created a national Church of England. 10. Henrys daughter, Elizabeth I, combined Lutheran and Calvinist beliefs. Angered by Elizabeth, some radical Protestants took inspiration from the Presbyterian system in which male church elders guided the church. 11. Other radical Protestants called themselves Puritans; they wanted to purify the church of false Catholic teachings and practices. B. The Dutch and the English Challenge Spain 1. King Philip II wanted to root Protestantism out of the Netherlands. 2. To protect their Calvinism and political liberties, the seven northern provinces of the Spanish Netherlands declared their independence in 1581 and became the Dutch
Republic (or Holland). 3. In 1588 the Spanish Armada sailed out to reimpose Catholic rule in England and Holland but was defeated. 4. As Spanish government and economy struggled, the Dutch Republic became the leading commercial power of Europe. 5. Englands economy was stimulated by a rise in population and mercantilism, a system of state-supported manufacturing and trade. 6. Mercantilist-minded monarchs like Queen Elizabeth encouraged merchants to invest in domestic manufacturing, thereby increasing exports and decreasing imports. 7. By 1600 the success of merchant-oriented policies helped to give the English and the Dutch the ability to challenge Spains monopoly in the Western Hemisphere. C. The Social Causes of English Colonization 1. The Price Revolution, major inflation, caused social changes in England; the nobility were its first casualties largely because they had rented their lands on long-term leases at low rents. 2. In two generations the price of goods tripled, but income from rents barely increased, causing aristocrats to lose wealth. 3. As the influence of the House of Commons increased, rich commoners and small property owners had a voice; this had profound consequences for English and American political history. 4. Due to enclosures and inflation, many peasants lost the means to earn a living and were willing to go to America as indentured servants, while yeomen looked to America to secure land for their children. 5. This massive migration to America brought about a new collision between European and Native American worlds.
Lecture Strategies
1. Implicit in the notion of worlds colliding is a comparison of Europeans and Native Americans. Using this framework, you might compare and contrast European and Native American civilizations and then focus on why the European civilization seemed to be more successful, allowing it to break out of its isolation and draw Africa and America into its sphere of control. As you attempt to do this, it will become evident that the worlds were very diverse and that, although each group had certain general characteristics, there were many differences that can explain the different actions and responses to the broader forces of expansion and encounter.
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2. Compare and contrast European and Native American civilizations to explain how Europeans used more than superior military technology to vanquish native opposition throughout the Americas. Examine demography, social order, political organization, agrarian labor systems, trade and exchange, technology, religion, and science among the Mayans, Aztecs, or native peoples such as the Hopewell and Mississippian cultures. Compare and contrast these factors with the economic, social, political, and cultural life of Europe in the fifteenth century. Analyze the impact of the viral diseases Europeans brought to the Americas. Discuss how epidemics spread so quickly, had such a devastating effect, and disorganized and demoralized Native Americans in their resistance. How did the impact of epidemics affect the contemporary European and Native American interpretations of what was happening? 3. Students will need help unraveling the complex process of European state development, specifically in England, which had such a profound influence on the course of American history. Students often take for granted the rise of the constitutional nation-state that has become the norm in the modern world. But its rise was by no means guaranteed. The complexity of its development lies in the interactions among religion, economics, and social and political organization. How and when did changes in one area affect those in another? A central analytic point is that any straightforward assumption that economic change drives social change, affecting politics and culture in a linear sequence, is problematic. For example, the text argues that the religious fervor of the Crusades (religion) triggered trade (economics), which enriched merchants and nobles (politics). These changes stimulated the development of the Renaissance (culture), out of which emerged a new view of the state (politics), which gave birth to mercantilist policy (economics). Increased wealth, combined with the humanism of the Renaissance and a genuine hunger for religious reform, exacerbated critiques of the Catholic Church and helped to trigger the Protestant Reformation. Meanwhile, colonization caused wealth to flood into Europe, which elevated the merchants and gentry and empowered the state and the monarch. Hence, colonization in North America, supported by mercantilism, involved those loyal to the crown as well as dissidents and members of the weakened lower gentry and the yeomen farmers, all of whom brought their traditional acceptance of social hierarchy, authority, gender roles, and racial superiority to their interaction with Native Americans. 4. Exploration and colonization are major efforts that require the considerable resources of a nation. Ex-
plain to students the logic of exploration and colonization. What did the Europeans want? How did they go about getting it? Why were they successful? What kind of mercantile system did they develop? Examine how the Portuguese took most of the fifteenth century to develop a colonial system in which they imported African slaves to colonial plantations in order to produce tropical crops, which were then imported into the mother country and traded throughout Europe. Then show how that system became the model for the colonial systems developed by Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Class Discussion Starters

1. What factor best explains the ability of Europeans to prevail over Native Americans in their encounters in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries? Possible answers: a. Relative military technology was an important factor. Without firearms, steel, horses, and armor, Native Americans could not effectively resist the Europeans. b. Native Americans initial responses were somewhat confused and uncertain and only slowly led to resistance. c. The Europeans were more unified, had a clarity of purpose, and were militarily disciplined. d. The Native American peoples were vulnerable to European viral diseases. e. The Native Americans groups subjugated by major native civilizations were not cohesive and turned on their overlords when opportunity arose. 2. The process of the European colonization and conquest of America in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was both tragic and exciting. Is there any way to understand these events objectively and impartially? Possible answers: a. The massive die-off of Native Americans that resulted from their initial contacts with Europeans was a tragic event. The society and culture of many diverse peoples who had been in America for thousands of years were almost completely wiped out in a few generations. In general terms, Europeans did not consciously exterminate Native Americans, as neither people understood how disease was spread. However, in isolated instances, Europeans did attempt to harm Indians through passage of infected items. It must be remembered that Europeans also suffered from exposure to
Document Exercises
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New World diseases and pathogens. Likewise, Native Americans used the tools and means at their disposal to resist Europeans. The fact was simply that Europeans who arrived to America were armed with sophisticated weapons, equipment, and an ideology that supported war, commerce, and expansion. b. By means of their conquest of the Americas, the Europeans set in motion the dynamics needed for the creation of a society with an unimagined degree of economic opportunity and political freedom. The cost, although high, has been more than compensated for by the general advantages brought to humanity worldwide by the impact of European expansion. The fact that Europeans have dominated most encounters with other civilizations over the past five centuries bears examination. c. Questions of assessing costs in history must remain within historical context. Our role as students of history is to try to understand what happened, recognize the impact events had on people then and in subsequent years, and hope that we will thus be better able to comprehend the forces of change in our own time. Ascribing motives of good or evil to broad historical processes is often problematic. While the coexistence of Indian and European civilizations is attractive as an ideal, it is difficult to describe that eventuality in pragmatic terms. In any case, it was not the reality that occurred. The European conquest can, however, be examined for lessons to be applied in other parts of the world where civilizations meet. 3. What are some of the aspects of life today in the United States that one can trace from the course of the interaction between Native Americans and Europeans? In that interaction, how can we see the development of a new kind of society and culture? Possible answers: a. Many of our dietary staples such as corn, potatoes, beans, and squash came from Native American agriculture. However, Europeans contributed many plants and animals, such as wheat and oats and horses and livestock, which are now basic parts of our environment. b. The Europeans view of themselves as a proselytizing, conquering people of destiny, wanting to convert the Native Americans and transform America into a land of economic opportunity, was shaped by the presence of Native Americans. c. The complex social and cultural interactions in early America among the Spanish, the English,
Native Americans, and Africans foreshadowed in many ways the complex multiethnic society that is America today. d. At the center of American society remain traits that developed in Europe and were transferred to America. Our notions of the nation-state, social structure, individualism, religious diversity, political and religious freedom, and economic opportunity for every person are rooted in European origins.
Chapter Writing Assignments

1. Among the various factors that tipped the interaction between Europeans and Native Americans in the Europeans favor, what were the most important and why? 2. Which factors propelled Europe from an inwardlooking society to an expansive outward-looking one? Did culture drive economics, or did economics affect culture and society? 3. Given the various factors that shaped the course of events in the EuropeanNative American interaction, could what happened have turned out any differently? If so, how? If not, why not?
Document Exercises
A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
A Navajo Emergence Story (p. 7)

Document Discussion
1. How does this Emergence Story differ from the Christian account presented in the Bibles book of Genesis that is subscribed to by most Christians? (An important difference between the Navajo account and the traditional Christian interpretation is the role of a supreme deity. Christian theology is founded upon the idea of a single, all-knowing God whose deliberate activity animates the universe. According to Christians, the universe is a reflection of Gods handiwork. The Navajo account lacks such a well-defined divinity and instead describes a natural world infused with spiritual entities that converged to create the world in the distant past.) 2. Why does nature play such a prominent role in the Navajo story? (The cultural beliefs of the Navajo emphasized a close relationship with the natural world. The Navajo people viewed nature as being infused with a sort of life force or spirit that demanded respectful atten-
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tion. Humans were rewarded by positive interaction with their physical environment.)
positive or negative effect on Native AmericanEuropean interaction? 2. In describing inheritance, what assumption does le Petite express about Native American women? Where would he get such an assumption? NEW TECHNOLOGY
Writing Assignments
1. Why do societies produce and sustain creation stories? 2. Identify and explain the similarities between the Navajo Emergence Story and those circulated by other cultures. VO I C E S F R O M A B R OA D
Indian Women and Agriculture (p. 14)

Document Discussion
1. What is the implicit assumption about womens work and power in society in this piece? (Women have more power and greater equality in societies in which they play a central role in fulfilling basic needs, such as food production, in addition to their biological role as mothers. Their increased economic contribution gained women political power by increasing their status in the eyes of men. Moreover, such a central use of womens labor was more efficient in satisfying the basic needs of production and survival. Their contributions enabled men to specialize and work more effectively to achieve their goals.) 2. Why do you think women did most of the agricultural labor? (Womens work patterns were connected to sedentary residential patterns and the matrilineal lineage system. Women stayed in villages and lived in clan houses, and their presence defined a village and its land. Men, who hunted and engaged in diplomacy, were often absent from the village for long periods of time. Women also maintained, through matrilineal descent, the identity of the family, clan, and tribe. Because women stayed in the village and lived on the land, they, rather than the men, tended to the village lands and planted food crops to sustain village life.) 3. Did womens presence in the fields relate in any way to their view of nature? (Native Americans believed that nature was an integrated and unified whole and that each component was imbued with spiritual forces and had been given to the people by the gods. People were therefore temporary caretakers of the world, charged by the Creator and helped by our grandfathers and our older brothers to bring forth its bounty. The maleness of this spiritual world was juxtaposed to the femaleness of the environment. In the creation of life and the bringing forth of sustenance, women clearly played a central spiritual role. In native religions the earth was often a female entity.)
Father le Petite: The Customs of the Natchez (p. 13)

Document Discussion
1. What aspect of the Natchez is Father le Petite primarily interested in? Why? (Le Petite is almost exclusively interested in their religion. As a missionary, he is looking for ways to explain Christianity to them by relating Christian beliefs and practices to their own. His discussion of their temples, the iconography of their places of worship, their lack of belief in a being greater than the sun, and their view of the afterlife relates to the Christian practices and beliefs that he could preach to them.) 2. Explain some of the iconographic and ritual details le Petite observes. (Note the idols in the shape of men or animals, the temple like an oven, the colored eagles, the exposed skulls, and the cabin of the brother of the sun. Also of interest is the mixture of men and animals, indicating that the Natchez have more than a pure nature religion in which native peoples vest the spiritual world in the environment around them. The presence of human figures indicates that they had personified some of their deities. They also have a sense of a sacred place where the gods reside and where people can come closest to them. The colored eagles represent the clan, moiety, or tribe that related to the village in which the temple stood or perhaps were images of their gods. All these factors indicate some influence from the Aztec civilization in Mexico.)
Writing Assignments
1. Social and cultural interaction is often shaped beforehand by the ideas one formulates about others within ones own society and culture. Examine the embedded attitudes of Father le Petite. How did he develop those perceptions? How did they affect his interpretation of the Natchez? How did they have a
Skill-Building Map Exercises
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Writing Assignments
1. How and why did English planting methods differ from those of Native Americans? How did this affect womens role in household production? 2. Why was corn, compared to other vegetables or grains, so important to both Native Americans and Europeans? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
given to Corts, so her initial relationship may have been forced upon her. It is difficult to know what kind of bond, if any, developed between the two. They were intimate, but Corts, and later Malinche, took other love interests. Malinche and Corts may have genuinely cared for one another or may have seen the relationship as a means to other ends. Corts seems to have enjoyed the more powerful position, whereas Malinche may have felt more vulnerable and hence willing to risk the censure of her people for her behavior.) 2. What does the relationship between Malinche and Corts reveal about the role of individual choice in history? Can the decisions that individuals make always be easily understood or anticipated? (Sometimes the choices individuals make seem to run contrary to expectations. Malinche and Corts, in the general sense, should have been enemies, yet they clearly were not. History reveals time and again that individuals, in both big ways and small, continue to write the story.)
Friar Bernardino de Sahagn: Aztec Elders Describe the Spanish Conquest (p. 26)
Document Discussion
1. How did the Aztec elders describe the Spanish? (The elders seemed to be struck by the amount of iron the Spaniards wore and carried in the form of shields, swords, helmets, and lances. The discharge of the Spaniards weapons was particularly unsettling. Notice as well the psychological effect that the arrival of the Spanish had on the Aztecs. Moctezuma became despondent and couldnt eat or sleep. He was terrified of the sound of the Spanish weapons.) 2. How did disease (smallpox) affect the Aztecs? (The elders described sickness as covering peoples bodies to the point that it became too painful to move. Many died not from the disease itself but from hunger and the lack of caregivers.)
Writing Assignments
1. Although there is no record of Malinches motivation in providing aid to the Spanish invaders, what might be some logical explanations other than those listed in the text? 2. Discuss some possible outcomes, both to Cortss cause and to Malinches future, had Malinche refused to act as Cortss interpreter.
Writing Assignments
1. Why didnt, or couldnt, the Aztecs act more decisively to oppose the Spanish? 2. Speculate how the encounter between the Aztecs and the Spanish conquistadors could have turned out differently. AMERICAN LIVES
Map 1.2: Native American Peoples, 1492 (p. 10)

1. This map illustrates the great diversity that existed among Native American tribes in North and Central America at the time of Columbuss arrival. The map also aligns tribes by their economic and social organization: agriculture, hunting, huntinggathering, and fishing. What does this differentiation suggest about Native American culture? (The map indicates that Native American societies were quite diverse, both socially and economically. Each tribe represented a unique subculture that Europeans frequently failed to recognize.) 2. Could a similar map be drawn of European peoples societies? Given your answer, analyze both similarities and differences between the Americas and Europe in 1492. (Like the Native American societies, European society varied from state to state in a number of ways. In
Corts and Malinche: The Dynamics of Conquest (p. 30)

Document Discussion
1. How did Malinche aid Corts? Why would she cooperate with him? What did she gain from the relationship? (Malinche contributed to Cortss success by translating between the various Aztec tribes and the Spaniards. Language was a genuine barrier to Corts when he arrived, so Malinches skills were welcome and important. Malinche was a slave when she was
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Chapter 1 Worlds Collide: Europe and the Americas, 14501620
Europe, for instance, some states officially practiced Catholicism while others were Protestant. The specific condition of the peasantry varied across Europe: in Eastern Europe, serfdom was practiced, while in the West, the lower orders possessed some limited political and economic rights. A key difference between Native American societies and European societies, however, was the fact that European explorers shared technologies (such as sailing ships and firearms) as well as a political organization based upon written codicils that provided greater stability. This combination allowed Europeans to penetrate Native American cultures.)
Map 1.5: The Spanish Conquest of the Great Indian Civilizations (p. 25)
1. What does this map suggest were the primary objectives of the Spanish in Central and South America? (The map indicates that the promise of mineral wealth motivated Spanish expansion. Their routes led them to many important mining sites and suggests that the Spanish invaders were prepared to seek gold and silver at every opportunity.) 2. If the Spanish were eager and able to establish mining centers throughout the Americas as this map states, how do you think the Spanish conquistadors treated the Native American populations they encountered? (The Spanish viewed the Native Americans as labor to be exploited. The Spanish missionaries certainly wished to convert souls, but the urgency of gaining wealth played a prominent role in the decision making and conduct of Spanish explorers.)
tural Consequences of 1492 (1972); Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 9001900 (1986); and Germs, Seeds & Animals: Studies in Ecological History (1994). Other works include William H. McNeill, Plagues and Peoples (1976); E. L. Jones, The European Miracle: Environments, Economics, and Geopolitics in the History of Europe and Asia (1981); Kenneth Pomeranz, The World That Trade Created: Society, Culture, and the World Economy, 1400The Present (1999); and Susan Scott, Biology of Plagues: Evidence from Historical Populations (2001). Studies that focus on North America are Henry F. Dobyns, Their Numbers Became Thinned: Native American Population Dynamics in Eastern North America (1983); and William Cronon, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England (1983).
Suggested Themes
1. The European conquest of North America transformed the continents environment. Research the origins of the staples of Americans contemporary diet, the products of American fields and farms, and the flora and fauna of North America to determine how many crops were of European origin and which were harvested by Native Americans. Likewise, which American products were transferred to Europe? 2. A significant question is how and why the viral diseases of Europe spread so fast and with such deadly consequences through the Native American populations. Why did the Native Americans lack immunities? Look at the health conditions of Europe and the Americas in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. How did European and Native American societies compare?
Topic for Research
How to Use the Ancillaries Available with Americas History

Refer to the Preface to Americas History at the front of the book for descriptions of instructor resources, including the Instructors Resource CD-ROM, Computerized Test Bank, transparencies, and Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey. Student resources, also described in the Preface, include the Online Study Guide and Documents to Accompany Americas History, a primary-source reader.
The Environmental Consequences of 1492

Columbuss voyage to America changed the course of human history and the natural environment of every continent. The Spanish carried European diseases to the Western Hemisphere and transmitted American illnesses back to Europe. Likewise, the Spanish introduced horses and cattle to the New World, while the Native Americans contributed corn and other plants to the world ecology. What was the impact of this transcontinental exchange of diseases, animals, and plants? How did it change the way that men and women lived and died? What was its impact on the food supply and on the natural environment? Several books by Alfred W. Crosby Jr., the scholar who made prominent the term Columbian Exchange, provide an overview: The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cul-
For Instructors
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your
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survey course. Titles that complement the material covered in Chapter 1 include Victors and Vanquished: Spanish and Nahua Views of the Conquest of Mexico, edited with an introduction by Stuart B. Schwartz, and Envisioning America: English Plans for the Colonization of North America, 15801640, edited with an introduction by Peter C. Mancall. For descriptions of these titles and how you might use them in your course, visit bedfordstmartins .com/usingseries.
Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Father le Petite: The Customs of the Natchez (p. 13) and Friar Bernardino De Sahagn: Aztec Elders Describe the Spanish Conquest (p. 26), and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 1 are Indian and Non-Indian Population Charts, 14921980 Bernal Daz del Castillo, Discovery and Conquest of Mexico (15171521) Francisco Pareja, Confessario (1613) Pierre de Charlevoix, An Account of Huron Society (1721) Raoul Glaber, An Account of Famine (c. 1040) Gomes Eannes de Azurara, Prince Henry and the Slave Trade (1444) Bartolom de las Casas, Columbuss Landfall (1552) John Hales, Objections against Enclosure (1548) Richard Hakluyt, A Discourse to Promote Colonization (1584) Thomas Harriot, Brief and True Report of the New Found Land (1588)
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Document Discussion The map activity presents Map 1.6: The Columbian Exchange (p. 28) and asks students to label and analyze the commodities, technologies, and diseases that moved between Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Visual Activity The visual activity presents a drawing of the West African Village of Fulani (p. 22) and asks students to analyze the villages layout and what it illustrates about the Fulani society.
CHAPTER 2
The Invasion and Settlement of North America

15501770

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. What goals did the Spanish, French, Dutch, and English pursue in North America? How did these ambitions lead to different settlement patterns? 2. How did the European settlements of North America affect Native American populations? 3. How and why did a system of forced labor emerge in the Chesapeake and Virginia colonies? 4. What were the economic, religious, political, and intellectual foundations of Puritan society in New England? 5. How did colonial society in the Chesapeake region differ from that of New England? 6. How did the conflicts of the 1670s affect relations among colonists, Indians, and Africans in America?
Chapter Summary
Before the English ventured into North America, the Spanish, French, and Dutch attempted to establish colonial systems to trade with the Native Americans or to extract wealth from the lands on which they lived. The Spanish tried to expand their influence by converting Native Americans to Catholicism. They developed a network of forts and missions across Florida and New Mexico around which they acquired land and forced Native Americans to labor while superficially converting them. Many Indians returned to their ancestral religions and questioned Spanish rule. With great difficulty Spain was able to maintain its northern empire, but it largely
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failed to achieve its goal of assimilating Native Americans. The French government offered few incentives to migrants, hence New France became a vast but thinly populated fur-trading enterprise, and French explorers traveled deep into the continent to seek new suppliers. The French sought to achieve conversion initially through the work of traveling Jesuit missionaries and later through the establishment of praying towns of subjugated tribes throughout the Great Lakes region and the Mississippi Valley. The Dutch had little interest in converting the Native Americans. They focused on trade and established their capital of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island. In 1664 the Dutch accepted English rule. While each European colonial system involved small populations of Europeans spread among the indigenous population, their effect on the Native American societies was significant. The presence of European fur traders, who offered lucrative trade goods in exchange for furs, upset the traditional cultures of many Native American tribes. Over time, the imposition of European trading patterns led to greater conflict and turmoil between tribes as the Native Americans hunted and migrated to satisfy the Europeans demands. And, as had occurred in Central and South America, the introduction of European diseases ravaged Indian populations. Driven initially by the same motives as earlier European colonizers, English adventurers and capitalists organized the Virginia Company and established the first successful English settlement at Jamestown in 1607. The Virginia Companys legacy was the establishment of a policy in which land was given freely as a headright to any incoming head of household. Moreover, the Company dispensed with military leadership in favor of representative government. Despite a monstrous death rate,
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primarily from malaria and dysentery, these new policies accelerated immigration and exacerbated already strained Indian relations. Disease, the danger of violence, the rigors of indentured servitude, and a small female population rendered life in Virginia harsh and short. The English colonies in the Chesapeake brought wealth to some settlers but poverty to others. King James I dissolved the Virginia Company in 1622 and established a royal colony. In neighboring Maryland, King Charles I granted Lord Baltimore proprietorship of a colony that became a refuge for those seeking religious toleration, particularly Catholics. Settlement began in 1634. In Maryland, as in Virginia, tobacco was the basis of the economy. European demand for tobacco set off a forty-year boom. While large landowners reaped profits, the laboring orders of indentured servants and slaves endured harsh lives. By the 1660s the growing size of the Chesapeake tobacco crop triggered a collapse of the market. Tensions mounted between landless laborers and elite planter-landlords that led to a popular rebellion in the 1670s. Partly as a result of Bacons Rebellion, the planter class gradually shifted to a large-scale African slave-labor system to diminish the immigration of indentured servants. They established social order by curbing the power of the royal governors via the House of Burgesses, which left their own power intact, and offered voting rights and openings in local government to poorer men. The Puritans who migrated to New England created a much more orderly society. The Pilgrims were Puritan Separatists bent on establishing a pure Christian community. They sailed to America in 1620 bringing their wives and families with them. Arriving without a royal charter, they created the Mayflower Compact, the first constitution adopted in North America. In contrast to the Chesapeake settlers, the Pilgrims enjoyed a climate unfavorable to mosquito-borne diseases, a strong work ethic, and, initially, few external threats. Mainstream Puritans established the Massachusetts Bay colony in the 1630s. They combined theology and economics into an impressive social order by tying towns to church development by means of land grants, which required that each town have a church and that all its residents subscribe to Puritan church doctrine. In their zeal to establish a reformed church and society, however, the Puritans made nearly impossible theological and social demands on their church members. Though at first they purged dissidents, in time the Puritans reduced these tensions by limiting the requirements for church membership. But growing populations and the emergence of religious dissidents like Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson continued to divide towns and villages spiritually and socially. This pressure would eventually culminate in the hanging of witches in 1692. Meanwhile, the Puritans forced the local Native Americans off their land and eventually defeated them in
Metacoms War (also known as King Philips War). The Algonquian peoples suffered substantial losses and were driven further into the New England backcountry. Conflict between European settlers, particularly British colonists, and Indians persisted.

I. Imperial Conflicts and Rival Colonial Models A. New Spain: Colonization and Conversion 1. Spanish adventurers were the first Europeans to explore the southern and western United States. 2. By the 1560s their main goal was to prevent other Europeans from establishing settlements. 3. In 1565, Spain established St. Augustine, the first permanent European settlement in America; most of Spains other military outposts were destroyed by Indian attacks. 4. In response to the Indian attacks, the Spanish adopted The Comprehensive Orders for New Discoveries (1573) and employed missionaries. 5. For Franciscans, religious conversion and assimilation went hand in hand, but Spanish rule was not benevolent. 6. Most Native Americans tolerated the Franciscans, but when Christian prayers failed to prevent disease, drought, and Apache raids, many returned to their ancestral religions and blamed the Spanish for their ills. 7. Santa Fe was established in 1610, and after the Indian revolts, the system of missions and forced labor was reestablished. 8. By 1680 many Pueblos in New Mexico were faced with extinction; the Pueblos eventually joined with the Spanish to protect their lands against nomadic Indians. 9. Spain maintained its northern empire but did not achieve religious conversion or cultural assimilation of the Native Americans. 10. The cost of expansion delayed the Spanish settlement of California. B. New France: Furs and Souls 1. Quebec, established in 1608, was the first permanent French settlement; New France became a vast fur-trading enterprise. 2. The Hurons, in exchange for protection from the Iroquois, allowed French traders into their territory. 3. French traders set in motion a series of devastating Indian wars over the fur market, and they also brought disease to the Indians. 4. Beginning in the 1640s, the New York Iroquois seized control of the fur trade and forced the Hurons to migrate to the north and west.
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Chapter 2 The Invasion and Settlement of North America, 15501770
5. While French traders amassed furs, French priests sought converts; unlike the Spanish, French missionaries did not use Indians for forced labor, and they won religious converts by addressing the needs of the Indians. C. New Netherland: Commerce 1. The Dutch republic emphasized commerce over religious conversion. 2. In 1621 the West India Company had a trade monopoly in West Africa and exclusive authority to establish outposts in America. 3. The company founded the town of New Amsterdam as the capital of New Netherland. 4. To encourage migration, the company granted land along the Hudson River to wealthy Dutchmen. 5. New Netherland failed as a settler colony but flourished briefly in fur trading. 6. When the Dutch seized prime farming land from the Algonquians and took over their trading network, the Algonquians responded with force. 7. The West India Company largely ignored the floundering Dutch settlement and concentrated instead on the profitable importation of African slaves to their sugar plantations in Brazil. 8. The Dutch ruled New Amsterdam shortsightedly, rejecting requests for representative government, and after a lightly resisted 1664 English invasion, New Amsterdam happily accepted English rule. D. The First English Model: Tobacco and Settlers 1. English merchants replaced the landed gentry as the leaders of English expansion. 2. In 1606, King James I granted a group of London merchants the right to exploit from present-day North Carolina to southern New York; this region was named Virginia. 3. In 1607 the Virginia Company sent an expedition of men to North America, landing in Jamestown, Virginia; the goal of the Virginia Company was trade, not settlement. 4. Life in Jamestown was harsh: death rates were high, there was no gold and little food. 5. Native American hostility was another major threat to the survival of the settlement; as conflicts over food and land increased, Chief Powhatan threatened war with the settlers. 6. Tobacco farming became the basis of economic life and an impetus for permanent settlement in Jamestown. 7. To encourage English settlement, the Virginia Company granted land to freemen, established a headright system and a local court system,
and approved a system of representative government under the House of Burgesses. 8. The resulting influx of settlers sparked war with the Indians but did not slow expansion; by 1630, English settlement in the Chesapeake Bay was well established. II. The Chesapeake Experience A. Settling the Tobacco Colonies 1. In 1622, James I dissolved the Virginia Company and created a royal colony in Virginia in 1624. 2. The Church of England was established in Virginia, and property owners paid taxes to support the clergy. 3. The model for royal colonies in America consisted of a royal governor, an elected assembly, and an established Anglican Church. 4. King Charles I conveyed most of the territory bordering the Chesapeake to Lord Baltimore, a Catholic aristocrat. 5. Baltimore wanted Maryland to become a refuge from persecution for English Catholics; settlement of Maryland began in 1634. 6. Baltimore granted the assembly the right to initiate legislation. 7. A Toleration Act was enacted in 1649, granting religious freedom to all Christians. 8. Demand for tobacco started an economic boom in the Chesapeake and attracted migrants, but diseases, especially malaria, kept population low and life expectancy short. B. Masters, Servants, and Slaves 1. The majority of migrants to Virginia and Maryland were indentured servants; most masters ruled with beatings and withheld permission to marry. 2. Most indentured servants did not achieve the escape from poverty they had sought, although about 25 percent benefited from their ordeal, acquiring property and respectability. 3. The first African workers fared even worse than the indentured servants, and their numbers remained small. 4. At first, Africans were not legally enslaved, although many served their masters for life. 5. By becoming a Christian and a planter, an enterprising African could sometimes aspire to near equality with English settlers. 6. In the 1660s, Chesapeake legislatures began enacting laws that lowered the status of Africans; being a slave had become a permanent and hereditary condition. C. The Seeds of Social Revolt 1. By the 1660s the Chesapeake tobacco market had collapsed and long-standing conflicts be-
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tween rich planters and men with small farms or no property flared up in political turmoil. 2. In an effort to exclude Dutch and other merchants, Parliament passed an Act of Trade and Navigation (1651), permitting only English or colonial-owned ships into American ports. 3. The number of tobacco planters increased, but profit margins were growing thin; the Chesapeake ceased to offer upward social mobility to whites as well as blacks. 4. The Chesapeake colonies came to be dominated by elite planter-landlords and merchants. 5. Social tensions reached a breaking point in Virginia during Governor William Berkeleys regime; Berkeley gave tax-free land grants to himself and members of his council. 6. The corrupt House of Burgesses changed the voting system to exclude landless freemen, but distressed property-holding yeomen were no longer willing to support the rule of the corrupt landed gentry. D. Bacons Rebellion 1. Poor freeholders and aspiring tenants wanted the Indians removed from the treatyguaranteed lands along the frontier. 2. Wealthy planter-merchants were opposed to Indian removal; they wanted to maintain the labor supply and to continue trading furs with the Native Americans. 3. Poor freeholders and propertyless men formed militia and began killing Indians; the Indians retaliated by killing whites. 4. Not wanting the fur trade disrupted, Governor Berkeley proposed building frontier forts. 5. Settlers saw Berkeleys strategy as a plot to impose high taxes and to take control of the tobacco trade. 6. Nathaniel Bacon, a member of the governors council, led a protest against Berkeleys strategy; Bacon and his men killed a number of peaceful Indians for which Berkeley arrested Bacon. 7. When Bacons militant supporters threatened to free Bacon by force, Berkeley agreed to political reforms and restored voting rights to landless freemen. 8. Not satisfied, Bacons men burned Jamestown and issued a Manifesto and Declaration of the People, demanding removal of all Indians and an end to the rule of wealthy parasites. 9. Although Bacon died in 1676, Bacons Rebellion prompted tax cuts, a reduction of corruption, opening of public offices to yeomen, and the expansion into Indian lands.
10. To forestall another rebellion among former indentured servants, Virginia and Maryland turned away from indentured servitude, and laws were enacted to legalize African slavery. III. Puritan New England A. The Puritan Migration 1. New England differed from other European settlements; it was settled by men, women, and children. 2. The Pilgrims, Puritans who were Separatists from Englands Anglican Church, sailed to America in 1620 on the Mayflower. 3. They created the Mayflower Compact, a covenant for religious and political autonomy and the first constitution in North America. 4. The first winter in America tested the Pilgrims as hunger and disease took a heavy toll; thereafter, the Plymouth colony became a healthy and thriving community. 5. After having Anglican rituals forced upon their churches, Puritans sought refuge in America; in 1630, John Winthrop and 900 Puritans established the Massachusetts Bay colony. 6. Over the next decade, 10,000 Puritans migrated to Massachusetts Bay along with 10,000 others fleeing hard times in England. 7. The Puritans created representative political institutions that were locally based. 8. The right to vote and hold office was limited to Puritan church members, and the Bible was the legal as well as spiritual guide for Massachusetts Bay. B. Religion and Society, 16301670 1. Puritans eliminated bishops and devised a democratic church structure; influenced by John Calvin, they believed in predestination. 2. Puritans dealt with the uncertainties of divine election in three ways: conversion experience, a born-again conviction of salvation; preparation, confidence in redemption built on years of piety and discipline; and belief in a covenant with God that promised salvation in exchange for obedience to Gods laws. 3. Puritans of Massachusetts Bay felt that they must purge their society of religious dissidents. 4. Roger Williams, a religious dissident, and his followers founded settlements in Rhode Island, where there was no legally established church. 5. Anne Hutchinson was considered a heretic because her beliefs diminished the role of Puritan ministers; Puritans believed that when it came to governance of church and state, women were clearly inferior to men. 6. In 1636, Thomas Hooker and others left Massachusetts Bay and founded Hartford; in 1639,
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the Connecticut Puritans adopted the Fundamental Orders, which provided for a representative assembly and a popularly elected governor. 7. Connecticuts government also included a representative assembly and elected governor; Connecticut united church and state, but voting was not limited to church members. 8. England fell into a religious civil war between royalists and Parliamentary forces, and thousands of English Puritans joined the revolt, demanding greater authority for Parliament and reform of the established church. 9. After four years of civil war, Parliamentary forces led by Oliver Cromwell were victorious, but the Puritan triumph was short lived. 10. With the failure of the English Revolution, Puritans looked to create a permanent society in America based on their faith and ideals. C. The Puritan Imagination and Witchcraft 1. Puritans thought that the physical world was full of supernatural forces; their respect for spiritual forces perpetuated certain pagan superstitions shared by nearly everyone. 2. Between 1647 and 1662, Puritan civil authorities in Massachusetts and Connecticut hanged fourteen people for witchcraft. 3. In 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, 175 people were arrested and 20 were hanged for witchcraft. 4. Popular revulsion against the executions dealt a blow to the dominance of religion in public life; there were no more legal prosecutions for witchcraft after 1692. 5. The European Enlightenment helped promote a more rational view of the world. D. A Yeoman Society, 16301700 1. Puritans instituted a fee simple landdistribution policy that encouraged the development of self-governing communities. All landowners had a voice in the town meeting. Consequently, ordinary New England farmers enjoyed far more political power than their European or Chesapeake counterparts. 2. Puritans believed in a social and economical hierarchy: the largest plots of land were given to men of high social status. 3. As all male heads of families received some land, a society of independent yeomen farmers emerged. 4. Town meetings chose selectmen, levied taxes, and enacted ordinances and regulations; as the number of towns increased, so did their power, enhancing local control. 5. As one generation gave way to the next, the farming communities of New England became
more socially divided, yet nearly all New Englanders had an opportunity to acquire property. IV. The Indians New World A. Puritans and Pequots 1. Seeing themselves as Gods chosen people, Puritans tried to justify taking Indian lands on religious grounds. 2. In 1636, Pequot warriors attacked English farmers who had intruded on their lands. 3. Puritan militiamen and their Indian allies massacred about 500 Pequots, and many of the Pequot survivors were sold into slavery. 4. English Puritans viewed the Indians as savages who did not deserve civilized treatment. 5. Disease, military force, and Christianization eventually subdued the Indians of New England. 6. By 1670, New England settlers were, at least temporarily, guaranteed safety. B. Metacoms Rebellion 1. By the 1670s, whites in New England numbered 55,000, while Indians numbered 16,000. 2. Seeking to stop the European advance, the Wampanoag leader Metacom forged an alliance with the Narragansett and Nipmuck peoples in 1675. 3. The group attacked white settlements throughout New England, and the fighting continued until Metacoms death in 1676. 4. Losses were high on both sides, but the Indians losses were worse: 25 percent of the Indians already diminished population died from war or disease. 5. Many survivors were sold into slavery in the Caribbean, including Metacoms family. 6. The defeated Algonquian peoples lost their land as well as the integrity of their traditional cultures. C. The Fur Trade and the Inland Peoples 1. The greatest threat to Indian cultures came from wars and epidemics brought by the fur trade. Nonetheless, the Iroquois fought to gain control of the fur trade with the French and the Dutch. 2. The Iroquois waged a series of successful wars against other tribes, and these triumphs gave the Iroquois control of the fur trade with the French and the Dutch. 3. The Iroquois adopted non-Iroquois captives from these victories in order to replenish the Iroquois populations that had been diminished by epidemics and wartime losses. 4. Cultural diversity within Iroquoia further increased as the Five Nations made peace with
Lecture Strategies
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5. 6. 7. 8.
the French and allowed a number of Jesuit missionaries to live among them. In 1680 the Iroquois repudiated their peace treaty with the French and again had to battle for control of the fur trade. Disease, sickness from liquor, and neglected artisan skills were the fur trades legacy. Constant warfare shifted tribal power from cautious Indian elders to headstrong young warriors. The fur trade profoundly altered the natural environment by severely depleting the animal population.
Lecture Strategies
1. A key to understanding seventeenth-century Virginia is the colonial drive for wealth, which initiated the search for a marketable commodity, in this case tobacco. Since tobacco required a lot of land and labor, the development of a policy that maximized land distribution while encouraging the importation of laborthe headright systemwas both logical and ingenious. The rapid increase in land distribution increased English encroachment on Native American territory and accelerated the deterioration of English-Indian relations. Staunch resistance led by Opechancanough in 1622 and 1644, which inflicted heavy casualties on a dispersed white population, was followed by an Indian war in 1676. Dispersed land occupation and the increased exploitation of forced labor combined with a monstrous death rate from malaria to undermine social order and shift gender roles. The uneven distribution of land created a hierarchical class system consisting of planters, a few freeholders, and servants. The desire for land, the need to defend against the Native Americans, and the demand for social and political rights came together to spark the rebellion of 1676. In response, the planters tried to secure their position by gradually replacing potentially rebellious English servants with African slaves. Changes in the tobacco market, the rise of wealth, the increased availability of slaves, and the shifting pattern of English migration to North America enabled and encouraged the planters to carry out this policy by the early eighteenth century. 2. One should emphasize the role of religious beliefs and spiritual imagination in the Puritans world. An important aspect of Puritan theology is the doctrine of predestination: God determined whether you would be saved before your birth, and people could do nothing to affect or even know whether they had been chosen for salvation. Pious behavior and having a conversion experience were thought to be symptoms
of salvation but were no guarantee. It was also clear to many that God worked through covenants of the elect. Hence, by assenting to the power of the liturgy and the clergy in a covenanted church, one enhanced ones chance of salvation. The broad effect was to create harrowing uncertainty within individuals and a drive toward the certainty of order within the community. Dissenters moved in a different direction. Some, such as Anne Hutchinson, believed they could know the mind of God directly without the intervention of the clergy. Others, such as Roger Williams, concluded that any group of believers could form a church independent of any larger institution. Many others, however, began to seek assurance of salvation by carrying out good works. Theologically, this variance in interpretation and the move toward good works explain how the Halfway Covenant reinvigorated Puritanism by reducing uncertainty. 3. Social change contributed to the theological pressures facing the Puritans. One might review the dynamics of these pressures and try to relate them causally to the witchcraft scare of 1692. As each new generation matured, social pressures increased. The transfer of land by the original settlers to their less religiously inspired children, combined with the Puritans stern attitudes toward childrearing, created difficult family relations. Because population growth was considerable, new farmers tended to receive smaller plots and thus had a lower standard of living. Facing a harder life on land that was far from the center of town, these townspeople resisted laws requiring residence at the town center. This desire by more people who were generally less well off to live on the edge of the town, and the subsequent request for the establishment of new churches and towns, challenged the social and moral authority of the town and the church elite. The resulting squabbles, disputes, and fears of decline and breakup fed the frustrated, anxious social context that fueled the witchcraft scare of 1692. 4. View European colonization through the eyes of the Native Americans. Begin with a general statement about the population, social and political structure, land occupancy, trade, and culture, drawing from Chapters 1 and 2. Use examples in the text to note how disease often had an impact on the population even before very many Europeans arrived. How did a significant decrease in population affect families, clans, villages, and tribes and their relations with each other? How did European encroachment on their land affect tribal order? Why did Native Americans trade with Europeans, and what impact did it have on their economic support system, agriculture, and attitudes toward nature?
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1. What factors account for the differences in the colonizing experiences of the Spanish, Dutch, French, and English in North America during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries? Possible answers: a. The Spanish, Dutch, French, and English were accustomed to different forms of government and social norms. b. European states pursued different cultural goals and economic ambitions. c. Different groups of Europeans encountered different Native American peoples, both groups having contrasting forms of political, social, and economic organization. d. European colonists adopted different methods of land distribution. e. The Europeans encountered different environments, which affected trade, the use of the land, and thus the economic return. 2. Why did the Virginia colony fail to thrive before 1624? Possible answers: a. There was poor management of human and material resources. b. Adventurers and privateers failed to establish a material basis for the initial settlement and did not construct adequate housing, leaving the settlers hungry, cold, and weak. c. The English settlers were dependent on Powhatans confederacy. d. Dispersed settlements combined with limited, weak government left the settlers without protection and vulnerable to Indian attacks. e. Uneven distribution of land and the headright system created a society of planters and forced laborers, establishing a social tradition of coercive force and inequality. f. The siting of settlements left them easy prey to mosquitoes, which decimated the population. g. The adventurist ethic was not conducive to a stable, cooperative society capable of withstanding misfortune. 3. What were some of the causes of Bacons Rebellion? What effect did it have on society and politics in Virginia? Possible answers: a. The headright system and the unequal distribution of land led to an oligarchic society that placed political power in the hands of a few planters who ruled without regard to the peoples concerns.
b. The close relationship between land ownership and political power meant that most of the land in the colony was controlled by wealthy planters, who, in turn, held most of the political power. c. Recently freed men tended to live in the West, where they had problems with the Native Americans. d. As tobacco prices fell, fewer freeholders could afford to farm, forcing them to become tenants or farm workers, which increased their resentment toward larger planters. e. The elite learned that they had to rule more openly, without corruption, and to support an expansionist land and anti-Indian policy to placate the freeholders. They also tried to reduce the number of freeholders by gradually shifting from an indenture system that employed English laborers to an African slave-labor system. f. The mere existence of the House of Burgesses, corrupt or not, embodied an ideal of representative government to which the rebels held the planters accountable. The freeholders had an ideological common ground that gave their rebellion, however disgraceful, some political justification. 4. What factors account most for the success of the Puritans in establishing an ordered society in New England? Possible answers: a. They brought a colonial charter with them that granted self-rule. b. They arrived in family and community groups, distributing the land through town charters. c. A spiritual mission empowered them to establish a structured church and a strong moral order that emphasized an organized and orderly society in which class differences, though present, were less apparent than elsewhere. d. When Puritan theology became too demanding, they changed the rules and regulations to enable a larger number of people to be church members. e. The land system was characterized by dividing land for inheritance, which generally worked against stratification in landholding and social power. f. They had climactic advantages and successfully subdued local Indians who might have posed an external threat. 5. Given their very distinct English subcultures, did Virginians and Puritans tend to treat the Native Americans differently? Or was their common cultural heritage similar enough to assure similar treatment?
Document Exercises
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Possible answers: a. Interest in the land, combined with initial suspicion of the Native Americans, made it difficult for Virginians to consider treaties as anything but short-term measures to maintain cooperation and peace while the inevitable goal was encroachment on Indian land. b. Puritans offered various rationales regarding their seizure of Native American land. They argued that their spiritual mission was proved by epidemics that cleared Indians from the land. They also claimed that Indians did not have the right to inhabit pristine wilderness. c. Both groups believed that Christianity and their English heritage made them superior and justified their actions. d. When coercion led to resistance and violence, the English believed they were justified in retaliating by the right of self-defense. e. Both groups placed defeated Native Americans in reservations on the edge of settled areas, where they intensified conversion efforts.
Opechancanough, and Massatamohtnock, experience multiple identities? (He seemed to want to go to Europe and willingly accepted Dominican instruction in the Catholic faith. He later willingly accepted Jesuit education and professed a desire to convert his people to Christianity. When he got back among his people, however, Luis de Velasco returned to Native American customs. In response to Spanish criticism, he then committed murder and claimed that his soul was white. Such a description could mean that he considered himself sinless or that he did not consider himself truly to be one of his own people, if one takes the literal meaning of the term white as referring to Spanish or English people. When he took a more warlike stance, he gave up his identity as a white soul and became a warrior-patriot. These contradictory actions comprised his multiple identity.) 2. Was he actually a young man confused by contradictory cultural pressures, or was he pursuing a deliberate agenda? (Though the godson of Luis de Velasco, he was anxious to return to his people, a request his godfather consented to, until the voyage was blown off course. Despite his wanting to go home, he also wanted to convert his people to Christianity, a goal that seems at odds with his desire to return to his culture. It is also unclear what he meant in identifying his soul as white. It seems that he really did not know what stance to take against the English, and then, in some confusion, accepted the marriage of his niece Pocahontas to John Rolfe, the man who introduced tobacco into Virginia and gave the colony new life. When he could have effected an expulsion of the English, he did nothing dramatic, electing to make a move only after superior English numbers made it increasingly unlikely that the course of settlement could be reversed. His efforts to expel the English seemed desperately late and thus indecisive, as if he were unsure whether he could inflict such damage on them and bring retribution upon his own people if they lost. Throughout his life, as a result of the pressures on him, he seems to have been a deeply conflicted person, unsure of which move to make next.)

1. Given what you know about the Native Americans, was there any other way they could have responded to Europeans and avoided the destructive consequences of encroachment, invasion, and conquest? 2. By 1692, did the Puritans succeed or fail in achieving the goals of their errand in the wilderness? 3. Did the average English peasant, farmer, or laborer who migrated to North America in the seventeenth century achieve his or her goals of economic opportunity, religious freedom, and a better life? 4. What factors do you think best explain the gradual decision of southern planters to develop the slave-labor system? Did southern planters have any alternatives?
Document Exercises
AMERICAN LIVES
Luis de Velasco/Opechancanough/ Massatamohtnock: A Case of Multiple Possible Identities (p. 42)

Document Discussion
1. How did this person, as the Catholic convert and diplomat Luis de Velasco, the Indian patriot
Writing Assignments
1. Because of the interaction between Europeans and Native American cultures, many individuals were caught between competing agendas as various groups sought to establish primacy. Identify the groups that influenced Luis, and contrast their purposes and potential influences.
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2. Do you think his experience was typical for the period, or is this an exceptional case? Defend your response. VO I C E S F R O M A B R OA D
Samuel de Champlain: Going to War with the Hurons (p. 45)

Document Discussion
1. According to this passage, how does Champlain view the Indians with whom he traveled? (Champlains demeanor suggests that he maintained a healthy measure of skepticism regarding Indian religious beliefs. He dryly notes that he could plainly observe the soothsayer moving his cabin, contrary to the Indians explanation that the devil was causing the shaking. Likewise, he seems quite convinced of the efficacy of dreaming.) 2. How does Champlains account contrast with what a French priest or farmer might relate? (As a soldier and an explorer, Champlain was most concerned with pragmatic affairs. He was a keen observer and took note of those events that informed him as to the ways the Indians lived. He recorded no activity or interest in this passage concerning the religious conversion of the Indians. As well, Champlain writes little about the matters of domestic settlement.)
2. This extract does not state the reasons Frethorne ventured to America, but what might those have been? What do you think he expected to find when he arrived in Virginia? (Frethornes reasons could have been almost anything. It is most likely that he was looking to improve his economic condition.)
Writing Assignments
1. Given Frethornes situation, what can historians surmise about the living conditions of indentured servants in America? 2. If Frethorne were to return to England, what type of social and economic standing would he have? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Mary Rowlandson: A Captivity Narrative (p. 64)

Document Discussion
1. Why did the Native Americans capture Mary Rowlandson rather than kill her? (Indians often tried to absorb their captives, especially women and children, into the tribal society to replace population lost in warfare. Captives were also used to extract ransom or used in exchange for one of their own people. While held by Indians, captives were often assigned work according to their previous positions in their social hierarchy.) 2. Marys captivity experience outlines, by way of the people with whom she interacted, the structure and dynamics of tribal society. What kinds of tribal and familial relationships does Mary describe? (Though Mary considered herself a captive, the Indians viewed her as a servant in the household of one of King Philips [Metacoms] wives, Weetamoo. While Mary served Weetamoo without remuneration, she was paid by King Philip for sewing a shirt for him. Mary also mentions that Philip had three wives, and if Weetamoo was an example, they enjoyed numerous comforts and wielded a definite voice in tribal affairs.)
Writing Assignments
1. Consider the aspects of Indian life that Champlain notes in this passage. In what was Champlain interested? What does his narrative reveal about his priorities? 2. What allure did the New World hold for men like Champlain? What was he seeking? Do you think he was interested in establishing an empire for France or something else? How did Champlains motives for being in North America contrast with other Europeans there at the same time? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Richard Frethorne: Hard Times in Early Virginia (p. 53)

Document Discussion
1. Why did Frethorne wish to leave Virginia? (He complained of being ill and of suffering from a poor diet. He also expressed a great fear of the enemy.)
Writing Assignments
1. What kind of treatment did Mary seem to expect of her captors? As a ministers wife, how would her experiences before she was captured have informed her beliefs regarding Indians? 2. Why did the Indians treat Mary in the manner in which they did? What does their behavior reveal about Indian society? Contrast Marys experience in
Topic for Research
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captivity with that suffered by the Iroquois warrior recounted by Samuel de Champlain.
began as nucleated ones and dispersed over time. Villages that did not start as nucleated ones must have not been nucleated for cultural, political, or economic reasons.) 2. How might geography explain a towns arrangement? (The preponderance of dispersed towns in northeastern Massachusetts suggests that terrain can explain the pattern of settlement. A rugged terrain, with good land widely dispersed, would necessitate that a village spread out across the land grant to provide adequate farmland for its residents.)
Map 2.3: Eastern North America in 1650 (p. 49)

1. Given the patterns shown in this map, why did the people migrate to certain places? Did they migrate as individuals, as families, or as groups? (The colonization of North America by English settlers is clearly evident. The English migrated primarily in family groups, whether united around a religion or economic purpose. By 1660, they have settled broad swaths of the mid-Atlantic and New England coastline. Spanish influence is already highly restricted around their community at St. Augustine. The French and Dutch, although far fewer in number than the English, have penetrated the interior of the continent to establish settlements along inland waterways amenable to the transport of agricultural products and stores.) 2. How did the topography of the North American continent influence European colonization? (European travel was highly dependent on navigable waterways. The English first chose coastal areas for settlement, while the Dutch moved somewhat farther inland along water arteries such as the Hudson River. The French settled along the fertile valley of the St. Lawrence River. The Spanish, who were little interested in agriculture, remained in the proximity of their forts and seaports. Note that the Native Americans, being less dependent upon sedentary agriculture, were also more widely dispersed than the Europeans.)
Topic for Research
The Puritans Decision to Migrate to America

Between 1630 and 1640, thousands of English Puritans left their homeland to seek a new life in America. What prompted these men and women to make such a momentous decision? Did they act solely from religious motives, or were there other important factors? One way to address these questions is by examining the migrants lives in England; a second way is by reading their letters and correspondence; yet a third approach is by studying the kinds of communities they established in America. Important books dealing with one or more of these approaches include Bernard Bailyn, The New England Merchants in the Seventeenth Century (1955); Edmund S. Morgan, The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop (1958); Sumner Chilton Powell, Puritan Village: The Formation of a New England Town (1963); Darrett B. Rutman, John Winthrops Decision for America: 1629 (1975); Francis J. Bremer, The Puritan Experiment (1976); Everett Emerson, ed., Letters from New England: The Massachusetts Bay Colony, 16291638 (1976); David Grayson Allen, In English Ways: The Movement of Societies and the Transferal of English Local Law and Custom to Massachusetts Bay in the Seventeenth Century (1981); David Cressy, Coming Over: Migration and Communication between England and New England in the Seventeenth Century (1987); Stephen Nissenbaums commentary in David Nasaw, ed., The Course of United States History: To 1877 (1987), pages 3151; and for views of the church in England, Kenneth Fincham, ed., The Early Stuart Church, 16031642 (1993).
Map 2.6: Settlement Patterns within New England Towns, 16301700 (p. 62)
1. Have students analyze this map and try to determine which factors could explain the variety of layouts among New England towns. What was the general pattern of settlement and the general nature of different types of towns? Is there an apparent relationship between how old a town was and its settlement pattern? If so, what is this relationship? (Settlement in general moved from the Boston Bay area north and south along the coast and then up the Connecticut River Valley. The presence of more formerly nucleated villages in the East, compared with the presence of more nucleated villages up the Connecticut River Valley, implies that many villages
Suggested Themes
1. How did the Puritans doctrine of predestination affect their social structure and determine their prescriptions for living a Christian life?
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2. How did the covenant, an important idea in Puritan belief, shape the nature of individual relationships? How did it shape notions of self-interest and the nature of the interaction between private life and public life in the Puritan commonwealth? Do such ideas have any relevance to todays discourse about the American social order? What legacies from Puritanism do we see today?
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Map Activity The map activity presents Map 2.1: New Spain Looks North, 15131610 (p. 41) and asks students to analyze the expansion of the Spanish empire. Visual Activity The visual activity presents a drawing of tobacco production (p. 52) and asks students to analyze the process and workers portrayed in the image. Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Richard Frethorne: Hard Times in Early Virginia (p. 53) and Mary Rowlandson: A Captivity Narrative (p. 64) and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 2 are Bartolom de las Casas, History of the Indies (1552) John Smith, A True Relation of Virginia (1608) John Smith, Checklist for Virginia-Bound Colonists (1624) Notes on Indentured Servitude in Virginia (1640) Nathaniel Bacon, Manifesto (1676) John Winthrop, A Modell of Christian Charity (1630) Transcript of the Examination of Anne Hutchinson (1637) The Law and John Porter Jr. (1646) The Ordeal of Cotton Mathers Family (1713) John Winthrop, But What Warrant Have We to Take that Land? (1629) Strangers in Their Own Land: The Catawbas Confront the English (17541755)

For Instructors
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material covered in Chapter 2 include The Jesuit Relations: Natives and Missionaries in Seventeenth-Century North America, 15801640, edited with an introduction by Allan Greer; The Sovereignty and Goodness of God by Mary Rowlandson with Related Documents, edited with an introduction by Neil Salisbury; The World Turned Upside Down: Indian Voices from Early America, edited with an introduction by Colin G. Calloway; and What Caused the Pueblo Revolt of 1680?, readings selected and edited by David J. Weber. For descriptions of these titles and how you might use them in your course, visit bedfordstmartins.com/ usingseries.
CHAPTER 3
The British Empire in America

16601750

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. How and why did Europeans bring Africans to American colonies as slaves? 2. How did African American communities in America respond to and resist their condition? 3. What was the structure of colonial government? How did it operate? Why did Englishmen and colonial citizens view the role of assemblies differently? 4. What was the role of the colonies within the British mercantilist system? How did economic considerations affect political decision making in both England and North America?
Chapter Summary
From the 1660s through the 1680s, Charles II, after restoring royal authority in England, extended royal power across the English trading system by implementing mercantilist theory through a series of Navigation Acts. Simultaneously, King Charles created new colonies through royal grants of colonial land to loyal aristocrats and gentry while consolidating and subsuming other colonial governments under royal control. American colonials resisted these efforts as well as the Navigation Acts. After the overthrow of King James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, a series of popular revolts ended this royal experiment in authoritarian rule, forming large domains from smaller existing colonies. In its place a series of colonial governments were established in which English royal control was limited and most power remained in the hands of the colonial assemblies. There was unrest
over religion as King William III and Queen Mary II disestablished both the Congregationalist Church in Massachusetts and the Catholic Church in Maryland. But, wanting colonial support for a war against France, the new monarchs launched a period of salutary neglect. After 1689, Britain and France fought for dominance in Western Europe. Conflict there affected the colonies in America, and wars included participation by a number of Native American warriors armed with European weapons. The War of the Spanish Succession (1702 1713) pitted Britain against France and Spain. So that they might help to protect their English settlement, whites in the Carolinas armed the Creek peoples. The Creeks took this opportunity to become the dominant tribe in the region. Native Americans also played a central role in the fighting in the Northeast; aided by the French, the Abnakis and Mohawks took revenge on the Puritans. The New York frontier remained quiet due to the fur trade and the Iroquois policy of aggressive neutrality. The war over in Europe, the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) gave Britain Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the Hudson Bay region plus control of the Spanish American slave trade, thus confirming Britains supremacy in the Americas. British advantages were again furthered by the War of Jenkins Ear, which gave them Georgia in 1748. As English power in Europe continued to increase and the economic system created by the Navigation Acts continued to bring prosperity, the English decided to maintain a policy of salutary neglect, which allowed the colonies to develop autonomously. As long as the South Atlantic system, which transported millions of African slaves to the West Indies to produce sugar, continued to enrich West Indian planters, New England distillers and shipbuilders, London merchants, and England and its colonies, there was little need to assert royal authority.
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Chapter 3 The British Empire in America, 16601750
The wealth created by the British empire transformed the societies of four continents. In Africa, centralized slave-trading states preyed on smaller egalitarian tribes and nations. In the West Indies, the slave system enriched and empowered a small wealthy absentee aristocracy of planters. In the North American colonies, social elites, enriched directly or indirectly by the slave trade, gained power and structured regimes that preserved their political position of supremacy with minimal interference from English officials. In the seaports of the North, a merchant class, many of whose members owned slaves, rose to social and political power. Beneath them a vibrant artisan and laboring class also developed. In the South the planter elite further tightened its social and political control by modeling its behavior on that of the English aristocracy. Though American planters used force and violence to subdue the slaves, a distinctive slave society emerged. In contrast to the West Indies, African slaves in North America established families, developed strong kin relationships, maintained their social and cultural traditions, and, through interaction with other Africans, created a new African American society and culture. The triumph of the South Atlantic system and practice of salutary neglect changed colonial politics. American representative assemblies, who wished to limit the powers of the crown and maintain their authority over taxes, grew more influential. The colonial legislatures gradually won partial control of the budget and the appointment of local officials. By the 1750s, most colonies had representative political institutions that were responsive to popular pressure and increasingly immune to British control. British officials vowed to replace salutary neglect with rigorous imperial control.

I. The Politics of Empire, 16601713 A. The Restoration Colonies 1. Charles II gave the Carolinas to his aristocratic friends and gave his brother James, the Duke of York, the land between the Delaware and Connecticut Rivers. 2. James took possession of New Netherland and named it New York; the adjacent land was established as New Jersey. 3. The proprietors of the new colonies sought to create a traditional social order with a gentry class and an established Church of England. 4. The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina (1669) prescribed a manorial system with nobility and serfs. 5. Poor families in North Carolina refused to work on large manors and chose to live on modest farms.
6. South Carolinians imposed their own design of government and attacked Indian settlements to acquire slaves for trade. 7. South Carolina remained an ill-governed and violence-ridden frontier settlement until the 1720s. 8. Pennsylvania, designed as a refuge for Quakers persecuted in England, developed a pacifistic policy toward the Native Americans and became prosperous. 9. Quakers believed that people were imbued by God with an inner light of grace and understanding that opened salvation to everyone. 10. Penns Frame of Government (1681) guaranteed religious freedom for all Christians and allowed all property-owning men to vote and hold office. 11. Ethnic diversity, pacifism, and freedom of conscience made Pennsylvania the most open and democratic of the Restoration colonies. B. From Mercantilism to Dominion 1. In the 1650s the English government imposed mercantilism, via the Navigation Acts, which regulated colonial commerce and manufacturing. 2. The Revenue Act of 1673 imposed a plantation duty on sugar and tobacco exports and created a staff of customs officials to collect it. 3. In commercial wars between 1652 and 1674, the English ended Dutch supremacy in the West African slave trade. The English also dominated Atlantic commerce. 4. Many Americans resisted the mercantilist laws as burdensome and intrusive. To enforce the laws, the Lords of Trade pursued a punitive legal strategy: in 1679, they denied the claim of Massachusetts to New Hampshires territory, instead creating New Hampshire as a separate colony. In 1684, they annulled Massachusettss charter. 5. When James II succeeded to the throne, his insistence on the divine right of kings prompted English officials to create a centralized imperial system in America. 6. In 1686 the Connecticut and Rhode Island colonies were merged with those of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth to form the Dominion of New England, a royal province. 7. Two years later, New York and New Jersey were added to the Dominion. 8. Sir Edmund Andros, governor of the Dominion, was empowered to abolish existing legislative assemblies and rule by decree. 9. Andros advocated worship in the Church of England, banned town meetings, and challenged land titles.
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10. The Puritans protested to the king regarding Andross demands, but their protests went unheeded. C. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 1. In 1688, Jamess Catholic wife gave birth to a son, raising the prospect of a Catholic heir to the throne. 2. Fearing political persecution, Protestant Parliamentary leaders carried out a bloodless coup known as the Glorious Revolution. 3. Mary, Jamess Protestant daughter by his first wife, and her husband William of Orange were enthroned. 4. Queen Mary II and William III accepted a Bill of Rights that limited royal prerogatives and increased personal liberties and parliamentary powers. 5. Parliamentary leaders relied upon John Lockes Two Treatises on Government (1690) to justify their coup. Locke rejected divine right theories of monarchical rule. 6. Lockes celebration of individual rights and representative government had a lasting influence in America. 7. The Glorious Revolution sparked colonial rebellions against royal governments in Massachusetts, Maryland, and New York. 8. In 1689, Andros was shipped back to England, and the new monarchs broke up the Dominion of New England. 9. The monarchs did not restore Puritandominated government; instead they created a new royal colony of Massachusetts whose new charter granted religious freedom to members of the Church of England and gave the vote to all male property owners instead of Puritans only. 10. The uprising in Maryland had both political and religious causes; Protestants resented rising taxes and high fees imposed by wealthy Catholic proprietary officials. 11. In New York the rebellion against the Dominion of New England began a decade of violence and political conflict. 12. The uprisings in Boston and New York toppled the authoritarian Dominion of New England and won the restoration of internal selfgovernment. 13. In England the new constitutional monarchs promoted an empire based on commerce; salutary neglect gave free reign to merchants and financiers who developed American colonies as a source of trade. 14. Colonies that were of minor economic or political importance (Connecticut and Rhode Is-
land) retained their corporate governments or proprietary institutions (Pennsylvania, Maryland, the Carolinas), while royal governors ruled the lucrative staple-producing settlements in the West Indies and Virginia. D. Imperial Wars and Native Peoples 1. Between 1689 and 1815, Britain and France fought wars for dominance of Western Europe. 2. These wars involved a number of Native American warriors armed with European weapons. 3. The War of the Spanish Succession (1702 1713) pitted Britain against France and Spain. 4. So that they might help to protect their English settlement, whites in the Carolinas armed the Creek peoples to fend off French and Spanish attacks. 5. The Creeks took this opportunity to become the dominant tribe in the region. 6. Native Americans also played a central role in the fighting in the Northeast; aided by the French, the Abnakis and Mohawks took revenge on the Puritans attacking settlements in Maine and Massachusetts. New Englanders responded by joining British forces in attacks on French strongholds in Nova Scotia and Quebec. 7. The New York frontier remained quiet due to the fur trade and the Iroquois policy of aggressive neutrality: trading with the British and the French but refusing to fight for either side. 8. Britain used victories in Europe to win territorial and commercial concessions in the Americas in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), solidifying Britains supremacy and bringing peace to North America. II. The Imperial Slave Economy A. The South Atlantic System 1. The South Atlantic system was composed of land seized from the Indians, slave labor from Africa, and investment capital from Europe. 2. To provide labor for the sugar plantations, the British and French developed African-run slave-catching systems that extended far into the interior of Africa. They transported about 10,000 Africans per year to the Americas. 3. The Portuguese and Dutch developed sugar plantations in Brazil, and the English and French carried the industry into the subtropical islands of the West Indies; sugar was the most profitable crop in Europe and America. 4. Due to the Navigation Acts, by 1750 re-exports of American sugar and tobacco accounted for half of all British exports.
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5. The South Atlantic system brought wealth to the European economy, but it brought economic decline, political change, and human tragedy to West Africa and parts of East Africa. 6. The slave trade changed West African society by promoting centralized states and military conquest by kingdoms such as Barsally, Dahomey, and Asante. 7. Some African people of noble birth enslaved and sold those of lesser status; however, slaving remained an act of choice for Africans, not a necessity. Benin, for example, opposed the trade in male slaves for over a century. 8. Due to slave taking, the resulting imbalance of the sexes allowed some African men to take several wives, changing the nature of marriage. 9. The Atlantic trade prompted harsher forms of slavery in Africa, eroding the dignity of human life. 10. African slaves who were forced to endure the Middle Passage suffered the bleakest fate; many were literally worked to death on the sugar plantations, since it was cheaper to replace a dead slave than to keep him alive. B. Slavery in the Chesapeake and South Carolina 1. After 1700, planters in Virginia and Maryland imported thousands of slaves and created a slave society. 2. Slavery was increasingly defined in racial terms; in Virginia virtually all resident Africans were declared slaves. 3. Living and working conditions in Maryland and Virginia allowed slaves to live relatively long lives. 4. Some tobacco planters tried to increase their workforce through reproduction, purchasing a high proportion of females and encouraging large families. 5. By the middle of the 1700s, American-born slaves formed a majority among Chesapeake blacks. 6. The slave population in South Carolina suffered many deaths and had few births; therefore, the importation of new slaves re-Africanized the black population. 7. South Carolina slaves were much more oppressed. Growing rice required work amidst pools of putrid water, and mosquito-borne epidemic diseases took thousands of African lives. C. African American Community and Resistance 1. Slaves initially did not regard one another as Africans or blacks but as members of a specific family, clan, or people.
2. The acquisition of a common language and a more equal gender ratio were prerequisites for the creation of an African American community. 3. As enslaved blacks forged a new identity in America, their lives continued to be shaped by their African past, influencing decorative motifs, housing design, and religious patterns. 4. African creativity was limited because slaves were denied education and had few material goods. 5. Slaves who resisted their rigorous work routine were punished with beatings, whippings, and mutilation, including amputation. 6. The extent of violence toward slaves depended on the size and the density of the slave population; a smaller slave population usually meant less violence, while predominantly Africanpopulated colonies suffered more violence. 7. The Stono Rebellion (1739) in South Carolina was the largest slave uprising of the eighteenth century. 8. White militiamen killed many of the Stono rebels and dispersed the rest, preventing a general uprising. D. The Southern Gentry 1. As the southern colonies became slave societies, life changed for whites as well as blacks. 2. As men lived longer, patriarchy within the family reappeared. 3. The planter elite exercised authority over yeomen and black slaves the American equivalent of oppressed peasants and serfs. 4. To prevent rebellion, the southern gentry paid attention to the concerns of middling and poor whites. 5. By 1770 the majority of English Chesapeake families owned a slave, giving them a stake in the exploitative labor system. 6. Taxes were gradually reduced for poorer whites, and poor yeomen and some tenants were allowed to vote. 7. In return, the planter elite expected the yeomen and tenants to elect them to office and defer to their power. 8. By the 1720s the gentry took on the trappings of wealth, modeling themselves after the English aristocracy. 9. The profits of the South Atlantic system helped to form an increasingly well-educated, refined, and stable ruling class. E. The Northern Maritime Economy 1. The South Atlantic system tied the whole British empire together economically. 2. West Indian trade created the first American merchant fortunes and the first urban indus-
Lecture Strategies
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tries in particular, shipbuilding and the distilling of rum from West Indies sugar. 3. In the eighteenth century the expansion of Atlantic commerce in lumber and shipbuilding fueled rapid growth in the North American interior as well as in seaport cities and coastal towns. 4. A small group of wealthy landowners and merchants formed the top rank of the seaport society. 5. Artisan and shopkeeper families formed the middle ranks of seaport society, and laboring men, women, and children formed the lowest ranks. 6. Between 1660 and 1750, involvement in the South Atlantic system brought economic uncertainty as well as jobs to northern workers and farmers. III. The New Politics of Empire, 17131750 A. The Rise of Colonial Assemblies 1. The triumph of the South Atlantic system changed the politics of empire; the British were content to rule the colonies with a gentle hand, and the colonists were in a position to challenge the rules of the mercantilist system. 2. In England, a Declaration of Rights in 1689 strengthened the powers of the Commons at the expense of the crown. 3. American representative assemblies also wished to limit the powers of the crown and maintain their authority over taxes. 4. The colonial legislatures gradually won partial control of the budget and the appointment of local officials. 5. The rising power of the colonial assemblies created an elitist rather than a democratic political system. 6. Neither elitist assemblies nor wealthy property owners could impose unpopular edicts on the people. 7. Crowd actions were a regular part of political life in America and were used to enforce community values. 8. By the 1750s, most colonies had representative political institutions that were responsive to popular pressure and increasingly immune to British control. B. Salutary Neglect 1. Salutary neglect, more relaxed royal supervision of internal colonial affairs, was a byproduct of the political system developed by Sir Robert Walpole, a British Whig. 2. Radical Whigs argued that Walpole used patronage and bribery to create a strong Crown Party.
3. Landed gentlemen argued that Walpoles high taxes and bloated, incompetent royal bureaucracy threatened the liberties of the British people. 4. Colonists, maintaining that royal governors likewise abused their patronage powers, tried to enhance the powers of provincial representative assemblies. C. Protecting the Mercantile System of Trade 1. Walpoles main concern was to protect British commercial interests in America from the Spanish and the French. 2. Walpole arranged for Parliament to subsidize Georgia in order to protect the valuable rice colony of South Carolina. 3. Resisting British expansion into Georgia and growing trade with Mesoamerica, Spanish naval forces sparked the War of Jenkins Ear in 1739. 4. Walpole used this provocation to launch a predatory war against Spains American Empire. 5. The War of Jenkins Ear became a part of the War of Austrian Succession (17401749), bringing a new threat from France. 6. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) returned the French naval fortress of Louisbourg to France after its capture by New England militiamen, but the treaty also reaffirmed British military superiority over Spain, effectively giving Georgia to the British. 7. Colonial merchants took advantage of a loophole in the Navigation Acts that allowed Americans to own ships and transport goods. The loophole allowed colonists to cut dramatically into commerce in the Atlantic. 8. The Molasses Act of 1733 placed a high tariff on imports of cheap French molasses to make British molasses competitive, but sugar prices rose in the late 1730s, so the act was not enforced. 9. The Currency Act (1751) prevented colonies from establishing new land banks and prohibited the use of public currency to pay private debts. This was in response to abuse of the land bank system by some colonial assemblies who issued too much paper currency and then required merchants to accept the worthless paper as legal tender. 10. In the 1740s, British officials vowed to replace salutary neglect with rigorous imperial control.
Lecture Strategies
1. Demonstrate how the broadening of mercantilist theory by means of the Navigation Acts was paral-
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leled by British efforts to gain closer political control over the colonies. Then, demonstrate how American colonists expressed dissent over the political implications of the relationship between the mother country and its colonies dictated by mercantilism. Even though American colonials initially separated economic interaction from political status, over time they resisted a future that seemed to promise only second-class citizenship. 2. Students need to understand the dynamics of the South Atlantic system and how that system affected everyone who came in contact with it. To do this, follow the lines of shipping across the Atlantic. You might follow the operations of the slave ships as they stopped along the coast of Africa, picked up slaves, transported them on the Middle Passage, and deposited them in markets in the West Indies. Note how the English used money or goods from the system to purchase slaves along the African coast and then sold them to planters for a much higher price. Then, follow the production of sugar, its shipment to London, and its sale to Europeans to trace the inflow of capital from outside the system. By emphasizing the profitable nature of this business, you can effectively show how other factors were connected to the South Atlantic system. Such a flow-of-trade analysis characterizes systems by following goods and money. 3. The South Atlantic system, by using slaves, increased the disparity of wealth by enriching a few people, increasing the wealth of many, impoverishing many, and exploiting even more. It is apparent why this disparity would happen on a sugar or tobacco plantation. It is less clear why it would occur in small urban seaports in the North American colonies. Define the functions those ports played in the colonial system. Show how the class makeup of the ports would arise from the dominant economic functions of the city: merchants and some British officials; middling people, artisans, laborers, and workers in the shipping industry; and slaves. Indicate the extent of slavery in New York and its consequences for social order. It is important to note the appearance of a strong merchant class that created a thriving trade with the West Indies because it was the class that sought autonomy and would resist British efforts to increase imperial control. 4. The development of an African American society and culture should be explained in the context of the economics and demography of the South Atlantic system. After Bacons Rebellion, the planters desire to assert more social control over the workforce combined with increasing profits and the declining cost of slaves to make slavery more affordable. But
because they were considerably less wealthy than West Indian planters, Virginians and Carolinians could afford fewer slaves, who were scattered on plantations across the colony. Thus, in contrast to the West Indies, the death rate among slaves in North America was low. As the conditions of the slave population improved, so did the birthrate. This gradually improved gender ratios, which continued to increase the birthrate, creating a natural population increase that enlarged the slave population. These demographic developments allowed slaves in North America to form families, develop kin relationships, and forge, among Africans who came from different tribal groups and spoke different languages, a new African American culture and society. Though viewed as an alien people who were legally enslaved and forced to work and live amid brutal repression and violence, African American slaves were gradually able to form a new subculture that would transform the character of American society after 1720.

1. Was the South Atlantic system a success or a failure between 1650 and 1750? Possible answers: a. Economically, it seems to have been a remarkable success. The sugar grown in the West Indies had a value considerably above the cost of labor and transportation and thus sent a river of wealth into England and the American colonies. b. Politically, it was also relatively successful. By implementing mercantilist policy, backing it up with trade wars, and developing a policy that encouraged the market to grow without supervision, the British encouraged development and contributed to political stability. c. Socially, the system empowered various groups in England and the American colonies merchants, planters, artisans, and farmers and tended to place wealth in the hands of a few people. d. The human cost to the enslaved peoples undermined any notion that the South Atlantic system was successful. e. As Thomas Jefferson remarked, the system undermined the character of the slaveholders: each generation nursed, educated, and daily exercised in tyranny. 2. Why did Virginians and other southern planters make the decision to implement slavery in the seventeenth century? Did they have other options? Possible answers: a. The large planters wanted to establish a labor system that could be controlled instead of one that
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b. c.
d.
e.
freed indentured servants to become demanding members of society. Slaves made southern planters appear more like the West Indian planters, enhancing their prestige and power. The labor market shifted. After other colonies began developing, more indentured servants went to those colonies. This made servants more expensive, when they could be found at all. Hence, slaves from the West Indies or Africa seemed to be more economical. Politically, planters increasingly stressed race and shared human rights in order to create solidarity with white freeholders, farmers, and laborers. Slavery thus enabled planters to consolidate their political power. Yes, there were other options. Slavery was a choice made by southern planters; it was not an inevitable outcome. The planters valued social standing, political power, and the accumulation of wealth to the point that they were willing to accept the human cost involved.
building industry, much of which took place in Boston and in smaller ports along the New England coast. c. Direct sales of foodstuffs and lumber to the West Indies stimulated production and trade in the middle and northern colonies. d. By developing an integrated trading system, the Navigation Acts also stimulated agricultural development and market specialization in colonial ports, raising revenues, income, and capital investment. e. The colonials undertook a considerable amount of smuggling. The colonies also traded rice and fish directly in southern Europe, indicating that the American colonials could have developed their own trade with Europe without going through London or the West Country ports. Their place in the South Atlantic system would have enriched them regardless of their membership in the British system. 5. What were some of the causes of rising friction between the colonials and the British? Were the American colonials or the British more responsible for those frictions? Possible answers: a. Many colonials and the British fundamentally disagreed about the colonials civil status in the empire. b. The rising planter and merchant classes further empowered the colonial assemblies. c. Many British officials felt that the British needed to reassert power and control in the American colonies. d. It is nearly impossible to apportion responsibility for the rising friction between colonials and the British. Divisions of opinion that evolved in response to changing circumstances characterized each side.
3. What factors influenced the creation and maintenance of an American colonial slave society and culture? Possible answers: a. American planters were not as rich as West Indian planters. Therefore, most planters could purchase only a few slaves and had to treat them with the expectation of keeping them for many years. b. Lower death rates combined with rising birthrates to cause a natural increase in the slave population. This brought gender ratios into balance, further increasing the birthrate of the slave population. c. The dispersal of slaves across the country necessitated that they learn English and interact with other Africans. This cultural interaction with the planters language, culture, and religion, along with the mixing of traditions from different tribes or nations, combined to form the building blocks of a new African American culture and society. d. The dispersal of the slave population did, however, leave slaves at the mercy of the repression and terror many planters felt they needed to impose to establish order. 4. Did American colonials benefit economically from their participation in the South Atlantic system? Possible answers: a. Early production and trade in the colonies increased in direct response to the establishment of markets in England. b. The British interdiction against foreign shipping within the empire stimulated the British ship-

1. Did the colonies in the North and the South become more alike or grow increasingly different in the first half of the eighteenth century? Compare and contrast their economies, social structures, and political systems. 2. How was the social system of slavery shaped by the relationship that gradually emerged from the interaction between slaves and masters? Which group played the stronger role in shaping this relationship? 3. Which side was primarily responsible for shaping the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain in the first half of the eighteenth century, the colonists or the British?
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4. Did the Navigation Acts achieve their intended goals in the eighteenth century?
dence corroborates other evidence about the operations of the slave trade.) 3. Why do you think the English treated slaves in the manner in which they did? (They used terror and violence for two purposes. Fearing rebellion, they tried to pacify slaves by terrorizing them, but they recognized limits to this method. They wanted to limit suicides as well as death by disease. Much of their force was directed at forcing slaves to eat and take air and exercise so that they remained healthy enough to be marketable.)
Document Exercises
VO I C E S F R O M A B R OA D
Olaudah Equiano: The Brutal Middle Passage (p. 81)

Document Discussion
1. The account does not give the age at which Equiano had each of these experiences. How old does the person describing these events seem? What clues to his age can you discern? When was this account written, and how would memory and the subsequent retelling of the story alter it? (We know that Equiano was eleven years old when he was kidnapped, but he did not write his story until he was forty-three. References to his family, his upbringing, his training in the art of war, and his mothers adornment of him indicate a boy who was approaching manhood, perhaps about age twelve. He still lived at home with his family. He seemed to be unaware of the nature of the slave trade, which adults in Ibo society would be knowledgeable about. Ibo trade and culture were part of the Atlantic system, and the slave trade transformed tribal life and the interactions among nations. Over time and with retelling, Equianos story, though still personal, would be generalized to reflect the general history of the Ibos and Africans from other tribes who were captured and sent to America.) 2. His account provides an experiential document about the South Atlantic system. How, according to his account, did that system work? (The kidnappers were apparently Africans who acquired slaves by kidnapping from other tribes. There was much slave trading among tribes. Slaves were not only captives of war and kidnapping victims but also included people sentenced to slavery for committing crimes. Equiano found himself sold from trader to trader down to the coast. There, English slave ships acquired slaves from coastal traders, whom he later notes were white men, until their ships were full. Because of tribal resistance and susceptibility to disease, the English did not trade in the interior. Equiano was thrown into the storage area with hundreds of other Africans from various tribes. The voyage to the West Indies was long, desperate, and brutal. Once they arrived, he was immediately placed with many other Africans in the slave market and sold. All this evi-
Writing Assignments
1. Given the existence of such a brutal and inhumane system, why did the Africans not resist in an organized manner? Why did so few English people protest against the slave system? 2. Olaudah Equianos Interesting Narrative was written in 1789. Given what you know about the South Atlantic system in the early eighteenth century, could it have been written earlier? Why or why not? AMERICAN LIVES
From a Piece of Property to a Man of Property: The Odyssey of Robert Pearle (p. 82)
Document Discussion
1. As the number of blacks living in many tidewater districts grew during the early eighteenth century, why did racial animosity intensify? (Whites became increasingly fearful that blacks could erode their overwhelming political and economic supremacy. Slave owners feared uprisings from their workers and were always sensitive to any sign of the threat of violence. Many other whites also resented the prospect of free blacks and mulattos enjoying legal protections and trading opportunities. Overall, whites did not want any competition to their cultural and economic hegemony.) 2. What does the Pearle familys experience suggest about the customary view that plantation society consisted of strictly identified castes? (The story of the Pearles reveals that in many cases relationships between members of different races were subject to the push-and-pull of the bonds of kinship, religion, and economic standing. Formal statutes and eventually ideology created a rigid, formal structure that ultimately defined racial roles, but in practice some individuals negotiated distinct stations for themselves.)
Document Exercises
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Writing Assignments
1. Why did the Pearle family participate in plantation society through the ownership of slaves? 2. How did the Pearles successfully negotiate the racial segregation of plantation society? NEW TECHNOLOGY
Philip Fithian: Sadism under Slavery (p. 89)

Document Discussion
1. Why did some slave owners cruelly punish their slaves? (According to Fithian, they did so to enforce discipline. He certainly offers no other justification and does not record any on behalf of the planters.) 2. How did Philip Fithian respond when he learned of such horrors? (Fithian considered such actions by overseers to be inhumane, cruel, and unjust. But Fithian offers no clue as to how he might change the system of slavery or what the alternatives might involve.)
Rice: Riches, Wretchedness, and Community (p. 86)

Document Discussion
1. Since they were slaves and the introduction of rice cultivation furthered their exploitation, why did Africans provide the English with their knowledge of rice cultivation? (Cultivating a familiar crop connected the slaves to their home culture and gave them considerable control over the production process. As a familiar food, rice gave them sustenance and maintained continuity with their African past, enabling them to resist English influences more effectively. Familiar work is also generally easier to do.) 2. Why did machine technology not prevail over the hand method of hulling? (Available machines were not precise enough to hull rice. Hulling with a mortar and pestle involved a subtle rhythmic pounding of a long club of wood into a curved wooden vessel, striking the rice at just the right angle and with just the right force to break the hull. The touch with the mortar was the secret of hulling, which no machine at that time could duplicate. This method was still used by the descendants of slaves in South Carolina early in the twentieth century.) 3. How does the story of rice production illustrate the exploitation inherent in slavery? (The English had the land, but the slaves had the technology and did the work. And yet, over time, the English gained in wealth and power, whereas the slaves gained little or no income and had almost nothing to show for their prodigious efforts.)
Writing Assignments
1. George Lees overseer, Morgan, said that he had invented these two types of punishment and had proven their success by several experiments. Why do you think he was so interested in perfecting his methods of cruelty? How do you think he saw slaves as humans, as chattel, or something even less? 2. Since he was obviously upset and disturbed by the treatment of the slaves, why do you think Philip refrained from confronting the perpetrators of such cruel behavior? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Captain Fayrer Hall: The Impact of the Molasses Act (p. 96)
Document Discussion
1. How does Captain Hall assess the effectiveness of Britains Navigation Acts? (Captain Hall claims that the Acts of Navigation successfully undermined Dutch trade. He reports that whereas Dutch ships formerly numbered ten times that of the British in the colonial trade, the number of British now lead the Dutch.) 2. What does Captain Halls description of the trade between the northern colonies and the West Indies reveal about the colonies economies? (Captain Halls testimony suggests that despite the prevailing belief among British officials that the West Indies was the source of greatest wealth within the British Empire, the northern colonies were gaining
Writing Assignments
1. Technology, we often are told, is power. In this case, who held the real power and why? What impact did it have? 2. Are there other examples in which the English incorporated technology from Native Americans or African Americans and used it to their own advantage? Explain.
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influence. His evidence includes the fact that the mainland colonies export horses and lumber in quantities exceeding the British islands ability to absorb. Likewise, he believes that the northern colonies are capable of purchasing greater amounts of sugar, rum, and molasses than that which are being produced on the islands. Captain Hall testifies that the French colonies on the mainland and islands enjoy similar trading conditions.)
Writing Assignments
1. Why did the French and British compete for West Indian trading advantages? 2. Note the years of service to which Captain Hall attests and the numbers of ships he notes as being engaged in the colonial trade. Compare this volume of trade with that under way elsewhere in Britains eighteenth-century empire. What are the political and economic implications of your comparison?
up of a number of specialized trade routes. Have students identify the various flows of trade and determine what was being traded along these routes. (The map implies that ships from the west coast of England brought manufactured goods to Africa in exchange for slaves, whom they then brought to the West Indies before returning to England with their holds full of sugar. However, few individual ships actually made this complete circuit, only a part of it. Slave ships were specialized vessels that went back and forth between Africa and the West Indies. The West Indian trade was carried out mostly by ships that traveled between West Country ports in England and the West Indies. The surplus West Indian merchants built up from the sugar trade was used to pay for flour, lumber, and fish from the North American colonies. These bills of exchange were then used to buy manufactured goods from England. Of special interest on the map is the role played by Newport, Rhode Island, slave traders, who traded sugar for small loads of slaves, which they sold in the American colonies.) 2. Do the lines on this map indicate the relative flow of trade, profits, and wealth? Given the articles of trade, who seems to have made the most money in the system? (The movement of bills of exchange from the West Indies to the North American colonies indicates a surplus of credits against London merchants that was built up in the course of the sugar trade. These bills paid for flour, lumber, and fish as well as for manufactured goods from England.)
Skill-Building Map Exercieses
Map 3.1: The Dominion of New England, 16861689 (p. 73)

1. How did the dismemberment of the Dominion of New England affect colonial governments? (The Glorious Revolution and the end of the Dominion unleashed the influence of colonists who desired a greater degree of political autonomy. They assumed positions of authority within colonial governments in Maryland, New York, and Boston. This new generation of leadership promoted colonial enterprise within a framework of decentralized governmental bodies. The colonies thus operated independently of each other and, to a greater degree, from Britain.) 2. What did the revolts in Maryland, New York, and Boston reveal about the nature of religious identity within the colonies? (The revolts indicated that colonists economic and political status was still tied to religious identity. In each revolt Protestant leaders ousted Catholic authorities as they sought to revise the colonial government. Thus a persons religious conviction remained a key component of whether an individual was worthy of holding office.)
Topic for Research
The English Empire in America

What was the nature of the English empire in America, and how did its character change over time? What goals were English policymakers attempting to achieve when they enacted legislation relating to the colonies? You can begin to formulate an answer to these questions by reading parliamentary laws, especially the provisions of the various acts of trade and navigation. These documents provide insight into the original conception of the empire held by English political leaders and show how it evolved over three decades. Various secondary works address these questions and other aspects of English imperial policy between 1650 and 1750: Lawrence A. Harper, The English Navigation Laws (1939); Charles M. Andrews, The Colonial Period of American History (vol. 4, 1938); Viola Barnes, The Dominion of New England (1923); Thomas C. Barrow, Trade and Empire: The British Customs Service in Colonial America, 16601775 (1967); Michael G. Hall, Edward Randolph and the American
Map 3.4: The Rise of the American Merchant, 1750 (p. 93)
1. Though traditionally described as triangular, the British imperial trading system was actually made
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Colonies, 16761703 (1960); James A. Henretta, Salutary Neglect: Colonial Administration under the Duke of Newcastle (1972); I. K. Steele, Politics of Colonial Policy: The Board of Trade in Colonial Administration, 16961720 (1968); Stephen S. Webb, 1676: The End of American Independence (1984); and Nicholas Canny, The Origins of Empire (Oxford History of the British Empire) (1998).
selected and introduced by Edward Countryman. For descriptions of these titles and how you might use them in your course, visit bedfordstmartins.com/usingseries.
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Map Activity The map activity presents Map 3.3: Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade, 17001810 (p. 78) and asks students to analyze different components of the slave trade. Visual Activity The visual activity presents two images of women hulling rice, one in West Africa and one in Georgia (p. 87), and asks students to analyze the reasons for, and implications of, this continuity of agricultural technology. Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Captain Fayrer Hall on the Impact of the Molasses Act (p. 96) and Philip Fithian: Sadism under Slavery (p. 89) and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 3 are The Navigation Act of 1660 Thomas Danforth, The Glorious Revolution in Massachusetts (1689) Thomas Phillips, A Journal of a Voyage Made in the Hannibal (16931694) Slavery and Prejudice: An Act for the Better Order and Government of Negroes and Slaves, South Carolina (1712) Conflicts between Masters and Slaves: Maryland in the Mid-Seventeenth Century An Early Slave Narrative: Ayubah Suleiman Diallo, or Job (1734) The Secret Diary of William Byrd II (17091711) Governor Alexander Spotswood Tangles with the Virginia Burgesses Stono Rebellion in South Carolina (1739)
Suggested Themes
1. The premise of this chapter is that the English empire had a lucrative trading system that affected everyone who came directly or indirectly into contact with it. Can you provide evidence to prove this, or is the evidence just circumstantial? 2. Compare and contrast English mercantilist legislation with what really took place within the empire. Was the legislation a success or a failure? 3. Assess the role women played in the politics of empire and the transformation of English society during the development of the South Atlantic system. Identify the women whose lives were being changed by this system, and assess their experiences given the changes occurring in the male social order.

For Instructors
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material covered in Chapter 3 include The Diary and Life of Samuel Sewall, edited with an introduction by Mel Yazawa; The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Written by Himself, edited with an introduction by Robert J. Allison; and How Did American Slavery Begin?, readings
CHAPTER 4
Growth and Crisis in Colonial Society

17201765

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. Analyze regional differences in settlement patterns, labor conditions, and religious identity between freehold society in New England and the diverse communities of the Middle Atlantic. 2. How did the Enlightenment affect the emerging intellectual life of American society? 3. What were the consequences of the Great Awakening, and how would you assess these consequences? 4. How and why did the Great War for Empire change the balance of imperial power in North America?
Chapter Summary
Abundant land in the American colonies, which allowed the average farmer considerable social and political autonomy and freedom, continued to draw streams of immigrants from Great Britain and northern Europe in the eighteenth century. Wherever they settled, these immigrants created a pluralist society and political order that prefigured the nature of American life a century later. Nevertheless, overcrowding in New England and some parts of the middle colonies forced many Americans to look for new land on the frontier or to reduce the size of their families, increase household production, and develop local barter exchange systems. Even so, population pressure and the impact of the international market accelerated economic disparity and eroded social cohesion as some community members succeeded financially, while others failed. Such pressures threatened the free38
hold ideal and undermined the traditional mechanisms of authority and order in many places. Ample fertile land and a long growing season attracted migrants to the Middle Atlantic, and profits from wheat financed its settlement. The colonies of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania became home to peoples of differing origins, languages, and religions. Scots-Irish Presbyterians, English and Welsh Quakers, German Lutherans, Dutch Reformed Protestants, and others created ethnic and religious communities that coexisted uneasily with one another. Two great European cultural movements reached America between 1720 and 1760: the Enlightenment and Pietism. They promoted independent thinking in different ways; together they transformed American intellectual and cultural life. Urban merchants, middling people, and some farmers and planters embraced the rationalism of Enlightenment thinkers who argued that, through the scientific method that emphasized human reason, people could analyze and improve the natural and human worlds. The ideas of the Enlightenment came to America through books, travelers, and educated migrants, quickly affecting the beliefs of influential colonists. Particularly influential was the Enlightenment belief in the rights of individuals. Benjamin Franklin was the epitome of Enlightenment values. Rural society was more receptive to the Great Awakening, a religious revival that came to the colonies after 1730. Revivalists exhorted people to commit themselves to a life of faith, piety, and good works to achieve salvation; consequently, the Great Awakening further stimulated the individualist impulse in American society while undermining the hierarchical social order and challenging the power of official churches and the taxes that supported them.
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In 1755, struggle for control over western lands erupted into open conflict between Britain and France. The British and Americans cooperated to defeat the French in the French and Indian War, a contest that soon spread to Europe as the Great War for Empire. The Americans, accustomed to British salutary neglect and increasingly unwilling to defer to British authority and hierarchical social assumptions, found the freshly arrived British troops and officers haughty and arrogant. The Americans refusal to accede to British requests for financial and logistic support convinced many British officials that they needed to reassert authority over the colonies. During and after the war, western settlers challenged the authority of the political elite in several colonies, resulting in widespread civil conflict between colonial militias and backcountry settlers. Ironically, even as these social and political tensions intensified, American colonists increased their consumption of manufactured goods from Great Britain, indicating the potential economic and political power of the colonies and the restraints of their lack of independence.

I. Freehold Society in New England A. Farm Families: Womens Place 1. Men claimed power in the state and authority in the family; women were subordinates. 2. Women in the colonies were raised to be dutiful helpmates to their husbands. 3. The labor of the Puritan women was crucial to rural household economy. 4. More women than men joined the churches so that their children could be baptized. 5. A gradual reduction in farm size prompted couples to have fewer children. 6. With fewer children, women had more time to enhance their families standard of living. 7. Still, most New England women lived according to the conventional view that they should be employed only in the home and only doing womens work. B. Farm Property: Inheritance 1. Men who migrated to the colonies escaped many traditional constraints, including lack of land. 2. When indentures ended for servants, some climbed from laborer to tenant to freeholder. 3. Children in successful farm families received a marriage portion. 4. Parents chose their childrens partners because the familys prosperity depended on it. 5. Brides relinquished ownership of their land and property to their husbands. 6. Fathers had a cultural duty to provide inheritances for their children.
7. Farmers created whole communities composed of independent property owners. C. The Crisis of Freehold Society 1. With each generation the population of New England doubled, mostly from natural increase. 2. Parents had less land to give their children, so they had less control over their childrens lives. 3. By using primitive methods of birth control, many families were able to have fewer children. 4. Families petitioned the government for land grants and hacked new farms out of the forest. 5. Land was used more productively; crops of wheat and barley were replaced with highyielding potatoes and corn. 6. A system of community exchange helped preserve the freeholder ideal. II. The Middle Atlantic: Toward a New Society, 17201765 A. Economic Growth and Social Inequality 1. Fertile lands and long growing seasons attracted migrants to the Middle Atlantic. 2. As freehold land became scarce in New York, manorial lords attracted tenants by granting long leases and the right to sell improvements, such as barns and houses. 3. Inefficient farm implements kept most tenants from saving enough to acquire freehold farmsteads. 4. Rural Pennsylvania and New Jersey were initially marked by relative economic equality. 5. With the rise of the wheat trade and an influx of poor settlers, a class of wealthy agricultural capitalists gradually emerged. 6. Merchants and artisans took advantage of the supply of labor and organized an outwork manufacturing system. 7. As colonies became crowded and socially divided, farm families feared a return to peasant status. B. Cultural Diversity 1. The middle colonies were a patchwork of ethnically and religiously diverse communities. 2. Quakers, the dominant social group in Pennsylvania, were pacifists who dealt peaceably with Native Americans and condemned slavery. 3. The Quaker vision attracted many Germans fleeing war, religious persecution, and poverty. 4. Germans guarded their language and cultural heritage, encouraging their children to marry within the community. 5. Emigrants from Ireland formed the largest group of incoming Europeans.
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Chapter 4 Growth and Crisis in Colonial Society, 17201765
6. Some of these were Irish Catholic, but most were Presbyterian Scots-Irish who had faced discrimination and economic regulation in Ireland. 7. The Scots-Irish held onto their culture and promoted marriage within the Presbyterian Church. C. Religious Identity and Political Conflict 1. German ministers criticized the separation of church and state in Pennsylvania, believing the church needed legal power to enforce morality. 2. Religious sects in Pennsylvania enforced moral behavior through communal self-discipline. 3. Communal sanctions sustained a self-contained and prosperous Quaker community. 4. In the 1750s the Scots-Irish Presbyterians challenged the Quakers pacifism and demanded a more aggressive Indian policy. 5. Many German migrants opposed the Quakers and wanted laws that respected their inheritance customs and provided proportional representation in the provincial assembly. 6. The Scots-Irish and the Germans found it difficult to unite against the Quakers due to their own conflicts. III. The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening, 17401765 A. The Enlightenment in America 1. Most Christians believed that God intervened directly in human affairs to punish sin and reward virtue and that, therefore, events such as diseases and natural disasters were divine punishment for human sin. Many also believed that a persons lot in life was the unalterable will of God. 2. Enlightenment thinkers believed that people could observe, analyze, understand, and improve their world. 3. John Locke proposed that lives were not fixed by Gods will and could be changed through education and purposeful action. 4. Locke advanced the theory that political authority was not divinely ordained but rather sprang from social compacts people made to preserve their natural rights to life, liberty, and property. 5. European Enlightenment ideas affected influential colonists beliefs about science, religion, and politics. 6. Some influential colonists, including inventor and printer Benjamin Franklin, turned to deism, the belief that God had created the world to run according to natural law without His interference. 7. The Enlightenment added a secular dimension to colonial intellectual life.
B. American Pietism and the Great Awakening 1. Less wealthy colonists turned to Pietism, which came to America with German migrants in the 1720s and sparked a religious revival. 2. Pietism emphasized pious behavior, religious emotion, and the striving for a mystical union with God. 3. Beginning in 1739, the compelling George Whitefield, a follower of John Wesleys preaching style, transformed local revivals into a Great Awakening. 4. Hundreds of colonists felt the New Light of Gods grace and were prepared to follow Whitefield. C. Religious Upheaval in the North 1. Conservative, or Old Light, ministers condemned the emotional preaching of traveling New Light ministers for their emotionalism and their allowing women to speak in public. 2. In Connecticut, traveling preachers were prohibited from speaking to established congregations without the ministers consent. 3. Some farmers, women, and artisans condemned the Old Lights as unconverted sinners. 4. The Awakening undermined support of traditional churches and challenged the authority of ministers. 5. The Awakening gave a new sense of religious authority to many colonists in the North and reaffirmed communal ethics as it questioned the pursuit of wealth. 6. One tangible and lasting product of the Awakening was the founding of colleges such as Princeton, Rutgers, Columbia, and Brown to train ministers for various denominations. 7. The true intellectual legacy of the Awakening was not education for the few but a new sense of religious and ultimately political authority among the many. D. Social and Religious Conflict in the South 1. The social authority of the Virginia gentry was threatened as freeholders left the established church for New Light revivals. 2. Religious pluralism threatened the governments ability to impose taxes to support the established church. 3. Anglicans closed down Presbyterian meeting houses and forcibly broke up Baptist services to prevent the spread of the New Light doctrine. 4. During the 1760s, many poorer Virginians were drawn to enthusiastic Baptist revivals, where even slaves were welcome. 5. The gentry reacted violently to the Baptist threat to their social authority and way of life.
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6. Revivals helped to shrink the gulf between blacks and whites and gave blacks a new sense of spiritual identity. IV. The Midcentury Challenge: War, Trade, and Social Conflict, 17501765 A. The French and Indian War 1. Indians, who in 1750 still controlled the interior of North America, used their control of the fur trade to bargain with both the British and the French. 2. European governments began to refuse to bargain, and Indian alliances crumbled. 3. The escalating Anglo-American demand for Indian lands met with strong Indian resistance. 4. The Ohio Company obtained a royal grant of 200,000 acres along the upper Ohio River land controlled by Indians. 5. To counter Britains movement into the Ohio Valley, the French set up a series of forts. 6. The French seized George Washington and his men as they tried to support the Ohio Companys claim to the land. 7. Britain dispatched forces to America, where they joined with the militia in attacking French forts. 8. In June 1755, British troops and Puritan militiamen captured Fort Beausjour in France and deported 10,000 French residents from their homes in Nova Scotia (French Acadia) to France, Louisiana, the West Indies, and South Carolina. 9. In July, General Edward Braddock and his British troops were soundly defeated by a small group of French and Indians at Fort Duquesne. B. The Great War for Empire 1. In 1756, Britain and Prussia aligned against France and Austria in the Seven Years War. 2. Britain saw France as its main obstacle to further expansion in profitable overseas trading. 3. William Pitt, a committed expansionist, planned to cripple France by attacking its colonies. 4. The fall of Quebec, the heart of Frances empire, was the turning point of the war. 5. The British in India, West Africa, Cuba, and the Philippines seized French trade and territory. 6. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 granted British sovereignty over half the continent of North America. 7. In 1763 the Ottawa chief Pontiac and his Indian allies captured British garrisons and killed many settlers.
8. The Indian alliance gradually weakened, and they accepted the British as their new political fathers. 9. In return, the British established the Proclamation Line of 1763 barring settlers from going west of the Appalachians. 10. The war for empire gained land for the crown but did not provide the expansionist-minded Americans with the new land they wanted. C. British Economic Growth and the Consumer Revolution 1. Britain had unprecedented economic resources, and it became the first industrial nation. 2. The new machines and business practices of the Industrial Revolution allowed Britain to sell goods at lower prices, particularly in the mainland colonies. 3. The first consumer revolution raised the living standard of many Americans. 4. Americans paid for British imports by increasing their exports of wheat, rice, and tobacco. 5. The first American spending binge landed many colonists in debt. 6. The loss of military contracts and subsidies made it difficult for Americans to purchase British goods. 7. Americans had become dependent on overseas creditors and international economic conditions. D. Land Conflicts 1. The growth of the colonial population caused conflicts over land, particularly in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. 2. In the Hudson River Valley, Massachusetts settlers tried to claim manor lands, Wappinger Indians reasserted ownership to lands they had once owned, and tenants asserted ownership over land they leased. 3. British general Thomas Gage and his men joined local sheriffs to suppress these uprisings. 4. English aristocrats in New Jersey and the southern colonies successfully asserted legal claims to land based on outdated charters. 5. Proprietary power increased the resemblance between rural societies in Europe and America. 6. Tenants and freeholders had to search for cheap freehold land in the West. E. Western Uprisings 1. Movement to the western frontier created new disputes over Indian policy, political representation, and debts. 2. In Pennsylvania, Scotch-Irish demands for the expulsion of Indians and the ensuing massacre
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3.
4.
5. 6. 7.
8.
led by the Paxton Boys left a legacy of racial hatred and political resentment. In 1763 the North Carolina Regulators, landowning vigilantes, demanded greater political rights, local courts, and lower taxes from the wealthy coastal planters who controlled the government. The Moderators, a rival group, forced the Regulators to accept the authority of the colonial government, but the underlying problems were not addressed. Tobacco prices plummeted after the Great War for Empire, forcing debt-ridden farmers into court. Debtors joined with the Regulators to intimidate judges, close courts, and free their comrades from jail. The royal governor mobilized the eastern militia against the Regulator force, and the result was the defeat of the Regulators and the execution of their leaders. Tied to Britain, yet growing resistant of its control, America had the potential for independent existence.
2. Reexamine the dynamics of migration within the British imperial system. Great Britain imposed heavy taxes and restrictions on Scottish economic activity. These pressures, along with a series of poor harvests and the shifting economics of farming resulting from imperial trade and the Industrial Revolution, sent thousands of Scots-Irish to Pennsylvania. After the 1720s, the development of an Atlantic market via Philadelphia and the West Indies made Philadelphia the fastest growing city in America. As the Atlantic market penetrated Pennsylvania, where much land remained available, market farming became more lucrative. The Scots-Irish migrated to areas where land was available and accessible to markets and where they could improve their standard of living with minimal government interference. German immigrants who were thrown off their European land for economic and political reasons headed to Pennsylvania as well. 3. Discuss the difference between the concepts of a melting pot and a pluralist society. Note that although Middle Atlantic settlers were politically and economically active, they tended to remain socially and culturally distinct. Analyze how a group does this by controlling the distribution and inheritance of land, investing in its own activities while excluding others from investment, maintaining separate civil and religious institutions, marrying within the group, and preserving its language and customs. Why did these residents form a pluralist society in colonial Pennsylvania? 4. Students need to understand how the Enlightenment changed the way people thought. Contrast the ways in which a Puritan or Calvinist and an enlightened thinker would argue that they comprehend reality. Explain John Lockes idea that the mind is a tabula rasa that learns by observation, analysis, and the process of logical thought. Note how the Enlightenment shifted the way humans perceived the world from a realm that was understood through innate mental impressions to a world people could understand and change through empirical observation, analysis, and action. You might ask a hypothetical question such as, How do I know the sun will set this evening and rise tomorrow morning? Do I believe it because it was in my mind, or do I know it by making rational observations, analyzing the evidence, and drawing a reasoned interpretation? It was at this primary level that Enlightenment thought changed the way people understood reality and themselves. Make note of the practical investigations undertaken by Benjamin Franklin as well as the political implications of writers such as Locke and, later, Paine, and Jefferson.
Lecture Strategies
1. A central premise of this chapter is that the continued natural increase of population put pressure on land transference and the family system in New England. In 1700, plots of land were often a mile long. Two or three generations later, several children in each generation had received shares through the division of the land into many small parcels. The average farmer, intensively working a small parcel, eventually found that soil depletion decreased yield and his ability to produce a surplus, reducing his familys economic lives to the subsistence level. To prevent further parceling of land, many eighteenthcentury New England farmers abandoned the practice of dividable inheritance and put an entail on their land or adopted the stem family system and legally binding wills leaving land to the oldest son. Those who failed sold their farms to farmers with larger plots, gradually leading to a wider gulf between rich and poor. The fact that newer inheritance practices left some children without land triggered an increasing migration to western and northern New England and increased the number of farmers who accepted the life of a laborer or tenant farmer. Many families that were pushed to near-subsistence levels responded by developing a community barter system in order to share their skills and capital. Follow the impact of these pressures on a hypothetical Yankee farm family.
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5. To make the Great Awakening and Pietism comprehensible to students, place it in the context of Puritan decline from the initial faith of the 1630s. Remind them of the trend toward eliminating restrictions on church membership and, in the late seventeenth century, the move to a belief in salvation through good works a move that brought them full circle to the pre-Luther primacy of works over faith. As this happened, religious discourse became increasingly tame and intellectual. Individuals came to be viewed as having control over their salvation. The Pietists reasserted the notion of predestination and emphasized the humility of human beings, in effect reviving the original teachings of the Puritans. But rather than go back to the covenant ideal whereby individuals could travel the road to conversion and faith only through scriptural analysis among others, they embraced achieving an emotional communion with God and making themselves receptive to Gods grace. This unleashed an emotional Congregationalism attractive to the middle and lower classes, resulting in the breakup of churches into New Light and Old Light congregations and a significant challenge to the power of the clergy. 6. Put the French and Indian War into the context of previous colonial wars. Examine the British strategy, and explain how the British, in spite of their initial failures, were able to win the war. More important, indicate to students how the direct involvement of the British army brought unprecedented numbers of British officials to the colonies. There they saw firsthand what some, like Governor Clinton, had been claiming: that the assemblies and colonial subjects were much too independent and unwilling to follow the directives of the king and Parliament. This perception led to the conviction among British officials that it would be necessary to reestablish control over the colonies after the war.
b.
c. d. e.
and north in search of frontier land, moved to town to find other lines of work, or took dependent farm jobs within the community. To put pressure on parents who sought to delay the transmission of land, many children forced the issue through premarital pregnancy, which necessitated marriage and the transfer of land. Once married, many couples limited the size of their families. As revenues from smaller, depleted farms decreased, women began to produce more at home to supplement household income. To try to improve yields, many farmers experimented with planting schedules, developed better tools, and practiced better soil conservation through the increased use of fertilizer.
2. How did gender roles in colonial America change between 1700 and 1776? Possible answers: a. Women were increasingly absorbed within the values and attitudes of a patriarchal system. b. As farm size declined, women bore fewer children. c. Household tasks shifted from maintenance and self-sufficiency to the production of supplemental income for the household. d. Women played an important role in the Great Awakening in both the North and the South. e. Customs, laws, and attitudes about women did not really change during this century. Women remained subordinate to men in society. f. The extent of alarm at womens participation in the Great Awakening indicates that women actually had a great deal of power in society that men only tacitly recognized. 3. How did the Quaker presence affect life in Pennsylvania? Possible answers: a. In their theology the Quakers argued that everyone could achieve salvation by discovering the inner light in a simple, quiet egalitarian meeting without a minister. Individual members of the congregation were considered to be equal contributors to the community. b. They maintained their own justice system; permitted couples to marry only if they had sufficient land, livestock, equipment, assets, and employment; and prohibited marriage outside the group. Committees of their own people handled discipline in the community. c. Their church was not administered by a formal hierarchy of church officials, and they were tolerant and open to others in regard to the affairs of the colony.

1. How did colonists, primarily in New England, respond to the crisis of the shrinking supply of land to give to their children? Possible answers: a. Parents gradually ended the practice of giving an equal share of land to each child. Some put an entail on the land, forbidding the heirs to break it up. Others developed the stem family system, making the oldest son the owner of the farm and requiring him to distribute capital in the form of cash or goods to the other children. More farmers simply cut their children free and let them fend for themselves. Many of those children went west
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d. They opened up the land to whomever was interested and sold it in small plots, ensuring that yeomen freeholders would dominate the life of the colony. e. They controlled the assembly and instituted a tolerant, egalitarian, pacifist government. f. They maintained good relations with the Indians. This policy brought them into conflict with the Scots-Irish settlers, who had a more hostile policy toward the Indians. 4. What factors caused the Great Awakening? Why was it so pervasive? Possible answers: a. Beginning in the 1720s, German immigrants brought Pietism to the colonies from Europe. b. The old Puritan faith had lost its religious zeal. It had abandoned its stringent requirements for becoming a church member and emphasized that one could attain salvation through good works and a life of prayer. c. Social tensions and frustrations made some people receptive to renewal through emotionalism. d. Denominations like the Baptists preached to large groups within the population who were not ministered to by establishment churches, such as black slaves and poor whites. e. Extremely talented and persuasive preachers who traveled throughout the country spread the Great Awakening. f. The Methodist movement of John Wesley, an Anglican, had enormous success among the poor of England, who had been marginalized by the established church. His teachings and methods appealed equally to the poor in America for similar reasons. g. The emotional core of the Awakening put a recognized religious life within the reach of ordinary people who were beyond the reach of intellectualized theology and piety. 5. How was Great Britain, with a depleted treasury, able to defeat the French in 1756 to 1763 after having failed to achieve success against them in previous colonial wars? Possible answers: a. The British had enormous resources resulting from the burgeoning empire and the Industrial Revolution. b. The British colonial population had outgrown the French colonial population by fourteen to one and were willing to pay to mobilize them. c. British authorities committed unprecedented personnel and resources to fight the war, paying for more than half its cost and providing a large army of British regulars.
d. The British launched a bold three-pronged strategy led by good commanders that overwhelmed the French. e. The British had William Pitt, a master of commercial and military strategy, running the war with confidence and decision. France had never seen North America as a colonial extension of itself but rather as source for the lucrative fur trade. 6. What were some of the causes of the increasing number of land disputes in the western areas of the colonies at the end of the colonial period? Possible answers: a. Disputed boundaries between colonies and conflicts among proprietors over tracts of land. b. Armed conflict with Indians who still occupied some western lands. c. Vigilante efforts to create order on the frontier. d. Resistance to efforts of creditors to foreclose on western farmers who were deeply in debt. e. Political power was vested in coastal or lowland elites who needed a big labor pool more than they needed new lands. 7. In the period of 1700 to 1750, did society in the northern colonies, middle colonies, and southern colonies become more alike or grow increasingly different? Possible answers: a. Heavy German and Scots-Irish migration into the middle colonies created a pluralist society and an open religious and political system different from that in New England and the South. b. The continued penetration of agriculture into the Atlantic markets gave more autonomy to the freeholding farmers in the North, in sharp contrast to the land system in the South. c. The strategies New Englanders developed to sustain the freehold, the stem family system, and communal bartering deepened the community basis of farming there. This was in contrast to the independent, scattered farming of the middle colonies and plantation farming in the South. d. All the colonies were increasingly integrated into the British empire and thus affected by the general economic, social, political, and cultural forces of change in England. e. Most colonies suffered from violent frontiersmen ready to take up arms against Indians and colonists to achieve their expansionist goals. This presented a problem to colonial governments and to the British governors as well: how to quell violence and bring the rebellious element back into the fold without inviting mob rule.
Document Exercises
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f. All colonies were deeply affected by the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment.

1. What were the pros and cons of emigrating from Europe to the middle colonies in America between 1710 and 1750? 2. How and why did the Great Awakening change colonial society? 3. In what ways did the British colonies in North America become increasingly alike during the period of 1710 to 1760? 4. In many ways, American eighteenth-century colonial society was new, distinctive, and constantly changing, but in other ways it was very traditional. Do you think it was more one than the other? Discuss and argue from the evidence. 5. What are some economic, social, political, and cultural prerequisites that seem necessary for the establishment of an independent society? What characteristics had developed in the American colonies by the middle of the eighteenth century that enable us to imagine them as capable of forming an independent society or nation? Which of these characteristics were the most important?
cant. In Virginia, the return was fifty acres of land; in the slave trade, slaves were purchased for five or more times what the trader paid. In this trade, Mittelberger claims, merchants were able to sell a healthy servant much more readily than a sick one. To Mittelberger, these buyers of humans were, like slave traders and traders in indentured servants, immoral.) 2. Despite some protestations like those of Mittelberger, Germans continued to migrate to America. Why? (The determination of Germans to find land and opportunity in the American colonies is reflected in the continuing migration stream. Over 100,000 Germans ultimately made the voyage and settled in the middle and southern colonies between 1700 and 1776. Many Germans felt that the difficult economic and religious conditions in Europe outweighed the risks of overseas migration.)
Writing Assignments
1. In what ways does this account persuade or not persuade the reader? Analyze its effectiveness by imagining what kind of person would or would not be affected by Mittelbergers arguments. 2. Compare and contrast the entire experience to the middle passage (see Chapter 3). Does it change your initial image of how the British treated slaves on slave ships? AMERICAN LIVES
Document Exercises
Gottlieb Mittelberger: The Perils of Migration (p. 109)

Document Discussion
1. How was the labor system discussed in the piece similar to or different from other systems you have encountered? (As with slavery, peasants were bought from princes to be sold on the market. As in the headright and indenture system, they were forced onto boats and brought to America. Conditions on board were similar to those on any transport ship. Upon arriving in port, slaves were rushed to the market [see Olaudah Equiano (p. 81)] and dispersed. In Virginia, servants were unloaded so that the captain or gentryman could acquire their headrights; the ships waited in the harbor, and only those who could pay or had a sponsor on shore were let off. As in the slave trade and the transport of indentured servants to Virginia, the profits of the traders and merchants were signifi-
Jonathan Edwards: Preacher, Philosopher, Pastor (p. 116)

Document Discussion
1. How did Edwards reconcile the Enlightenment with the Great Awakening? (Edwards read widely in the basic works of the Enlightenment, but he concluded that abstract ideas are comprehended through the emotions and not through experience aided by the senses. Hence he rejected the empiricism that lay at the heart of enlightened solutions to questions of social and political organization. Edwards emphasized passion and emotion to support his dramatic style of preaching.) 2. How representative of other preachers of the Great Awakening was Edwards in regard to theology? (He was similar in that he revived the Calvinist idea of predestination and the impossibility of knowing the mind of God. In his rejection of the individualism of most other Great Awakening preachers, however, he sided with the Puritans by emphasizing the
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role of a covenant among the elect, those who had a conversion experience.)
Writing Assignments
1. How did his congregation react to these difficult ideas? Why do you think they reacted this way? 2. Considering only the teachings of Jonathan Edwards, discuss whether the Great Awakening was a radical or conservative theological, social, and political movement. A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
(Bougainville describes the traditional manner in which European armies systematically fought battles. Eighteenth-century armed forces included many types of technical experts within their ranks. Those involved in the type of siege work at Fort Corrillon included sappers, engineers, and artillery men. The colonists and Indians lacked these types of soldiers.) 2. Why does Bougainville disparage the martial abilities of the Americans? (Bougainville asserts that the Americans lack sophistication and experience. He believes that proper war making should consist of formal campaigns, sieges, and assaults for the purpose of obtaining clear objectives. Bougainville fails to comprehend the necessity of raids and irregular warfare in America. Throughout the colonies, the decentralized colonial governments, rugged terrain, sparsely settled communities, and presence of Indians made large-scale military operations impossible. Fighting formations were mostly temporary organizations that identified with local areas.)
Nathan Cole: The Power of a Preacher (p. 118)

Document Discussion
1. Why was Nathan Cole so eager to encounter George Whitefield? (Cole obviously knew of Whitefields power of oratory and sought to hear Whitefields message for himself. When Whitefield did appear before him to speak, Cole was overwhelmed by Whitefields appearance and deeply moved by the experience. Notice that Coles description of Whitefield seems preconceived rather than based on empirical observation.) 2. What kind of man was Nathan Cole? What does Coles attitude toward God reveal about the power of the Great Awakening? (Cole was deeply religious. Cole agonized over the doctrine of election and took the issues under discussion during the Great Awakening with the utmost seriousness and consideration.)
Writing Assignments
1. Assess Bougainvilles statement that now war is established here on the European basis. 2. Why did most Europeans like Bougainville fail to comprehend the nature of war in America?
Map 4.3: Religious Diversity in 1750 (p. 112)

1. Why was there little religious diversity in the South? (The Anglicanism practiced by the gentry remained powerful because large landowners monopolized southern society. By limiting political participation to those they favored and by controlling economic enterprise, landowners determined the manner in which religion could be expressed. In effect, the plantation order of oligarchs maintained a religion supportive of their standing. Moreover, the South lacked the tradition of religious idealism found in the North: the first settlers had been adventurers, not congregations. Any sort of religious diversity, especially that promoted by or on behalf of enslaved African Americans, was seen as a threat. Of course, African Americans did sustain their own culture and religious practices, which are difficult to map accurately.)
Writing Assignments
1. Contrast Nathan Coles religious convictions with the perspective of the Enlightenment. In what fundamental ways do they differ? 2. Why did George Whitefields sermons inspire such intense religiosity in many listeners? VO I C E S F R O M A B R OA D
Louis Antonine De Bougainville: The Defense of Canada (p. 126)

Document Discussion
1. What kinds of resources are required to wage war in the manner favored by Bougainville?
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2. Why did religious diversity increase in New England and the Middle Atlantic colonies? (The growing diversity of religious practice throughout the northern colonies reflects the many denominations active in Europe since the sixteenth-century reformation. Most European farmers and their families who emigrated to America in the decades before 1750 settled north of the Chesapeake Bay. These men and women, who sailed from the German states, Holland, Ireland, England, and Scotland brought with them different forms of Christianity.)
Map 4.6: Westward Expansion and Land Conflicts, 17501775 (p. 129)
1. What topographical feature limited westward expansion in the mid-eighteenth century? (The spine of the Appalachian Mountains restricted the westward migration of European settlers. Roads were sparse, and waterways from the Atlantic coast did not penetrate the hinterlands. While a trickle of farmers and hunters did move into the Tennessee River Valley and western Pennsylvania, most settlers remained in the agricultural regions east of the mountains.) 2. Why did land conflicts emerge in the middle of the eighteenth century? (As European colonists continued to arrive in America, the competition for land escalated. The supply of open farmland east of the Appalachian Mountains was insufficient to satisfy the newly arriving emigrants. Colonial governments lacked the resources to implement effective infrastructure improvements and could not accommodate settlers demands that the movement of trade goods be eased. Mechanisms for the settlement of disputes between debtors and lenders were also lacking. And as Americans moved westward, they met resistance from Indians who resented encroachment upon their hunting grounds, prompting disputes.)
and the social conditions that accounted, in part, for their success: William G. McLoughlin, Revivals, Awakenings, and Reform: An Essay on Religion and Social Change in America, 16071977 (1978); David S. Lovejoy, Religious Enthusiasm in the New World: Heresy to Revolution (1985); Patricia U. Bonomi, Under the Cope of Heaven: Religion, Society, and Politics in Colonial America (1986); Jon Butler, Awash in a Sea of Faith: Christianizing the American People (1990); Richard Hofstadter, America in 1750 (1971); Harry S. Stout, The New England Soul: Preaching and Religious Culture in Colonial New England (1986); Marilyn J. Westerkamp, Triumph of the Laity: Scots-Irish Piety and the Great Awakening, 16251760 (1988); C. C. Goen, Revivalism and Separatism in New England, 17401800 (1962); Alan Heimart, Religion and the American Mind (1966); W. G. McLoughlin, Isaac Backus and American Pietistic Tradition (1957); and Paul Conkin, The Uneasy Center: Reformed Christianity in Antebellum America (1995). Two good biographies of revivalists are Patricia Tracy, Jonathan Edwards, Pastor (1979) and Christopher Jedrey, The World of John Cleveland (1979). Richard Bushman, ed., The Great Awakening (1989), and Rhys Isaac, The Transformation of Virginia, 17401790 (1982), capture the emotions of ordinary participants.

For Instructors
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material covered in Chapter 4 include The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, edited with an introduction by Louis P. Masur. For a description of this title and how you might use it in your course, visit bedfordstmartins.com/usingseries.
Topic for Research
The Great Awakening

The Great Awakening was a pivotal event in American history, for it began a century-long process that made evangelical Protestantism a dominant cultural force in the United States. What was the message preached by the revivalists, and why did thousands of Americans embrace it? Examine the sermon of the great evangelist George Whitefield, The Marriage of Cana. What religious doctrine, if any, does Whitefield espouse, and how must he have delivered this sermon to elicit such a passionate response? The following secondary works analyze revivalists
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided.
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Map Activity The map activity presents Map 4.5: The Anglo-American Conquest of New France, 17541760 (p. 125), and asks students to label and analyze major British and French victories during this period. Visual Activity The visual activity presents an image of a German Farm in western Maryland (p. 111) and asks students to analyze the scene and place it in the larger context of immigration and settlement of the western reaches of the colonies. Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Gottlieb Mittleberger: The Perils of Migration (p. 109) and Nathan Cole: The Power of a Preacher (p. 118) and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources.
Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 4 are Nicholas Dudley, A New Hampshire Will (1763) Benjamin Wadsworth, The Obligations of a Wife (1712) Peter Kalm, A Description of Philadelphia (1748) Cadwallader Colden, Class Structure in New York (1765) Job Johnson, Letter from a Scots-Irish Immigrant (1767) Benjamin Franklin, On Education during the American Enlightenment (1749) The Reverend James Ireland, An Evangelical Preachers Trials (1760s) Charles Woodmason, Revivalism in the Carolina Backcountry (1760s) Christian Frederick Post, Among the Ohio Indians (1758) Protests on the Frontier I: The Paxton Riots (1764) Protests on the Frontier II: The North Carolina Regulators (1769)
CHAPTER 5
Toward Independence: Years of Decision

17631775

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. How did the Seven Years War change Britains relationship with its colonies? 2. Analyze and explain the intellectual, political, and economic rationales colonists offered for their dissatisfaction with British rule between 1763 and 1775. 3. How did tension and disagreement between colonists and British officials become outright resistance and rebellion by 1775? 4. Why did the colonies and Britain fail to achieve a compromise to avert hostilities?
Chapter Summary
The Great War for Empire contained a mixed legacy for the British and the Americans. Britain had achieved dominance over eastern North America and had expelled the French military forces from Canada. But the huge debts incurred in the process prompted the ministry to change Britains relationship with the colonies. Imperial officials, convinced that colonial assemblies had become too autonomous, were determined to regain administrative control over the colonies and require them to pay their share of the cost of the war. To the Americans, who were accustomed to political autonomy and asserting rights as British citizens, these changes were seen not simply as administrative but as a challenge to their political and civil rights, triggering a major debate about the constitutional structure of the empire. Prime Minister Grenville devised the Sugar Act, which put a moderate tax on imports of sugar while
handing over smugglers to vice-admiralty courts instead of friendly local courts for trial. When their actions met with limited resistance, the British tried to raise revenues by passing the Stamp Act in 1765. Intended to help cover the cost of keeping 10,000 British troops in America, the Stamp Act further emphasized Parliaments claim to supremacy in all colonial matters. Parliament simultaneously passed a Quartering Act that required colonial governments to house and feed British troops. Unexpectedly, the colonists resisted what they saw as a full assault on their institutions of law and government. The acts were met with petitions, protests, and riots. All in all, popular resistance, whether from the mob or from the Stamp Act Congress, allowed Americans to reject the power of the kings ministers while still pledging loyalty to the king. Widespread popular resistance by street mobs and crowds that intimidated, attacked, and destroyed the property of Stamp Act officials and forced them to leave town or resign, along with a nonimportation movement in towns across the colonies, transformed a tax protest into a broad resistance movement. Initially, the American resistance movement had no acknowledged leaders and no central organization. The first protests focused narrowly on particular economic and political matters. But American Patriot publicists gradually focused the debate by articulating an ideology that drew from Whig traditions of republicanism and constitutional government, insisted upon English common laws protections against arbitrary acts of the crown, and made a practical issue of the natural rights of citizens to life, liberty, and property according to the rationalist thought of the Enlightenment. Though the British repealed the Stamp Act in 1766, they still asserted Parliamentary supremacy, which subsequent ministers repeatedly used taxation to reaffirm. In
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Chapter 5 Toward Independence: Years of Decision, 17631775
response to the Townshend duties in 1767 and the tea tax in 1773, the Americans more aggressively rejected the right of the British to tax them, increased civil resistance, and broadened the nonimportation movement. With each phase British patience grew thinner. Unable or unwilling to back down or compromise, the British were compelled to use force, first by sending troops to Boston in 1768, which precipitated the Boston Massacre of 1770, and then, in response to the destruction of tea in Boston Harbor in 1773, by putting the city under military law. The Americans responded by forming a Continental Congress and preparing for war. When the British tried to extend their control into the countryside in April 1775, they met the armed resistance at Lexington and Concord of colonial militia, the Minutemen, initiating war within the empire.

I. The Imperial Reform Movement, 17631765 A. The Legacy of War 1. The Great War for Empire fundamentally changed the relationship between Britain and its American colonies; there were major conflicts over funding, military appointments, and policy objectives. 2. The Great War exposed the weak position of British royal governors and officials, prompting immediate administrative reforms. 3. To assert their authority, the British began a strict enforcement of the Navigation Acts, and in 1762 Parliament passed a Revenue Act that curbed corruption in the customs service. 4. In 1763 the British ministry stationed a peacetime army in North America, indicating its willingness to use force in order to preserve its authority over the colonies. 5. As Britains national debt soared, higher import duties were imposed at home on tobacco and sugar, and excise levies (a kind of sales tax) were increased; the increases were passed on to British consumers. 6. Free Americans paid only about one-fifth the amount of annual imperial taxes, as did the British taxpayers. 7. To collect the taxes the government doubled the size of the British bureaucracy and granted it the power to arrest smugglers. 8. To reverse the development of debt and of a more powerful government, reformers demanded Parliament be made more representative of the property-owning classes. B. The Sugar Act and Colonial Rights 1. As the war ended, British officials undertook a systematic reform of the imperial system
aimed at centralizing control of the colonies in Britain and extracting larger revenues from the colonists. 2. George Grenville won approval of a Currency Act (1764) that banned the use of paper money as legal tender, thereby protecting the British merchants from colonial currency that was not worth its face value. 3. Grenville proposed the Sugar Act of 1764 to replace the widely evaded Molasses Act of 1733. 4. Americans argued that the Sugar Act was contrary to their constitution, since it established a tax and all taxes ought to originate with the people. 5. The Sugar Act closed a Navigation Act loophole by extending the jurisdiction of viceadmiralty courts to all customs offenses, many of which had previously been tried before local and sympathetic juries. 6. After living under a policy of salutary neglect, Americans felt that the new British policies challenged the existing constitutional structure of the empire. 7. British officials insisted on the supremacy of Parliamentary laws and denied that colonists were entitled to even the traditional legal rights of Englishmen. C. An Open Challenge: The Stamp Act 1. The Stamp Act required small, embossed markings on all court documents, land titles, and various other documents and served as revenue to keep British troops in America. 2. Prime Minister Grenville vowed to impose a stamp tax in 1765 unless the colonists would tax themselves. 3. Benjamin Franklin proposed American representation in Parliament, but British officials rejected the idea, arguing that Americans were already virtually represented in Parliament. 4. George Grenvilles goal with the Stamp Act was not only to raise revenue but also to assert the right of Parliament to lay an internal tax upon the colonies. 5. Parliament also passed a Quartering Act directing colonial governments to provide barracks and food for the British troops stationed in the colonies. 6. For the colonists, a constitutional confrontation with the British arose over taxation, jury trials, quartering of the military, and representative self-government. II. The Dynamics of Rebellion, 17651766 A. The Crowd Rebels 1. Patriots defenders of American rights organized protests, rioted, and articulated an ideology of resistance.
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2. The Stamp Act Congress issued a set of Resolves against the loss of American rights and liberties. 3. Most delegates of the Congress were moderate men who sought compromise, not confrontation. 4. Popular resentment was not easily contained as angry colonial mobs intimidated royal officials. 5. The leaders of the Sons of Liberty tried to direct the raw energy of the crowd against new tax measures, but some followers had other reasons for protesting resentment of cheap British imports that threatened their livelihoods, resentment of wealthy Britons who were not being taxed, and resentment of arrogance and decadence among British officers and officials. 6. Popular resistance throughout the colonies nullified the Stamp Act; royal officials could no longer count on the deferential political behavior that had ensured the empires stability for three generations. B. Ideological Roots of Resistance 1. Initially, the American resistance movement had no acknowledged leaders and no central organization. 2. The first protests focused on particular economic and political matters, but Patriot publicists gradually focused the debate by defining liberty as a natural right of all people. 3. Patriot publicists and pamphlets drew on three intellectual traditions: English common law, the rationalist thought of the Enlightenment, and an ideological agenda based on the republican strand of the English Whig political tradition. 4. The writings turned a series of riots and tax protests into a coherent political coalition. C. Parliament Compromises, 1766 1. In Parliament, different political factions advocated radically different responses to the American challenge. 2. Hard-liners were outraged and wanted to send British soldiers to suppress the riots and force Americans to submit to the supremacy of Parliament. 3. Old Whigs felt that America was more important for its trade than its taxes and advocated repeal of the Stamp Act. 4. British merchants favored repeal because American boycotts of British goods had caused decreased sales. 5. Former prime minister William Pitt saw the act as a failed policy and demanded that it be repealed.
6. Lord Rockingham repealed the Stamp Act and ruled out the use of troops against rioters. 7. The Sugar Act was modified, reducing the tax on French molasses but extending the tax to British molasses. 8. Imperial reformers and hard-liners were pacified with the Declaratory Act of 1766, which reaffirmed Parliaments authority to make laws that were binding for American colonists. III. The Growing Confrontation, 17671770 A. The Townshend Initiatives 1. Long convinced of the necessity of imperial reform and eager to reduce the English land tax, Charles Townshend promised to find a new source of revenue in America. 2. To secure revenue for the salaries of imperial officials in the colonies, the Townshend Act of 1767 imposed duties on paper, paint, glass, and tea imported to America. 3. The Revenue Act of 1767 created the Board of American Customs Commissioners and viceadmiralty courts. 4. New York first refused to comply with the Quartering Act of 1765. 5. The Restraining Act of 1767 suspended the New York assembly until it submitted to the Quartering Act. 6. The Restraining Act declared American governmental institutions completely dependent on Parliamentary favor. B. America Again Debates and Resists 1. Colonists saw the Townshend duties as taxes that were imposed without their consent, which reinvigorated the American resistance movement. 2. Public support for nonimportation of British goods emerged, influencing colonial women such as the Daughters of Liberty as well as men and triggered a surge in domestic production. 3. The boycott united Americans in a common political movement, but American resistance only increased British determination. 4. By 1768, American resistance had prompted a plan for military coercion, with 4,000 British regulars encamped in Boston, Massachusetts. C. Lord North Compromises, 1770 1. As food shortages mounted in Scotland and northern England, riots spread across the English countryside. Riots in Ireland over the growing military budget there added to the ministrys difficulties. 2. In Britain, a rising trade deficit with the Americans convinced some ministers that the Townshend duties were a mistake.
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3. In 1770, Lord North persuaded Parliament to repeal the duties on manufactured items, but the tax on tea was retained as a symbol of Parliaments supremacy. 4. Most Americans did not contest the symbolic levy and drank smuggled tea; even violence in New York City and the Boston Massacre did not rupture the compromise. 5. By 1770 the most outspoken Patriots had repudiated Parliamentary supremacy, claiming equality for the American assemblies. 6. Some Americans were prepared to resist by force if Parliament or the king insisted on exercising Britains claim to sovereign power. IV. The Road to War, 17711775 A. The Compromise Ignored 1. Samuel Adams established the Committees of Correspondence and formed a communication network between colonies that stressed colonial rights. 2. The Tea Act relieved the British East India Company of paying taxes on tea it imported to Britain or exported to the colonies; only American consumers would pay the tax. 3. The Tea Act made the East India Companys tea less expensive than Dutch tea, which encouraged Americans to pay the Townshend duty. 4. Radical Patriots accused the ministry of bribing Americans to give up their principled opposition to British taxation. 5. The Patriots nullified the Tea Act by forcing the East India Companys ships to return tea to Britain or to store it. 6. A scheme to land a shipment of tea and collect the tax led to a group of Americans throwing the tea into Boston Harbor. 7. In 1774, Parliament rejected a proposal to repeal the Tea Act and instead enacted four Coercive Acts to force Massachusetts into submission. 8. The four Coercive Acts included a Port Bill, a Government Act, a new Quartering Act, and a Justice Act. Patriot leaders branded these acts as the Intolerable Acts. 9. The activities of the Committees of Correspondence created a sense of unity among those with Patriotic sympathies. 10. Many colonial leaders saw the Quebec Act (1774) as another demonstration of Parliaments power to intervene in American domestic affairs, since it extended Quebec into territory claimed by American colonies and recognized Roman Catholicism. B. The Continental Congress Responds
1. Delegates of the Continental Congress, a new colonial assembly, met in Philadelphia in September 1774. 2. Under Joseph Galloways proposal, America would have a legislative council selected by the colonial assemblies and a president-general appointed by the king. 3. Even though the council would have veto power over Parliamentary legislation, the plan was rejected and seen as being too conciliatory. 4. The First Continental Congress passed a Declaration of Rights and Grievances that condemned and demanded the repeal of the Coercive Acts and repudiated the Declaratory Act. 5. The Congress began a program of economic retaliation, beginning with nonimportation and nonconsumption agreements that went into effect in December 1774. 6. The British ministry branded the Continental Congress an illegal assembly and refused to send commissioners to America to negotiate. 7. The ministry declared that Americans had to pay for their own defense and administration and acknowledge Parliaments authority to tax them; they also imposed a blockade on American trade with foreign nations. C. The Rising of the Countryside 1. Ultimately, the success of the urban-led Patriot movement would depend on the actions of the large rural population. 2. At first, most farmers had little interest in imperial issues, but the French and Indian War, along with nonimportation movements, changed their attitudes. 3. The urban-led nonimportation movements of 1765 and 1769 raised the political consciousness of many rural Americans. 4. Patriots appealed to the yeomen tradition of agricultural independence, as many northern yeomen felt personally threatened by British imperial policy. 5. Despite their higher standard of living, southern slave owners had fears similar to those of the yeomen. 6. Many prominent Americans worried that resistance to Britain would destroy respect for all political institutions, ending in mob rule. 7. Other social groups, such as tenant farmers, the Regulators, and some enslaved blacks, refused to support the resistance movement. 8. Beginning in 1774, some prominent Americans of loyal principles denounced the Patriot movement and formed a small, ineffective pro-British party.
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D. The Failure of Compromise 1. When the Continental Congress met in 1774, New England was already in open defiance of British authority. 2. In September, General Gage ordered British troops to seize Patriot armories and storehouses at Charleston and Cambridge. 3. In response, 20,000 colonial militiamen mobilized to safeguard supply depots in Concord and Worcester. 4. On April 18, 1775, Gage dispatched soldiers to capture colonial leaders and supplies at Concord. 5. Forewarned by Paul Revere and others, the local militiamen met the British first at Lexington and then at Concord. 6. As the British retreated, militiamen ambushed them from neighboring towns with both sides suffering losses. 7. Twelve years of economic conflict and constitutional debate ended in civil war.
nonimportation movement, the establishment of Committees of Correspondence, and the formation of Minutemen companies. While the first aspect gave the movement high moral significance and intellectual legitimacy, the second pushed through a series of political innovations that expressed American political autonomy, and the third assured that Boston would not confront Britain alone and that the colonial politicians would be supported by a broad cross section of the population. 3. Explore whether conflict in the colonies constituted a civil war. Persons of the same nationality who shared most cultural beliefs and practices nonetheless found themselves on opposite sides. Who were most foreign, the British troops or the so-called Patriots, with their novel ideas about political independence? How did the evolution of an American political identity as distinct from British or European affiliation affect allegiances in the 1770s?
Lecture Strategies
1. Follow the evolution of the political movement to resist the British. Note how street action had a long tradition and continued to occur in places such as Boston. Compare Guy Fawkes Day to contemporary Mardi Gras in order to give students an idea of what it was like. Then note how the response of the activists surprised even the local politicians. Describe in detail how the activists intimidated Andrew Oliver and Thomas Hutchinson in Boston. Trace the founding of the Sons of Liberty, the organization of the nonimportation movement, and the use of force to compel merchants to cooperate. Also, trace the organization of the Committees of Correspondence and the ways in which they broadened the impact of the Boston Massacre. One could argue that the development of the political movement was what really made the Revolution occur. Leaders such as Samuel Adams, John Hancock, John Adams, and James Otis were able to persuade many complacent, loyal colonists to rebel. 2. It is important to outline the development of Americans political resistance to explain how the colonists moved toward rebellion. This involved (1) the intellectual debate, which raised important constitutional issues; (2) the political argument, which articulated American rights through the Virginia Resolves of 1765, the Stamp Act Congress Resolves, the Massachusetts House of Representatives Resolves of 1768, the illegal Middlesex County (Massachusetts) Convention, and the Declaration of Rights and Grievances of the Continental Congress; and (3) the popular movement involving the Sons of Liberty, the

1. What factors triggered the deterioration in relations between Great Britain and its American colonies? Possible answers: a. The Americans, benefiting from their participation in the colonial system, had evolved into a selfconfident, prosperous people. Many of the colonies imagined themselves as independent countries even before the question was raised later in the crisis. Many Americans were predisposed to view themselves as independent from British rule. b. The long period of salutary neglect unintentionally gave the colonists de facto home rule. As a result, any subsequent British effort to regain control seemed onerous and insulting. c. The uncomfortable relations between the British and the Americans during the French and Indian War convinced many British policymakers that the Americans had to pay their share of the financial burdens of defending the empire. d. Real Whig ideology among Americans, the strength of their assemblies, and the arbitrary power of outside-appointed governors led Americans to interpret any British actions in an exaggerated way. e. The British administration under a new king was in transition. Therefore, personal conflicts interacted with the need to assert British authority, perhaps increasing the speed and scale of the new attempts to impose a stronger colonial policy. f. The British were divided on the subject of America, a division reflected in the pendulum swings from one prime minister to the next.
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2. Why were the British so surprised by the American reaction to the Stamp Act? Possible answers: a. The Sugar Act had been passed with only minimal reaction from the Americans, creating the impression that most Americans would not respond negatively to the new, more assertive British policy. b. Benjamin Franklin, while in London, assured the British ministers that most Americans would not object to such a tax provided they were fully represented in Parliament. c. The British assumed that the colonists would not object because the power of royal government was behind these policies. They believed that most colonists would obey the laws of Parliament. d. The British had little or no idea of the developing ideological and political undercurrents in American life. e. Britains recent victories in multinational wars made them feel that no one would dare resist them. f. The British war debt was so enormous that it made them willing to provoke the colonists to obtain needed funds. 3. How did the actions of each side contribute to military confrontation at Lexington and Concord? Possible answers: a. The British had deployed a large army on American soil. The mere presence of so many troops made military force a credible option. b. Britain had a history of mob uprisings going back for centuries, but organized resistance had been successfully put down by force even within living memory. The Americans, for their part, had been living in a contentious political atmosphere and were accustomed to independent action to address grievances. c. American radicals who formed the Sons of Liberty began a movement of civil disobedience and resistance aimed at independence or at least some kind of home rule. Their efforts inflamed each crisis. d. By putting troops in Boston at the center of Patriot agitation, the British significantly increased the chance of a violent confrontation that would require a military response. e. The Committees of Correspondence, colonial assemblies, and county militias prepared the people in the countryside to respond to British military action. 4. Which side was responsible for pushing events toward a military confrontation? Possible answers: a. The British were responsible because they refused to back off and kept pushing the Americans to respond.
b. The Americans were responsible because they formed a radical group that disseminated revolutionary ideology among a broad part of the population, which was already imbued with Real Whig ideology, and pushed events even when things seemed to calm down. c. Each side bore equal responsibility. The Americans did not, after all, pay as much tax as did people in Britain. The British did not have to stand so steadfastly for the policy of taxation. They could have come up with a system of representation for Americans in the House of Commons or established a colonial parliament and averted the crisis. But they chose not to, preferring to treat the Americans as second-class citizens. The Americans chose to interpret British actions in the most extreme manner, exaggerating their intent. 5. Which political group among the American colonists played the most important role in pushing events toward war? Possible answers: a. The more radical politicians from various assemblies who resisted the Sugar Act, attended the Stamp Act Congress, opposed martial law, and called for a Continental Congress. b. The moderate politicians who went along with these actions by agreeing in principle with the radicals grievances. c. The Sons of Liberty and their supporters who took to the streets, joined Committees of Correspondence, formed militia companies, and provided the movement with a popular base. 6. Which groups in colonial society most actively supported the rebellion? Possible answers: a. Those directly affected by British colonial policy urban residents, artisans, merchants, and lawyers played an active role in the resistance. b. This group also included many of the educated elite, including ministers who supported the nonimportation movement and had been affected by both the Great Awakening and the philosophy of the Enlightenment. c. Participants in urban mobs and riots and the most radical elements of the movement drew support from the middling and lower ranks of society, including artisans, skilled workers, laborers, sailors, and unemployed people. d. The rebellion also gained broad-based support from yeomen farmers, rural laborers, and smalltown artisans, merchants, and professionals. e. Religious women from both rural and urban areas also supported the Revolution, playing significant
Document Exercises
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roles, as Daughters of Liberty, in organizing and sustaining the nonimportation boycotts and producing homespun cloth in place of British cloth.
tlements. Rather, political rights in Britain were the products of several charters, bills, laws, and practice.) 2. Why does Adams oppose the extension of British taxes on the colonies? (Adams provides several reasons why he opposes British tax measures. He states that the colonists, by expanding the British empire, subduing both Indians and competing European claimants, and bringing greater revenue to England, have added to Britains wealth. Americans should not be taxed for these efforts. Adams concludes that the British claim that Americans must pay for the expenses incurred during the French and Indian War is without basis. He also objects to taxation because taxes will abridge the rights of the colonists as free subjects of Britain.)

1. Social and political violence occurs when people feel they need to protect their own interests regardless of the consequences. Among the various disagreements that developed between the American colonists and the British, which were the most significant and why? How had the colonial experience of the Americans differentiated them over time from the British? 2. Was a compromise possible at some point between 1765 and 1775? What would have had to happen for such a compromise to lead to a long-term solution? At what stages in the dispute did the chances for compromise significantly narrow? Why? 3. What motivated various groups to support or oppose the developing rebellion between 1765 and 1775? What were the risks involved? 4. Among the various causes of the Revolution, which do you think was the most significant? Which group or individuals do you think played the most important role in causing the crisis? If this group or these individuals had not contributed as they did, would events have followed the same course between 1765 and 1775? 5. What aspects of the developing revolutionary movement indicate that from the beginning the movement was not just a political debate but also a debate on the nature of social order, the relationship among groups and individuals, and the rights of individuals?
Writing Assignments
1. Adams raises both economic and political objections to the Stamp Tax. Which are the most significant for the future of the colonies? Why? 2. In this letter, Samuel Adams reasons artfully without any suggestion of self-interest. Who was Samuel Adams? Was he representative of his fellow colonists? Why else may have Adams opposed the Stamp Act? AMERICAN LIVES
George R. T. Hewes and the Meaning of the Revolution (p. 152)

Document Discussion
1. Why did Hewes get involved with the Patriot cause? How premeditated was his involvement? (A series of encounters with British soldiers broadened Hewess personal experiences into political concerns. He was affected in the way that those who opposed putting troops in Boston had predicted. The British presence day by day deepened the antipathy of the citizens, widening American support for the movement. Hewes seems simply to have shown up at the Boston Massacre and unintentionally become involved.) 2. What does Hewess experience indicate about how the movement developed? (It began with organized mass actions and then encouraged bystanders to become involved. Then, it began to disseminate ideology and indoctrinate the people politically. It also relied on predictable altercations between soldiers and Americans so as to anger individuals and draw them into the movement as volunteers. Once they had achieved what they had set out to do, the volunteers reverted to anonymity, having played their part in a popular uprising.)
Document Exercises
Samuel Adams: An American View of the Stamp Act (p. 141)

Document Discussion
1. According to Adams, what are the rights of free subjects of Britain, and what confirms them? (Adams lists several, although he suggests there are more than he presents in this letter. Those he enumerates are trial by jury and the right of representation in the House of Commons. These are long-standing rights enjoyed by men of property in Britain. There was no single, all-encompassing English constitution that enumerated these specific enti-
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3. In what ways did Hewes see himself as equal? How many do you think felt the same way in 1773? (He saw himself as an equal partner in collective action. He also saw himself as an equal politically. Whether he saw himself as socially equal to John Hancock is unclear. Hancock probably understood the egalitarian implications of republican thought but still viewed himself as a member of an elite who should be deferred to by others. When Hewes described his equality at a later date, the egalitarian aspect of the Revolution was being emphasized more. An increasing number of people felt the same way as Hewes by 1773.)
What does this imply about the operation of the Association? 2. What is the real purpose of the uniform for the Associators? Was it to facilitate military order, or did it serve symbolic, political objectives? VO I C E S F R O M A B R OA D
Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith: A British View of Lexington and Concord (p. 158)
Document Discussion
1. How does Smith describe the action at Lexington and Concord? (Smith presents a very straightforward account. He writes in a matter-of-fact, objective style. Smith says that the British had no intention of injuring the colonists, although the British military column was fully armed and immediately deployed according to military protocol when it arrived at Lexington. No doubt the colonists perceived the troops as a threat, and hence a violent encounter ensued.) 2. According to Lieutenant Colonel Smith, what did the British seek by marching to Lexington and Concord? (According to Smith, the British were seeking military supplies that the colonists had stored in the area. The colonists did not possess any full-time military forces. Supplies for use by the local militia were stored in the surrounding communities. To prevent their deployment, the British wished to destroy them. These provisions included ammunition, tents, and artillery.)
Writing Assignments
1. How would you describe George R. T. Hewess politics? Was he a radical, a Whig, or a conservative? Why does it matter? 2. How does the participation of people like Hewes affect ones interpretation of the Revolution? How radical were the Sons of Liberty? How radical or conservative was the Revolution? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Anonymous Broadside, May 18, 1775: To the Associators of the City of Philadelphia (p. 156)
Document Discussion
1. What is the primary appeal of the hunting shirt as a uniform for the workers of the city, and what does this reveal about the military Association? (The broadside argues that the shirt would be affordable by nearly all. The fact that a low cost is so important indicates that the members of the Association were for the most part from the lowest economic orders in Philadelphia.) 2. What implications can be drawn from the mobilization of the lower orders that the Association represented? (The fact that the Association was seeking a uniform for its members probably gave pause to many British officials. The Associators represented a broader mobilization of colonial society, and British officials no doubt feared losing control of the city if workers effectively organized.)
Writing Assignments
1. Why does Lieutenant Colonel Smith claim that the Americans planned the entire affair? Is his narrative consistent on this point? 2. From the British perspective, was the fight at Lexington and Concord decisive? Why or why not?
Map 5.3: British Troop Deployments, 17631775 (p. 148)

1. What does the map suggest about the location of British troop deployments? (In 1763 the preponderance of British troop strength was located in the major forts across the Great Lakes
Writing Assignments
1. The author of this broadside believes that the people must be consulted about the provision of a uniform.
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and the St. Lawrence River, especially at Quebec and Montreal. The recent conclusion of the French and Indian War demanded that the British garrison this frontier to establish control of Canada and to ensure the pacification of the Indian tribes in the area. But by 1775 the New England seaports, particularly Boston, were home to the highest concentration of British regulars in the colonies. The map thus suggests that by the mid-1770s the British felt that Boston constituted a significant security threat.) 2. Where did the British troops live? (British troops who were stationed along the frontier built the majority of their quarters, supply buildings, and fortifications. Troops stationed within colonial cities often made use of civilian structures. This further exacerbated tensions between the troops and the colonists.)
Maier, The Old Revolutionaries: Political Lives in the Age of Samuel Adams (1980); Library of Congress Symposium, The Development of a Revolutionary Mentality (1972); John C. Miller, Samuel Adams: Pioneer in Propaganda (1936); Milton E. Flower, John Dickinson, Conservative Revolutionary (1983); Richard R. Beeman, Patrick Henry: A Biography (1974); John R. Alden, George Washington: A Biography (1984); Helen Hill Miller, George Mason: Gentleman Revolutionary (1975); John J. Waters Jr., The Otis Family in Provincial and Revolutionary Massachusetts (1968); Page Smith, John Adams (1962); Richard Walsh, Charlestons Sons of Liberty (1959); and Eric Foner, Tom Paine and Revolutionary America (1976).

Map 5.4: British Western Policy, 17631774 (p. 151)

1. What did the British hope to achieve by establishing the Proclamation Line of 1763? (The British hoped that the Proclamation Line would resolve several ongoing sources of tension within the colonies. By extending the boundaries of Quebec, the claims of the seaboard colonies for western lands would be eased, French Catholics concerns regarding the Protestant Anglo colonists would subside, and conflict between Indians and settlers could be managed.) 2. Where did the Proclamation Line extend? Why? (The Proclamation Line generally followed the trace of the Appalachian highlands along the interior of the seaboard colonies. The British hoped that the line would be far enough to the west that colonial settlement would have room to flourish but near enough that conflict with Indian tribes could be managed.)
For Instructors
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material covered in Chapter 5 include Common Sense and Related Writings by Thomas Paine, edited with an introduction by Thomas P. Slaughter. For a description of this title and how you might use it in your course, visit bedford stmartins.com/usingseries.
For Students
Topic for Research
Why Did the Patriots Revolt? The Search for Motives

For decades historians have sought the causes of the American Revolution. At times they have stressed economic causes the impact of the Navigation Acts or the fear of taxes. More recently they have looked to political ideology and cultural values to explain the motivation of Patriot leaders and the Sons and Daughters of Liberty. How would you characterize the motives of the Patriots? Secondary works that address this issue include Pauline
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Map Activity The map activity presents Map 5.4: British Western Policy, 17631774 (p. 151) and asks students to label and analyze the colonies boundaries after the Treaty of Paris. Visual Activity The visual activity presents a British political cartoon (p. 157) and asks students to analyze its underlying themes of gender, race, and American hypocrisy.
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Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Samuel Adams: An American View of the Stamp Act (p. 141) and Anonymous Broadside, May 18, 1775: To the Associators of the City of Philadelphia (p. 156) and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 5 are Jared Ingersoll, Report on the Debates in Parliament (1765) Francis Bernard, Stamp Act Riot (1765) New York Merchant Boycott Agreement (1765) Norfolk Sons of Liberty Pronouncement (1766) Declarations of the Stamp Act Congress (1765) John Dickinson, Letter VII from a Farmer (1768) The Boycott Agreement of the Women in Boston (1770) Peter Oliver, Origin and Progress of the American Rebellion (1780s)
Captain Thomas Preston, An Account of the Boston Massacre (1770) George Robert Twelve Hewes, An Account of the Boston Tea Party of 1773 The Edenton, North Carolina, Boycott Agreement (1774) Thomas Jefferson, Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774) The Continental Congress Creates the Association (1774)
Thinking about History: Slavery, Racism, and the American Republic (p. 160)
Discussion Questions
1. How has slavery shaped Americans understanding of their nations history? 2. How and why did racial slavery, which excluded a majority of the propertyless from the political system, exist alongside republican ideology that extended political and economic opportunities to white Americans? 3. Why did northern states legislate the end of slavery, but not the southern states?
PA RT T WO
The New Republic

17751820
After you have taught this part, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. Explain how and why Americans crafted a new government founded upon republican ideals and institutions. In what ways did the ideals of government conflict with the reality of social conditions throughout the United States? 2. How did European political events of the 1790s influence the political development of the United States? 3. Analyze the origins, conduct, and conclusion of the War of 1812. 4. Describe the westward expansion of American commerce and manufacturing between the Revolution and 1820. 5. How did the contest for power between the Federalist and Republican parties affect the newly constituted federal government?
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Thematic Timeline
GOVERNMENT
Creating Republican Institutions
1775 State constitutions devised and implemented
DIPLOMACY
European Entanglements
Independence declared (1776) French alliance (1778)
ECONOMY
Expanding Commerce and Manufacturing
Wartime expansion of manufacturing
SOCIETY
Defining Liberty and Equality
Emancipation of slaves in the North Judith Sargent Murray, On the Equality of the Sexes (1779)
CULTURE
Pluralism and National Identity
Thomas Paines Common Sense calls for a republic
1780
Articles of Confederation ratified (1781) Legislative supremacy in states Philadelphia convention drafts U.S. Constitution (1787)
Treat of Paris (1783) British trade restrictions in West Indies U.S. government signs treaties with Indian peoples
Bank of North America (1781) Commercial recession (17831789) Western land speculation
Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom (1786) Idea of republican motherhood French Revolution sparks ideological debate
Land ordinances create a national domain in the West German settlers preserve own language Noah Webster defines American English Indians form Western Confederacy Sectional divisions emerge between North and South
1790
Bill of Rights ratified (1791) First national parties: Federalists and Republicans
Wars of the French Revolution Jays and Pinckneys treaties (1795) Undeclared war with France (1798) Napoleonic wars (18021815) Louisiana Purchase (1803) Embargo of 1807
First Bank of the United States (17921812) States charter business corporations Outwork system grows
Sedition Act limits freedom of the press (1798)
1800
Revolution of 1800 Activist state legislatures Chief Justice Marshall asserts judicial power
Cotton expands into Old Southwest Farm productivity improves Embargo encourages U.S. manufacturing Second Bank of the United States (18161836) Supreme Court protects business Emergence of a national economy
Youth choose their own marriage partners New Jersey decrees male-only suffrage (1807) Atlantic slave trade legally ended (1808) Expansion of suffrage for white men New England abolishes established churches (1820s)
African Americans absorb Protestant Christianity Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh revive Indian identity
1810
Triumph of Republican Party State constitutions democratized
War of 1812 Treaty of Ghent (1816) ends war Monroe Doctrine (1823)
War of 1812 tests national unity Second Great Awakening shapes American culture
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he American war is over, Patriot Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia declared in 1787, but this is far from being the case with the American Revolution. On the contrary, nothing but the first act of the great drama is closed. It remains yet to establish and perfect our new forms of government. The job was even greater than Rush imagined, for the republican revolution of 1776 challenged nearly all the values and institutions of the colonial social order, forcing changes not only in politics but also in economic, religious, and cultural life.
Government The first and most fundamental task was to devise a republican system of government. In 1775, no one in America knew how the governments in the new republican states should be organized and if there should be a permanent central authority along the lines of the Continental Congress. It would take time and experience to find out. It would take even longer to assimilate a new institution the political party into the workings of government. By 1820, these years of constitutional experiment and party strife had produced a successful republican system on both the state and national levels. This system of political authority had three striking characteristics: popular sovereignty government of the people; activist legislatures that pursued the public good government for the people; and democratic decision making by most white adult men government by the people. Diplomacy To create and preserve their new republic, Americans of European descent had to fight two wars against Great Britain, an undeclared war against France, and many battles with Indian peoples and confederations. The wars against Britain divided the country into bitter factions Patriots against Loyalists in 1776 and prowar Republicans against antiwar Federalists in 1812 and expended much blood and treasure. Tragically, the extension of American sovereignty and settlement into the trans-Appalachian West brought cultural disaster to many Indian peoples, as their lives were cut short by European diseases and alcohol, and their lands were seized by white settlers. Despite the costs, by 1820 the United States had emerged as a strong independent state, free from a half century of entanglement in the wars and diplomacy of Europe and prepared to exploit the riches of the continent. Economy By this time the expansion of commerce and the market system had established the foundations for a
strong national economy. Beginning in the 1780s, northern merchants financed a banking system and organized a rural-based system of manufacturing, while state governments used charters and legal incentives to assist business entrepreneurs and provide improved transportation. Simultaneously, southern planters carried slavery westward to Alabama and Mississippi and grew rich by exporting a new staple crop cotton to markets in Europe and the North. Some yeoman farm families migrated to the West while others diversified, producing raw materials such as leather and wool for the burgeoning manufacturing enterprises and working part-time as handicraft workers. As a result of these efforts, by 1820 the young American republic had begun to achieve economic as well as political independence. Society As Americans defined the character of their new republican society, they divided along lines of gender, race, religion, and class, disagreeing on fundamental issues: legal equality for women, the status of slavery, the meaning of free speech and religious liberty, and the extent of public responsibility for social inequality. They resolved some of these disputes, extinguishing slavery in the North and broadening religious liberty by allowing freedom of conscience and (except in New England) ending the system of established churches. However, they continued to argue over social equality, in part because their republican creed placed authority in the family and society in the hands of men of property and thus denied power not only to slaves but also to free blacks, women, and poor white men. Culture The efforts of political and intellectual leaders to define a distinct American culture and identity was complicated by the diversity of peoples and regions. Native Americans still lived in their own clans and nations, while black Americans, one-fifth of the enumerated population, were developing a new, African American culture. The white inhabitants created vigorous regional cultures and preserved parts of their ancestral heritage English, Scottish, Scots-Irish, German, and Dutch. Nevertheless, political institutions began to unite Americans, as did their increasing participation in the market economy and in evangelical Protestant churches. By 1820, to be an American meant, for many members of the dominant white population, being a Republican, a Protestant, and an enterprising individual in a capitalist-run market system.
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CHAPTER 6
War and Revolution

17751783

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. Why did the colonies declare independence from Britain? 2. Why did some colonists choose to support the Patriot cause and others choose to remain loyal to Britain? 3. How and why did the Americans win the Revolutionary War? 4. Explain and assess how the war changed republican ideals and challenged notions regarding slavery and the traditional religious order.
Chapter Summary
The outbreak of war and the political efforts of zealous Patriots such as Thomas Paine, who wrote Common Sense, inspired many reluctant Americans to contemplate the benefits of independence from Britain. By 1776, many Americans thought that war with Britain was necessary and just, but the poorly trained Continental army lacked sufficient resources to fight the British. Fortunately for the Americans, they had a brilliant leader who both understood the dynamics of this new kind of colonial warfare and possessed the political and military acumen to implement his ideas. General George Washington deferred to civilian authority, recognized the value of militia support, and shifted his strategy from risky open-field engagements to forays and surprise attacks. He sought to maintain the army in the field and to win the war through attrition of British forces and loss of the British will to fight. British leaders failed to appreciate that the Continental army, rather than
geographic objectives such as cities, constituted the critical heart of the colonial war effort. Unfocused and unassertive campaigns waged by British generals squandered the earlier victories that were gained on Long Island and resulted in the defeat of a major British army at Saratoga in 1777. Convinced by the American victory that the colonists could prevail, the French formed an alliance with the colonists that proved decisive, as the British were forced to realign their military forces in order to confront a worldwide threat to their imperial interests, particularly in the West Indies. In 1781, with French support and improved training, American forces under Washington surrounded Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, and compelled the British to surrender. The war put the republican ideals of the Revolution to a severe test. Physical and economic hardships experienced by both soldiers and civilians led many to examine or reconsider collectivist ideals and to act in their own self-interest. Patriot women not only provided material support for the troops but also managed farms and shops at home in addition to performing their traditional household duties. Neighbor fought against neighbor as Loyalists fled or were compelled to flee by Patriots. Slavery increasingly seemed at odds with the egalitarian visions of republicanism. Although many slaves fled to the British side, others fought for the Patriots or escaped to freedom in the North, where several states had gradually outlawed slavery, even though they provided little legal support for equality. The Revolution also eroded church authority and led to a new spirit of rationalism, tolerance, and individual choice regarding religion.

I. Toward Independence, 17751776 A. The Second Continental Congress and the Civil War
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Chapter 6 War and Revolution, 17751783
1. After losing battles at Breeds Hill and Bunker Hill, in 1775 the Continental Congress created a Continental army headed by General George Washington. 2. Moderates passed an Olive Branch petition that expressed loyalty to the king and requested the repeal of oppressive parliamentary legislation. 3. Zealous Patriots won passage of a Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking Up Arms. 4. The king refused the moderates petition and issued a Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition in August 1775. 5. Hoping to add a fourteenth colony to the rebellion, the Patriot forces took Montreal in September but later failed to capture Quebec. 6. American merchants cut off all exports to Britain and its West Indian sugar islands, and Parliament retaliated with a Prohibitionary Act, banning trade with rebellious colonies. 7. Lord Dunmore of Virginia organized two military forces one white, one black and offered freedom to slaves and indentured servants who joined the Loyalist cause. 8. Faced with black unrest and pressed by yeomen and tenant farmers demanding independence, Patriot planters called for a break with Britain. 9. By April of 1776, Radical Patriots had, through military conflict, transformed the North Carolina assembly into an independent Provincial Congress, which instructed its representatives to support independence. B. Common Sense 1. Resolutions favoring independence came slowly because most Americans were deeply loyal to the crown. 2. By 1775 the Patriot cause was gaining greater support among artisans and laborers. 3. Many Scots-Irish in Philadelphia became Patriots for religious reasons, and some welleducated persons questioned the idea of monarchy altogether. 4. In January 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense a call for independence and republicanism. 5. Common Sense aroused the general public and quickly turned thousands of Americans against British rule. 6. Paines message was not only popular but also clear reject the arbitrary powers of king and Parliament and create independent republican states. C. Independence Declared
1. On July 4, 1776, the Congress approved a Declaration of Independence. 2. Thomas Jefferson, the main author of the Declaration, justified the revolt by blaming the rupture on George III rather than on Parliament. 3. Jefferson proclaimed that all men are created equal; they possess the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and that government derives its power from the consent of the governed. 4. By linking these doctrines with independence, Jefferson established revolutionary republicanism as a defining value of America. 5. Americans were ready to create republics, state governments that would derive their power from the people. II. The Trials of War, 17761778 A. War in the North 1. Few observers thought that the rebels stood a chance of defeating the British; Great Britain had more people and more money with which to fight. 2. Few Indians supported the rebels; they were opposed to the expansion of white settlement. 3. The British were seasoned troops, and the Americans were militarily weak. 4. Prime Minister North responded quickly to the American invasion of Canada in 1775; he wanted to capture New York City and seize control of the Hudson River in order to isolate the Patriots from the other colonies. 5. General William Howe and his British troops landed outside New York City in July 1776, just as the Continental Congress was declaring independence in Philadelphia. 6. Outgunned and outmaneuvered, the Continental army retreated across the Hudson to New Jersey, then across the Delaware River to Philadelphia. 7. The British halted their campaign for the winter months, which allowed the Continental army a few minor triumphs and allowed the Congress to return from Boston to Philadelphia. B. Armies and Strategies 1. General Howes military strategy was one of winning the surrender of opposing forces, rather than destroying them; this tactic failed to nip the rebellion in the bud. 2. General Washingtons strategy was to draw the British away from the seacoast, extending their lines of supply and draining their morale. 3. The Continental army drew most of its recruits from the lower ranks of society, the ma-
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jority of whom fought for a bonus of cash and land rather than out of patriotism. 4. Given all these handicaps, Washington was fortunate to have escaped an overwhelming defeat in the first year of the war. C. Victory at Saratoga 1. To finance the war the British ministry increased the land tax and prepared to mount a major campaign in 1777. 2. The primary British goal, the isolation of New England, was to be achieved with the help of General John Burgoyne, a small force of Iroquois, and General Howe. 3. Howe had a scheme of his own; he wanted to attack Philadelphia home of the Continental Congress and end the rebellion with a single victory. 4. Washington and his troops withdrew from Philadelphia, and the Continental Congress fled into the interior, determined to continue the fight. 5. General Burgoynes troops were forced to surrender to General Horatio Gates and his men at Saratoga, New York. 6. The American victory at Saratoga was the turning point of the war and virtually assured the success of a military alliance with France. D. Social and Financial Perils 1. Tens of thousands of civilians were exposed to deprivation, displacement, and death as the War of Independence became a bloody partisan conflict. 2. Patriots organized Committees of Safety to collect taxes and gather support for the Continental army. 3. On the brink of bankruptcy, the new state governments as well as the Continental Congress printed paper money that was worth very little. 4. Lacking the authority to impose taxes, Congress borrowed $6 million in specie from France. When those funds were exhausted, Congress also printed currency and bills of credit. 5. The excess of currency helped to spark the worst inflation in American history; there was more currency, albeit worthless, but fewer goods available for purchase. 6. Merchants and farmers turned to barter or sold goods only to those who could pay in gold or silver. 7. The shortage of goods caused civilian morale and social cohesion to crumble; some doubted that the rebellion could succeed. 8. The Continental army suffered from lack of necessities; the winter of 177778 at Valley
Forge took as many lives as two years of fighting. III. The Path to Victory, 17781783 A. The French Alliance 1. Although France and America were unlikely partners, the French were intent on avenging their loss of Canada to Britain in the French and Indian War. 2. Upon learning of the American victory at Saratoga, French foreign minister Comte de Vergennes sought a formal alliance with the Continental Congress. 3. The Treaty of Alliance of 1778 specified that neither France nor America would sign a separate peace agreement before Americas independence was assured. 4. In return, the American diplomats pledged that their government would recognize any French conquests in the West Indies. 5. Alliance with the French gave the American army access to supplies and money, strengthening the army and giving it new hope. 6. Upon the urging of Washington, Congress reluctantly agreed to grant officers half pay after the war for a period of seven years. 7. The war became increasingly unpopular in Britain as its people grew tired of being taxed, while some actually agreed with Americans demands for greater rights. 8. In 1778, Parliament repealed the Tea and Prohibitionary Acts and renounced its power to tax the colonies. 9. Britains offer to return to the constitutional condition that existed before the Sugar and Stamp Acts were rejected by the Continental Congress. B. War in the South 1. American allies had ulterior motives for joining the war: France concentrated its forces in the West Indies because it wanted to capture a rich sugar island; Spain loaned naval assistance to France because it wanted to regain Florida and Gibraltar. 2. The British strategy was to capture the rich tobacco and rice-growing colonies and to take advantage of racial divisions in the South. 3. By the end of 1779, Sir Henry Clinton and his men had reconquered Georgia, and in 1780, Lord Cornwallis and his men took control of South Carolina. 4. The tide of the battle turned when the Dutch declared war against Britain and France sent troops to America. 5. General Nathanael Greene devised a new military strategy: divide the militiamen into small
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groups with strong leaders so that they could harass the less mobile British. 6. Abandoned by the British navy, and surrounded by the French navy and Washingtons Continental army, Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in October 1781. 7. Isolated diplomatically in Europe, stymied militarily in America, and lacking public support at home, Britain gave up prosecution of the war. C. The Patriot Advantage 1. The Patriots were led by experienced politicians who demanded, and received, public support. 2. The Continental army was fighting on its own territory with the assistance of militiamen as well as support from France. 3. While Britain suffered mediocre generals, America had great generals like George Washington, who recruited outstanding officers to shape the new army. 4. Patriots could mobilize the militia quickly at crucial moments to assist the Continental army. 5. Americans refused to support Loyalist forces or accept imperial control in British-occupied areas. D. Diplomatic Triumph 1. In the Treaty of Paris, signed September 1783, Great Britain recognized independence of its seaboard colonies and relinquished claims to lands south of the Great Lakes. 2. This land, between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River, was the domain of undefeated, pro-British Indian peoples. 3. Leaving the Native Americans to their fate, British negotiators did not insist on a separate Indian territory and promised to withdraw their garrisons quickly. 4. The American government promised to allow British merchants to recover prewar debts and to encourage the return of Loyalist property and grants for citizenship. 5. The British made peace with France and Spain with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. 6. Only Americans profited greatly from the treaties; they gained independence from Britain and opened up the interior of the North American continent for settlement. IV. Republicanism Defined and Challenged A. Republican Ideals under Wartime Pressures 1. For many Americans, republicanism was a social philosophy: every man in a republic belonged to his country.
2. Continental army troops and militiamen were praised for giving to the republic, but as the war raged on, military self-sacrifice declined. 3. After mutinies occurred during the winters of 1779 and 1780, Washington ordered the execution of several leaders of the revolts but urged Congress to pacify the soldiers with back pay and new clothing. 4. All across America the character of commercial activity changed as farmers and artisans adapted to a war economy. 5. Faced with a shortage of goods and rising prices, government officials began requisitioning goods directly from the people; womens wartime efforts increased farm household productivity and also booted their self-esteem. 6. Currency inflation transferred most of the cost of the war to ordinary American families and posed a severe challenge to the notion of public virtue. B. The Loyalist Exodus 1. As the war turned in favor of the Patriots, thousands of Loyalists emigrated to the West Indies, Britain, and Canada. 2. In general, the revolutionary upheaval did not alter the structure of rural communities. 3. Social turmoil was greatest in the cities as Patriot merchants replaced Tories at the top of the economic ladder. C. The Problem of Slavery 1. The Patriots struggle for independence from Britain raised the prospect of freedom for enslaved Africans; many slaves sought freedom by fleeing behind British lines. 2. Many slaves also fought for the Patriot cause in return for the promise of freedom. 3. In 1782, Virginia passed an act allowing manumission; within a decade, 10,000 slaves had been freed. 4. Pietist groups advocated emancipation, and Enlightenment philosophy also worked to undermine slavery and racism. 5. By 1804, every state north of Delaware had enacted laws to provide for the termination of slavery. 6. Emancipation came slowly because whites feared competition for jobs and housing and a melding of the races. 7. In the South, slaves represented a huge financial investment, and resistance against freedom for blacks was strong. 8. The debate over emancipation among southern whites ended in 1800 when a group of slaves was hanged for planning an uprising.
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9. Whites would redefine republicanism so that it only applied to the master race. D. A Republican Religious Order 1. In 1776 the Virginia constitutional convention issued a Declaration of Rights guaranteeing all Christians the free exercise of religion. 2. After the Revolution, an established church and compulsory religious taxes were no longer the norm in America. 3. Thomas Jeffersons Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom made all churches equal before the law but granted financial support to none. 4. The separation of church and state was not complete because most church property and ministers were exempt from taxation. 5. Many states enforced religious criteria for voting and holding office, although the practice was often condemned by Americans. 6. In religion as in politics, independence provided Americans with the opportunity to fashion a new institutional order; in each case they repudiated the hierarchical ways of the past in favor of a republican alternative.
Who does Jefferson blame most directly? Discuss how Jefferson enabled the Americans to declare the king a tyrant and thus, according to Lockean ideas, legitimize the revolution. This fact would make other countries more amenable to supporting the American effort. 4. Analyze the way Americans financed the war, and explain why it caused inflation. As paper money depreciated in value, why did many farmers sell their produce to the British who paid in coin? How well did the Congress pay soldiers and sailors? How can the pay of armed forces and the supplies necessary to conduct military operations affect the outcome of a war? 5. Examine the predicament of slaves, women, and Native Americans. Each group played key roles in the Revolution. Many slaves were forced to labor for either the British or the Continental armies, whereas others fled to the frontier. Women shouldered the burdens of administering households and farms in the absence of many men sent to the armies. Native Americans sought alliances, mostly with the British, which they reasoned would provide them the greatest benefit after the war. Who benefited and who lost from these arrangements? Why?
Lecture Strategies
1. The distinction between the military and political events in 1775 and 1776 needs clarification. Analyze the logic of military events, and examine the deteriorating position of the Americans. Note how the Americans were repeatedly beaten in the field and then retreated or escaped and gradually developed a more defensive and evasive strategy. Indicate how this occurred while some radicals were intensifying their push for independence. Note how independence was viewed as a prerequisite for acquiring foreign aid. 2. Cover military affairs by posing two very broad questions: How did the British lose? How did the Americans win? In this analysis, you can note that the British had far superior military power but had difficulty supplying their troops and were plagued by indecisive generals who hesitated to use the full force of their armies. This hesitation was fatal because the Americans, having the support of the majority of the population and fighting on their home soil, needed only to evade the British and to wait for them to lose the will to continue. 3. Have students read the Declaration of Independence and help them to analyze its structure. What enlightened ideas are reflected in the document? Note that it is divided into a preamble, a statement of the American case, a presentation of the charges and some evidence, and a conclusion, similar to a brief in court.

1. Why was the Declaration of Independence passed when it was and not earlier or later? Possible answers: a. It took some time for many Americans to separate from the king emotionally and psychologically. Thomas Paine and other radicals laid the groundwork during late 1775 and early 1776. b. Faltering support for the military campaigns indicated that the Americans needed a morale boost. The soldiers needed a clear cause for which to fight. c. The leadership of the Virginians pushed the issue onto the floor of the Continental Congress and presented a resolution for independence. d. The king refused to receive the Olive Branch petition. 2. What was the real political and ideological meaning of the Declaration? Possible answers: a. It presented a case for legitimately revolting against British rule by declaring King George III a tyrant. The case at times seems overstated. b. Shifting the blame to the king was simply a lawyers maneuver to avoid the illegal and illogical position of rebelling against Parliament, which
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would have constituted civil disobedience and treason in everyones eyes. c. It stated the narrowly understood attitude of the time that all white males were created equal and did not include women, blacks, Native Americans, and other minorities. d. It established a universal statement of human rights that pertained to all people and in doing so set a far-reaching republican agenda for the United States that has been the justification for subsequent efforts to grant suffrage and civil rights to all. 3. How did the Americans win the War of Independence? Possible answers: a. By gradually learning to avoid the British in the open field, the short-term militia soldiers kept from being outnumbered and outmaneuvered by seasoned professionals. b. By evading the British forces, defending themselves, and maintaining the Continental army intact. Occasionally, they struck offensively at the enemy to improve morale. c. By drawing the French into an alliance. When this happened, the British had to realign their land and naval forces to confront the French in the West Indies and in other imperial holdings. This diminished the British ability to concentrate their power solely against Washingtons army. d. Popular support sustained the army and the cause in spite of Loyalists, British occupation of major cities, invasions, and near civil war in the South. e. French military support in the campaign of 1781 enabled Washington to trap Cornwallis against the sea, which was controlled by Admiral de Grasse. 4. What kinds of social change were caused by the American Revolution? Possible answers: a. Several thousand black slaves escaped to the British side. A growing movement to abolish slavery developed in the North. b. Social rhetoric was republicanized, emphasizing unity and equality. c. Loyalists departed from some colonies but probably in small numbers overall. This resulted in a degree of social mobility. d. Soldiers and militiamen, as well as women at home who did the farm work and made homespun cloth, felt empowered and enjoyed increased self-esteem. They felt that they were contributing to the political system in which they held an important stake.
e. The same ruling class continued in power throughout the war, but the artisan class was further empowered by the rise of republican ideology.

1. Which factors best explain the American victory in the Revolutionary War: military skill, strategy and preparedness, popular and congressional support, British uncertainty and mediocre performance, the actions of specific individuals, or luck? 2. Why did some colonists choose to remain loyal to Britain? Why did these reasons cause some Loyalists actively to oppose the Revolution while others fled? 3. In what ways did the Revolution change American politics and society? In the end, was the Revolution radical, moderate, or conservative? 4. How did diplomatic alliances and the international political situation affect the outcome of the Revolution? What were the effects of alliances with foreign countries on the war?
Document Exercises
Thomas Paine: Common Sense (p. 168)

Document Discussion
1. On what basis does Paine argue that a government ought to be constituted? (Paine was one of the most lucid and insightful of Enlightenment thinkers. In this selection, he argues that governments ought to follow principles found in nature, one of the most important being the stability of simple systems. In this regard he finds British practice, that is, the British Constitution, unsatisfactory.) 2. How does Paine want to organize a new American government? (Paine suggests that the American government be founded on the principle of representation of the people. He outlines a plan that involves assemblies in each colony to handle domestic issues and subordinate to a Continental Congress. Ultimate sovereignty, according to Paine, rests in the law and not in a monarch. Assemblies best wield governmental power because they most accurately express the will of the people, which is the basis of just law.)
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Writing Assignments
1. Why did Common Sense have such a dramatic effect upon ordinary colonists? 2. Compare and contrast Paines writings with those of his intellectual adversary, Edmund Burke. Whereas Paine advocated radical change and compellingly represented the cause of liberalism, Burke offered equally stirring defenses of the conservative view of British politics. Who made the most convincing argument? Why? AMERICAN LIVES
been rubbed out; only the dates of his service remain, typifying Arnolds ambiguous legacy.)
Writing Assignments
1. Why do you think Arnold was treated so coldly in Britain even though he had served the crown with skill and great success in the southern campaign? 2. What does Benedict Arnolds interaction with his military colleagues, both American and British, say about the military code of honor and behavior? Did Arnold understand the nature of military honor? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
The Enigma of Benedict Arnold (p. 180)

Document Discussion
1. Why did Benedict Arnold commit treason? (He was ambitious and craved power and wealth. He was bitter because he felt unappreciated by the Americans for his heroic efforts; he disdained his colleagues and superiors, thinking he was better; and he was badly in need of money. Therefore, he used his authority and position of trust to achieve his goals through treason.) 2. Can his conduct be justified? (Arnold remains a controversial figure. Students need to appreciate that Arnold was a highly decorated Patriot. His heroic efforts during the invasion of Canada and during the Saratoga campaign marked him as one of the best American military leaders. George Washington held Arnold in high regard, hence Arnolds appointment to lead the garrison at West Point, the most significant American fortification in North America. However, Arnold lacked political connections and felt that he had not received the recognition he merited from Congress. Likewise, his personal expenditures for military supplies led him into debt. When he attempted to recoup some of his losses, political rivals leveled charges of corruption against him. Concurrently, his young wife was accustomed to a more comfortable lifestyle than Arnold could maintain, and she enjoyed the friendship of a number of Loyalists and British officers. We will probably never know exactly why or when Arnold decided to relinquish West Point to the British, but his choice, although certainly deplorable from the American perspective, deserves to be examined by historians in the full context of the man and his life. Note: A plaque honoring Arnolds contributions to the Patriot cause remains in the old cadet chapel at West Point, but Arnolds name has
John Adams: Making Peace with Stubborn Enemies and Crafty Allies (p. 183)
Document Discussion
1. What were the French seeking to obtain from the negotiations? (Adams mentions that France sought fishing rights, western territories, and navigation of the Mississippi River. To restrict the British from reentering the region, France was willing to concede the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific coast to Spanish control.) 2. If the French allied with the Americans to defeat the British, why did they seek concessions in America? (France committed troops and ships to the American war effort to thwart British ambitions in the New World and to weaken Britains financial and political well-being in Europe. With the Americans militarily victorious, the French were seeking to strengthen their own colonial positions through the attainment of economic and territorial gains. France did not wish to see Britain return to America as a colonial power nor did it want another state, including that which the Americans would create, to threaten French ambitions.)
Writing Assignments
1. Imagine that you are one of the American diplomats. As you seek peace and security for your new nation, what are the American bargaining strengths and weaknesses? 2. What do the aims and actions of France, Britain, and Spain indicate about the nature of their colonial ambitions and relative power to each other?
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Benjamin Banneker: On Jefferson and Natural Rights (p. 188)

Document Discussion
1. Bannekers words go directly to the heart of the contradiction between republican ideals and the practice of African American slavery in the colonies. What is Bannekers argument? How does he seek to convince Jefferson of his position? (Banneker uses Jeffersons words in the Declaration of Independence to make his argument. Banneker reminds Jefferson that the words all men are created equal, when understood in their most direct sense, absolutely refute slavery and, for that matter, any form of discrimination. Banneker seeks to improve the condition of his race in America by pointing to the ideals upon which the new nation was founded.) 2. How does Banneker compare the relationship between the former colonies and Great Britain with the institution of slavery? (Banneker reminds Jefferson how enslaved the colonists felt under the rule of Britain and of the arguments the Americans used to throw off British rule. He draws a parallel between that situation with the current condition of blacks and prods Jefferson to arrive at the same conclusion.)
were viable communities whose loyalties almost universally lay on the American side. British outposts were few in number and isolated. British attempts to gain Indian allies met with mixed results. Throughout the war the British failed to adequately garrison the frontier.) 2. What were American interests in the western theater? (Americans in the territories west of the Appalachian Mountains were seeking foremost to protect themselves from hostile Indians whom the British had striven to incite against the settlers. Beyond security concerns, settlers in this region sought road and navigation improvements in order to get their goods quickly and reliably to markets on the East Coast or at New Orleans. American settlements remained small and dispersed, largely relying upon their own resources for survival.)
Map 6.5: New Spains Northern Empire, 17631800 (p. 184)

1. Where are most of the Spanish missions and settlements located? (The terrain of the American Southwest is very rugged, and the hot, arid weather conditions are harsh. Hence, the Spanish located their missions primarily along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, where they benefited from better agricultural opportunities and could be more easily resupplied. Inland, the Spanish depended on the reliable supply of water from rivers or wells. The region of Nuevo Mexico is one such example.) 2. In contrast with British colonies along the East coast of the continent, what have the Spanish failed to sustain in the Southwest? (Large towns and cities are noticeably lacking in Spains northern empire. The number and size of cities are far fewer than what the British and Americans had built in the East. In part this was due to the difficult topography and dry weather that made farming difficult. Spanish colonial policies, which did not encourage the migration of families, also contributed to the lack of towns.)
Writing Assignments
1. Compare and contrast Bannekers arguments with the position outlined by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. For whom did each author write? How did their respective audiences receive the arguments of each? 2. Is Bannekers argument derived from principles of religion or of the Enlightenments more secular notion of natural rights? Explain.
Map 6.3: Native Americans and the War in the West, 17781779 (p. 177)
1. Why were the Americans rather successful militarily in the West? (The Americans simply possessed more resources in the West. Although the settlements were small, they
Topic for Research
The Outcome of the War for Independence

In 1775 the prospect for American victory in a war against Great Britain, the most powerful nation in the
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world, was dim. How, then, did the Americans defeat the British? The text emphasizes a variety of factors in the political, social, and economic realms that provided the Americans with a surprising degree of resilience. But ultimately, the Revolution was a war. It was on the shoulders of the Continental army and the militia to win or lose the Revolution. How did American military leaders successfully fight the British? What techniques did they develop to offset British advantages in troop strength, training, and equipment? Who filled the ranks of the American forces? Why did they stay year after year under punishing conditions? Four good general accounts are John Richard Alden, The American Revolution, 17751783 (1964); Piers Mackesy, The War for America, 17751783 (1964); Don Higginbotham, The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice, 17631789 (1971); and James L. Stokesbury, A Short History of the American Revolution (1991). Eric Robson, The American Revolution in Its Political and Military Aspects (1954), and Ronald Hoffman and Peter Albert, eds., Arms and Independence: The Military Character of the American Revolution (1984), offer a more analytical perspective. The role of ordinary Patriots is assessed in John Shy, A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for Independence (1976), and Charles Royster, A Revolutionary People at War: The Continental Army and American Character, 17751783 (1979). Studies of the soldiers who fought the war include Rodney Attwood, The Hessians (1980); Sylvia R. Frey, The British Soldier in America (1981); Robert K. Wright Jr., The Continental Army (1983); and John C. Dann, ed., The Revolution Remembered: Eyewitness Accounts of the War for Independence (1980). The crucial role played by the military bureaucracy is assessed in R. Arthur Bowler, Logistics and the Failure of the British Army in America, 17751783 (1975), and E. Wayne Carp, To Starve the Army at Pleasure: Continental Army Administration and American Political Culture, 17751783 (1984).
For Instructors
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material covered in Chapter 6 include Declaring Rights: A Brief History with Documents, by Jack N. Rakove; Benjamin and William Franklin: Father and Son, Patriot and Loyalist, by Sheila L. Skemp; and What Did the Declaration Declare?, readings selected and introduced by Joseph J. Ellis. For descriptions of these titles and how you might use them in your course, visit bedfordstmartins.com/usingseries.
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Map Activity The map activity presents Map 6.1: Patriot and Loyalist Strongholds (p. 170) and asks students to label and analyze the geographic distribution of those who supported or opposed the British. Visual Activity The visual activity presents a portrait of Joseph Brant (p. 173) and asks students to analyze his dress, demeanor, and role in the Revolutionary War. Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Benjamin Banneker: On Jefferson and Natural Rights (p. 188) and John Adams: Making Peace with Stubborn Enemies and Crafty Allies (p. 183) and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 6 are Gouverneur Morris, The Poor Reptiles (1774) Lord Dunmore, A Proclamation (1775) Samuel Johnson, On Liberty and Slavery (1775) Thomas Jefferson, Condemning the King on the Issue of Slavery (1776)

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Continental Congress to the Iroquois Confederacy (1775) Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, Number I (December 1776) Sarah Osborn, An Account of Life with the Army (1780 1783) Jacob Francis, An African American Recounts His War Service (17751777) John Struthers, An Account of War on the Frontier (17771782)
Civil War in the Southern Backcountry (1781) Abigail Adams, Boston Women Support Price Control (1777) Philadelphia Militiamen Seek to Protect Their Rights (1779) Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom (1786) Proslavery Petitioners in Virginia (1785)
CHAPTER 7
The New Political Order

17761800

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. How and why did Americans devise a representative system of government between 1776 and 1800? 2. Analyze the debate over the ratification of the Constitution; compare and contrast the positions of both Federalists and Antifederalists. 3. What were the differences between Hamiltons and Jeffersons visions of the operation and the role of government? 4. What effects did the French Revolution have on American policy and decision making?
Chapter Summary
As the Revolutionary War wound down, politicians attention shifted to translating the republican principles of the Revolution into new state constitutions. The various state constitutions ranging from Pennsylvanias constitution establishing an extremely democratic unicameral government with a weak governor, to the more conservative constitutions in Virginia and Massachusetts that established governments with three branches that checked and balanced each other laid the groundwork for the efforts of people who wanted a stronger national government and wished to reform the Articles of Confederation. Because of disputes over western lands, the Articles were not ratified by all of the states until 1781. Congress had been exercising de facto constitutional authority since 1776 and, despite its limited powers, successfully planned the settlement of the trans-Appalachian West.
Congress established the Northwest Territory and issued three ordinances affecting the settlement and administration of western lands. The Ordinance of 1787 prohibited slavery and earmarked funds from the sale of land for the support of schools. It also specified the processes territories were to follow to gain statehood and political representation. In the East, postwar economic conditions were grim. State governments emerged from the war with large debts and worthless currencies. In 1786, residents of Massachusetts led by Daniel Shays called extralegal meetings to protest taxes, and bands of angry farmers closed courts by force. But after several months Shayss army dwindled. Nationalists pointed to the rebellion as another reason why a central government was desperately needed to address the problems facing the young republic. At the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, James Madison presented the Virginia Plan, which, with its three branches of government and each with a separate function, formed the basic framework of the new constitution. After a series of compromises over the issues of representation between large and small and northern and southern states, the delegates agreed on a new constitution that established a strong president with veto power, a two-house Congress, and a Supreme Court and sent it to the states for ratification. In spite of an intense and closely fought debate between Federalists and Republicans, the Constitution was ratified in 1788 and went into effect in 1789. The new president, George Washington, established precedents and procedures that shaped the executive office. His secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton, taking a loose interpretation of the Constitution, moved quickly to enhance central power by establishing a national debt, assuming the debts of the states, and creating a national bank. Thomas Jefferson, Washingtons secre73
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Chapter 7 The New Political Order, 17761800
tary of state, and James Madison rejected Hamiltons argument that these powers were implied in the Constitution, arguing that the government could do only what was spelled out in the Constitution. The dispute between loose and strict interpretations of the Constitution reflected very different views of the role of the federal government in American life; Hamilton preferred a strong central government on the model of Great Britain, and Jefferson and Madison envisioned a limited government at the center of a republic of yeomen farmers. Though the United States managed to remain officially neutral during the French Revolution and the subsequent war between France and Great Britain, popular reaction to these European events helped to shape the development of Jeffersons and Hamiltons factions into two new political parties: the Republicans and the Federalists. Meanwhile, the Adams administration drew criticism for its undeclared war against France and its efforts to control free speech through the Alien and Sedition Acts. Consequent fear of a runaway central government swept Jefferson and the Republicans, who argued for a limited federal government, into office in the revolution of 1800.

I. Creating Republican Institutions, 17761787 A. The State Constitutions: How Much Democracy? 1. In 1776, Congress urged Americans to suppress royal authority and establish new governing institutions by writing state constitutions. 2. The Declaration of Independence stated that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. 3. Pennsylvanias constitution abolished property owning as a test of citizenship, allowed all male taxpayers to vote and hold office, and created a unicameral legislature with complete power. 4. In Massachusetts, John Adams devised a system of government that dispersed authority by assigning lawmaking, administering, and judging to separate branches. 5. Adams called for a bicameral legislature in which the upper house, filled with propertyowning men, would check the power of the popular majorities in the lower house. 6. Patriots endorsed Adamss system because it preserved representative government while restricting popular power. 7. The Adams bicameral legislature emerged as the dominant branch of government, and state constitutions apportioned seats on the basis of population. 8. Most of the state legislatures were filled by new sorts of political leaders; ordinary citizens in-
creasingly chose to elect men of middling circumstances rather than electing their social betters. 9. Upper-class women entered into the debate but remained second-class citizens unable to participate directly in politics. 10. The republican quest for educated citizenry provided the avenue for the most important advances made by American women. B. The Articles of Confederation 1. The Articles of Confederation were passed by Congress in November 1777 and ratified in 1781. 2. The Articles provided for a loose confederation in which each state retained its independence as well as the powers and rights not expressly delegated to the United States. 3. The confederation government was given the authority to declare war and peace, make treaties, and adjudicate disputes between states, print money, and requisition funds from the states. 4. A major weakness under the Articles was that Congress lacked the authority to impose taxes. 5. Congress chartered the Bank of North America, hoping to use its notes to stabilize the inflated Continental currency. 6. Congress asserted the Confederations title to the trans-Appalachian West in order to sell it and raise additional revenue for the government. 7. The Northwest Territory was established, and three ordinances in the 1780s provided for its orderly settlement while reducing the prospect of secessionist movements and dependent colonies of the states. C. Shayss Rebellion 1. In the East, peace brought recession: the British Navigation Acts barred Americans from trading with the British West Indies and low-priced British goods flooded American markets. 2. Many states allowed debtors to pay in installments, while other states printed more paper currency in an effort to extend credit. 3. The lack of debtor-relief legislation in Massachusetts provoked an armed uprising led by Captain Daniel Shays, known as Shayss Rebellion. 4. To preserve its authority, Massachusetts passed a Riot Act outlawing illegal assemblies. 5. Shayss army dwindled during the winter of 178687 and was dispersed by Governor James Bowdoins military force. 6. Many families who had suffered while supporting the war felt that they had traded one
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kind of tyranny for another; others feared the fate of the republican experiment. II. The Constitution of 1787 A. The Rise of a Nationalist Faction 1. Money questions dominated the postwar agenda, and officials looked at them from a national rather than a state perspective. 2. Without tariff revenues, Congress could not pay the interest on foreign debt, but key commercial states in the North and most planters in the South opposed national tariffs. 3. In 1786 the Virginia legislature met to discuss tariff and taxation policies and called for a convention in Philadelphia and a revision of the Articles of Confederation. B. The Philadelphia Convention 1. In May 1787, delegates from every state except Rhode Island arrived in Philadelphia; most were monied men who supported creditors property rights and a central government. 2. George Washington was elected as presiding officer, and it was agreed that each state would have one vote and that the majority of states would decide an issue. 3. The delegates exceeded their mandate to revise the Articles of Confederation and considered James Madisons Virginia Plan for national government. 4. Madisons plan favored national authority, called for a national republic that drew its authority from all the people and had direct power over them, and created a three-tiered national government. 5. The plan had two flaws: citizens would oppose the national governments vetoing of state laws, and small states would object because they would have less influence than larger states. 6. Delegates from the small states preferred the New Jersey Plan that strengthened the Confederation but preserved the states control over their laws. 7. The Virginia Plan was passed by a bare majority, but the final plan had to be acceptable to existing political interests and social groups. 8. A Great Compromise was accepted wherein the Senate would seat two members from each state, while seats in the House would be appointed on the basis of population. 9. The convention vested the judicial powers of the United States in one supreme Court and left the national legislature to decide whether to establish lower courts. 10. The convention placed the selection of the president in an electoral college chosen on a state-by-state basis.
11. Congress was denied the power to regulate slavery for twenty years. 12. To protect the property of southern slave owners, delegates agreed to a fugitive clause that allowed masters to reclaim enslaved blacks or white indentured servants who took refuge in other states. 13. The Constitution was to be the supreme law of the land, and national government was given power over taxation, military defense, and external commerce and given the power to make laws. 14. The Constitution, signed on September 17, 1787, mandated that the United States honor the national debt and restricted the ability of states governments to assist debtors. C. The People Debate Ratification 1. The Constitution would go into effect upon ratification by special conventions in at least nine of the thirteen states. 2. Nationalists began calling themselves Federalists and launched a political campaign supporting the proposed Constitution through pamphlets and newspaper articles. 3. Antifederalists, opponents of the Constitution, feared losing their power at the state level and pointed out that it lacked a declaration of individual rights. 4. Well-educated Americans with traditional republican outlooks wanted the nation to remain a collection of small sovereign republics tied together only for trade and defense. 5. The Federalists pointed out that national authority would be divided among a president, a bicameral legislature, and a judiciary and that each branch would check and balance the other. 6. Addressing an Antifederalist argument, Federalists promised to amend the Constitution with a bill of individual rights. 7. The narrow ratification of the Constitution brought an end to the Revolutionary era and the temporary ascendancy of the democratically inclined state legislatures. D. The Federalists Implement the Constitution 1. Federalists swept the election of 1788; members of the electoral college chose George Washington as president, and John Adams became vice president. 2. The Constitution gave the president the power to appoint major officials with the consent of the Senate, but Washington insisted that only the president could remove them. 3. The Judiciary Act of 1789 created a hierarchical federal court system with thirteen district
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courts as well as three circuit courts to hear appeals. 4. The Judiciary Act permitted constitutional matters to be appealed to the Supreme Court, which had the final say. 5. The Federalists added the Bill of Rights to the Constitution, which safeguarded certain fundamental rights and mandated certain legal procedures to protect the individual. III. The Political Crisis of the 1790s A. Hamiltons Financial Program 1. The Federalists divided into two irreconcilable factions over financial policy, with Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson defining contrasting views of the American future. 2. Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the treasury, devised bold and controversial policies to enhance the authority of the national government and to favor financiers and seaport merchants. 3. Hamiltons Report on the Public Credit asked Congress to redeem millions of dollars in securities issued by the Confederation, providing windfall profits to speculators. 4. The House rejected James Madisons proposal for helping the shopkeepers, farmers, and soldiers who were the original owners of the Confederation securities. 5. Congress approved Hamiltons second proposal that the national government assume the war debts of the states, unleashing a flurry of speculation and some government corruption. 6. Hamilton asked Congress to charter the Bank of the United States, to be jointly owned by private stockholders and the national government. 7. Washington signed the legislation creating the bank, although Jefferson and Madison charged that a national bank was unconstitutional because the Constitution did not specifically provide for one. 8. In 1792, Congress imposed a variety of domestic excise taxes and modestly increased tariffs on foreign imports. 9. Increased trade and customs revenue allowed the treasury to pay for Hamiltons redemption and assumption programs. B. Jeffersons Agrarian Vision 1. By 1793, most northern Federalists adhered to the political alliance led by Hamilton and most southerners to a rival group headed by Madison and Jefferson, the Republicans. 2. Jefferson pictured a West settled by farm families whose grain and meat would feed Europeans in exchange for clothing and other comforts.
3. During the 1790s, Jeffersons vision was fulfilled as warfare disrupted European farming. 4. Simultaneously, a boom in the export of raw cotton boosted the economy of the lower South. C. The French Revolution Divides Americans 1. American merchants profited from the European war because a Proclamation of Neutrality allowed American citizens to trade with both sides. 2. The American merchant fleet became one of the largest in the world, commercial earnings rose, and work was available to thousands of Americans. 3. Even as they prospered from the European struggle, Americans argued passionately over its ideologies and events. 4. The ideological conflicts sharpened the debate over Hamiltons economic policies and brought on disruptions such as the Whiskey Rebellion, a protest against new excise taxes on spirits. 5. In 1793 the Royal Navy began to prey on American ships bound for France from the West Indies. 6. To avoid war, John Jay was sent to Britain and returned with a treaty that Republicans denounced as too conciliatory. 7. As long as the Federalists were in power, the United States would have a pro-British foreign policy. D. The Rise of Political Parties 1. State and national constitutions made no provisions for political parties because they were considered unnecessary and dangerous. 2. Merchants and creditors favored Federalist policies, while the Republican coalition included support from farmers, artisans, Germans, and the Scots-Irish. 3. During the election of 1796, the Federalists celebrated Washingtons achievements, and Republicans invoked the egalitarian principles of the Declaration of Independence. 4. Federalists elected John Adams as president, and he continued Hamiltons pro-British foreign policy. 5. Responding to the XYZ Affair, the Federalistcontrolled Congress cut off trade with France and authorized American privateers to seize French ships. E. Constitutional Crisis, 17981800 1. To silence its critics, the Adams administration enacted a series of coercive measures: the Naturalization Act, the Alien Act, and the Sedition Act.
Lecture Strategies
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2. Republicans charged that the Sedition Act violated the First Amendments prohibition against abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. 3. The Kentucky legislature declared the Alien and Sedition Acts to be void. 4. Virginia passed a similar resolution and set forth a states rights interpretation of the Constitution. 5. Republicans strongly supported Jeffersons bid for the 1800 presidency. 6. Adams rejected the advice of Federalists to declare war on France and instead negotiated an end to the fighting. 7. Jefferson won a narrow 73 to 65 victory in the electoral college, but Republicans also gave 73 votes to Aaron Burr, sending the election to the House of Representatives. 8. Federalists in the House blocked Jeffersons election until Hamilton, declaring Burr unfit for the presidency, persuaded key Federalists to vote for Jefferson. 9. The bloodless transfer of power demonstrated that governments elected by the people could be changed in an orderly way, even amidst bitter partisan conflict and foreign crisis. It was therefore termed the Revolution of 1800.
whole government. This system eliminated the mixed government of the British system, but its structure and dynamics could ensure a stable republic by preventing the tyranny of a majority. 2. In this context the complexity of the Constitution as a device to make democracy more indirect in order to strengthen the republican system becomes more apparent. Refer to the Constitution, and follow each one of its complicated rules and structures through Articles I, II, and III. Note the compromises. Explain how they also work to counterbalance the power of some groups over others. Comment on the general language of the Constitution. Note places where the power of the different branches or the relative power between the national government and the states is vague and open to interpretation (especially Article II, Section 8, and the Tenth Amendment). Examine what Madison intended, and note how these issues became focal points of debate during the Washington administration. Finally, note the amendments in the Bill of Rights, and examine the Constitution to see if they were all implied in it, as Madison argued (Article II, Sections 8 and 9). 3. One of the most difficult subjects to make comprehensible to students is the diplomatic predicament of the United States during the war between France and Britain from 1793 to 1798 and why and how the United States tried to avoid becoming openly allied to either nation. The real danger involved is not apparent: Americas military weakness and second-rate status among nations at that time might have led to an alliance with either side, which would have endangered American autonomy and integrity. Partisan strife was exacerbated by these concerns because each party, suspecting the loyalty of the other, feared recolonization by Britain or conquest by France. You could formulate an analysis by imagining American policy toward the two belligerents, both of which had past ties with the United States. As American sympathies were expressed, the other belligerent responded, altering the popularity of each partys position and changing the context of the dispute. The Ghent Affair weakened the pro-French forces; British retaliation and Jays Treaty weakened support for Britain; and the XYZ Affair pushed the United States back toward Britain and into a near war with France. As the United States moved back and forth, the advantage shifted from one party to the other. Ultimately, in their effort to support a pro-British and anti-French policy, the Federalists overstepped the rights of free speech, damaging their image and leading to a Republican victory.
Lecture Strategies
1. Students have great difficulty distinguishing between the terms democracy and republic as understood in the eighteenth century. Note that in a republic the government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed and that sovereignty lies in the people. Explain how in the colonial Whig system sovereignty was shared by the people, the lords, and the king, thus creating a mixed system in which the assembly, council, and governor represented the interests of their respective groups. In a republic sovereignty lies only in the people. Therefore, public officials (such as the governor) and the council also indirectly derive their power from the people. In a pure democracy, these officials are eliminated, leaving only an assembly directly representing the people who elected its members. Adams and Madison saw advantages in maintaining an executive and a council. By giving them specific powers and making their election less direct, it would be possible to control the rapid shifts of popular opinion that are characteristic of an assembly and provide a stabilizing force in the government. At the same time, each branch would check and balance the power of the other, maintaining order and validating the actions of the
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1. What were the various motives of the men who wanted to reform the Articles of Confederation and establish a strong national government? Possible answers: a. To provide a sounder financial footing for the national government. b. To prevent the abuses of democracy from leading to chaos and civil war. c. To make America an equal among other countries. d. To reverse the populist gains of the Declaration and the Revolution so that merchants, elites, and creditors could regain control of the government and counteract the pro-debtor policies of the states. 2. Were the Articles of Confederation a success or a failure? Why? Possible answers: a. A success. They established a western land policy and planned for the admission of new states into the Union. This prevented rebellions in the United States. b. A success. They managed to guide the country during a period when political energy was focused on the states. Moreover, the government under the Articles recognized its own shortcomings and participated in the movement for reform. c. A failure. They provided no central financial authority and left the government unable to establish policy because it had no power to tax and raise revenues except customs duties. d. A failure. With few checks and balances, a tyranny of the majority developed, and resistance by disgruntled minorities in the states increased. 3. Why did Republicans oppose the Constitution? Possible reasons: a. They were suspicious of eastern creditors, money men, and merchants in the coastal cities. b. Having just ended a war to throw off a central government that was unresponsive to local concerns, they did not want to replace it with another. c. Their concerns were based on the fear that interests outside their area, unconnected to them and thus with no representation by them, would pass laws to annihilate state and local governments. d. They feared the power of centralized taxation and the corruption it would bring. e. They feared that a large, centralized republic would degenerate into a despotism, eventually creating opposition and civil war.
4. Was the Constitution more or less democratic than the state constitutions and the Articles of Confederation? Possible answers: a. Less. In its creation of a president with veto power elected indirectly by the people, a Senate of older men elected from each state, and a judiciary that could determine the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress, the new government assured that a small elite would rule in spite of the direct wishes of the people. b. Less. By restricting the power of the states, it restricted the right of people in different states to rule themselves. c. More. It supported broader suffrage and provided increased civil rights (by implication) for women. d. More. By including a Bill of Rights backed by federal supremacy, it assured that the central government would defend the rights of all citizens. 5. Why did Jefferson and Madison oppose Hamiltons programs? Possible answers: a. The powers Hamilton invested in the central government were not stated in the Constitution as powers of the government. b. The centralization of capital would encourage manufacturing, which would create a class of exploited wage earners and undermine a republican government supported by a free and independent people. c. A central bank would enlarge the national debt, create indebtedness, force the government to increase taxes, and gradually impoverish independent yeomen farmers. d. Hamilton, they argued, wanted to reimpose an English-style mixed government in America and was starting by empowering the moneyed elite.

1. Were the participants in Shayss Rebellion justified in their resistance to procreditor legislation? Why did they resort to violence rather than try to get the legislation overturned by legal means? 2. Analyze the debate between followers of Hamilton and followers of Madison on the payment of War of Independence certificates. Which side do you think argued its case more convincingly and why? 3. To what extent was the Constitution of 1787 republican or democratic? Was it more one than the other? Analyze the evidence. 4. Does industrial development naturally reinforce liberty and democracy, or does it set in motion forces of
Document Exercises
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centralization and differentiation that encourage the emergence of oligarchy and inequality? In either case, could liberty and democracy, as they were understood during the American Revolution, have been preserved in an industrializing economy?
Robert Yates and John Lansing: A Protest against the Philadelphia Convention (p. 203)
Document Discussion
1. Why did Yates and Lansing oppose a centralized system of government? (Yates and Lansing opposed a central government on both theoretical and practical grounds. They felt that the Convention should only alter the Articles of Confederation and not create a new form of federal government. Yates and Lansing also maintained that state governments should be powerful entities, possessing uncontrolled constitutional rights. Finally, they feared that central government could not effectively govern because of the extensive size of the country and the associated costs.) 2. Why is the debate over the Constitution so difficult for historians to assess objectively? (The spectacular success that the United States has enjoyed over the past two centuries in almost every field of endeavor makes it difficult to understand the fears of a Federalist government as argued by Yates and Lansing. Students need to set aside their knowledge of what transpired after this debate and confront the Antifederalist position on its own merits at a time when the concept of a national government remained untested.)
Document Exercises
Abigail and John Adams: The Status of Women (p. 197)

Document Discussion
1. What does the correspondence between John and Abigail Adams reveal about men and women in the late eighteenth century? (Men and women throughout history have negotiated and renegotiated their relationships. In this selection, Abigail seems to chide her husband for not obtaining a more prominent and public role for women in the emerging American society. John responds that although men may theoretically hold a higher position in the social hierarchy, in reality they are afraid to wield it. Of the two, Abigail was probably the more earnest, as many women, responding to the ideals of the Revolution and more importantly the Enlightenment, had begun to call for change in their status. John alluded to the fact that many women did enjoy great influence in private relationships, but he brushed aside the reality that women were universally denied significant public and professional roles.) 2. What kind of guarantee does Abigail seek to protect the position of women in American society? (Abigail petitions her husband for a new Code of Law. In the fashion of the Enlightenment, she is thinking in terms of written codicils that will establish a permanent standing for women. Abigail uses the familiar language of the Revolution to call for representation as the means to assert womens privileges.)
Writing Assignments
1. How was the Constitution a product of Enlightenment political thought? From which writers and theories did the delegates at the Convention borrow ideas? Were some aspects of the Constitution novel? 2. Assess the arguments of Yates and Lansing. Are they compelling? Why or why not? AMERICAN LIVES
Writing Assignments
1. Was Abigail unique in her belief that womens status should change? What did the majority of men and women believe? Why? 2. Why didnt the American Revolution result in significant social change? In other words, why was the situation of children, apprentices, slaves, and women (the categories mentioned by John Adams) largely unaffected by the conflict when so much political transformation occurred?
Gouverneur Morris: An Elitist Liberal in a Republican Age (p. 206)

Document Discussion
1. How can one reconcile Gouverneur Morriss aristocratic beliefs with his willingness to support the Revolution? (As an aristocrat Morris not only believed that he was superior to other people, he felt that a privileged, wealthy, and informed elite should set social stan-
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dards, run the economy, and rule. For him, the Revolution was not a matter of letting the people rule but a process of American aristocratic elites taking over from the British to govern the United States.) 2. How can someone who is suspicious of majority rule and favors qualifications based on property to vote or act in politics advocate freedom and equal rights for all? (Morris, as well as many contemporary political leaders, believed that each person possessed certain freedom of actions and belief. Jefferson enumerated these in the Declaration as being the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. The state could not usurp such rights. Liberals further held that the wellbeing of the republic depended on the government safeguarding its citizens privilege to act in accordance with their self-interest. In sum, this set of beliefs constituted a remarkable change in political thought. But the revolutions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries [Scientific, Enlightenment, American, and French], although carrying the seeds of social equality, did not by Morriss time have much of a leveling effect on the social order. Very traditional notions of property ownership prevailed. Although all men were created equally and held specific rights, the prerogative to rule could only be entrusted to those who held substantial property. Owners of property were seen as being committed to the republics welfare and thus best able to lead it.)
(Because they were independent and each farmer was his own boss. Therefore, he could not be unduly influenced by others or corrupted and could maintain a moral environment in which republicanism would flourish. Jefferson also implied that workers were more important in agricultural production and were less likely to be exploited, although slavery clearly contradicts this notion.) 2. What was the role of manufacturing for Jefferson? (He thought it should be integrated within the agricultural system to reduce imports and reliance on foreign products. This would enhance the independence of American farms. They would be small operations spread among the farming population and would employ women, children, and invalids to make the necessities of life. As a result, the farming population would remain self-sufficient.)
Writing Assignments
1. Imagine that you are a farmer, a factory laborer, or a business owner. How would you react to Jeffersons argument? Would you agree or disagree with Jefferson? 2. In Jeffersons time, industrialization had progressed much further in Europe than in America. In this excerpt, Jefferson is reacting to problems he witnessed in Europe and argues for a different path for America. Is he using the farm as a metaphor for an entirely new type of society? What political and economic landscape does he desire for America? What ills does Europe suffer that he wishes to avoid in his nation? VO I C E S F R O M A B R OA D
Writing Assignments
1. How did Morriss career foretell the reformulation of elite status and power in the nineteenth century? 2. In what ways were the political experiences of some of the founders George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Madison similar to or different from Morriss experiences? Choose two of these individuals and try to compare their experience during the Revolution and early republic with that of Morris. What accounts for the similarities and the differences? What do they indicate about the political ideas and values of the founders in general? NEW TECHNOLOGY
William Cobbett: Peter Porcupine Attacks Pro-French Americans (p. 217)

Document Discussion
1. What does Cobbett argue are the dangers of radical republicanism? (Cobbett was angry that those who defended republicanism were extremists who decided what the concept meant in theory and determined that anyone who disagreed with them was not only an opponent but an enemy of the republic and had to be eliminated. He argued implicitly that this inflexible determination of right and wrong was not only extreme but also limited freedom and happiness rather than extending them to the broadest number of people, which was the initial purpose of republicanism.)
Machine Technology and Republican Values (p. 214)

Document Discussion
1. Why did Jefferson think farms were morally superior and better than industrialization for America?
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2. Why did Cobbett support republicanism within an American context? (Cobbett clearly felt that power should be limited by different interests. In this case, Cobbett agreed with Madison and the founders who constructed a complex government with checks and balances specifically to prevent any majority from acquiring absolute or tyrannical power over any minority. For those in the Anglo-American tradition, what mattered was the happiness of the greatest number of people, which required a government that limited all groups power and was based on centrist compromise. Radicals on both the right and the left were their opponents. Based on compromise, the American System was nevertheless a republican government because all sovereignty was vested in the people. Cobbett thus argued that one could defend the American republic while criticizing the extremism of the French system.)
(The states with western land claims gradually recognized that they did not have the means to govern the large expanses of territory that many of their claims entailed. State governments were already saddled with debt, and state politicians felt that their energies could better be used to manage their ongoing difficulties related to the Revolution. There was also a sense that if the national government were steward to the western lands, then no other state could gain a decisive advantage.)
Topic for Research
American Constitutionalism
Between 1776 and 1789, American political leaders wrote constitutions establishing state and national institutions of government. What principles are embodied in these charters? What type of political institutions did they create? How do the various state constitutions differ from one another and from the national constitutions? And how do the national charters differ from one another? Carefully read the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of 1787 as well as the constitutions of Pennsylvania (1776) and New York (1777). In addressing these questions, you can either deal with a specific topic for example, the extent of legislative or executive power or attempt a broader comparison. Important studies of state constitutions include Willi Paul Adams, The First American Constitutions: Republican Ideology and the Making of the State Constitutions in the Revolutionary Era (1980); Edward Countryman, A People in Revolution: The American Revolution and Political Society in New York, 17601790 (1980); Donald Lutz, Popular Consent and Popular Control: Whig Political Theory in the Early State Constitutions (1980); and J. R. Pole, Political Representation in England and the Origins of the American Republic (1966). Gordon Woods Creation of the American Republic, 17761790 (1965) is a magisterial analysis that links the state and national documents. It can be supplemented by Merrill Jensen, The Articles of Confederation, 17741781 (1940); Richard R. Beeman, Stephen Botein, and Edward C. Carter II, eds., Beyond Confederation: Origins of the Constitution and American National Identity (1987); and Christopher Collier and James L. Collier, Decision in Philadelphia (1987).
Writing Assignments
1. Was William Cobbett correct to fear that the extremism of French revolutionary politics would infiltrate the political debate between Democratic Republicans and Federalists in the United States? What circumstances in the United States, in contrast to France, would prove Cobbett right or wrong? 2. How did the newness of these factions contribute to Cobbetts concern as well as to the increasing extremism of language each side chose to criticize the other?
Map 7.1: The Confederation and Western Land Claims (p. 199)
1. Why was it significant that the national government settle western land claims? (By ceding western land claims to the national government, the states eliminated a source of competition that could have led to much political controversy. States without claims feared that states with western interests would grow too powerful. Also, by creating a national domain, the federal government was better able to manage westward expansion and establish the processes that ultimately would be used to organize settlement up to the Pacific Ocean through the nineteenth century.) 2. Why did states with western land claims cede them to the national government?

Refer to the Preface to Americas History at the front of the book for descriptions of instructor resources, including the Instructors Resource CD-ROM, Computerized
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Test Bank, transparencies, and Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey. Student resources, also described in the Preface, include the Online Study Guide and Documents to Accompany Americas History, a primary-source reader.
For Instructors
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material covered in Chapter 7 include What Did the Constitution Mean to Early Americans?, readings selected and introduced by Edward Countryman; The Federalist: The Essential Essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, with Related Documents, edited with an introduction by Jack N. Rakove; Creating an American Culture, 17751800: A Brief History with Documents, by Eve Kornfeld; Jefferson vs. Hamilton: Confrontations that Shaped a Nation, by Noble E. Cunningham Jr.; and Judith Sargent Murray: A Brief Biography with Documents, by Sheila L. Skemp. For descriptions of these titles and how you might use them in your course, visit bedford stmartins.com/usingseries.
Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Abigail and John Adams: The Status of Women (p. 197) and Robert Yates and John Lansing: A Protest against the Philadelphia Convention (p. 203) and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 7 are The Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776) John Heckewelder, Pachgantschihilas Warns about the Long Knives (1781) William Finlay, On Democracy, Banks, and Paper Money (1786) Elbridge Gerry, A Warning to the Delegates about Leveling (1787) Constitutional Convention, Equal versus Proportional Representation (1787) George Clinton, An Attack on the Proposed Federal Constitution (1787) James Madison, The Federalist, No. 10 (1787) Alexander Hamilton, Report on Public Credit (1790) George Washington, Farewell Address (1796) The Sedition Act (1798) Thomas Jefferson, The Kentucky Resolutions (1798) Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address (1801)
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Map Activity The map activity presents Map 7.1: The Confederation and Western Land Claims (p. 199) and asks students to label and analyze these claims.
CHAPTER 8
Dynamic Change: Western Settlement and Eastern Capitalism

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After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. How and why did public policy and economic incentives inspire settlers and speculators to migrate westward? What were the consequences of this migration for Native Americans? 2. What was Jeffersons vision for the future of American government and society? How did he implement his beliefs during his presidency? 3. What were the policies of the Republican presidents between 1801 and 1820? How did they contrast with the Federalist programs of the 1790s? 4. How and why was the War of 1812 fought? What was the significance of its outcome? 5. Explain the origins and operation of the emerging market economy in America. 6. Describe the growth of Federalist law and the evolution of the Supreme Court. ing in the West, and state legislatures devised legal innovations and financial incentives to stimulate economic growth in the East. The results of these twin initiatives were soon apparent as per capita income in the United States increased after 1800. With the election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800, Republicans began wresting political power from northeastern merchants and creditors and implementing policies to help yeomen farmers. While retaining the Bank of the United States and many Federalist officials, Jefferson eliminated excise taxes, reduced the national debt, cut the size of the army, and lowered the price of land in the West. The issues of westward expansion, foreign policy, and slavery caused deep political divisions between geographical regions. Indian uprisings and expansionist demands by western Republicans led President James Madison into the War of 1812 against Britain. The war split the nation, prompting a secessionist movement in New England, but a negotiated peace ended the military stalemate, and Andrew Jacksons victory at New Orleans preserved American honor. The diplomacy of John Quincy Adams led to the acquisition of Florida and the settlement of boundaries with British Canada and Spanish Texas. As Americans imposed a new political economy on the lands of the West, they developed a capitalist economy in the East. Beginning in the 1790s, merchant capitalists created a flourishing outwork system of rural manufacturing, and state governments, by means of the commonwealth system, awarded corporate charters and subsidies to assist transportation companies, manufacturers, and banks. Republican-minded state legislatures enacted statutes that encouraged economic development by redefining common-law property rights. Led by the Federalist John Marshall, the Supreme Court protected the traditional rights of property owners
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Chapter Summary
Thanks in part to purposeful political leadership and innovative public policies, the young American republic grew at an astounding pace between 1790 and 1820. The United States acquired immense new lands in the West, particularly through Thomas Jeffersons purchase of Louisiana from France, and settled them quickly. By 1820, more than two million white and black Americans were living west of the Appalachians. Native Americans, however, struggled with whites for the preservation of their lands and culture. National policy promoted farm-
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Chapter 8 Dynamic Change: Western Settlement and Eastern Capitalism, 17901820
and the charter privileges of business corporations. Entrepreneurs took advantage of state legislation and judicial protection in order to create new business enterprises, strong regional economies, and the beginnings of a national market system.

I. Westward Expansion A. Native American Resistance 1. In 1784 the United States used military threat to force the pro-British Iroquois to sign the Treaty of Fort Stanwix and relinquish much of their land in New York and Pennsylvania. 2. Farther to the west, the United States induced Indian peoples to give up most of the future state of Ohio. 3. The Indians formed a Western Confederacy to protect themselves against aggressive settlers and forced a peace compromise in the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. 4. The treaty encouraged Americans to pressure Native Americans to give up their land, while enabling Indian peoples to demand payment in return. 5. American westward migration increased as soon as the fighting ended, sparking new conflicts over land and hunting rights. 6. Most Native Americans resisted attempts to assimilate them into white society and rejected European farming practices. B. Migration and the Changing Farm Economy 1. Most migrants who flocked through the Cumberland Gap were white tenant farmers and yeomen families fleeing the depleted soils and planter elite of the Chesapeake region. 2. A second stream of migrants, dominated by slave-owning planters and their enslaved workers, moved along the coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico into the future states of Alabama and Mississippi. 3. Cotton financed the expansion of slavery into the Old Southwest as technological breakthroughs increased the demand for raw wool and cotton. 4. To provide land for their children, communities organized a third stream of migrants who traveled from New England into New York and states west. 5. Farmers fleeing declining prospects in the East found themselves at the bottom of the economic ladder in New York due to a lack of markets. 6. Farmers who remained in the East changed their agriculture methods rotating crops,
diversifying production, and planting yearround helping to create a higher output and a better standard of living. C. The Transportation Bottleneck 1. Without access to waterways or other cheap means of transportation, settlers west of the Appalachians would be unable to send goods to market. 2. Improved inland trade became a high priority for the new state governments that chartered corporations to dredge rivers and build turnpikes and canals. 3. Only after 1819, when the Erie Canal linked central and western New York to the Hudson River, could inland farmers sell their goods in eastern markets. 4. Western settlers paid premium prices for land along navigable rivers, and farmers and merchants built barges to float goods to the port of New Orleans. 5. Many isolated western settlers had no choice but to be self-sufficient; self-sufficiency meant a low standard of living. 6. Settlers continued to migrate westward, confident that the canal and road system would yield future security. II. The Republicans Political Revolution A. The Jeffersonian Presidency 1. Thomas Jefferson was the first chief executive to hold office in the District of Columbia, the new national capitol. 2. Before John Adams left office, the Federalistcontrolled Congress had passed the Judiciary Act, which created sixteen new judgeships and six new circuit courts. Just before leaving office, Adams filled the judgeships and courts with midnight appointments. 3. Republicans repealed the Judiciary Act, thus removing the midnight appointees. Jefferson refused, however, to remove Federalist appointees who were competent. 4. In Marbury v. Madison, Chief Justice John Marshall asserted the principle of judicial review. 5. Jefferson challenged many Federalist policies, allowing the Alien and Sedition Acts to lapse and reducing the years required for citizenship, and set out to shrink the size and power of the national government. 6. Following the lead of Federalists before him, Jefferson granted a reduced bribe (tribute) to the Barbary Pirates to keep them from raiding American ships. 7. In domestic matters, Jefferson set a clearly Republican course: he abolished internal taxes;
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reduced the size of the army; and tolerated the Bank of the United States. 8. With Thomas Jefferson and Albert Gallatin at the helm, the nation was no longer run in the interests of northeastern creditors and merchants. B. Jefferson and the West 1. As president, Jefferson seized the opportunity to increase the flow of settlers to the West; Republicans passed laws reducing the minimum acreage available for purchase. 2. In 1801, Napoleon Bonaparte coerced Spain into returning Louisiana to France; then he directed Spanish officials to restrict American access to New Orleans. 3. To avoid hostilities with France, Jefferson instructed Robert R. Livingston, an American minister in Paris, to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans. 4. In April 1803, Bonaparte, Livingston, and James Monroe concluded what came to be known as the Louisiana Purchase. 5. Since it did not provide for adding new territory, Jefferson pragmatically accepted a loose interpretation of the Constitution. 6. In 1804, Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on an expedition; they returned two years later with maps of the new territory. 7. Fearing that western expansion would diminish their power, New England Federalists talked openly of leaving the Union. 8. Refusing to support the secessionists, Alexander Hamilton accused their chosen leader, Aaron Burr, of participating in a conspiracy to destroy the Union, and Burr shot Hamilton to death in a duel. 9. The Republicans policy of western expansion increased sectional tension and party conflict, giving new life to states rights sentiment and secessionist schemes. C. Conflict with Britain and France 1. As the Napoleonic Wars ravaged Europe, Great Britain and France refused to respect the neutrality of American merchant vessels. 2. Napoleon imposed the Continental System, which required customs officials to seize neutral American ships that had stopped in Britain. 3. The British seized American ships carrying goods to Europe and also searched for British deserters. 4. Americans were outraged in 1807 when a British warship attacked the Chesapeake, killing or wounding twenty-one men and seizing four.
5. Jefferson devised the Embargo Act of 1807, which prohibited American ships from leaving their home ports until Britain and France repealed restrictions on U.S. trade. 6. The act caused American exports to plunge, prompting Federalists to demand its repeal. 7. As president, James Madison replaced the embargo with new economic restrictions, none of which persuaded Britain and France to respect Americas neutrality rights. 8. Southern and western war hawks, hoping to gain new territory and discredit the Federalists, pushed Madison toward war with Britain. D. The War of 1812 1. The War of 1812 was a near disaster for the United States, both militarily and politically. 2. Political divisions in the United States prevented a major invasion of Canada in the East; New Englanders opposed the war, and Boston merchants declined to lend money to the government. 3. After two years of sporadic warfare, the United States had made little progress along the Canadian frontier and was on the defensive along the Atlantic; moreover, the new capital city was in ruins. 4. In the Southwest, Andrew Jackson led an army of militiamen to victory over Britishsupported Creek Indians in the Battle of Little Horseshoe Bend. 5. Federalists met in Hartford, Connecticut, to discuss strategy, and some delegates proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would limit presidents to a single four-year term and rotate the presidency among citizens of different states. 6. While the Federalists were meeting in Hartford, British troops landed at New Orleans, threatening to cut off the Wests access to the sea. 7. American military setbacks strengthened opposition to the war, but, fortunately, Britain wanted peace. 8. The Treaty of Ghent, signed December 24, 1814, restored the prewar borders of the United States. 9. Victory at New Orleans made Andrew Jackson a national hero and symbol of the emerging West. 10. As a result of John Quincy Adamss diplomacy, the United States gained undisputed possession of nearly all the land south of the fortyninth parallel and between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. III. The Capitalist Commonwealth A. A Merchant-Based Economy: Banks, Manufacturing, and Markets
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1. America was a nation of merchants, and to finance enterprises, Americans needed a banking system. 2. In 1791, Congress chartered the first Bank of the United States; however, it did not survive. The Second Bank of the United States was created in 1816. 3. Many banks issued notes without adequate specie reserves and made ill-advised loans to insiders. 4. The Panic of 1819 gave Americans their first taste of the business cycles periodic expansion and contraction of profits and employment. 5. Merchant-entrepreneurs developed a ruralbased manufacturing system similar to the European outwork, or putting-out, system. 6. The penetration of the market economy into rural areas motivated farmers to produce more goods. 7. At first, barter transactions were a central feature of the emergent market system, but gradually a cash economy replaced the barter system. 8. The new market system decreased the self-sufficiency of families and communities even as it made them more productive. B. Public Policy: The Commonwealth System 1. Throughout the nineteenth century, state governments had a much greater impact on the day-to-day lives of Americans than did the national government. 2. As early as the 1790s, state legislatures devised an American plan of mercantilism, known as the commonwealth system. 3. State legislatures granted hundreds of corporate charters to private businesses to build roads, bridges, and canals to connect inland market centers to seaport cities. 4. Incorporation often included a grant of limited liability and transportation charters included the power of eminent domain. 5. By 1820, innovative state governments has created a new political economy: the commonwealth system. C. Federalist Law: John Marshall and the Supreme Court 1. Both Federalists and Republicans endorsed the idea of the commonwealth system, but their differences emerged during John Marshalls tenure on the Supreme Court. 2. In deciding that the Judiciary Act violated the Constitution, Marshall overturned a national law and explicitly claimed that the Supreme Court had the power of judicial review (Marbury v. Madison, 1803).
3. The doctrine of judicial review evolved slowly; the Supreme and state courts used it sparingly and only to overturn state laws that conflicted with constitutional principles. 4. Marshall preferred a loose construction of the Constitution and asserted the dominance of national statutes over state legislation (McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819, and Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824). 5. Under Marshall, the Supreme Court construed the Constitution so that it extended protection to the property rights of individuals purchasing state-owned lands (Fletcher v. Peck, 1810, and Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 1819). 6. Nationalist-minded Republicans won the allegiance of many Federalists in the East, while Jeffersonian Republicans won the support of western farmers and southern planters. 7. The Republican Party divided into a national faction and a Jeffersonian, or state-oriented, faction.
Lecture Strategies
1. Discuss the trans-Appalachian migration. Examine the forces that encouraged settlers to move west, the migrants origins and social backgrounds, the many difficulties they encountered, and the effects of this migration on the eastern states. 2. Two powerful ideologies nationalism and sectionalism grew tremendously during this period. Discuss the factors that helped to promote these two ideologies, and explain the impact of each on the nations history. Students frequently think that secessionist plans originated among radical southern states rights advocates. Describe the earliest secession schemes in the Northeast and the West, their motives, and the reasons for their failure. 3. Explain the factors that fostered the development of a capitalist economy in the United States. Describe the forces behind the enactment of the Embargo Act of 1807. Elucidate the economic hardships and divisiveness it caused, and explain why it was replaced by less stringent legislation. Then describe the outwork, or putting-out, system. Explore its origins and the effects it had on farm families, agriculture, and the market economy. Explain how those changes contributed to the Industrial Revolution in the United States. 4. Students often believe that after the Revolution Americans were united into a single homogeneous people. Detail the geographical expansion of the United States from 1790 to 1820. Examine the roles played by American presidents, diplomats, military forces, and foreign nations (including Native Americans) in acquiring new territory. Describe the power
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and influence of state and local governments in the early nineteenth century, listing and elaborating on the numerous ways in which they sought to improve the welfare of their citizens and to regulate social life. Analyze the differences in religion, ethnicity, economic livelihood, and customs between American cultures. 5. Many students believe that property rights are sacred and cannot be taken away. Explain the rise of the commonwealth system and its effects on individual property rights. Define eminent domain, and describe some of the relevant cases in John Marshalls court that influenced these changes in property rights. 6. Discuss the causes of the American declaration of war against the more powerful nation of Great Britain in 1812. Explain the many forces that compelled Madison and Congress to place the young nation in such jeopardy. Describe the political and sectional division over the decision to go to war and its effects. 7. Examine Chief Justice Marshalls view of constitutional nationalism. Explain how his court strengthened federal authority at the expense of the states, providing a favorable climate for business that led to the development of a capitalist commonwealth.
c. It allowed settlers to intrude on Indian land and thus force the issue. d. It dealt with the Native Americans one tribe at a time, keeping them divided. 3. Why did the first generation of western settlers have such difficulty establishing an independent livelihood? Possible answers: a. Increase in the price of land during the Federalist period caused by speculators and the U.S. government. b. Lack of roads and navigable rivers to transport goods. c. Lack of nearby markets. d. Time-consuming processes of clearing land, building houses and barns, and planting crops. 4. Why did Jefferson take such a conciliatory attitude toward the Federalists? Possible answers: a. Jefferson wanted to unite the nation politically. b. Jefferson was a moderate, practical politician. c. Jefferson disliked vigorous controversy and criticism. d. With the Federalists out of power, Jefferson saw little danger of the political system being used as a tool of corruption. e. Jefferson saw ways in which Federalist policies could be revised to benefit more people. 5. Did the Americans achieve their goals in the War of 1812? Possible answers: a. Yes. They successfully severed the alliance between the Native Americans in the West and the British. The British grudgingly recognized American sovereignty in the West. b. Yes. American neutrality was recognized, and the Americans gained the respect of the British, ending a long period of diplomatic subservience to Britain. c. Yes. They sustained and enhanced national honor. d. No. They did not prevail over the British militarily; indeed, it was almost a military disaster. e. No. Prewar boundaries were maintained, and unresolved issues were referred to future negotiations. 6. What price did farmers pay for participating in the putting-out system and the market economy? Possible answers: a. Longer working hours for both parents and children. b. Decrease in mixed-crop agriculture. c. Decrease in self-sufficiency. d. Increased dependency on wages. e. Decrease in economic freedom.

1. Why did so many American farmers migrate to the trans-Appalachian West early in the nineteenth century? Which reason do you think was most important? Possible answers: a. Land in New England and Virginia was depleted, and villages in New England were overcrowded. The results were poor yields and a declining ability to pass land to ones children. The land in the West was richer and less expensive. Therefore, one could both acquire more land and have enough to pass on to ones children. b. These factors reduced the standard of living of a renting class of tenant farmers. Many farmers went west to increase their wealth and maintain their yeoman farmer autonomy. Others moved west to establish new plantations. c. In both cases, one gained more social freedom in the West. d. In all cases, the underlying goal was a better life. 2. How did the United States acquire Native American lands with such ease? Possible answers: a. It forced treaties on the Indians under the threat of military force. b. It bribed Indians, using American goods to compel them to relinquish the right to their lands.
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7. What forces turned America into a capitalist society during the early years of the republic? Possible answers: a. Increase in banking and credit. b. Development of rural manufacturing. c. Desire for economic independence from Britain. d. Investments by the states in internal improvements that fostered trade. e. Legal innovations such as limited liability and eminent domain.
why the white peoples God failed to provide instruction in the Indians language but instead chose to use a white peoples book. Red Jacket also doubts the veracity of Christians message because he does not see evidence of the whites declarations about salvation. He continues to maintain faith in the traditions provided by his forefathers. Red Jacket opens the possibility that the Indians and the whites may be equally correct on matters of spirituality.) 2. How does Red Jacket argue for separate religious practice for Indians and whites? (Red Jacket points out that Indian and colonial cultures are unique in complexion, trade, and custom. He concludes that since each culture enjoys distinct characteristics and knowledge, the Great Spirit created the differences intentionally. He and his people are satisfied with their spiritual practices because they are fulfilling the designs of the Great Spirit. There is no need to pursue the missionaries teachings, since the practices of white people are not suited to Native Americans.)

1. Analyze the motives of the United States in removing the Indians from their land and the different means employed to accomplish that task. How did the Indians respond? Do you think the American government had legitimate reasons for displacing the Indians? 2. Describe Thomas Jeffersons vision of a freeholding yeoman society. What policies did Jefferson implement to promote his vision? Do you believe he was successful? Explain. 3. How did the emergence of capitalism out of a barter economy restructure economic and social relationships? What were the effects of specialization, monetary exchange, and market competition? Were those effects positive or negative? 4. Did government involvement in and judicial decisions concerning property and trade have a positive or negative effect on American economic development early in the nineteenth century? Did Americans take to capitalism because they were individualists and Republicans, or did capitalism make them more individualist and Republican? 5. What was the impact of capitalism on republican society, politics, and social order? Did this impact undermine or support a new social order?
Writing Assignments
1. Assume that you are a colonial missionary. Use Christian theology to develop answers to Red Jackets questions. 2. Why did the Indians not systematically seek to convert Christians to Native American beliefs? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Noah M. Ludlow: Traveling to Kentucky, 1815 (p. 229)

Document Discussion
1. What kinds of challenges did Ludlow face on his journey? (Ludlow describes both moments of excitement and boredom as he proceeded from New York, through Pennsylvania, to Kentucky. He mentions having to walk nearly one hundred and fifty miles alongside a horse-drawn wagon as the journey began. Next, his party traveled on flat-bottomed boats down the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers. The men in the group remained on deck, exposed to the elements, while the ladies crowded into cabins. The monotony of river travel was sometimes interrupted by encounters with waterfalls and portages that demanded quick thinking and hard labor to overcome.) 2. How long did Ludlows party travel? (Although this selection does not relate the specific nature of Ludlows journey from Albany, it is about
Document Exercises
Red Jacket: A Seneca Chief s Understanding of Religion (p. 224)

Document Discussion
1. Why does Red Jacket oppose Christian teaching? (In this selection, Red Jacket expresses his dissatisfaction with Christian interpretations. He questions
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two hundred miles from Canandaigua, where the party assembled in July 1815. Then, the group walked one hundred and fifty miles to the Allegheny River, a trip that probably took about ten or twelve days. Upon reaching Pittsburgh, Ludlow journeyed by boat down the Ohio River to Maysville, Kentucky, a passage that occupied one week and four hundred miles. Note that travel on the river was faster than by roads.)
tion to Tecumseh than to Tenskwatawa. Why? How decisive was Tenskwatawas role? 2. Assess the possible alternatives that Tenskwatawa and his followers possessed in the face of encroaching settlement by white Americans. VO I C E S F R O M A B R OA D
Writing Assignments
1. What does the fact that Mr. Drake was assembling an acting troupe to perform in the Ohio Valley indicate about the state of settlement in the American interior during the early 1800s? 2. How did the development of roads and waterways during the early nineteenth century foster political and economic change? AMERICAN LIVES
Alexis de Tocqueville: Law and Lawyers in the United States (p. 247)
Document Discussion
1. What about American society impressed Tocqueville? Why? (Tocqueville thought the energy and motion of American society was remarkable. He noted that persons from all levels of society were involved in political and economic decision-making. Class structure, although very real in America, was much more elastic and relaxed than that he was accustomed to in France.) 2. Did Tocqueville think the restraining arm of the law commendable or dangerous to American society? (Tocqueville applauded the conservative influence of legal professionals. He believed that in a democracy the passions of the common people could become easily inflamed and thus required a buffer. Lawyers acted as intermediaries between members of the upper and lower classes. Although Tocqueville admired American society, he retained his conviction that a social hierarchy best preserved order.)
Tenskwatawa: Shawnee Prophet (p. 236)

Document Discussion
1. What message did Tenskwatawa offer his fellow Shawnees? (Tenskwatawa preached a nativist message, urging his followers to shun American settlers and their habits. He spoke of the evils of alcohol and warned the Shawnee not to wear the clothes of white men. The vehicle of his message was a new religion that centered on himself as a prophet. Tenskwatawa and his brother Tecumseh politicized the new religion as they began to directly oppose American settlement of their homelands in Indiana. This brought them into direct military conflict with colonial militias, which ended with the destruction of Tenskwatawas movement after the Battle of Tippecanoe.) 2. How did Tenskwatawa seek to reach his followers? (Tenskwatawa led a novel religious movement that allowed him to spread his teachings. He derived some of the rituals for his religion from French Jesuits the Indians had encountered. Other aspects of his religion involved worship of himself. Tenskwatawa demonstrated his powers as a prophet by accurately predicting an eclipse of the sun that he had learned of in advance from American astronomers.)
Writing Assignments
1. Enlightened thinkers, especially British jurists, traditionally viewed the law as liberating. Individuals could only be truly free if protected by the law. Here, Tocqueville argues that the law acts as a conservative force. Explain. 2. What about democracy did Tocqueville most fear, and what did he most admire? Why?
Map 8.1: Indian Cessions and State Formation, to 1840 (p. 223)
1. By the 1820s and 1830s, where had the Indians settled? (This map indicates that by 1820 the original thirteen colonies were devoid of substantial Indian com-
Writing Assignments
1. Analyze the relationship between Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh. Historians have usually given more atten-
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munities. Contrast this with the events of the French and Indian War and the Revolution, which directly involved large numbers of Native Americans and occurred only decades previously. The Indians are being pushed back all along the frontier of white settlement, first from upstate New York and the upper Ohio Valley, and then from large portions of the South and upper Midwest. Only west of the Mississippi River do large concentrations of Indians yet hold their land.) 2. Why were whites able to seize so much land from the Indians after 1820? (American colonists had developed successful means of economic and political organization that encouraged western settlement. Furthermore, they had devised technological solutions necessary to pass through the Appalachian Mountains. The land between the mountains and the Mississippi River offered few obstacles to transportation, so settlement was quite swift.)
of men. By this Adams meant that legal rules would be enforced uniformly, not arbitrarily according to the whim of an aristocrat or a government official. But who was to determine the law? In any event, this task did indeed fall to men (and later to women): the judges who interpreted the meaning of legislative statutes, sometimes through textual analysis and other times by reference to common-law doctrines and precedents. Two good introductions to the legal and economic history of this period are George Dargo, Law in the Early Republic (1982), and Jamil S. Zainaldin, Law in Antebellum Society (1983). Other important studies are J. Willard Hurst, Law and the Conditions of Freedom (1956); Morton Horwitz, The Transformation of American Law, 1790 1860 (1976); and William Nelson, Americanization of the Common Law: The Impact of Legal Change on Massachusetts Society, 17801830 (1975).
Suggested Themes
1. Judges based their decisions on two different philosophies: Federalist-leaning judges continued to rely on the common law, whereas Republicans argued that statute law law enacted by legislatures should take precedence. What were the pros and cons of each of these approaches? 2. Who benefited and who suffered from the decisions in these cases? Which decisions and legal doctrines would promote economic development? How? Based on your reading of these cases, what role does law play in the economic system? 3. These cases reflect the conflict between common law and economic development. What was the nature of this conflict? What were the arguments made by each side? What was the role of the government in each of these differing ideologies?
Map 8.6: Defining the National Boundaries, 18001820 (p. 240)

1. What does this map reveal about the state of European empires in North America? (The success of American diplomats in negotiating treaties with Great Britain and Spain to secure a national boundary in the North and to acquire Florida in the South is a testament to Americas growing strength. European powers did not possess the will, the funds, or the military forces to deter American settlement of the continent. In the future, only the new world state of Mexico and the Native American peoples would actively resist American continental expansion.) 2. Why was the clear demarcation of national boundaries important to the settlement of the American interior? (The negotiation of clearly defined national boundaries allowed government at the national and state level, as well as entrepreneurs and farmers, to advance plans for settlement and to invest with a measure of confidence. A sense of security accelerated the establishment of a new American political economy.)

Topic for Research
For Instructors
The Character of American Law

At the time of independence, John Adams declared that the United States would be a government of laws and not
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly
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regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material covered in Chapter 8 include The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Selections from the Journals, Arranged by Topic, edited with an introduction by Gunther Barth. For a description of this title and how you might use it in your course, visit bedfordstmartins.com/usingseries.
and Lawyers in the United States (p. 247) and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 8 are Henry Knox, Proposed Indian Policy for the New Republic Thomas Jefferson, Message to Congress (January 18, 1803) Jane Stevenson, A Pioneer Woman in Post-Revolutionary Kentucky (1840s) Leonard Covington, The Slaveholders Frontier: Moving to Mississippi (18081809) John Marshall, Decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803) Congressional Resolution on Western Lands (1800) The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804 1806) William Henry Harrison, Speech to Tecumseh and the Prophet (1811) and Report to the Secretary of War (1814) Hartford Convention Resolutions, 1814 Mathew Carey, The Virtues and Drawbacks of Chartered Banks (1816) John Marshall, Decision in Fletcher v. Peck (1810) Daniel Webster, Argument for the Plaintiff in Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1818)
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Map Activity The map activity present Map 8.6: Defining the National Boundaries, 18001820 (p. 240) and asks students to label and analyze territorial expansion during this period. Visual Activity The visual activity presents a painting of a Yankee peddler displaying his wares (p. 241) and asks students to analyze this domestic scene and what it demonstrates about middle-class New England culture in the 1830s. Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Red Jacket: A Seneca Chief s Understanding of Religion (p. 224) and Alexis de Tocqueville: Law
CHAPTER 9
The Quest for a Republican Society

17901820

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. How did Americans pursuit of republican ideals after the Revolution transform the nation into a more egalitarian society? 2. How did the role of women change in republican society? 3. How and why did African Americans create a distinctive society in the South? 4. Describe the social order of the South. 5. How did Protestant Christianity act as a force for social change?
Chapter Summary
Between 1790 and 1820, three variants of republican society developed in the United States. In the North the ideal of a democratic republican society based on liberty and equality encouraged the ambitions of a white male citizenry that demanded voting rights, pursued social mobility, and looked with suspicion on those with aristocratic pretensions. Political and religious leaders promoted a different path for women, developing the notion of a separate sphere consisting primarily of domestic responsibilities. Republicanism and sentimentalism influenced the private lives of many Americans, encouraging young people to marry for love as well as for economic security and prompting parents to raise their children using reason as well as authority. Responding to the demand for cotton, southern planters extended slavery into the Old Southwest. This
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expansion led to a sectional confrontation over slavery that the Missouri Compromise did not resolve. Enslaved blacks adopted English and some white religious practices but, along with free blacks in northern cities, forged a distinct African American culture. Slaves developed increasingly strong family, community, and religious values that helped them to survive the forced migration to the cotton belt and the relentless demands of gang labor. The planter elite solidified its control of the southern social order, constructing an elaborate intellectual defense of slavery and depicting itself as a natural aristocracy. A series of revivals planted the values of Protestant Christianity deep in the American national character and created new public roles for women. The Second Great Awakening spawned a wide variety of organizations dedicated to the cause of social and political reform and shifted the denominational base of American religion away from the leading churches of the colonial period toward more evangelical and democratic ones.

I. Democratic Republicanism A. Social and Political Equality for White Men 1. Republican ideology proclaimed legal equality for all free men, yet Americans accepted social divisions if they were based on personal achievements. 2. Some Americans from long-distinguished families questioned the morality of a social order based on mobility and financial success. 3. By the 1810s, Republicanism meant voting rights for all free white men. 4. Americans increasingly rejected the deferential political views of Federalists who called for a
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speaking aristocracy in the face of a silent democracy. 5. As the political power of middling and poor white men grew, the rights and status of white women and free blacks declined. B. Toward a Republican Marriage System 1. European and American husbands had long dominated their wives and controlled the familys property. 2. Women argued that the subordination of women was at odds with the republican belief in equal natural rights. 3. Economic and cultural changes eroded customary paternal authority, as parents could no longer use land as an incentive to control their childrens lives and marriages. 4. As the passions of the heart overwhelmed the cool logic of the mind, a new marriage system appeared. 5. Rather than seeking to control them, fathers now sought to protect the best interests of their children. 6. Theoretically, the republican ideal of companionate marriage gave wives equality with their husbands; in reality, husbands still controlled the property. 7. Before 1800, most petitioners for divorce charged their spouses with neglect, abandonment, or adultery; after 1800, emotional grounds dominated divorce petitions. C. Republican Motherhood 1. The main responsibilities of a married woman were running the household and raising the children. 2. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the United States experienced a sharp decline in the birthrate. 3. Fewer children meant fathers could provide more adequately for each, while mothers were no longer willing to spend all their active years bearing and rearing children. 4. Political leaders called upon women to become Republican wives and Republican mothers who would shape the characters of American men. 5. Christian ministers readily embraced the idea of republican motherhood, and some envisioned a public role for women based on their domestic virtues. D. Raising and Educating Republican Children 1. Unlike the English custom of primogeniture, most American states required the estate of a man be divided among all his children if he died without a will.
2. Some felt that Republicanism encouraged American parents to relax parental discipline and give their children greater freedom. 3. Well-to-do Americans influenced by the Enlightenment believed children were rational creatures who could be trained to act properly and responsibly. 4. By contrast, many poor families influenced by the Second Great Awakening had much stricter, authoritarian parents. 5. The values taught within families were crucial because most education took place within the home. 6. Although the constitutions of many states encouraged the use of public resources to fund primary schools, there was not much progress until the 1820s. 7. To instill self-discipline and individual enterprise in students, reformers chose textbooks that praised honesty and hard work while condemning gambling, drinking, and laziness. American history was also required learning. 8. Noah Websters blue-backed speller, first published in 1783, gave Americans of all backgrounds a common vocabulary and grammar. 9. Other than Washington Irving, no American author was well known in Europe; not until the 1830s and 1840s would American-born authors make a significant contribution to the great literature of the Western world. II. Aristocratic Republicanism and Slavery, 17801820 A. The North and the South Grow Apart 1. Both in theory and in practice, republicanism in the South differed significantly from that in the North, and European visitors commonly noted profound social differences among the regions. 2. After 1800, regional differences increased as the northern states ended slavery, and the southern states expanded their slave-based agricultural economy. 3. Northerners had hoped slavery would die out with the demise of the Atlantic slave trade and the decline of the tobacco economy. 4. In 1817 the founders of the American Colonization Society proposed to end slavery by encouraging southern planters to emancipate their slaves; the Society would then arrange for their resettlement in Africa. 5. Lacking support from either blacks or whites, the American Colonization Society was a dismal failure. B. Toward a New Southern Social Order 1. In 1780 the western boundary of the plantation system ran through the middle of Geor-
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Chapter 9 The Quest for a Republican Society, 17901820
gia; by 1820 the plantation frontier stretched through the middle of Louisiana, doubling the area cultivated by slave labor. 2. Despite an influx of new slaves, the demand for labor in the Southwest far exceeded the supply; consequently, white planters purchased or moved black workers from long-settled regions that had a surplus of labor. 3. Slave families were torn apart as they were moved to the fertile lands of the Mississippi Valley by their white owners, and thousands of others were separated from their families as they were sold. 4. By 1820 a much smaller proportion of southern whites owned slaves; the wealthy and influential slave owners dominated society and gave an aristocratic republican definition to politics. 5. The prospect of a more equal political and social order raised during the Revolutionary era had been counterbalanced by the expanding aristocratic republican plantation society based on cotton and sugar. C. Slave Society and Culture 1. The end of the transatlantic slave trade in 1809 gradually created an entirely American-born black population. 2. The movement of slavery into the Old Southwest slowly reduced cultural differences among slaves. 3. Southern states prohibited legal marriages between slaves, so the slaves devised their own marriage rituals. 4. Many recently imported slaves gave their children African names to maintain their cultural identity. 5. Some blacks won the right to labor by the task and were able to spend their free time working their private fields. 6. A few blacks plotted mass uprisings and murders, but slaves lacked the strong institutions needed to organize a successful rebellion. D. The Free Black Population 1. Between 1790 and 1820, the number of free blacks rose from 8 percent to 13 percent of the total African American population. 2. Free blacks were usually forbidden to vote, attend public schools, or sit next to whites in churches; only Vermont and Maine allowed free blacks to vote. 3. A few free blacks in the North achieved great distinction: the mathematician Benjamin Banneker, the painter Joshua Johnston, and the merchant Robert Sheridan among them. 4. Some skilled African Americans formed benevolent societies and churches, such as the
African Methodist Episcopal (AME), that provided programs for their communities. 5. To prove their free status, blacks had to carry manumission documents, and even then they had to be careful of being kidnapped and sold back into slavery. 6. Gradually free and enslaved African Americans saw themselves as one people, and free blacks sought to win freedom for all people of African ancestry. E. The Missouri Crisis 1. Whites were increasingly divided over the question of slave labor, and the rapid advance of plantation society into the Southwest heightened tension and added a new dimension to the debate. 2. The House blocked Missouris admission to the Union when it rejected Congressman Tallmadges proposed ban on the importation of slaves and the gradual emancipation of Missouris black inhabitants. 3. To stress their determination to protect slavery, Southerners used their power in the Senate to withhold statehood from Maine. 4. Southerners advanced three constitutional arguments: they raised the principle of equal rights for the states; they argued that slavery was purely an internal state affair; and they maintained that Congress had no authority to infringe on the property rights of slaveholders. 5. Henry Clay finally put together a series of political arguments known collectively as the Missouri Compromise; the compromise set a precedent for admission of states to the Union in pairs one free and one slave. 6. The task of reconciling regional differences had become difficult, and the specter of civil war lurked in the background. III. Protestant Christianity as a Social Force A. The Second Great Awakening 1. Churches that prospered in the new nation were those that adopted a republican outlook, proclaiming doctrines of spiritual equality. 2. Through revivals, Baptist and Methodist preachers reshaped the spiritual landscape of the South and the Old Southwest, and revivalists were particularly successful at attracting those who had never belonged to a church. 3. During the Second Great Awakening, the Congregationalist, Episcopalian, and Quaker churches declined in relative membership, while the Methodist and Baptist Churches grew spectacularly. 4. Methodist circuit riders established new churches in remote areas by bringing families
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together for worship and then appointing lay elders to enforce moral discipline until the circuit riders return. 5. Christian Republicanism in the South added a sacred dimension to the ideology of aristocratic Republicanism, while in the North it pushed forward the movement toward a democratic republican society. 6. Black Christianity developed as a religion of emotional fervor and stoical endurance; the Christian message of salvation helped many slaves to endure their bondage. 7. Ministers began stressing human ability and individual free will, making American religious culture more compatible with republican doctrines of liberty and equality. 8. For some, individual salvation became linked with social reform through the concept of religious benevolence. 9. Unlike the First Great Awakening, the Second Great Awakening fostered cooperation between denominations. 10. Protestants across the nation saw themselves as part of a single religious movement that could change the course of history through politics. B. Womens New Religious Roles 1. Women formed a majority in many denominations and assumed a new leading role in many Protestant churches in the North; they became active in religion and charitable work partly because they were excluded from other spheres of public life. 2. The new practice of having church services for males and females together was accompanied by greater moral self-discipline. 3. Womens religious activities and organizations were scrutinized and sometimes seen as subversive of the social order. 4. By the 1820s, mothers across the nation had founded local maternal associations to encourage Christian childrearing. 5. Religious activism advanced female education as churches established seminaries and academies where girls received intellectual training and moral instruction. 6. Women gradually displaced men as public school teachers because women had few other opportunities and were willing to accept lower pay.
democracy in the early nineteenth century. Explain the advances made in religious freedom, suffrage, and education. Discuss the limits to the expansion of liberty and participatory democracy. 2. Demonstrate how women used new attitudes about femininity to create opportunities and to gain power in the public and private spheres. Discuss the raising of children in the new republic. Explain the reasons for new childrearing practices. Compare these new methods with more traditional ones. Note the influence of parental education, wealth, and religious beliefs in determining the methods used to raise children.
3. Explain the forces behind the spread of slavery, the political conflicts it caused, and the eventual compromises made by the opposing factions. Describe some of the ideological arguments plantation owners used to justify slavery. To help students understand slavery as a labor system, explore attempts to profit from slavery in southern industries. Explain how slavery existed in southern cities, and compare these forms of slavery to agricultural slavery. 4. Describe the antislavery movement. Explain the reformers view of the institution of slavery and the methods for controlling its expansion. Elaborate on the political conflict between antislavery and proslavery forces and the difficulties in resolving their differences. 5. The emergence of a cohesive African American community life was a gradual process. Discuss the forces that led to a more unified slave society and culture, the difficulties in maintaining stable marriages and family relationships, and the means by which slaves developed their own identities, self-worth, and lives separate from their masters. Discuss how slave culture blended African cultural memories with white culture within the limits of slavery. Expand on the development of Christianity among slaves, and show how religion functioned as a criticism of slavery while providing solace for African Americans. 6. Explain the democratization of Protestant churches and the corresponding rise in church membership. Describe the techniques church leaders employed to unite people from diverse backgrounds in national religious organizations. Define the religious benevolence of Protestant evangelical ministers. Discuss their methods and goals for creating a new society.
Lecture Strategies
1. Students often believe that with independence from Britain and espousal of the idea that all men are created equal the United States immediately became a democratic nation. Discuss the development of

1. What are some differences and similarities in womens lives today compared with the early nineteenth century?
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Differences: a. Equal rights with men under the law. b. Greater economic opportunities. c. A broader spectrum of socially acceptable ways of life and spheres of activity. Similarities: a. Still paid less than men for performing the same job. b. Still living in a patriarchal society. c. Domestic duties and childrearing still largely the responsibility of women. 2. Compare the differences and similarities between white women and black slave women in the early nineteenth century. Differences: a. White women were physically free. b. Female slaves usually worked in the fields, whereas most white women worked at home. c. Black women more often had an equal partnership in marriage. Similarities: a. Both were responsible for raising children. b. Both were under the control of white men (husbands, male relatives, and masters). c. White and black mothers were viewed as the most important nurturing figures in the family. d. Neither had access to independent income. e. Neither could vote. 3. What similarities are there between families in the early republic and families today? Possible answers: a. Number of children per family decreasing among some groups. b. Women marrying later. c. Parents saving for childrens future (inheritance). d. Parents tending to indulge their children in a benevolent manner. e. Parents emphasizing education of children. f. Parents providing their children with greater independence and responsibility. 4. Why did the pursuit of republican ideals change American society? Possible answers: a. Increased equality among classes. b. Increased suffrage among white men. c. Called for increased education. d. Changed traditional family life. e. Introduced new ways of raising children. f. Changed womens role in the public and private spheres. 5. What effects did the Second Great Awakening have on American society?
Possible answers: a. Increase in intolerance toward non-Protestant beliefs, including Catholicism. b. Development of benevolent reform movements. c. Increase in church membership and the number of churches, which became the social centers of communities in rural areas. d. Increase in the number of colleges (seminaries). e. Increase in the number of blacks in Protestant sects. f. Greater importance of and power for women in church affairs. 6. What caused the great emotionalism of religious revivals? Possible answers: a. People felt filled with the Holy Spirit. b. Intoxication and emotionalism. c. Poor diet and health, exhaustion of camp environment. d. With few chances of attending religious services on the frontier, people could be overwhelmed by attending a church service. e. Revivals provided a safe and accepting environment for emotional display.

1. Describe how the American social hierarchy differed from that of Europe in the early nineteenth century. Consider the role of gender, race, and class. 2. How did the triumph of republican values alter assumptions about womens social roles, inheritance, and childrearing? 3. Discuss why some southern planters called slavery a necessary evil? 4. How did the Second Great Awakening transform the character of American Republicanism?
Document Exercises
NEW TECHNOLOGY
Womens Health and Fertility: From Folk Remedies to Pharmacies (p. 256)
Document Discussion
1. Why did eighteenth-century American women use and share folk remedies? (American women used folk remedies to preserve their health. The presence of physicians, particularly
Document Exercises
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in rural areas, was limited. During the first decades of the century, pharmaceuticals were not known or available. Adoption of folk medicine was one of the few means women possessed to safeguard their health.) 2. How did the preservation of womens health change during the eighteenth century? (In the early 1700s, women used folk remedies to protect themselves from illness. Women had very little control over their fertility or the progress of pregnancies. Later in the century, medical knowledge advanced to the point that tonics and pills specifically formulated to address womens health were marketed. Health manuals and technologies imported from Europe also aided women.)
to the historian who seeks to establish the degree of violence practiced in colonial America? Assess the validity of each. 2. This selection suggests that eighteenth-century European thought influenced family life in America. Examine the influence of Enlightenment literature on childrearing practices. A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Jacob Stroyer: A Child Learns the Meaning of Slavery (p. 267)

Document Discussion
1. What did Stroyer suddenly learn about his status when a white man whipped him for the first time? (Stroyer, just after beginning to work and still a boy, was whipped by a groom. For the first time, Stroyer conceived that he and his family were powerless before their masters, no doubt a wrenching recognition.) 2. What can you deduce about the slave-family relationships from this passage? (The impression that Stroyer presents is of a caring family that operated much like any other. Every family is of course unique, but Stroyer indicates the emotional attachments of a typical boy.)
Writing Assignments
1. How did the medical profession (whose practitioners were overwhelmingly male) confront and advance issues of womens health in the eighteenth century? 2. How did knowledge of womens health issues compare to the treatment of mens health matters in colonial America? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Lydia Marie Child: Raising Middle-Class Children (p. 259)

Document Discussion
1. How does Child describe the basic condition of an infant? (Child adheres to John Lockes empiricist argument that an infants mind is a blank slate, open and malleable to the environment presented to it. Sensory experience molded the character of a young person. Therefore, Child believes that the infant must be exposed only to positive impressions.) 2. Despite Childs advocacy of a rationalist approach to learning, what aspects of sentimentalism remains a part of her prescription? (While Child follows the notion that children are shaped through their exposure to the environment around them, she places it within a religious construct. Child constrains her advice to a world saturated with theological verities such as the notions of good and evil, immortal life, God, and the importance of the soul.)
Writing Assignments
1. Assess Stroyers tone as he describes how he first recognized the meaning of being a slave. Is Stroyer angry? vengeful? distressed? 2. What does the reaction of Stroyers parents to his beating reveal about the social costs of slavery? AMERICAN LIVES
Richard Allen and African American Identity (p. 270)

Document Discussion
1. What factors increased the popularity of Methodism generally and Allens Bethel Church specifically? (Methodist practices allowed the emotional expression repressed under slavery. The churchs strict discipline helped to bring order to members lives. Allen was an excellent preacher.) 2. What factors caused dissatisfaction with Methodism among free blacks and compelled them to create autonomous religious institutions?
Writing Assignments
1. Determining social behaviors and practices of the past is difficult. What kinds of evidence are available
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(Retreat from antislavery principles by white churchmen and attempts by white congregations to curb the autonomy of African American church members.)
can society to make people so eager to participate in religious revivals?
Writing Assignments
1. Why did Philadelphias free black population resist early colonization efforts for African Americans? 2. Why did Allen establish a separate church for African Americans? Why did this church become so popular among blacks? What can one infer about race relations in the North from this sketch of Allens life? VO I C E S F R O M A B R OA D
Map 9.1: The Expansion of Voting Rights for White Men, 18001830 (p. 254)
1. Why did some states in the East maintain property qualifications for voting, while most states in the West removed such restrictions? (Republicans, who had a more democratic political philosophy than Federalists, began to dominate state legislatures in the early 1800s. To appeal to the middle and lower ranks of society, these reform-minded politicians revised state constitutions to give more people a role in government.) 2. What trend does this map reveal regarding voting rights? (Over the period of 1800 to 1830, the voting rights of white men greatly expanded. Only two states provided for universal white male suffrage in 1800. By 1830, seven states did so.)
Frances Trollope: A Camp Meeting in Indiana (p. 276)

Document Discussion
1. What does Trollopes account reveal about evangelical religion in America? (Through Trollopes eyes, the physical setting assumes tremendous importance. She prominently describes the hour of midnight, the forest, the tents, the stage, and the people. Evangelical meetings were in part theatrical performance, with external displays of emotion being an important aspect. Trollope notes this and seems to be struck by it.) 2. What kind of audience do you think would have been interested in Trollopes writing? What does the title Domestic Manners of the Americans indicate? (Trollopes audience probably consisted of British people interested in America and most likely contained a significant percentage of women. Her prose needed to be colorful and interesting to retain her readers, but she also needed to connect with their experiences so that what she was describing in America seemed both relevant and real. The revivalist meeting provided an appropriate and compelling setting for such a story. The title indicates an interest in everyday life, in ordinary people, and, above all, in manners, which to the nineteenth-century mind denoted both individual and national character and culture.)
Map 9.2: Distribution of the Slave Population in 1790, 1830, and 1860 (p. 265)
1. What does this map reveal about slavery in North America? (The map reveals that slavery spread inland after 1790. During the 1800s a high concentration of slaves were located across the cotton lands of the Deep South, astride the lower Mississippi River, and in the tobacco-growing Chesapeake region. This distribution suggests that it was in these areas that slavery was most profitable for slave owners and hence provides insight as to the types of environmental conditions (soil, growing seasons, etc.) as well as the viability of agricultural markets that were present. The map does not provide information about the living conditions of slaves in each area. Recent research suggests that the lives of slaves on the sugar plantations, in the southern parishes of Louisiana for example, were harsher than those found elsewhere.) 2. Can any correlation be drawn between slave distribution and political climate within the South? (There seems to be only a loose relationship between this map and the fervor with which southern states adhered to the Confederacy. Note that most proUnionist areas did possess fewer slaves. Locations like the region that would later become the state of West Virginia and enclaves of Union sentiment such as
Writing Assignments
1. Explain how and why the individual behaviors of the people at the meeting could be so emotion filled and seemingly spontaneous, while the agenda of the gathering appeared to be rigidly orchestrated. 2. Why did the Great Awakening have such a far-reaching impact at this time? What had changed in Ameri-
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northern Alabama and eastern Tennessee did contain fewer slaves. On the other hand, Arkansas, Florida, and southern Georgia also contained smaller slave populations without developing significant Unionist leanings.)
slaves or freedmen. See, for example, Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855).

Topic for Research
Family Life and Religion under Slavery

In recent years historians have explored the role of family life and religion in helping African Americans to cope with the oppression of slavery. The pioneering books were John W. Blassingame, The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South (1979); Eugene D. Genovese, Roll, Jordan, Roll (1974); Herbert G. Gutman, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 17501925 (1976); and Lawrence W. Levine, Black Culture and Black Consciousness (1977). More recent studies include Charles Joyner, Down by the Riverside: A South Carolina Slave Community (1984); Jacqueline Jones, Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow: Black Women, Work, and the Family from Slavery to the Present (1986); Albert J. Roboteau, Slave Religion: The Invisible Institution in the Antebellum South (1978); Mechal Sobel, Travelin On: The Slave Journey to an Afro-Baptist Faith (1979); Sterling Stuckey, Slave Culture (1987); and Deborah G. White, Arnt I a Woman? Female Slaves in the Plantation South (1985). However, some planters may have attempted to shape slave family life and religion for a very different purpose: to strengthen slavery. For example, some planters may have promoted family life among slaves as a way of increasing their economic productivity and promoted slave religion as a way of encouraging slaves to accept their bondage. In a research paper, focus on a small sample of slaves, and analyze for yourself the role of family and religion in their lives. Base your analysis on the words of slaves. A prime source is the massive collection of slave interviews conducted by the New Deals Federal Writers Project during the 1930s. These interviews can be found in Benjamin A. Botkin, Lay My Burden Down: A Folk History of Slavery (1945); Norman Yetman, ed., Life under the Peculiar Institution: Selections from the Slave Narrative Collection (1970); and George P. Rawick, The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography (19 volumes and supplements, beginning in 1972). The narratives have to be used with care, however, because the interviewers were mainly white, and most of the people interviewed were recalling events that had happened many decades earlier. For analysis by historians of the interviews, see Paul D. Escott, Slavery Remembered: A Record of Twentieth-Century Slave Narratives (1979), and John Blassingames introduction to Slave Testimony (1977). You might also read one or more of the many diaries and first-hand accounts by
For Instructors
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material covered in Chapter 9 include Creating an American Culture, 17751800: A Brief History with Documents, by Eve Kornfeld; Welfare Reform in the Early Republic: A Brief History with Documents, by Seth Rockman; and Judith Sargent Murray: A Brief Biography with Documents, by Sheila L. Skemp. For descriptions of these titles and how you might use them in your course, visit bedfordstmartins .com/usingseries.
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Map Activity The map activity presents Map 9.2: Distribution of the Slave Population in 1790, 1830, and 1860 (p. 265) and asks students to analyze the expansion and migration of slavery over time. Visual Activity The visual activity presents a portrait of the Reverend Richard Allen and his church (p. 271) and asks students to analyze his role in developing the first independent black denomination in the United States. Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Jacob Stroyer: A Child Learns the Meaning of Slavery (p. 267) and Frances Trollope: A Camp Meeting in Indiana (p. 276) and asks students to
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analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 9 are Universal (White) Manhood Suffrage? The New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821 Benjamin Rush, The Education of Republican Women (1798) James Madison to Robert Walsh Jr., The Original Intent and Slavery (1819) Daniel Raymond, The Blight of Slavery (1819) Forced Migration to the Cotton South: The Narrative of Charles Ball (1837) Frederick Law Olmsted, Slave Management on a Mississippi Plantation (1852) Nat Turner, Religion in the Quarters (1832) Reverend George Baxter, Defending the Revival at Cane Ridge, Kentucky (1802)
Ezra Stiles Ely, The Duty of Christian Freemen to Elect Christian Rulers (1828) Alexis de Tocqueville, What Makes Religion Powerful in America? (1831)
Thinking about History: Federalism as History and Contemporary Politics (p. 280)
1. Would you consider yourself a Federalist or an Antifederalist? Why? 2. Has the tendency of the federal government been to centralize or to decentralize its range of activities since 1787? Supply evidence to support your position. 3. Examine a contemporary issue and formulate a Federalist and Antifederalist approach to solving it.
PA RT T H R E E
Economic Revolution and Sectional Strife

18201877

After you have taught this part, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. How did the Industrial Revolution affect the regions of the United States North, South, and West differently? 2. What effects did the factory have on American social structure? 3. How and why did reform movements arise in response to social and economic change in both antebellum and Reconstruction eras? 4. What impact did democratization have on the American party system? 5. Why did sectional discord between the North and the South culminate in war? 6. How and why did the Civil War end with the North victorious? 7. Assess and explain the conduct and outcomes of Reconstruction.
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Thematic Timeline
ECONOMY
The Economic Revolution Begins
1820 Waltham textile factory (1814) Erie Canal completed (1825); market economy expands 1830 Protective tariffs aid owners and workers Panic of 1837 U.S. textile makers outcompete British
SOCIETY
A New Class Structure Emerges
Business class emerges Rural women and girls recruited as factory workers
GOVERNMENT
Creating a Democratic Polity
Spread of universal white male suffrage Rise of Jackson and Democratic Party
CULTURE
Reforming People and Institutions
American Colonization Society (1817) Benevolent Reform movements Revivalist Charles Finney
SECTIONALISM
From Compromise to Civil War and Reconstruction
Missouri Compromise (1820) David Walkers Appeal to the Colored Race (1829)
Mechanics form craft unions Depression shatters labor movement
Anti-Masonic movement Whig Party formed (1834); Second Party System emerges
Joseph Smith founds Mormonism Female Moral Reform Society (1834) Temperance Crusade expands
Nullification crisis (1832) W. L. Garrison forms American Anti-Slavery Society (1833)
1840
Irish join labor force
Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842) legalizes unions

Manufacturing grows
Working-class districts emerge in cities Irish immigration accelerates
Log Cabin campaign mobilizes voters Antislavery parties: Liberty and Free Soil
Fourierist and other communal settlements founded Seneca Falls convention (1848) Harriet Beecher Stowes Uncle Toms Cabin (1852) Anti-immigrant nativist movement
Texas annexation, Mexican War, and Wilmot Proviso (1846) increase sectional conflict
1850
Growth of cotton output in South and railroads in North and Midwest Panic of 1857
Expansion of farm society into Midwest and Far West Free labor ideology justifies inequality
Whig Party disintegrates; Republican Party founded (1854): Third Party System begins
Compromise of 1850 Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) and Bleeding Kansas
Dred Scott decision (1857)

Thirteenth Amendment (1865) ends slavery; Fourteenth Amendment (1868) extends legal and political rights Fifteenth Amendment extends vote to black men (1870) U.S. Sanitary Commission and American Red Cross founded South Carolina leads secession movement (1860) Confederate States of America (18611865) Freed African Americans create schools and churches Compromise of 1877 ends Reconstruction
1860
Republicans enact agenda: Homestead Act, railroad aid, high tariffs, national banking
Emancipation Proclamation (1863) Free blacks struggle for control of land
1870
Panic of 1873
Rise of sharecropping in the South
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etween 1820 and 1877, the United States changed from a predominantly agricultural society into one of the worlds most powerful manufacturing economies. This profound transformation began slowly in the Northeast and then accelerated after 1830, affecting every aspect of life in the northern and midwestern states and bringing important changes to the South.
class barriers and a high rate of individual social mobility. The result was a two-party system that engaged the energies of the majority of the electorate and unified the fragmented social order.
Economy Two revolutions in industrial production and the market system transformed the nations economy. Factory owners used high-speed machines and a new system of labor discipline to boost production, and enterprising merchants employed a newly built network of canals and railroads to create a vast national market. The manufacturing sector produced an ever-increasing share of the countrys wealth: from less than 5 percent in 1820 to more than 30 percent in 1877. Society The new economic system spurred the creation of a class-based society. A wealthy elite of merchants, manufacturers, bankers, and other entrepreneurs emerged at the top of the social order and tried to maintain social stability through a paternalistic program of religious reform. However, an urban middle class with a distinct material and religious culture grew in size and political importance. Equally striking was the increasing number of propertyless workers, many of them immigrants from Germany and Ireland, who labored for wages in the new factories and built the new canals and railroads. By 1860, half the nations free workers labored for wages, and wealth had become concentrated in the hands of relatively few families. Government Economic growth and social diversity facilitated the development of political parties and a more open, democratic polity. To enhance their economic prospects, farmers, workers, and entrepreneurs turned to politics, seeking improved transportation, shorter workdays, and special corporate charters. Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Germany also entered the political arena in order to protect their religion and culture from attacks by nativists and reformers. Led by Andrew Jackson, the Democratic Party took the lead in advancing the interests of southern planters, farmers, and urban workers. It did so primarily by carrying through a democratic political and constitutional revolution that cut governmental aid to financiers, merchants, and business corporations. To compete with the Democrats, the Whig Party (and, beginning in the 1850s, the Republican Party) promoted reform and a vision of a society with a few
Culture During these decades a series of reform movements, many with religious roots and goals, swept across America. Dedicated men and women preached the gospel of temperance, observance of Sunday, prison reform, and dozens of other causes. Some Americans pursued their social dreams in utopian communities in the midwestern states, but most reformers worked within society. Two interrelated groups abolitionists and women's rights activists called for radical changes in the social order, the immediate end of slavery, and reform of the patriarchal legal and cultural order. Abolitionist attacks prompted southern leaders to defend slavery as beneficial to slaves as well as planters. During the 1840s and 1850s, antislavery advocates turned to political action, campaigning for free soil in the western territories and alleging that the southern slave power threatened free labor and republican values. Sectionalism These economic, political, and cultural changes combined to sharpen sectional divisions: the North developed into an urbanizing and industrializing society based on free labor, whereas the South remained a rural, slaveholding society dependent on the production and export of cotton. Following the conquest of vast areas of the West during the Mexican War (18461848), northern and southern politicians argued vigorously over the issue of permitting slavery in these newly acquired territories. These conflicts could not be resolved by political compromise, leading in 1861 to the secession of the South from the Union and, thereafter, civil war. The conflict became a total war, a struggle between two societies as well as two armies. Because of new technology and the mass mobilization of armies, the two sides endured unprecedented casualties and costs before the North emerged victorious. The fruits of victory were substantial. During Reconstruction, the Republican Party ended slavery, imposed its economic policies and constitutional doctrines on the nation, and began to extend full democratic rights to the former slaves. Faced by massive resistance from white Southerners, northern leaders lacked the will to undertake the fundamental transformation of the economic and political order of the South that was required to provide African Americans with the full benefits of freedom.
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CHAPTER 10
The Economic Revolution

18201860

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. How did industrialization affect the economy? 2. How and why did a transportation revolution occur before 1860? 3. Why did Americans both migrate westward and move to cities during the first half of the nineteenth century? 4. How did the rise of factories affect the social relationships of Americans?
Chapter Summary
Between 1820 and 1860, the United States experienced an industrial and a market revolution that created a new economic structure. Merchants and manufacturers organized increasingly efficient systems of production and, aided by skilled mechanics, introduced water- and steampowered machines to turn out huge quantities of goods. Simultaneously, merchants, traders, and shopkeepers created a vast market system in which they exchanged these manufactures for grain, meat, cotton, leather, and wool produced by a rapidly growing and westward-moving farm population. Three streams of migrants moved into the West, transplanting the cultures of the plantation South and yeoman New England in the Old Southwest, the Ohio River Valley, and the Old Northwest. State governments promoted this westward movement and the creation of regional and national markets by subsidizing the building of roads, canals, and railroads. This infrastructure created a transportation system that was unprecedented in size and complexity. As
domestic markets and production grew, urbanization accelerated in the Northeast, where industrial towns dotted the landscape, and New York City became the nations largest city and leading trading center. Economic growth prompted the delineation of the urban populace according to social class: a wealthy urban business elite of merchants and manufacturers; a prosperous, educated and well-housed middle class; and a mass of wage-earning laborers with little or no property. Some artisans and workers formed trade unions in generally unsuccessful efforts to improve their economic welfare. Other working people, especially those without skills and those who could not obtain steady employment, lived in poverty. To improve the living conditions and to balance the vices of the poor, upper-class Americans formed benevolent reform societies that promoted temperance, dispensed charity, and encouraged respect for the Christian Sabbath. Simultaneously, Charles Grandison Finney and other evangelical clergymen gave new life to the Second Great Awakening, enlisting missions of propertied farmers and middle-class Americans in a massive religious revival. Protestant evangelicalism heightened the cultural conflict between native-born Americans and millions of Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Germany. Nativist writers attacked Irish Catholics as antirepublican, and American workers blamed immigrant labor for their economic woes attitudes that led to ethnic riots in many northern cities. By 1860 the United States was a more prosperous society than ever before, but also one exhibiting numerous social and economic divisions.

I. The Coming of Industry: Northeastern Manufacturing
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Chapter 10 The Economic Revolution, 18201860
A. Division of Labor and the Factory 1. Industrialization came to the United States after 1790 as merchants and manufacturers increased output of goods by reorganizing work and building factories. 2. The outwork system was a more efficient division of labor and lowered the price of goods, but it eroded workers control over the pace and conditions of work. 3. For tasks not suited to outwork, factories were created where work was concentrated under one roof and divided into specialized tasks. 4. Manufacturers used newly improved stationary steam engines to power their mills and used power-driven machines and assembly lines to produce new types of products. 5. Some Britons feared that American manufacturers would become exporters not only to foreign countries but even to England. B. The Textile Industry and British Competition 1. Americans copied and then improved upon British technology. Britain prohibited the export of textile machinery and the emigration of mechanics who knew how to build it; but many mechanics disguised themselves as ordinary laborers and set sail. 2. Samuel Slater brought to America a design for an advanced cotton spinner; the opening of his factory in 1790 marked the advent of the American Industrial Revolution. 3. America had an abundance of natural resources, but British companies were better established, had less-expensive shipping rates, lower interest rates, and cheaper labor. 4. Congress passed protective legislation in 1816 and 1824 levying high taxes on imported goods; tariffs were reduced again in 1833, and some textile firms went out of business. 5. The Waltham plan recruited farm women and girls as textile workers who would work for low wages. 6. Women often found this work oppressive, but many gained a new sense of freedom and autonomy. 7. By combining improved technology, female labor, and tariff protection, the Boston Manufacturing Company sold textiles more cheaply than did the British. C. American Mechanics and Technological Innovation 1. By the 1820s, American-born craftsmen had replaced British immigrants at the cutting edge of technological innovation. 2. The most important inventors of the 1820s were members of the Sellars family, who
helped found the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia in 1824. 3. As mechanic institutes were established in other states, American mechanics pioneered the development of machine tools, thus fueling the spread of the Industrial Revolution. 4. In the firearms industry, interchangeable and precision-crafted parts enabled large-scale production. 5. The volume of output and subsequent availability caused some products Remington rifles, Singer sewing machines, and Yale locks to become household names. 6. After the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition in London, Americans built factories in Britain and soon dominated many European markets. D. Wage Workers and the Labor Movement 1. More and more white Americans left selfemployment and became wage earners, though they had little job security or control over their working conditions. 2. Some journeymen formed unions and bargained with their employers, particularly in hopes of setting a ten-hour workday; the Mechanics Union of Trade Associations set forth a broad program of reforms. 3. The Working Mens Party, founded in 1828, called for the abolition of banks, equal taxation, and a system of public education. 4. By the mid-1830s, many urban employers had been forced to accept a ten-hour workday. 5. Artisans whose occupations were threatened by industrialization shoemakers, printers, etc. were less successful, and some left their employers and set up specialized shops. 6. The new industrial system divided the traditional artisan class into two groups: self-employed craftsmen and wage-earning craftsmen. 7. Under English and American common law, it was illegal for workers to organize themselves for the purpose of raising wages because they prevented other workers from hiring themselves out for whatever wages they wished. 8. In 1830, factory workers banded together to form the Mutual Benefit Society to seek higher pay and better conditions, and in 1834, the National Trades Union was founded. 9. Union leaders devised a labor theory of value and organized strikes for higher wages; these strikes prompted strikes by women textile workers as well. 10. Men replaced many of the women leaving the mills, foreshadowing the emergence of a predominately male system of factory labor.
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11. By the 1850s, supply exceeded demand, and unemployment rose to 10 percent, resulting in a major recession with the Panic of 1857. II. The Expansion of Markets A. Migration to the Southwest and the Midwest 1. People migrated to the West for several reasons; some were looking for land for their children, others hoped for greater profits from the western soil. 2. Migration occurred in three great streams: southern plantation owners moved into the Old Southwest; small-scale farmers from the upper South moved into the Northwest Territory; and crowded New Englanders flowed into New York and the Old Northwest. 3. Congress reduced the price of federal land in 1820, and by 1860 the population center of America had shifted to the West. B. The Transportation Revolution Forges Regional Ties 1. The National Road and other interregional, government-funded highways were too slow and expensive to transport goods and crops efficiently. 2. Americans developed a water-borne transportation system of unprecedented size, beginning with the government-subsidized Erie Canal. 3. The canal had three things in its favor: the support of city merchants, the backing of the governor, and the gentleness of the terrain west of Albany. 4. The Erie Canal altered the ecology as streams and rivers flowed into it, depriving some areas of the water needed to sustain wildlife and settlers. 5. The Erie Canal brought prosperity to central and western New York, linked the economies of the Northeast and Midwest, and prompted a national canal boom. 6. The invention of the steamboat ensured the success of the water-borne transportation system. 7. The Supreme Court encouraged this national system of transportation by striking down state controls over interstate commerce (Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824). 8. The development of the railroad created ties between the Northeast and the Midwest, and by the 1850s, railroads became the main carriers of freight. 9. By the 1830s, Midwestern entrepreneurs were producing goods John Deere plows, McCormick and Hussey reapers to replace the ones Americans had been importing from Britain.
10. Southern investors concentrated their resources in cotton and slaves and passed up industrialization, preferring to buy manufactures from the Northeast and Britain. 11. The South remained predominantly agricultural and did not provide a majority of its people with a rising standard of living. C. The Growth of Cities and Towns 1. Due to the expansion of industry and trade, the urban population grew fourfold between 1820 and 1840. 2. The most rapid growth occurred in the new industrial towns that sprang up along the fall line, where it was necessary for the loads to be moved from rivers and canals to another form of transportation. 3. By 1860 the largest cities in the United States were New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Chicago, in that order. 4. In 1817, New York merchants founded the New York Stock Exchange, the nations chief market for securities. 5. New Yorks growth stemmed primarily from its control of foreign trade; by 1840, New York handled almost two-thirds of foreign imports and almost half of all foreign trade. III. Changes in the Social Structure A. The Business Elite 1. The Industrial Revolution shattered the traditional rural social order and created a society of classes, each with its own culture. 2. In the large cities the richest 1 percent of the population owned 40 percent of all tangible property and an even larger share of the stocks and bonds. 3. The government taxed tangible property but almost never taxed stocks, bonds, or inheritances; thus government policies allowed the richest to accumulate even more wealth at the expense of poorer men. 4. The wealthiest families began to consciously set themselves apart, and many American cities became class-segregated communities. B. The Middle Class 1. A distinct middle-class culture emerged as the per capita income of Americans rose about 2.5 percent per year between 1830 and the Panic of 1857. 2. Middle-class Americans secured material comfort for themselves and education for their children, and they stressed discipline, morality, and hard work. 3. The business elite and the middle class regarded work as socially beneficial.
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4. The upper and middle classes were tied together by the ideal of the self-made man, which became a central theme of American popular culture. C. The New Urban Poor 1. The bottom 10 percent of the labor force, the casual workers, owned little or no property, and their jobs were unpredictable, seasonal, and dangerous. 2. Other laborers had greater job security, but few prospered; many families sent their children out to work, and the death of one parent often sent the family into dire poverty. 3. By the 1830s, urban factory workers and unskilled laborers lived in well-defined neighborhoods of crowded boardinghouses or tiny apartments, often with filthy conditions. 4. Many wage earners turned to alcohol as a form of solace; by 1830 the per capita consumption of alcohol was over three times present-day levels. 5. Grogshops and tippling houses appeared on almost every block in working-class districts, and police were unable to contain the lawlessness that erupted. D. The Benevolent Empire 1. During the 1820s, Congregational and Presbyterian ministers linked with merchants and their wives to launch a program of social reform and regulation. 2. The Benevolent Empire targeted drunkenness and other social ills, but it also set out to institutionalize charity and combat evil in a systematic fashion. 3. The benevolent groups encouraged people to live well-disciplined lives, and they established institutions to assist those in need and to control people who were threats to society. 4. In the Benevolent Empire, upper-class women supported and staffed a number of charitable organizations. 5. Some reformers believed that one of the greatest threats to morality was the decline of the traditional Sabbath. 6. Popular resistance or indifference limited the success of the Benevolent Empire. E. Revivalism and Reform 1. Presbyterian minister Charles Grandison Finney conducted emotional revivals that stressed conversion rather than instruction; Finneys ministry drew on and accelerated the Second Great Awakening. 2. Finneys message that man was able to choose salvation was particularly attractive to the middle class.
3. Finney wanted to humble the pride of the rich and relieve the shame of the poor by celebrating their common fellowship in Christ. 4. The business elite joined the Cold Water movement, establishing savings banks and Sunday schools for the poor and helping to provide relief for the unemployed. 5. The initiatives to create a harmonious community of morally disciplined Christians were not altogether effective, so Finney added a new tactic: group prayer meetings in family homes. 6. The American Temperance Society adapted methods that worked well in the revivals and took them into northern towns and southern rural hamlets. 7. Evangelical Protestantism helped to lower alcohol consumption, reinforce work ethics, and strengthen a sense of common identity between the upper and middle classes. F. Immigration and Cultural Conflict 1. Between 1840 and 1860, millions of immigrants Irish, Germans, and Britons were placing new strains on the American social order. 2. Most avoided the South, and many Germans moved to states in the Midwest, while other Germans and most of the Irish settled in the Northeast. 3. The most prosperous immigrants were the British, followed by the Germans; the poorest were from Ireland. 4. Many Germans and most Irish were Catholics and fueled the growth of the Catholic Church in America. 5. In 1834, Samuel F. B. Morse published Foreign Conspiracy against the Liberties of the United States, which warned of a Catholic threat to American republican institutions. 6. Anti-Catholic sentiment intensified: mobs of unemployed workers attacked Catholics, and the Native American Clubs called for limits on immigration. 7. Many reformers wanted to prevent the diversion of tax resources to Catholic schools and to oppose alcohol abuse by Irish men. 8. In most large northeastern cities, differences of class and culture led to violence and split the North in the same way that race and class divided the South.
Lecture Strategies
1. Students often have difficulty understanding how technological innovation developed. Explore the contributions and careers of people such as Eli Whit-
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ney and Robert Fulton. Describe technological innovation as a process of borrowing and creative adaptation. Examine Britains contribution to Americas Industrial Revolution. 2. How entrepreneurs translated their innovations into business success is often unclear to students. Examine entrepreneurial activity in the 1820s and 1830s. Consider the significant contributions of British models, sources of start-up capital, the role of family connections, and the role of government. 3. Students often see the Industrial Revolution as monolithic. Discuss regional differences in response to the Industrial Revolution. In New England, how did communities differ and why? Discuss the ways in which regional specialization of production was complementary and ways in which it was not; for example, local farmers provided the new manufacturing towns with food, raw materials, and labor (young women) in exchange for cash. Discuss how people in the regions viewed each other and their differences. 4. Students rarely comprehend the magnitude of the transformation of the North brought about by the growth of industry. Discuss changes in business from preindustrial days to the emergence of corporate business firms. Discuss technological changes in production and their impact on productivity, workers lives, and consumers. Explain how this process produced our modern faith in technology. Large-scale industrial production also appears to have led to a boom-andbust cycle in the economy; explore this cycle and its manifestations in the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s.
8. Help students understand the significance of the transformation from subsistence agriculture to a market economy. Discuss where this occurred most rapidly and why. Discuss the impact on farmers, and explain how production for a market economy required new skills such as accounting and planning. Discuss the impact on the family and gender roles. 9. The nineteenth-century middle class was not the same as the middle class of today. Explain how the Industrial Revolution led to the rise of the middle class, who middle-class people were, how they lived, what they did, and what they thought. 10. To emphasize the importance of religion to nineteenth-century reform movements, discuss the connection between religion and reform. Explore the degree to which reform resulted from the business classs desire to establish greater social control and the degree to which it was the response of women who wished to protect the family and gain a greater public role. Discuss whether these motives were complementary. 11. Discuss the theological underpinnings of reform, and show how Charles Grandison Finney transformed the concept of salvation. Discuss how other churches responded to Finney. Describe the successes and failures of the reform movement. 12. The immigrant experience draws many students interest. Develop this topic with further discussion of the Irish potato famine and the events in Germany that led large numbers of immigrants to come to America. Discuss the immigrant voyage and the reasons immigrants chose one destination over another. Compare their expectations with the situations and opportunities they encountered. Discuss the degree to which life in the United States changed them and the degree to which they changed the United States.
5. Students often visualize labor organizations as being predominantly male. Describe the contribution of women to the Industrial Revolution. Discuss the Lowell mill girls and the Waltham plan and how womens attitudes changed over the 1820s and 1830s. 6. Clarify for students how the Industrial Revolution changed every aspect of life. Discuss the impact of the change from agricultural labor to factory labor on workers. Consider work patterns and the impact on the family. Explore changes in gender relationships and the fact that middle-class women and children now played a role in earning income for the family. 7. Explore the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the city. Explain how urban patterns of work and residence changed and how laborers came to have their own neighborhoods separate from their employers. Discuss the roots of social problems such as alcoholism, crime, and urban poverty. This may lead to a discussion of the degree to which such problems triggered social reform.

1. Why was the development of machine tools so important to the Industrial Revolution in the United States? Possible answers: a. Machine tools accelerated the rate of industrialization by providing greater interchangeability of parts. b. Machine tools produced machinery so rapidly and cheaply that mechanization spread everywhere. c. Machine tools could be sold to other countries that were behind the United States in industrializing.
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2. Many factors contributed to business success in the 1820s and 1830s. What decisions and choices could a young man of the middle or upper class make to increase his potential for business success? Possible answers: a. Choice of business location. b. Choice of marriage partner and family alliances. c. Choice to receive skills training. 3. The South could have taken a different course and chosen to become involved in the Industrial Revolution in the 1820s and 1830s. Why didnt it? Possible answers: a. Southerners could make more money growing cotton in the short run. b. Southerners preferred the plantation ideal to involvement in factory development. c. Southerners believed that slaves would not work in factories. d. Southerners were not forced to adapt to changes brought by waves of immigrants from abroad. 4. What were the possible solutions to the high cost of labor for American manufacturers? Possible answers: a. Employment of young farm women who were available because of poor agriculture in New England and a shortage of men, who often moved west to farm. Women traditionally appeared docile and easy to manage, and their families needed the additional income. b. Relocation to the South and use of slave labor. However, the immature transportation networks in the South meant that higher transportation costs often negated any labor savings. c. Employment of European immigrants, especially in the 1840s. Before that time, New England Federalists suspected that immigrants were sources of radicalism. d. Increasing use of technology to automate and organize factory processes. 5. How did the Industrial Revolution alter the relationship among the social classes? Possible answers: a. Living arrangements changed when a working man no longer lived in his masters home as an apprentice. b. As a result of residential changes, employers and laborers came to know less of each others personal lives. c. Laborers and employers lost their sense of a common mission; labor mobility increased, as did the willingness of employers to release their employ-
ees; the machines themselves came between the human groups. d. Labor organization increased as workers came to identify more with each other than with their employers. e. Unskilled laborers had fewer opportunities for social mobility because opportunity for education was limited. f. Lack of skills diminished workers sense of selfworth, embittering them against the upper classes; meanwhile, the employers work resembled the tasks of the laborers less and less, allowing the managers to feel superior. 6. What new skills were required of those aspiring to the merchant and business class in order to compete successfully in a market economy? Possible answers: a. Ability to understand business plans and develop economic projections. b. Better accounting methods and record keeping to understand which endeavors were successful and which were not. c. Accessing market information, which could come through newspapers or through personal contacts, such as family and friends. This information allowed entrepreneurs to see new opportunities and take advantage of them, such as new roads and information about labor shortages. 7. Why might a middle-class manager join a revivalist church? Possible reasons: a. To get a more personal sense of salvation. b. To please an employer who belonged to such a church. To convince the employer that he, the manager, shared the employers attitudes toward temperance and hard work. c. Social pressure from his employer and family. d. Access to Sunday school for his children. e. As a social outlet for himself and his family or because he had a strong sense of community and wanted to take part in its doings.

1. Using the careers of mechanics and small manufacturers, such as Eli Whitney, explain how the Industrial Revolution created new opportunities. Discuss the qualities and advantages that were crucial to business success. 2. Using Charles Grandison Finney as an example, explain how religious revivalism introduced ideas and beliefs that supported the new business ethic and ideas and beliefs in conflict with it.
Document Exercises
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Document Exercises
NEW TECHNOLOGY
However, factory work was tedious to her. She found the noise and atmosphere to be stifling.) 2. What does Larcom mean when she says that the other Lowell girls gave me a larger, firmer ideal of womanhood? (Larcom gained a new appreciation for herself as she was drawn out of her dreamy, indolent habits, and found purpose, character, and strength among other working women. She had no more pretensions to upper-class status than girls who stayed on their farms, but she does compare herself and her coworkers to businessmen. Larcom recognizes the latent power of women and their desire for independence and autonomy.)
Cotton Spinning: From Spinsters to Machines (p. 289)

Document Discussion
1. How did mechanization affect the technology of spinning? (Mechanization greatly increased the productivity of each worker. Inventions such as the spinning jenny and the spinning frame meant that a single laborer could perform tasks that previously required dozens of workers. Production costs dropped dramatically, while the quality of thread and yard became relatively consistent.) 2. How did the technological revolution of the eighteenth century affect the social standing of workers in the cloth making industry? (Traditionally, spinning was labor intensive, slow, and repetitive. Women from the lowest order of the social hierarchy performed spinning work. Even though technological changes prompted the advent of mechanized spinning techniques, the industry remained a haven for low-skilled, low-paid labor, primarily women. The women, many of whom were young, no longer worked in their homes but rather congregated in dorms or lodgings near the cloth factories.)
Writing Assignments
1. Why did women like Lucy choose to work in a textile factory? 2. How and why had the economic and social conditions of New England farms changed to permit young women to move to the mills? AMERICAN LIVES
Eli Whitney: Machine Builder and Promoter (p. 294)

Document Discussion
1. In what ways were the economic problems of Whitneys hometown of Westborough, Massachusetts, typical of New Englands disadvantages? (The soil was overworked, leading to poor profitability. The presence of Whitneys many siblings meant that not all of them could establish their own families on their parents farm. Transporting crops to market over long distances reduced the familys profits.) 2. Although Whitney benefited from the contacts he developed, why was he unable to reap great profits from his inventions? (The cotton gin was so easy to manufacture that planters made their own gins, refusing to honor Whitneys patent in a day when patent protection was difficult to enforce. Whitneys concepts machine tools and interchangeable parts were not marketed effectively during his lifetime.)
Writing Assignments
1. Why did young women, rather than young men, migrate to American cloth making factories? What were the social and economic consequences of this movement? 2. How did the innovations American inventors contributed to the development of cotton spinning machines match the needs of the American economy and labor force? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Lucy Larcom: Early Days at Lowell (p. 291)

Document Discussion
1. In what ways were Larcoms experiences at Lowell typical of the effects on workers of the Industrial Revolution? (Larcom became accustomed to working with manufacturing machinery and was impressed by its power.
Writing Assignments
1. How did Whitneys advancement of interchangeability affect the direction of American manufacturing techniques during the nineteenth century? 2. This selection emphasizes Whitneys Yale University connections. How does Whitneys experience illus-
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trate the links between social standing and economic opportunity in America? What aspects of Whitneys progress were unique to the nineteenth century, and which seem to be common to other eras? VO I C E S F R O M A B R OA D
Frances Trollope: American Workers and Their Wives (p. 307)

Document Discussion
1. How did Trollope assess the material conditions of American workers, and what kind of bias do her conclusions reveal? (She thought that Americans enjoyed a higher rate of employment at a higher wage than did peasants in England. But she saw peril in this relative prosperity, for she concluded that the lower orders would not spend their earnings wisely but rather would waste them on tobacco, spirits, and other vices. Trollope was clearly sensitive to class roles and applied stereotypes accordingly.) 2. What did Trollope think about the condition of American women? (Trollope thought that because American women worked outdoors on farms that their condition was much worse than that of the women of England. Yet again, her assessment was quite reflective of acceptance of a traditional social order. In viewing American women, it was neither the hardship of working on the soil itself nor the lack of educational opportunity that concerned Trollope. Rather, she recoiled at what she perceived to be a premature aging of the women as evidenced by their loss of beauty at an early age.)
(Gough emphasizes the physical torment that he experienced due to drinking rum. He graphically describes his miserable condition and relates how easy it was to return to such a stricken state despite his best intentions. Note that he does not mention here why he turned to drinking, nor does he relate any work or economic consequences that might have been associated with his drunkenness. He states that he sought refuge in rum, which suggests that he was avoiding some event or situation, but at the end of his story he returns to drinking out of a sense of relief that his wife has joined him. Goughs motives seem mixed.) 2. What aspects of Goughs spiritual nature do you see in this passage? (Gough attributes his survival of his seizure to the mercy of God. However, it was the thought of his mother, and the feeling that he had failed her by drinking, that ultimately urged him to lead a better life through temperance. Gough clearly has a sense of morality and social responsibility, yet it is not always strong enough to prevent him from drinking.)
Writing Assignments
1. Gough is clearly colorful. Do you think this had something to do with his zealousness as a temperance advocate? Or do you believe that Gough speaks out of true conviction about the perils of drink? 2. Is the vice of intemperance a behavior of any particular class of people or period in American history? Cite examples of the use of alcohol or other remedies to support your answer.
Writing Assignments
1. What moral and social protections does Trollope imply exist within a traditional social order? 2. Why is Trollope concerned with the social behaviors of Americans but less willing to approve of the benefits of economic gains being made by American farmers and workers? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Map 10.2: Western Land Sales, 18301839 and 18501862 (p. 297)
1. Why does the map show few land sales in Tennessee and Kentucky? (Tennessee and Kentucky were two of the first states to be settled along the frontier. By the 1830s, settlers had already acquired much of the land there.) 2. What does the westward movement of land sales indicate about the location of the frontier? (The map indicates that during the 1830s settlers were arriving in the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio in the North and Alabama and Mississippi in the South. Settlement west of the Mississippi River was then beginning. By the 1850s, settlers had arrived in number in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Mis-
John Gough: The Vice of Intemperance (p. 310)

Document Discussion
1. In this selection, why does Gough advocate temperance?
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souri. The land sales show that the frontier was shifting west.)
Map 10.3: The Transportation Revolution: Roads and Canals, 18201850 (p. 298) and Map 10.5: Railroads of the North and South, 18501860 (p. 301)
1. Why were particular routes chosen for road and canal projects? (Roads were built to cross the Appalachians, linking the Old Northwest with the coastal cities. Builders looked for gaps in the mountains or for river valleys. Canals were built to link rivers to the Great Lakes or to other rivers.) 2. What effects might the particular route of the National Road have had on communities along it and areas distant from it? (The National Road significantly increased the value of nearby land, as indicated by increased land sales. Areas distant from it experienced fewer sales and lower prices because they were more difficult to reach.) 3. What sectional alliances resulted from transportation routes? (Roads and canals linked the Northeast to the Old Northwest, heightening their political and cultural alliance. Fewer transportation routes between the North and the South increased the differences between those parts of the country because they had less communication.)
ity of everyday life, particularly on the working and living conditions of average citizens. For the city of Lynn, Massachusetts, to take one example, you might begin by consulting the following books: Mary H. Blewett, Men, Women, and Work: Class, Gender, and Protest in the New England Shoe Industry, 17801910 (1988); Alan Dawley, Class and Community: The Industrial Revolution in Lynn, Massachusetts, 17801860 (1981); and Paul G. Faler, Mechanics and Manufacturers in the Early Industrial Revolution: Lynn, Massachusetts (1981). These books will, in turn, suggest sources from the time, such as diaries and other eyewitness accounts. With regard to Lynn, you will find that some historians have relied heavily on the reminiscences of David N. Johnson, a Lynn resident between 1830 and 1880. See Johnson, Sketches of Lynn, or the Changes of Fifty Years (1880). You might also consider how well the Industrial Revolution in your chosen community compares with the general descriptions in the text. What were the important points of similarity? of difference?
Suggested Themes
For the town you select to study, focus on one of the following: 1. The new factories, especially their technological innovations and the new organization of work. 2. The rise of a business class in the town, including members participation in reform organizations and revivalism. 3. The impact of industrialization on workers lives, both on the job and during leisure time.
Topic for Research

A Case Study of the Industrial Revolution

This text has surveyed the Industrial Revolution and reached some generalizations about its timing, sources, and effects in the United States. However, the Industrial Revolution was experienced differently in each of the hundreds of communities transformed by it during the first half of the nineteenth century. Choose one northeastern community for example, Hartford (Connecticut), Rochester (New York), Trenton (New Jersey), or Wilmington (Delaware) that underwent industrialization during the 1820s and 1830s and find out how the Industrial Revolution changed it. You might focus on the key industry and outline the major transformations in technology and organization of work that occurred. Alternatively, you could try to trace the rise of the business class or consider the effects of these changes on the qual-
For Instructors
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material cov-
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ered in Chapter 10 include Margaret Fuller: A Brief Biography with Documents, by Eve Kornfeld, and Welfare Reform in the Early Republic: A Brief History with Documents, by Seth Rockman. For descriptions of these titles and how you might use them in your course visit bedfordstmartins.com/usingseries.
291) and John Gough: The Vice of Intemperance (p. 310) and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 10 are Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XIX (1780) Frances Anne Kemble, Women in Slavery (1839) A Mill Worker Describes Her Work and Life (1844) Harriet Martineau, Moral of Manufactures (1837) Joseph Whitworth, The American System of Manufactures (1854) Jesup W. Scott, Western Railroads (1845) A Satire on Western Boosterism (1845) Alexis de Tocqueville, The Rise of an Industrial Aristocracy (1830s) Freeman Hunt, Advice for Businessmen (1856) Charles Grandison Finney, A Conversion Experience (1821)
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Map Activity The map activity presents Map 10.4: The Speed of News in 1817 and 1841 (p. 300) and asks students to analyze how improvements in transportation helped to spread information faster and the implications of this development. Visual Activity The visual activity presents an 1836 emblem of the city of Lowell, Massachusetts (p. 284), and asks students to analyze this industrial scene and the values it engenders. Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Lucy Larcom: Early Days at Lowell (p.
CHAPTER 11
A Democratic Revolution
18201844

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. Analyze and explain the rise of popular politics during the 1820s. 2. What was the significance of Andrew Jacksons presidency? 3. What were the origins and ideology of the Whig Party? 4. How did the events of the 1820s and 1830s shape American culture?
Chapter Summary
Between 1820 and 1840, American politics became significantly more popularly democratic, even as political parties and professional politicians assumed control of American public life. National party leaders used patronage to build disciplined organizations and enact legislation favorable to powerful social groups and ambitious entrepreneurs. Political democracy came to national politics during the election of 1824, as John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, William Crawford, and Andrew Jackson competed for the presidency. Jackson, a war hero and Indian fighter, embodied the new political style as he championed the common man against the special privileges and the monopoly powers of the northern business class. Jackson received the most electoral votes, but, because he lacked a majority, the House of Representatives decided the contest. Jacksons supporters labeled the bargain that elevated Adams to the presidency as corrupt and made Clay his secretary of state. Adams failed, however, to win congres-
sional approval for Clays American System of national economic development because many citizens opposed the expansion of federal power. The high rates imposed on imports by the Tariff Act of 1828 caused many southerners to oppose Adamss reelection, as did his unsuccessful support for Native Americans land rights. Partly as a result, Andrew Jackson won an overwhelming victory in the election of 1828. During his eight years as president, Jackson carried through a political revolution, introducing the spoils system of patronage to reward his backers and dramatically reducing the economic agenda of the national government. He ended federal subsidies for internal improvements, vetoed a bill to extend the National Road, and won a gradual reduction in tariff rates. Jackson likewise eliminated national banking by vetoing a bill to recharter the Second Bank of the United States and withdrawing all government funds from its vaults. When he wished, however, Jackson used the military power of the national government to remove thousands of Indians from coveted lands and to coerce South Carolina to renounce nullification. He was the first president to claim that his victory at the polls gave him the authority to carry out his policies in the name of the people. Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun led the Whig Party. It drew support from members of the growing middle class and from former Anti-Masons, who were attracted by the Whigs ideology of equality of opportunity, social mobility, and moral reform. For the next two decades, Whigs and Democrats struggled for dominance in the Second Party System. The financial panic of 1837 eroded Democratic support while destroying Working Mens parties and most labor unions. The panic also brought victory to the Whigs in the famous log cabin campaign of 1840, but President Zachary Tylers vetoes prevented them from instituting Clays American System.
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Chapter 11 A Democratic Revolution, 18201844
By the early 1840s the American democratic revolution was complete, and the new political system was about to be tested by the growing conflict over slavery.

I. The Rise of Popular Politics, 18201829 A. The Decline of the Notables and the Rise of Parties 1. Expansion of the franchise was the most dramatic expression of the Democratic Revolution; beginning in the late 1810s, many states revised their constitutions to give the franchise to nearly every white farmer and wage earner. 2. In Americas traditional agricultural society, wealthy notables dominated the political system and managed local elections by building up supporting factions. 3. In the Midwest and the Southwest, where there was a broad male franchise, middling men were elected to office and listened to the demands of the ordinary citizens. 4. To deter migration to the western states, the elites in most eastern legislatures grudgingly accepted a broader franchise for their states. 5. Between 1818 and 1821, some eastern states reapportioned legislatures on the basis of population and instituted more democratic forms of local government. 6. Americans began to turn to government in order to advance business, religious, and cultural causes. 7. As the power of the notables declined, the political party emerged as the organizing force in the American system of government. 8. Parties were political machines that gathered the diverse agenda of social and economic groups into a coherent legislative program. Party power enabled men of little or no personal distinction or ability to achieve office by following party policy. 9. Between 1817 and 1821, Martin Van Buren created the first statewide political machine, and he later organized the first nationwide political party, the Jacksonian Democrats. 10. Van Buren argued that political parties kept the government from abusing its power and insisted that state legislators follow the majority decisions of a party meeting, or caucus. B. The Election of 1824 1. With the democratization of politics, the aristocratic Federalist Party virtually disappeared, and the Republicans broke up into competing factions. 2. The election of 1824 had five candidates who all called themselves Republicans: John Quincy
Adams, John C. Calhoun, William H. Crawford, Henry Clay, and Andrew Jackson. 3. Congress selected William Crawford as the official candidate, yet the other candidates refused to accept the selection and sought support among ordinary voters. 4. Although Jackson received nationwide support, no candidate received an absolute majority in the electoral college, so members of the House of Representatives had to choose the president. 5. Clay assembled a coalition of congressmen that voted for Adams, and Adams repaid Clay by appointing him secretary of state. 6. Jacksonians in Congress condemned Clay for arranging this corrupt bargain. C. The Last Notable President: John Quincy Adams 1. Adams embraced the American System proposed by Clay: protective tariffs, federally subsidized internal improvements, and a national bank. 2. Adamss policies favored the business elite of the Northeast and the entrepreneurs and commercial farmers in the Midwest but won little support among southern planters. 3. Congress defeated most of Adamss proposals, approving only a few navigation improvements and a short extension of the National Road. 4. Adamss Tariff of 1816 effectively excluded imports of cheap English cotton cloth, giving control of that market to New England textile producers. 5. The new tariff of 35 percent on imported goods alienated the South, which now had to buy either higher-cost northeastern goods or highly taxed British goods. 6. Southerners felt the tariff was legalized pillage and labeled it a Tariff of Abominations. D. The Democracy and the Election of 1828 1. Southerners refused to support Adamss bid for a second term: most were offended that he supported the land rights of Indians and blamed him for the new tariff. 2. Adams felt that the country should ask for his services; Van Buren and politicians handling Old Hickorys campaign had no reservations about running for office. 3. Jacksonians initially called themselves Democratic Republicans but eventually became simply Democrats, and their name conveyed their message that through them the middling majority the democracy would rule. 4. Jacksons message and image appealed to a variety of social groups, and in 1828, he became the
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first president from a western state. His popularity frightened men of wealth and influence. II. The Jacksonian Presidency, 18291837 A. Jacksons Agenda: Patronage and Policy 1. To decide policy, Jackson primarily relied on his so-called Kitchen Cabinet an informal group of advisors. 2. Using the spoils system to reward backers with government posts, Jackson created a loyal and disciplined national party, and he also insisted on rotation in office to free up still more jobs for his followers. 3. Jacksons main priority was to destroy Clays American System. B. The Tariff and Nullification 1. Although opposition to the Tariff of 1828 helped Jackson to win the election, a major political crisis saddled him with protecting it. 2. In November 1832 the South Carolina state convention adopted an Ordinance of Nullification, which declared the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null and void and threatened secession. 3. John C. Calhoun maintained that the U.S. Constitution had been ratified by state conventions; therefore, a state convention could declare a congressional law null and void. 4. Jackson repudiated his vice presidents ideas and asserted that nullification was unauthorized and destructive. 5. Congress passed a Force Bill authorizing the use of the army and navy to force South Carolinas obedience. At the same time, legislation was passed to reduce tariffs. 6. South Carolina rescinded its nullification of the tariff, and Jackson had established the principle that no state could nullify a law of the United States. C. The Bank War 1. By collecting notes and regularly demanding specie, the Second Bank of the United States kept state banks from issuing too many notes preventing monetary inflation and higher prices. 2. Most Americans did not understand the regulatory role of the Second Bank and feared its ability to force bank closures, which left them holding worthless paper. 3. Jacksons opponents persuaded the Second Banks president to request an early recharter; they had hoped Jacksons veto would split the Democrats before the election of 1832. 4. Jackson vetoed the bank bill and became a public hero; he declared that the Second Bank promoted the advancement of the few at the expense of the many.
5. Jackson won the election of 1832, jettisoned Calhoun as vice president, and chose Martin Van Buren instead. 6. Jackson had Secretary of the Treasury Roger B. Taney withdraw the governments gold from the Second Bank and deposit it in state pet banks. 7. Jackson opponents in the Senate passed a resolution censuring the president for acting independently of Congress, although Jackson continued to dismantle the bank and turned it into a state-chartered bank in Pennsylvania. 8. Jackson had destroyed both national banking and the American System of protective tariffs and internal improvements. The result was a profound change in the policies and powers of national government. D. Indian Removal 1. In the late 1820s, whites in both the West and East called for the resettlement of the Indians west of the Mississippi River. 2. Indian peoples still controlled vast tracts of land, and in 1827 the Cherokees introduced a new charter of government modeled directly on the U.S. Constitution. 3. The Georgia legislature declared that the Cherokees were merely tenants on state-owned land, not an independent nation, and Jackson agreed; he withdrew the federal troops that had protected Indian enclaves. 4. Jacksons Indian Removal Act of 1830 provided territory in modern-day Oklahoma and Kansas to Indians who would give up their ancestral holdings. 5. Jackson sent troops and applied both military force and diplomatic pressure to force seventy Indian peoples to sign treaties and move west of the Mississippi. 6. In Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) the Supreme Court denied Indian independence; however, in Worchester v. Georgia (1832) the Supreme Court voided Georgias extension of state law over the Indians. 7. Far from respecting Cherokee territory, Jackson moved relentlessly to take it from them. 8. Upon President Martin Van Burens orders, General Winfield Scotts army marched the Cherokees 1,200 miles to the new Indian Territory the journey is remembered as the Trail of Tears. 9. The national government asserted its control over most eastern Indian peoples and forced their removal to the West. E. The Jacksonian Impact
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1. Jackson permanently expanded the authority of the nations chief executive, using the rhetoric of popular sovereignty to declare that the president is the direct representative of the American people. 2. Appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court by Jackson, Roger B. Taney persuaded the Court to give constitutional legitimacy to Jacksons policies of antimonopoly and states rights. 3. In Charles River Bridge Co. v. Warren Bridge Co. (1837), Taneys ruling undermined the legal positions of chartered corporations and encouraged competitive enterprise. 4. In 1837, Taneys decisions enhanced the regulatory role of state governments (Mayor of New York v. Miln) and restored some of the states economic powers (Briscoe v. Bank of Kentucky). 5. Most states mounted a constitutional revolution extending the vote to all white men, reapportioning legislatures on the basis of population, and mandating the election of officials. 6. The new state constitutions changed the republican governments to liberal regimes that limited the power of the state and protected taxpayers from state debt. 7. Jacksonian populists embraced a smallgovernment and a laissez-faire outlook; in public, at least, they attacked governmentgranted special privileges and celebrated the power of the ordinary people. III. Class, Culture, and the Second Party System A. The Whig Worldview 1. The rise of the Democracy and Jacksons tumultuous presidency sparked the creation in the mid-1830s of a second national party the Whigs. 2. Whigs, whose goal was a political world dominated by men of ability and wealth, sought votes among evangelical Protestants and upwardly mobile middle- and working-class citizens in the North. 3. Northern Whigs called for a return to Clay and Adamss American System; Southern Whigs advocated economic development but did not support high tariffs and social mobility. 4. Many Whig voters previously were AntiMasons, members of a powerful but shortlived political movement of the late 1820s. 5. In the election of 1836, the Whigs faced Martin Van Buren; Van Buren emphasized his opposition to the American System and his support for individual rights.
6. The Whigs ran four regional candidates in the election in hopes of throwing the contest to the House, which they controlled, but the plan failed, and Van Buren won. B. Labor Politics and the Depression of 18371843 1. Working Mens parties embraced the ideology of artisan Republicanism; their vision led them to join the Jacksonians in demanding equal rights and attacking chartered corporations and monopolistic banks. 2. Taking advantage of the economic boom of the early 1830s, workers formed unions to bargain for higher wages. 3. Employers attacked the union movement and brought lawsuits to overturn closed shop agreements that required them to hire only union members. 4. Employers argued that such agreements violated both the common law and legislative statutes that prohibited conspiracies in restraint of trade; judges usually agreed. 5. At this juncture, the Panic of 1837 threw the American economy into disarray; the panic began when the Bank of England sharply curtailed the flow of money and credit to the United States. 6. To pay their foreign loans and commercial debts, Americans had to withdraw specie from domestic banks. Lacking adequate specie and without a national bank to turn to, domestic banks suspended all payments in specie. 7. By 1839 the American economy fell into deep depression: canal construction fell by 90 percent, prices dropped nearly 50 percent, and unemployment rose to 20 percent in some areas. 8. The depression devastated the labor movement by depleting the membership of unions and destroying their bargaining power; by 1843, most unions had disappeared. 9. During the depression, Commonwealth v. Hunt upheld the rights of workers to form unions and enforce a closed shop, and Van Buren established a ten-hour day for federal employees. C. Tippecanoe and Tyler Too! 1. The Whigs blamed Jacksons policies for the Panic of 1837, and, as Van Buren had just entered office, the public turned its anger on him because he did nothing to stop the downturn. 2. Van Burens Independent Treasury Act of 1840 actually delayed recovery because it took specie out of state banks and put it in government vaults. 3. In 1840 the Whigs nominated William Henry Harrison, victor of the Battle of Tippecanoe, for president and John Tyler for vice president.
Lecture Strategies
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4. Harrison was not a strong leader, but the Whigs wanted someone who would rubber stamp their programs for protective tariffs and a national bank. 5. The contest the great log cabin campaign was the first time two well-organized parties competed for the loyalties of a mass electorate, using organized public events to draw in voters. The Whigs used the log cabin as an icon of their candidates (largely fictional) egalitarian tastes and common background. 6. The Whigs boosted their political hopes and their populist image by welcoming women to their festivities. 7. Harrison was voted into the White House, and the Whigs had a majority in Congress, but a month later Harrison died of pneumonia, so Tyler became president. 8. Tyler who was more like a Democrat when it came to economic issues was hostile toward the Second Bank and the American System. 9. Tyler favored the common man and the rapid settlement of the West, so he approved the Preemption Act of 1841, which enabled settlers short on cash to stake claims to federal land. 10. The split between Tyler and the Whigs allowed the Democrats to regroup and recruit more supporters; the Democrats remained the majority party in most parts of the nation. 11. The Democratic Revolution exacted a price in that the practices adopted to sway masses of voters introduced the spoils system and a coarser, less substantive, standard of public debate. 12. Still, unlike most of the contemporary world, the United States now had universal white male suffrage and a highly organized system of representative government that was responsive to ordinary citizens.
siveness to democratic politics led politicians to focus on western expansion and the needs and desires of those who looked to the West for opportunity. 2. John Quincy Adams appears now to be an antique figure. Discuss how forward thinking was his program for economic and social development. Explain how and why he failed to understand or to give way to the changes in political style of the time, a dilemma for many Whigs. 3. Martin Van Burens career in New York presents an opportunity to explain the development and functions of modern American political parties. Explain why these innovations started in New York State. Explore the development of party over principle as a political style. Analyze the change in voters electoral choices from representatives chosen for virtue to representatives chosen for political loyalty. 4. To most people the function and workings of the electoral college are obscure. The election of 1824 presents an ideal case study to illuminate these issues. This may be expanded into a discussion of sectional voting, how candidates appeal to various voting blocs, and the importance of so-called swing states. The elections of 1828 and 1840 can be used to illustrate these factors. 5. Students rarely understand how the U.S. government functioned before the civil service system. Explain the spoils system by comparing the changes Thomas Jefferson made regarding government officials in 1801 with Andrew Jacksons introduction of office rotation. Explore changing concepts of the ideal public servant and show how that image became democratized during Jacksons years. 6. Explain the complexity of Jacksons desire to open land for white settlers and protect Native Americans from white encroachment. Compare Jackson to Protestant missionaries, discussing the similarities and differences in their approaches; explore the reactions of Native Americans to both. Discuss the degree of civilization of Native Americans, and explain why whites were so critical of them. Discuss the role the state of Georgia played in Indian removal. Explain how Georgia forced Jackson into action, and show how Jackson used the situation for his own political ends. Explore land policy in the West and the problems of settlers. Show how government land policy favored speculators. 7. Explore Andrew Jacksons enormous popularity. Discuss his career and image. Explore how he came to represent the nations favorite myths. Show how he and Van Buren helped to create that image. Explore
Lecture Strategies
1. Students often do not understand the significance of expanding the electoral franchise. Discuss the rationales for franchise limitations and show how they became increasingly less valid. State by state, explore franchise restrictions in the early republic and the battle to liberalize them. Discuss differences in franchise limitations among the regions of the nation. Explore some of the religious restrictions on voting and holding office in this period. Discuss how population shifts in concert with democratization increased the power of western states while reducing the influence of the older states. Explain how respon-
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what the image says about the American mind in the 1830s and since that time. 8. The bank war is at times difficult for students to understand. Describe the central role of the Second Bank in the nations economy. Explore the varieties of state and local banks, concentrating on why those banks in the West were so hostile to the Second Bank of the United States. Discuss the difficulties of business transactions in the United States caused by the lack of dependability of banknotes. Then, move to a discussion of hostility to the bank. Explain how Jackson came to see the bank as an evil force in society. Point out the class animus he was able to incite. Consider the role economic sophistication played in the bank war. How much did Jackson and his contemporaries understand about banking and state finances? 9. The tariff crisis presents a good opportunity to discuss the growing differences among the nations sections and to explain how governmental action to stimulate the economy was seen in the South and parts of the West as favoritism or special privilege. Describe the Souths increasing ties to the British economy rather than to northern industry. Explore Calhouns transformation from nationalist to regionalist. Present the possibility that southern resistance to the tariff was rooted in fears that a strengthened federal government would attack slavery. Trace the connection of the tariff crisis to the evolution of the concept of states rights. 10. Whigs often seem distant to students. Discuss the optimism of the Whigs, especially their faith in the development of the American economy. Explain how Whigs believed that equality of opportunity created class fluidity. Explore the Whigs roots in northern manufacturing and their ties to evangelicals. Compare them with todays Republican Party. Whigs believed in social planning and stable growth. Explain why their base was in Congress and local elites rather than in national presidential politics. Evaluate their critics claims that they were social snobs who tried to restrain the entrepreneurial activity of the common people. 11. The election of 1840 provides an opportunity to follow the evolution of political campaigning. Discuss how democratic politics made such campaigning necessary. Consider whether this has been useful in politics. Review the tactics of national political campaigning, which were designed to create excitement and marshal party support. Explore the image of the log cabin and the appeal of candidates who came (or appeared to come) from common stock. Show how this grew out of Jacksons campaigns. 12. Help students to understand the function of states rights as a cause by showing how often it has been
tied to other political interests. Referring back to the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions and the Hartford convention, discuss Andrew Jacksons actions toward states rights events. Compare his actions toward the state of Georgia and its defiance of the Supreme Court over the Cherokees removal with his response to South Carolina and nullification. Question to what degree states rights functioned as a legal point for other causes. 13. Explore the different meanings or visions of the West embodied in Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay. Point out that, although Jackson and Clay were both western politicians, they had different political ideas and programs for the West. Show how these differences raised issues of economic independence versus economic interdependence, commercial farming versus subsistence farming, and social harmony versus social conflict.

1. Why do you think the Industrial Revolution led to more democratized politics? Possible answers: a. Better communication brought news about political issues to a larger public. b. Proposals to increase governmental activity to stimulate business development (internal improvements and tariffs) affected working-class people, who wanted a say in those issues. c. As the distance between employers and workers widened, workers felt less deference toward traditional elites and trusted them less to take care of workers interests. d. The magnates of industrialization were not dependent on the old elite and applied the lessons of mass production to politics in order to get their own share of political power. 2. Was John Quincy Adams ahead of his day or behind his times? Possible answers: a. Adams was ahead of his day in his program of an activist federal government creating a national infrastructure to further business and culture. b. Adamss plans for western exploration foreshadowed the later efforts of President James K. Polk. c. Adams could not understand democratic politics in which officeholders had to appeal to the electorate. d. Adamss programs for an active government were not in harmony with the Jacksonian desire to decrease governmental authority and the powers of elites.
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3. Why do you think Andrew Jackson was so popular? Possible answers: a. His victory at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. b. His image as a frontiersman and Indian fighter. c. His image as a champion of the common people against wealthy northeastern elites. d. His opponents were so bland that he looked good by comparison. 4. How could the conflict over land between white settlers and Native Americans have been resolved differently? Possible answers: a. In the short term, the U.S. government could have kept its treaty promises. However, the many frictions associated with Native American tribes and white American settlers living in close proximity would have remained. b. Conflict could have followed a number of paths from conciliation to open warfare. Relations between whites and Native Americans did vary considerably across time and place. Of course, over time the Indians everywhere were pushed off their native lands and on to increasingly smaller and more remote reservations. 5. Why did John C. Calhoun believe that an unchecked majority is a despotism? How did the politics of the day reinforce this belief? Possible answers: a. The South was becoming a minority in Congress (the Senate) as more states entered the Union and the North grew in population (the House of Representatives). b. The tariff seemed to work against southern interests. c. Calhoun feared increasing criticism of slavery from the North. d. Calhoun recognized that the majority may simply be wrong: for example, resistance to a national bank was widespread, yet, in the Panic of 1837, lack of a national bank damaged the majority that opposed its existence. 6. How did workers react to the changes in their lives that resulted from industrialization? Possible answers: a. As many old skills were becoming obsolete, skilled artisans found a new craft identity and social solidarity. b. Workers with skills that were in demand organized to gain better working conditions and higher pay. c. Groups such as the Working Mens Party demanded free public education.
d. Many workers protested the increasing wealth of entrepreneurial manufacturers. 7. Why did political campaigns after 1836 focus so much on image? Possible answers: a. Image had always been important; now party leaders manipulated image in order to manipulate the public. b. Whigs had to fight Jacksons popularity with an equally appealing candidate of their own. c. With more men eligible to vote, candidates had to forge broader coalitions by avoiding specific positions on complex issues. d. Image makes an election less a matter of reason and more a matter of emotion, which is easier to project. 8. What did Jackson and his followers mean when they spoke out against corruption and special privilege? Possible answers: a. The corrupt bargain involving John Quincy Adamss choice of Henry Clay for secretary of state. b. The involvement of wealthy men in the Bank of the United States. c. The awarding of monopoly charters to well-connected men by the state and federal governments. d. The tariff protection given to businesses by the federal government. 9. On what basis do you think people decided to become Democrats or Whigs? Possible answers: a. Ethnic and religious background. Whigs tended to be Protestant descendants of settlers from the British Isles. Democrats in the North were often Catholic, especially Irish, immigrants. b. Involvement in commerce or commercial agriculture. These individuals saw a need for the government to fund infrastructure projects, such as roads and canals. c. Other economic interests. Westerners sought easy and quick distribution of western lands and removal of Native Americans from desirable property.

1. In what ways did the American political system become more democratic during this period? What legacies do we see today from this period? 2. Discuss the policies of the federal government toward Native Americans during this period. What de-
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termined how the government dealt with Native Americans? 3. Compare the Jacksonian Democrats with the Whigs: their programs, political styles, and leadership. Why do you think the Democrats were so much more successful in national elections?
first and foremost, a characteristic he found lacking in America. According to Tocqueville, American political parties organized themselves not upon principles, but upon material interests.) 2. Beyond material interests, what motivation did Tocqueville discern within parties? (Tocqueville claimed that at their heart parties were animated by a desire either to limit or to promote the authority of the people. He recognized that sovereignty could rest in only one place in government. In American popular democracy, ultimate sovereignty belonged to the people, which they exercised in the electoral process. Therefore, parties differentiated themselves according to the manner that they would encourage the people to wield their power.)
Document Exercises
Margaret Bayard Smith: Republican Majesty and Mobs (p. 322)

Document Discussion
1. How did Smith describe the behavior of the crowd at Jacksons inauguration? (Smith was both proud and distressed at how those attending the ceremony behaved. She described the majesty of the people during the ceremony but then expressed alarm at the destruction caused by the mob in the celebration that followed. Her ambivalence reflected the concerns of many regarding the advent of popular politics during the Jacksonian era.) 2. When observing the crowds, with what does Smith make comparisons? (Smith refers to European experience both in praising the American crowds for their dignity during the inaugural ceremony and in criticizing the mobs misbehavior at the reception.)
Writing Assignments
1. Tocqueville distinguishes between principles and material interests, asserting that great parties begin with ideas that they later translate into action. Were such distinctions realistic in the world of eighteenthcentury politics? How could elected representatives implement Tocquevilles interpretation?
2. In this selection Tocqueville attempts to define and describe the operation of American political parties. Cite historical evidence to defend or refute his observations. A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Black Hawk: A Sacred Reverence for Our Lands (p. 329)

Document Discussion
1. Why did Black Hawk choose to stay in his village? (His family had been living there for over a hundred years. The land was plentiful and abundant. His village was his home, and his land was an important source of his identity. He did not believe that white people would attempt to take the land.) 2. What did whites do to take over Black Hawks village? (They destroyed some of the lodges and cornfields. They fenced the good land and left only poor ground for Black Hawks people. They gave alcohol to the Native Americans. They prepared to sell the land to white individuals.)
Writing Assignments
1. Why did Smith bother to comment on the behavior of the crowd? Why was the political activity of common people of interest? 2. Why was the conduct of the crowd different at the inaugural ceremony than it was at the reception? VO I C E S F R O M A B R OA D
Alexis de Tocqueville: Parties in the United States (p. 325)

Document Discussion
1. How did Tocqueville assess political parties in America? (Tocqueville held a fairly low opinion of American parties. He admired those that adhered to principles
Writing Assignments
1. Black Hawk wanted to remain in his village and preserve his peoples way of life. But white settlers were
Topic for Research
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encroaching on the Indians lands. What alternatives did Black Hawk have? How could he have successfully resisted the arrival of whites? 2. Illinois had only become a state in 1818, so plenty of land remained that whites could have farmed. Why, then, do you think white settlers wanted Black Hawks land? AMERICAN LIVES
moted road and canal improvements in the western states, and Adams drew upon merchant sympathies in New England.) 2. Why did only 27 percent of the eligible electorate cast a vote in 1824? (This is a difficult question to answer because there are not many records that indicate why individuals did not vote. For most, particularly those living and working in rural areas, the process of traveling to a polling place probably did not seem worth the effort. In a time of peace and prosperity, choosing a new president may not have seemed to be a compelling necessity.)
Frances Wright: Radical Reformer (p. 336)

Document Discussion
1. How did American ideals inspire Wright? (She was influenced by Thomas Paines Republicanism and by the Declaration of Independence. She acquired a patron in the Marquis de Lafayette and a friend in the elderly Thomas Jefferson. All these influences contributed to her criticism of slavery. Wright also came to believe in the utopian principles of Robert Owen.) 2. How did Wright attempt to bring her principles into reality? (She created a utopian community called Nashoba, where slaves could purchase their freedom by working the land. She hoped to create a society in which whites and free blacks could live together as equals. She lectured on womens rights and against evangelical religion. Committed to education, Wright worked to educate all children, white and black.)
Map 11.3: The Removal of Native Americans, 18201843 (p. 327)

1. Through what states did the Trail of Tears extend? (The Trail of Tears originated in Georgia, went through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri and ended in Oklahoma.) 2. Which Native American communities arrived in reservation areas west of the Mississippi River after 1830? (The Choctaws arrived in 1837, and the Creeks and Seminoles arrived in 1835.)
Topic for Research
Andrew Jackson and the Cherokee Nation

Andrew Jackson worked out his political and social philosophies while writing his various messages to Congress. In his second annual message to Congress, delivered on December 6, 1830, he outlined at some length the justification for removing the southern Indians. In 1836, representatives of the Cherokee nation sent Congress an eloquent statement of their own. First, read the two statements carefully and summarize the main arguments of each. Then, go beyond the documents. Jackson and the Cherokees were each trying to convince audiences. Whom was each trying to reach? How did the two sides differ in their understanding of American society? Was there any common ground between Jackson and the Cherokees?
Writing Assignments
1. Wright was called the most hated woman in America. What does this indicate about America in her time? 2. Why did Nashoba and Wrights other radical reform programs fail?
Map 11.1: Presidential Election of 1824 (p. 318)

1. Why did Jackson garner a wider geographical constituency than his opponents? (Jacksons reputation as a war hero gave him a national stature, and his promotion of egalitarian political participation appealed to many throughout the social order. Adams and Clay drew upon supporters who admired their particular programs. Clay pro-
Suggested Themes
1. Summarize the main arguments of Andrew Jacksons second annual message to Congress (1830) and the 1836 statement to Congress by the Cherokees. How did they differ in their understanding of American society? Was there any common ground?
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2. In what ways was Jacksons policy toward the Cherokees the culmination of white policy toward Native Americans since 1607?

Visual Activity The visual activity presents a political cartoon depicting Jacksons destruction of the Second Bank of the United States (p. 326) and asks students to analyze each actors portrayal in the drawing and what it demonstrates about this heated national issue. Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Margaret Bayard Smith: Republican Majesty and Mobs (p. 322) and Black Hawk: A Sacred Reverence for Our Lands (p. 329) and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 11 are James Kent, An Argument against Universal Suffrage (1821) Henry Clay, Speech on the Tariff (March 3031, 1824) Alexis de Tocqueville, The Tyranny of the Majority (1830s) Andrew Jackson, Bank Veto Message (1832) Andrew Jackson and Elias Boudinot, On Indian Removal (1829) Nullification Ordinance (1832) Seth Luther, Address to the Working Men of New England (1832) Acquittal of Cordwainers of Hudson, New York, in People v. Cooper (1836) Francis P. Blair, Protecting Domestic Industry (1842) John Scholefield, A Whig Discusses How to Appeal to the Workingman (1833)
For Instructors
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material covered in Chapter 11 include Andrew Jackson vs. Henry Clay: Democracy and Development in Antebellum America, by Harry L. Watson, and The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents, edited with an introduction by Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green. For descriptions of these titles and how you might use them in your course, visit bedfordstmartins.com/usingseries.
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Map Activity The map activity presents Map 11.3: The Removal of Native Americans, 18201843 (p. 327) and asks students to label and analyze this process.
CHAPTER 12
Religion and Reform

18201860

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. How did economic and political changes that accelerated in the 1820s and 1830s transform the way Americans thought about themselves and their society?
2. How and why did transcendentalists promote social reform? 3. Describe the communal settlements and the objectives of their participants. 4. How and why did the public and private roles of women change between 1820 and 1860? 5. How and why did abolitionism become the dominant American reform movement? What was the impact of antislavery activists on American society and politics?
Chapter Summary
The rapid economic and political change under way in America after 1820 prompted many men and women to question their values. As social problems increased with industrialization and the market revolution, Americans attempted to correct the problems with reform movements. As the reform movements grew, they altered the cultural landscape of American society. Intellectuals like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman elevated the individual above the demands of what they believed to be an overly materialistic society. Many reformers created utopian communities to experiment with different forms of social organization, the most extreme of which were the Shaker communities and John Humphrey Noyess
Oneida community. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young led the most successful utopian group, the Mormons (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), who created their own agricultural communities in Utah. Rejecting conventional American mores of one kind or another, these reformers offered alternative visions of society. The antislavery movement was divided among gradual emancipationists, who argued for African colonization, and immediate abolitionists. African Americans rejected colonization and fought for abolition. After Nat Turners Rebellion, southerners began to defend slavery, protecting it through state laws and blocking national laws that might restrict slavery by means of the congressional gag rule. A backlash erupted in the North: people who feared the effects of abolition and its associated radicalism savagely attacked abolitionist speakers, conventioneers, and writers. The antislavery movement split between radicals, most notably William Lloyd Garrison, and moderates, who sought political solutions to the problem of slavery through the Liberty Party. Womens role in society was also reevaluated. As men left home to work, middle-class women came to be regarded as bastions of morality and religion. From this new position of higher moral authority, women attempted to protect the home by fighting intemperance and prostitution. They also became active in the abolitionist movement. In 1848, their experiences in reform movements led women to claim their own political rights at a meeting at Seneca Falls, New York.

I. Individualism A. Emerson and Transcendentalism 1. The reform movement reflected the social conditions and intellectual currents of American
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Chapter 12 Religion and Reform, 18201860
life; Alexis de Tocqueville coined the word individualism to describe the condition and values of native-born white Americans. 2. Ralph Waldo Emerson of New England was the leading spokesman for transcendentalism. 3. English romantics and Unitarian radicals believed in an ideal world; to reach this deeper reality, people had to transcend the rational ways in which they normally comprehended the world. 4. Emerson thought people were trapped in unquestioned and unexamined customs, institutions, and ways of thinking; remaking themselves depended on their discovery of their original relation with Nature. 5. Emersons genius lay in his capacity to translate vague ideas into examples that made sense to ordinary middle-class Americans. 6. Emerson believed that all nature was saturated with the presence of God, and he criticized the new industrial society, predicting that it would drain the nations spiritual energy. 7. Emersons message reached hundreds of thousands of people through writings and through lectures on the Lyceum circuit. 8. Emerson celebrated the individual who was liberated from social controls but remained self-disciplined and restrained. B. Emersons Literary Influence 1. Emerson urged American writers to celebrate democracy and individual freedom and to find inspiration in the familiar. 2. Henry David Thoreau heeded Emersons call and turned to nature for inspiration. In 1854 he published Walden, or Life in the Woods. 3. Thoreau became an advocate for social nonconformity and civil disobedience against unjust laws, both of which he practiced. 4. Margaret Fuller, also a writer, began a transcendental discussion group for elite Boston women and published Woman in the Nineteenth Century. 5. Fuller believed that women also had a mystical relationship with God and that every woman deserved psychological and social independence. 6. In 1855, Walt Whitman a teacher, journalist, and publicist for the Democratic Party published the first edition of Leaves of Grass, which recorded his attempts to pass a number of invisible boundaries. 7. Whitman did not seek isolation but rather perfect communion with others; he celebrated democracy as well as himself, arguing that a poet could claim a profoundly intimate, mystical relationship with a mass audience.
8. Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Scarlet Letter, 1850) and Herman Melville (Moby-Dick, 1851) addressed the opposition between individualism and social order, discipline, and responsibility. 9. Of these writers, American readers preferred the more modest examples of individualism offered by Emerson, who made personal improvement through spiritual awareness and self-discipline seem possible. C. Brook Farm 1. Transcendentalists and other radical reformers created ideal communities called utopias. The most important was Brook Farm, founded in 1841, where members hoped to develop their minds and souls and then uplift society. 2. Brook Farmers supported themselves by selling goods from their farm but organized their farming so that they remained independent of the market cycles. 3. The intellectual life at the farm was electric; all the major transcendentalists were residents or frequent visitors. 4. Brook Farm failed financially, and after a fire in 1846, the organizers disbanded and sold the farm. 5. The transcendentalists abandoned their attempts to fashion a new social organization, yet their passion for individual freedom and social progress lived on in the movement to abolish slavery. II. Communalism A. The Shakers 1. Led by Mother Ann Lee Stanley, the Shakers were the first successful American communal movement. 2. The Shakers accepted the common ownership of property and a strict government by the church and pledged to abstain from alcohol, tobacco, politics, and war. 3. Shakers believed that God was both male and female, but they eliminated marriage and were committed to a life of celibacy. 4. Because Shakers had no children of their own, they relied on adoption of orphans to replenish their numbers. 5. Their agriculture and crafts, particularly furniture making, enabled most of the communities to become self-sustaining and even comfortable. 6. The Shakers had virtually disappeared by the end of the nineteenth century. B. The Fourierist Phalanxes 1. Charles Fourier, a French utopian reformer, devised an eight-stage theory of social evolu-
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tion and predicted the decline of individualism and capitalism. 2. Arthur Brisbane, Fouriers disciple, believed that cooperative work groups called phalanxes would replace capitalist wage labor and liberate both men and women. 3. Brisbane skillfully promoted Fouriers ideas in his influential book The Social Destiny of Man (1840) through a regular column in the New York Tribune and via hundreds of lectures. 4. In the 1840s, Brisbane and his followers started nearly 100 cooperative communities, but they could not support themselves and quickly collapsed. C. John Humphrey Noyes and the Oneida Community 1. The minister John Humphrey Noyes set about creating a community that defined sexuality and gender roles in radically new ways. 2. Noyes, who was inspired by the preaching of Charles Finney, was expelled from his Congregational Church and became a leader of perfectionism. 3. Perfectionists believed that the Second Coming of Christ had already occurred and that people could therefore aspire to perfection in their earthly lives and attain complete freedom from sin. 4. Noyes and his followers embraced complex marriage all the members of the community being married to one another. 5. Noyes sought to free women from being regarded as their husbands property and to free them from endless childbearing and childrearing. 6. Opposition to complex marriage in Noyess hometown of Putney, Vermont, prompted him to move to Oneida, New York, in 1848. 7. The Oneida community became financially self-sufficient when one of its members invented a steel animal trap, and others turned to silver manufacturing; the silver-making business survived into the twentieth century. 8. The historical significance of the Shakers, the Fourierists, and Noyes and his followers is that they attempted to live their lives in what they conceived of as a more egalitarian social order and left their blueprints to posterity. D. The Mormon Experience 1. The Mormons aroused more hostility than did the Shakers and the Oneidians because the Mormons successfully attracted thousands of members to their controversial group.
2. Founder Joseph Smith believed God had singled him out to receive a special revelation of divine truth The Book of Mormon. 3. Smith organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; affirmed traditional patriarchal authority; encouraged hard work, saving of earnings, and entrepreneurship; and started a church-directed community intended to inspire moral perfection. 4. The Mormons eventually settled in Nauvoo, Illinois, and became the largest utopian community in America. 5. Resentment toward the Mormons turned to overt hostility when Smith refused to abide by some Illinois laws, asked that Nauvoo be turned into a separate federal territory, and then declared himself candidate for president. 6. Smith believed in polygamy having more than one wife at a time. 7. In 1844, Smith was murdered in jail after being arrested for trying to create a Mormon colony in Mexico. 8. Led by Brigham Young, the Mormons settled in the Great Salt Lake Valley and spread planned agricultural communities across present-day Utah (then part of Mexico). 9. Mormons who did not support polygamy remained in the United States, and led by Smiths son, they formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 10. The Mormon War was a bloodless encounter; President James Buchanan was afraid that if he tried to eliminate polygamy it might set a precedent that could be used to end slavery. 11. Mormons in Utah and the Midwest succeeded because they reinvigorated the patriarchal family, endorsed private ownership of property, and accepted the entrepreneurial spirit of a market economy. As well, they renounced polygamy and dropped overt political agenda. III. Abolitionism A. Slave Rebellion 1. To build support for emancipation, African American leaders tried to elevate the black masses by stressing respectability via temperance, education, moral discipline, and hard work. 2. Some whites felt threatened by this and in the mid-1820s led mob attacks against blacks. 3. In 1829, David Walker (An Appeal . . . to the Colored Citizens) justified slave rebellion, warning of a slave revolt if their freedom was delayed. 4. As Walker called for a violent black rebellion in Boston, Nat Turner staged a bloody revolt in Southampton County, Virginia.
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5. Turner, a slave, believed that he was chosen to carry Christs burden of suffering in a race war. 6. Turners men killed sixty whites in 1831; he hoped other slaves would rally to his cause, but few did, and they were dispersed by a white militia. 7. Vengeful whites began to take the lives of blacks at random, and Turner was captured and hanged. 8. Shaken by Turners Rebellion, the Virginia legislature debated a bill for emancipation and colonization, but the bill was rejected. 9. Southern states toughened their slave codes and prohibited anyone from teaching a slave to read. B. Garrison and Evangelical Abolitionism 1. A dedicated cadre of northern and midwestern evangelical whites launched a moral crusade to abolish slavery. 2. William Lloyd Garrison, an abolitionist leader, founded The Liberator in 1831 and spearheaded the formation of the New England Anti-Slavery Society the next year. 3. Garrison condemned the American Colonization Society, attacked the U.S. Constitution for its implicit acceptance of racial bondage, and demanded the immediate abolition of slavery. 4. In 1834, Theodore Dwight Weld (The Bible against Slavery) inspired a group of students at Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati to form an antislavery society. 5. Weld and Angelina and Sarah Grimk provided the abolitionist movement with a mass of evidence in American Slavery as It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses, which depicted the actual condition of slavery in the United States. 6. In 1833, Weld, Garrison, and Arthur and Lewis Tappan, along with other delegates, established the American Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia. 7. Women abolitionists quickly established their own organizations, such as the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society and the AntiSlavery Conventions of American Women. 8. The abolitionist leaders appealed to public opinion, assisted blacks who fled from slavery via the underground railroad, and sought support from legislators. 9. Thousands of men and women were drawn to the abolitionist movement, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. C. Opposition and Internal Conflict 1. The abolitionist crusade won the wholehearted allegiance of only a small minority of Americans.
2. Northern opponents of abolitionism often turned to violence, and southern whites reacted to it with fury, offering a reward for Garrisons kidnapping. 3. In 1835, Andrew Jackson asked Congress to restrict the use of the mails by abolitionist groups; Congress did not comply, but the House adopted the notorious gag-rule that automatically tabled any legislation about slavery. 4. Abolitionists were divided among themselves; some abandoned the Anti-Slavery Society because Garrison also advocated pacifism and the abolition of prisons and asylums. 5. Garrison also demanded that the Society emancipate women from their servile positions and make them equal with men. 6. Garrisons opponents founded the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. 7. Some abolitionists turned to politics, establishing the Liberty Party and nominating James G. Birney for president in 1840; he won few votes. 8. The very strength of abolitionism proved to be its undoing because its radical program aroused the hostility of a substantial majority of the white population. IV. The Womens Rights Movement A. Origins of the Womens Movement 1. During the American Revolution, upper-class women raised the issue of greater legal rights for married women but won only slightly enhanced status as republican mothers. 2. Some women used their newfound religious authority to increase their involvement outside the home, beginning with moral reform. 3. The American Female Moral Reform Society attempted to provide moral government for working females who lived away from their families. 4. Women also tried to reform social institutions almshouses, asylums, hospitals, and jails; Dorothea Dix was a leader in these efforts. 5. Northern women supported the movement led by Horace Mann to increase the number of public elementary schools and improve their quality. 6. Catharine Beecher, the leader of a new corps of women teachers, argued that women were the best qualified to instruct the young. 7. By the 1850s, most teachers were women, due to Beechers arguments and because women could be paid less than men. B. Abolitionism and Women 1. Maria W. Stewart, a Garrisonian abolitionist and an African American, lectured to mixed
Lecture Strategies
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audiences in the early 1830s; white women also began to deliver abolitionist lectures. 2. A few women began to challenge the subordinate status of their sex; the most famous were Angelina and Sarah Grimk, who used Christian and Enlightenment principles to claim equal civic rights for women. 3. By 1840 the Grimks asserted that traditional gender roles amounted to the domestic slavery of women. 4. In Uncle Toms Cabin (1852), Harriet Beecher Stowe charged that the greatest moral failings of slavery were its destruction of the slave family and the degradation of slave women. C. The Program of Seneca Falls 1. In 1848, New York adopted legislation giving married women greater control over their own property; other states followed with similar laws. 2. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized a gathering in Seneca Falls, New York, that outlined a coherent statement of womens equality. 3. The Seneca Falls activists relied on the Declaration of Independence and repudiated the idea that the assignment of separate spheres for men and women was the natural order of society. 4. In 1850 the first national womens rights convention began to hammer out a reform program and began a concerted campaign to win the vote for women. 5. Susan B. Anthony joined the womens rights movement and created a network of female political captains who lobbied state legislatures for womens rights. 6. In 1860, New York granted women the right to collect and spend their own wages, to bring suit in court, and to control property they brought into their marriage in the event they became widows.
hierarchy in American life during this period. Discuss the transcendentalists as an intellectual, ministerial class threatened by the increasing materialism, conformity, and commercialism of the new industrial order. Explain Thoreaus antiestablishment criticisms of society and his reverence for nature. 3. Help students to understand how Walt Whitman embodied the new democratic spirit of his age. Explore Whitmans emphasis on the divinity of the individual, and show how it matched economic changes as more laborers began to work in factories. Explain how the end of the apprenticeship system made workers more mobile, with freedom to move between employers and locations, but less independent, as they depended on their employers for work and wages. Show how Whitman saw freedom and independence in the new industrial order and how he criticized those changes. 4. Students should see utopian movements as part of antebellum social change. Explain how these movements were rooted in criticisms of American society, especially of the new industrial order. Explore Brook Farm as a movement of intellectual elites who rejected the growing commercial emphasis of their age, valued intellectual activity for its own sake, and created a community focused on that activity. In contrast, discuss Mormonism, its popularity among disaffected young men, and its criticisms of mainstream society, industrialism, and individualism. 5. Students often find the Shakers and Oneidians peculiar. Explain how Shakers and Oneida residents attacked the current family structure and system of gender relations. Show how those groups criticized commercialism and individual profit seeking. Explore the membership of those communities, which on the whole did not attract intellectual elites as did Brook Farm. Explore womens roles in those communities. Discuss class relationships and leadership among utopians. 6. Explain how womens new position as guardians of morality had changed from their role in the colonial period. Show how this change grew out of the Industrial Revolution and the creation of a social role for middle-class women. Explore the complex relationship within womens reform movements between social control and benevolence. Explain how the objects of reform often were lower-class men and women. At the same time, discuss how temperance and moral reform represented attempts to help lower-class women and defend the home. Discuss how the woman suffrage movement was related to abolitionism.
Lecture Strategies
1. Explain how increased commercialism in American society resulted from the Industrial Revolution and how this generated reformers criticisms of private property. Show how this process led to utopian experiments. 2. Through an analysis of the transcendentalists, explore how intellectual and spiritual movements respond to social situations. Discuss the transcendentalists elevation of the individual above tradition and conformity. Relate the transcendentalists emphasis on individualism to the reduction of social
7. Antebellum reformers were among the first groups to envision a role in social policy for both state and
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federal government. Discuss areas such as temperance, female moral reform, and antislavery. Explain how these movements complemented the American System of positive government action in the economic realm. 8. Trace how women came to articulate their political rights as a result of their involvement in reform. Show how women cited the republican ideals and documents of the Revolutionary era as promises. Point out how womens roles as moral arbiters became another basis for the womens movement. Explain what issues women considered the most important, emphasizing the critical nature of economic control of their own property. Expand this into a discussion of class issues among farm women, mill girls, and middle-class women, noting their differing interests. Explore options for federal abolition in terms of states efforts to outlaw slavery. Discuss gradual emancipation as it took place in New Jersey and Maryland, its supporters and critics, and its successes and problems. Compare this process with the debate in Virginia in 1831 to 1832 over gradual emancipation.
2. Why was the antislavery movement supported so strongly by many leading transcendentalists? Possible answers: a. Their glorification of the individual conflicted sharply with slavery. b. They were staunch northerners who disliked southern society. c. In their idealism, they were critical of the exploitation of labor that underlay slavery. d. Slavery appeared to be a threat to free labor, and transcendentalists such as Whitman idealized the independent worker. 3. Why were utopian communities so attractive to Americans in the first half of the nineteenth century? Possible answers: a. Ideas spread by Second Great Awakening, such as the perfectability of human beings, inspired Americans to try to create perfect communities. b. The individualism and idealism of the era led many people to believe they could change society by setting an example. c. Many people were appalled by the growing materialism of society and wanted to live in communities where profit was not the most important motive. d. Industrialization and impersonal relations between employers and labor had fragmented traditional ties, and many people wanted to live in a close community. 4. Why do you think so many utopian groups experimented with the relationship between the sexes? Possible answers: a. Womens role in society was changing dramatically. b. Utopian groups emphasized equality among individuals, including women and African Americans. c. Many utopian groups criticized private property and rejected traditional marriage for treating women like property. 5. What made some utopian communities more successful than others? Possible answers: a. Effective methods of transmitting leadership allowed Shakers to succeed, whereas the Oneida community depended on Noyes and disbanded when he became unable to lead. b. A religious or ideological sense of mission and unity ensured that members worked together and endured difficulties for the sake of their shared commitment. c. Some communities were able to find a source of income.
9.
10. The lives of free African Americans in the North and West are rarely discussed. Describe the life and values of free African American communities. Explain the economic and political restrictions imposed on these communities, including laws that prohibited free blacks from entering many states. Show how African Americans got around these restrictions. Explore the strength and power of this group as initiators of antislavery activity. 11. Explain defenses of slavery based on biblical scripture. Explore the impact of the proslavery cause on southern Christianity, showing how white southern churches were affected by the need to defend slavery, and black churches were empowered by the need to undermine it.

1. Why do you think transcendentalism arose first in New England? Possible answers: a. New England had most of the countrys colleges and educated ministers. b. Industrialization had progressed furthest in New England, and the transcendentalists criticized industrial society. c. Liberal religion had progressed furthest in New England. d. Many transcendentalist leaders were reacting against the Puritan religious tradition, which was strongest in New England.
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d. Isolation from society at large allowed some utopian communities to experiment without interference. 6. Why were Mormon communities in Utah so successful? Possible answers: a. Their religious faith gave them a shared mission. b. Their tight discipline kept the group together. c. Their geographical distance from other communities allowed Mormon leaders to enforce community standards. d. Communal work and innovative principles of communal water rights and irrigation helped Mormons to create successful agricultural communities. e. Mormons endorsed private ownership of property and accepted the entrepreneurial spirit of a market economy. 7. What differences did the womens movement make in womens lives? Possible answers: a. Property rights laws allowed some middle-class women to inherit wealth and gain a modicum of economic independence. b. Involvement in reform activities helped to establish networks among women and gave them crucial organization, mobilization, and communication skills that would lay the foundation for their fight for suffrage and increased political rights in the future. 8. Why were plans for colonization and gradual emancipation more popular among whites than immediate abolition? Possible answers: a. Colonization appealed to racist whites who wanted to deport African Americans. b. Colonization soothed white laborers who feared competition for jobs. c. Gradual emancipation promised to compensate slave owners for lost income. d. Gradual emancipation appeared to be less of a challenge to property rights. 9. Why were white women attracted to abolitionism? Possible answers: a. They saw slavery as hostile to both black and white homes. It broke up slave families and permitted male slave owners to rape slave women, which posed a threat to their white wives and children. b. Women, experiencing their own political and economic limitations, identified with slaves. c. Antislavery activity gave women a forum for public involvement.
d. Evangelical abolitionists appealed directly to the moral convictions of white women. 10. Do you think southerners believed that slavery was truly beneficial to African Americans, or did they justify slavery hypocritically in order to advance their own political and economic situation? Possible answers: a. Southerners truly believed in their racial superiority. b. Southerners felt that they had a paternalistic duty to take care of slaves, who they believed could not care for themselves. c. Southerners were terrified of slave rebellions and used this argument to convince themselves that slaves were happier and better off under slavery. d. Southerners knew it was wrong but, as guilty people often do, became defensive and resistant when accused of wrongdoing by anyone else. 11. Why do you think the antislavery movement split into so many factions in the 1830s and 1840s? Possible answers: a. Evangelical abolition emphasized absolute good and evil and did not lend itself to compromise. b. Abolitionists had varying ideas about how abolition should be achieved and about what rights, if any, should be conferred on the newly freed slaves. c. Many female abolitionists were pushing for woman suffrage as well, which was viewed as being too radical by some moderate members of the entire abolitionist movement and caused the movement to split.

1. Many transcendentalists recognized the threat the Industrial Revolution posed to the values of individualism and self-reliance. Summarize the views of Emerson (as expressed in Self-Reliance, Ode Inscribed to W. H. Channing, and other works) or Thoreau (as outlined in Walden) toward the factory system and the emerging consumer economy. Do you think that their critique is still relevant? 2. Select one of the utopian communities discussed in the text and compare it with a contemporaneous organization. A mainstream religious group, a military unit, or a business enterprise are possible examples. What differentiated the utopian communities from these other forms of collective identification? How were utopian societies unique? 3. Women emerged into the public sphere through various reform movements. Assess the attitudes and par-
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ticipation of men in these movements. Who were the male leaders advocating reform for womens issues? 4. Many of the most active abolitionists were northern ministers or were inspired by the evangelical revivals of the 1820s and 1830s. Which aspects of evangelical religion did abolitionists use in their writings and why?
Document Exercises
(He argued that, although some Mormons behaved admirably, the leaders of the movement sought to evade the laws of the state and urged their followers to seize private property. Furthermore, he feared that the Mormons would seize the free press and bribe officials in the legislature. In this excerpt at least, the author offered no specific examples to support these claims.) 2. Which Jeffersonian ideals does the writer draw on to support his argument? (The writer refers to the Enlightenment ideals of rationality and public accountability of elected officials and obviously cherishes the concept of rights as established by the Declaration. What the writer fears is the supposed collective allegiance of the Mormons that is ultimately founded on their religious beliefs and not on Jeffersons civic principles.)
Charles Dickens Assails the Shakers (p. 348)

Document Discussion
1. Why does Dickens consider the Shakers to be grim people? (Dickens objects to the stern piety exhibited by the Shakers in nearly every aspect of their daily routines. However, he does not attempt to understand why they act, dress, and live as they do. Note that this piece was written for popular amusement, which helps to explain the tone.) 2. What does Dickenss observation of the Shakers reveal about their faith? (The deeply spiritual nature of Shaker belief is evident in the manner of how they organize their lives. The Shakers attempt to demonstrate their theology in all aspects of their community. The manner in which they dine, arrange furniture, wear clothing, and even remain celibate are evidence of their striving to live as did Christ.)
Writing Assignments
1. How would an Illinois Mormon respond to the charges leveled by this Jeffersonian? 2. Does this writers appeal to Jeffersonian civic ideals demonstrate the existence of a national political culture? Why or why not? AMERICAN LIVES
Dorothea Dix: Public Woman (p. 360)

Document Discussion
1. How did Dix expand traditional female concerns into a public career? (Through Sunday school teaching, Dix became concerned about the conditions in jails for mentally ill women. Dix then expanded her interests from local jails to mental hospitals throughout the country, lobbying the state legislature and then the federal government. During the Civil War, Dix became the Union army superintendent of nurses.) 2. What led Dix to seek government involvement in social issues? (Dixs concerns began with conditions in jails. She believed that reforms improved conditions for the elites only, so she sought state and federal funding for more far-reaching reforms. Civil War nursing led Dix to emphasize the mobilization of federal resources for health care.)
Writing Assignments
1. Dickens was a prolific writer and major advocate for social reform. Why wasnt he more sympathetic to the Shakers, who were in fact avoiding many of the vices for which Dickens criticized others? What kinds of reform did Dickens support? Survey Dickenss writings and cite evidence from his work. 2. What happened to Shaker communities during the eighteenth century in America? Why? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
An Illinois Jeffersonian Attacks the Mormons (p. 351)

Document Discussion
1. Why does this Illinois resident want the Mormons to be expelled from the state?
Writing Assignments
1. In terms of the relationship between government agencies and private organizations, in what ways did Dixs plans for social reform break with the past?
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2. What American social attitudes supported Dixs efforts, and which were obstacles? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
nois; the plains were passed over in this period. Communitarians avoided the South and the Southeast. The Mormons sought and achieved isolation even from other utopian groups.)
Keziah Kendall: A Farm Woman Defends the Grimk Sisters (p. 363)
Document Discussion
1. How does Kendall argue for the maintenance of her civic rights? (Kendall uses political, economic, and religious evidence to argue that she should retain an independent role. She first mentions the Revolutionary era Patriots calls for representation as prerequisite for taxation. She reasons that her payment of taxes grants her the opportunity to participate in public matters. Kendall calls on the Bible as proof that women should be treated justly.) 2. How does Kendall describe her condition? (Kendall states that she and her sisters own a comfortable farmstead worth the significant sum of $25,000. Note that she seems to attend lectures periodically. This suggests a measure of education and knowledge of broader political and cultural affairs.)
Topic for Research
Individualism and Reform: A Case Study

Powerful, charismatic people led the religious, social, and political reform movements that swept the United States before the Civil War. In a sense, the personal strength of these individuals demonstrated the potential of freedom in American society. But for all these reformers, for writers and philosophers, and for reflective politicians in fact, for everyone who thought seriously about the industrializing world the main problem of the age was to reconcile the freedom of the individual with the legitimate demands of society. Consequently, many reformers who embraced the ideal of individual freedom at the same time urged others to accept an inner discipline to make a religious commitment, for example, that would restrain excessive individualism. Choose one of the leading reformers in the United States before the Civil War, and read a biography of that reformer. (See the Suggested References (SR=12) for some possibilities.) You might look for a founder of a utopian community, an abolitionist, or a champion of womens rights. Also, consult your selected books bibliography for references to additional writings of the reformer. As you read, think about how the reformer weighed the individuals need for freedom against societys need for order. How did the goals and programs of the reformer reflect his or her assessment of what was the ideal balance between the two?
Writing Assignments
1. Why were legal controls being imposed, or reimposed, on women during the early and midnineteenth centuries? 2. How did women organize to oppose political and economic restraints? Were they effective?
Suggested Theme
1. Examine the life and writings of one antebellum reformer or writer for example, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Noyes, Fuller, Anthony, Garrison, or Dix.
Map 12.1: Major Communal Experiments before 1860 (p. 346)

1. How did the revolution in transportation affect the spread of communal groups? (Utopians settled around sites along the Erie Canal and followed the Ohio River and the National Road into the Midwest. Utopians did not expand into the South, where there were few roads or canals.) 2. Looking at the sites of experimental communities, what conclusions might one draw about directions and patterns of migration? (Many people migrated from New England to upstate New York and on into Ohio, Indiana, and Illi-

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For Instructors
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material covered in Chapter 12 include The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, edited with an introduction by David W. Blight; The Confessions of Nat Turner and Related Documents, edited with an introduction by Kenneth S. Greenburg; William Lloyd Garrison and the Fight against Slavery: Selections from The Liberator, edited with an introduction by William E. Cain; Womens Rights Emerge within the Antislavery Movement, 18301870: A Brief History with Documents, by Kathryn Kish Sklar; and Margaret Fuller: A Brief Biography with Documents, by Eve Kornfeld. For descriptions of these titles and how you might use them in your course, visit bedfordstmartins.com/usingseries.
Visual Activity The visual activity presents a painting of a Shaker community (p. 347) and asks students to analyze how the painting embodies Shaker mores. Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Keziah Kendall: A Farm Woman Defends the Grimk Sisters (p. 363) and An Illinois Jeffersonian Attacks the Mormons (p. 351) and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 12 are Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854) Francis Wayland, Breaking the Will of the Child (1831) Rebecca Cox Jackson, The Shakers (1850) John Humphrey Noyes, Male Continence (1872) Angelina E. Grimk, Breaking Out of Womens Separate Sphere (1838) Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions (1848) William Lloyd Garrison, Commencement of The Liberator (1831) James Henry Hammond, Slavery and an Aristocracy of Virtue (1836) Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? (1852)
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Map Activity The map activity presents Map 12.4: Women and Antislavery, 18371838 (p. 359) and asks students to analyze how womens involvement in the abolition movement varied geographically.
CHAPTER 13
The Crisis of the Union

18441860

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. How did western expansion become inextricably linked with sectional identity during the 1840s? 2. How and why did southerners change from claiming that slavery was a necessary evil to defending it as a positive good? 3. Why did the United States fight the war with Mexico? What was the larger impact of this war? 4. How and why did divisions within American society during the 1850s bring the Second Party System to an end? 5. What choices were available to Americans in the election of 1860, and why was Abraham Lincolns victory significant?
Chapter Summary
Between 1820 and 1860, white planters in the South grew rich and powerful as they developed a cotton-based economy. Slave owners developed a gang-labor system to increase output, and southerners began to defend slavery as a positive good instead of a necessary evil. By the 1840s, Americans were on the move again. Westward expansion carried American settlers into the Mexican province of Texas, where they mounted a successful rebellion and petitioned for annexation to the United States. The popular appeal of Manifest Destiny prompted southern leaders such as John Tyler and John C. Calhoun to advocate the immediate annexation of Texas and to support northern politicians who laid claim
to all of Oregon. This expansionist program carried James K. Polk to the presidency in the election of 1844. Polk attempted to persuade Mexico to sell New Mexico and California to the United States. When the Mexican government rebuffed his offer, Polk provoked a war along the Rio Grande and in California. Realizing that the United States could not manage a war with Great Britain at the same time, Polk negotiated a proposal to divide Oregon. After the brilliantly executed capture of Mexico City by an American army, the Mexicans ceded more than one-third of their territory to the United States. The acquisition of new lands in the West undermined the long-standing political compromise over the spread of slavery and threatened to split the Union. The Wilmot Proviso, an attempt to prohibit slavery in any area gained from Mexico, did not pass in Congress; however, it divided Whigs and Democrats along sectional lines and rallied Liberty Party members to its cause. Abolitionists formed the Free Soil Party, emphasizing the need to keep the West devoid of slavery to eliminate competition for free white labor. This approach gained broad popular support, taking a significant number of votes from the Democratic candidate, Lewis Cass, in 1848. As a result, the Whig Party, under the war hero Zachary Taylor, won the presidency. When California, the first area from the Mexican cession to ask for statehood, applied as a free state, southern leaders attempted to block its admission. Moderate Democrats and Whigs joined in framing a political settlement, known as the Compromise of 1850. Its most important aspects were laws admitting California as a free state and the Fugitive Slave Act requiring federal officials in the North to assist slave catchers. Democrat Franklin Pierce won the presidency in 1852 by gaining support from southern Whigs and freesoil northern Democrats. The Whigs, divided between
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Chapter 13 The Crisis of the Union, 18441860
North and South, never again fielded a presidential candidate. To develop the northern area of the Louisiana Purchase, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which voided the Missouri Compromise by opening the territories to slavery on the principle of popular sovereignty. The Second Party System died in the political conflicts and armed violence of the 1850s. Antislavery northerners defied the Fugitive Slave Act by battling southern slave catchers in the courts and on the streets. When northern Whigs refused to support the act, southerners deserted the party, killing it as a national organization. The Democratic Party also lost its national appeal because of southern attempts to annex land in Mexico and the Caribbean and the failure of Stephen Douglass doctrine of popular sovereignty to allow the peaceful settlement of Kansas and Nebraska. As northern opponents and southern supporters of slavery fought a guerrilla war in Bleeding Kansas, northern Whigs and Free Soilers established the Republican Party, which also attracted antiNebraska Democrats and former Know-Nothings. Democrat James Buchanan won the presidency in 1856 on a platform of popular sovereignty. He supported the southern position during his term, alienating northern Democrats. The national Democratic Party disintegrated following the Supreme Courts proslavery decision in the Dred Scott case and President Buchanans support for a proslavery constitution in Kansas. Following John Browns attempt at Harpers Ferry to raise a black rebellion in order to end slavery, southern Democrats unsuccessfully demanded ironclad protection for the institution. Abraham Lincoln became a leader in the Republican Party because of his commitment to limit slavery in the territories, yet he did not believe the federal government had the authority to restrict or prohibit slavery in the established states. Lincoln won the election of 1860 by attracting broad support in the North. The Democrats split between the northern candidate, Stephen Douglas, and the southern candidate, John C. Breckinridge. Former southern Whigs in the border states chose John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party. Lincoln, who had rallied the Northeast, Midwest, and Far West, won without support from the South. The nation stood poised on the brink of secession and war.

I. Manifest Destiny A. The Mature Cotton Economy, 18201860 1. By 1820 the South produced more raw cotton than any other country in the world; to increase output, some slave owners created the gang-labor system. 2. By 1860, nearly two million slaves were laboring in the lower Mississippi Valley and along
the black belt from Mississippi through Georgia. 3. Planters justified their power by arguing that slavery was a positive good that allowed a civilized lifestyle for whites and provided tutelage for genetically inferior Africans. 4. White politics and society in the South were deeply divided along the lines of class and religion. 5. In theory, masters had unlimited power over their slaves; in practice, however, both social conventions and black resistance limited a masters power. 6. The institution of slavery became a part of the fiber of American life, and white southerners wanted to extend its sway across the entire continent. B. The Independence of Texas 1. The Adams-Ons Treaty of 1819 guaranteed Spanish sovereignty over Texas. 2. After winning independence from Spain in 1821, the Mexican government, short on population and cash for settling the region, encouraged settlement by both Mexicans and migrants from the United States. 3. In 1829 the Americans won special exemption from a law ending slavery in Mexico. 4. By the 1830s, Americans in Texas had split into two groups: the peace party wanted more self-government for the province, and the war party wanted independence from Mexico. 5. On March 2, 1836, the war party proclaimed the independence of Texas and adopted a constitution legalizing slavery. 6. General Antonio Lopz de Santa Annas army wiped out the war partys garrison that was defending the Alamo and then captured Goliad. 7. With reinforcements and the leadership of General Sam Houston, the war party routed the Mexicans in the Battle of San Jacinto, establishing de facto independence. 8. Presidents Jackson and Van Buren refused to allow the annexation of Texas; they felt its status as a slave state would divide the Democratic Party and lead to war with Mexico. C. The Push to the Pacific: Oregon and California 1. In 1845, John L. OSullivan coined the phrase Manifest Destiny; he felt that Americans had a right to develop the entire continent as they saw fit, which implied a sense of cultural and racial superiority. 2. The Oregon country stretched along the Pacific coast from the forty-second parallel in the south to 5440 in the north and was claimed by both Great Britain and the United States.
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3. Oregon fever raged in 1843 as thousands journeyed for months across the continent to the Willamette Valley to pursue farming and the china and fur trades. 4. By 1860, about 350,000 Americans journeyed the Oregon Trail; many died en route from disease and exposure, although relatively few died from Indian attacks. 5. Some left the Oregon Trail and traveled south along the California Trail, settling along the Sacramento River. 6. To promote Californias development, the Mexican government took over the California missions and promoted large-scale cattle ranching. 7. The rise of cattle ranching created a new society and economy as agents from New England firms assimilated Mexican life and married into the families of the Californios. 8. Some California settlers hoped to emulate the Americans who colonized Texas and sought annexation into the United States; however, at that time American settlers in California were too few. D. The Fateful Election of 1844 1. Southern leaders favored territorial expansion to extend the slave system and demanded the immediate annexation of Texas. 2. In an effort to end joint occupation of Oregon, in 1843 a bipartisan national convention demanded that the United States seize Oregon all the way to 5440 north latitude. 3. Texas became the central issue in the 1844 election; Democrats selected James K. Polk, who called for the annexation of Texas and the taking of all of Oregon. 4. The Whigs nominated Henry Clay, who suggested that he might support annexation of Texas. 5. Polks method of linking the issues of Texas and Oregon was successful; immediately after Polks victory, congressional Democrats moved to bring Texas into the Union. II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 18461850 A. The War with Mexico, 18461848 1. Mexico was determined to retain its territories, and when the Texas Republic accepted American statehood in 1845, Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with the United States. 2. President Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to occupy the disputed lands between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. 3. Polk sent John Slidell to Mexico City to secure Mexican acceptance of the Rio Grande boundary and to buy Mexico and California.
4. Mexican officials refused to see Slidell and declared that the annexation of Texas was illegal. 5. In October 1845, at Polks request, Thomas O. Larkin encouraged the leading Mexican residents of Monterey, California, to declare independence and support peaceful annexation. 6. Naval commanders in the Pacific were told to seize Californias coastal towns in case of war, and Captain John C. Frmonts heavily armed troops were sent deep into Mexican territory. 7. Hoping to incite an armed Mexican response, Polk ordered General Taylor to build a fort near the Rio Grande; when a clash occurred, Polk blamed the Mexicans for the bloodshed. 8. Whigs wanted a peaceful resolution, but the Democratic majority in Congress voted for war with Mexico. 9. To avoid simultaneous war with Britain, the president signed the Oregon Treaty, which divided the Oregon region at the forty-ninth parallel. 10. By the end of 1846, the United States controlled much of northeastern Mexico, and American forces secured control of California in 1847. 11. Santa Anna went on the offensive attacking Zachary Taylors units at Buena Vista in 1847, and only superior artillery enabled a narrow American victory. 12. General Winfield Scotts troops seized Mexico City in September 1847; Santa Anna was overthrown, and the new Mexican government agreed to make peace. B. A Divisive Victory 1. Conscience Whigs viewed the Mexican War as a conspiracy to add new slave states in the West, and Polks expansionist policy split the Democrats into sectional factions. 2. The Wilmot Proviso (1846) was intended to prohibit slavery in any new territories acquired from Mexico; the Senate killed the proviso. 3. To reunite Democrats before the election, Polk and Buchanan abandoned their expansionist hopes for Mexico and agreed to take only California and New Mexico. 4. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), the United States agreed to pay Mexico $15 million for Texas north of the Rio Grande, New Mexico, and California. 5. Many northerners joined a new free-soil movement, viewing slavery as a threat to Republicanism and the yeoman farmers. 6. The Wilmot Provisos call for free soil was the first antislavery proposal to attract broad popular support.
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7. Democrats nominated Lewis Cass as their presidential candidate; Cass was an avid expansionist who proposed squatter sovereignty and was deliberately vague on the issue of slavery in the West. 8. The Free-Soilers chose Martin Van Buren for president; the Whigs nominated General Zachary Taylor, a slave owner who had not taken a position on slavery in the territories. 9. Taylor and his running mate Millard Fillmore won the election, but the electoral margin was thin due to the free-soil ticket taking New Yorks vote. C. 1850: Crisis and Compromise 1. In 1848, flakes of gold were found in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and by 1849, forty-niners were pouring into California in search of gold. 2. The influx of settlers revived the national debate over free soil; in November 1849, Californians ratified a state constitution that prohibited slavery. 3. The admission of California as a state threatened the carefully maintained balance of slave states versus nonslave states in the Senate. 4. Southern leaders decided to block Californias entry unless the federal government guaranteed the future of slavery. 5. John C. Calhoun warned of possible secession by slave states and civil war; he advanced the doctrine that Congress had no constitutional authority to regulate slavery in the territories. 6. Many southerners and some northern Democrats were willing to extend the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific Ocean, guaranteeing slave owners some western territory. 7. A third choice, squatter (popular) sovereignty, placed decisions about slavery in the hands of local settlers and their territorial governments. 8. Whigs and Democrats desperately sought a compromise to preserve the Union; Whigs organized the Compromise of 1850. 9. The compromise included a Fugitive Slave Act to mollify the South, and, to mollify the North, it admitted California as a free state and abolished the slave trade in Washington, D.C. III. The End of the Second Party System, 18501858 A. Resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act 1. The plight of runaway slaves and the appearance of slave catchers aroused popular hostility in the North and Midwest, and free blacks and abolitionists defied the new law. 2. Harriet Beecher Stowes Uncle Toms Cabin (1852), which evoked sympathy for slaves and outrage against slavery throughout the North, increased northern opposition to the act.
3. Northern legislatures enacted personal liberty laws, and in Ableman v. Booth (1857) the Wisconsin Supreme Court said the act violated the Constitution. 4. The U.S. Supreme Court in 1859 upheld the constitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Act, but by then the act had become a dead letter. B. The Whigs Decline and the Democrats Diplomacy 1. Conflict over fugitive slaves split the Whig Party; one-third of the Whigs gave their support to the Democrats in the 1852 election. 2. Democrats were divided at their convention and no candidate could secure the necessary two-thirds majority, so they settled on a compromise nominee, Franklin Pierce. 3. The Democrats swept the election, and their party was reunited; conversely, the Whig Party split into sectional wings. 4. Pierce pursued an expansionist foreign policy to assist northern merchants, secured railroad rights in northern Mexico with the Gadsden Purchase, and tried to seize Cuba, issuing the Ostend Manifesto (1854). 5. Northern opposition to the manifesto forced Pierce to halt efforts to take Cuba, but it revived the northern fears of a Slave Power conspiracy. C. The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Rise of New Parties 1. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, constructed by Democrat Stephen Douglas, divided the northern Louisiana Purchase into two territories, Kansas and Nebraska, and voided the Missouri Compromise line by opening the area to slavery through the principle of popular sovereignty. 2. The Kansas-Nebraska Act passed in 1854 and proved to be the end of the Second Party System. 3. Antislavery northern Whigs and AntiNebraska Democrats formed a new party, the Republicans. 4. The American, or Know-Nothing Party, had its origins in the anti-immigrant and antiCatholic organizations of the 1840s. 5. In 1855 the Pierce administration recognized the territorial legislature in Lecompton, Kansas, which had adopted proslavery legislation. 6. Free-Soilers rejected the legitimacy of the territorial government; proslavery and antislavery sides turned to violence. D. The Election of 1856 and Dred Scott 1. The Republican Party nominated Colonel James C. Frmont, a Free-Soiler.
Lecture Strategies
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2. The American Party split into sectional factions, the northern faction endorsed Frmont, and the southern faction nominated Millard Fillmore. 3. The Democrats nominated James Buchanan as their presidential candidate in the election of 1856. 4. James Buchanan won; the Republicans had replaced the Whigs as the second major party. 5. In Dred Scott v. Sandford (1856), the U.S. Supreme Court opined that a slaves residence in a free state did not make him a free man and that African Americans were not citizens and could not sue in a federal court. 6. Chief Justice Taney declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and endorsed Calhouns interpretation of popular sovereignty: only when settlers wrote a constitution and requested statehood could they prohibit slavery. 7. In 1858, Buchanan recommended the admission of Kansas as a slave state; this, in addition to the Dred Scott decision, split his party and the nation. IV. Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Triumph, 18581860 A. Lincolns Political Career 1. Abraham Lincoln came from an illiterate yeoman farming family in Illinois; in 1831, he rejected the farmers life and became a store clerk. 2. Lincoln was an ambitious man: he was admitted to the bar in 1837, and he served four terms as a Whig in the Illinois assembly. 3. In 1846, Lincoln won election to Congress, where he had to take a stand on the issue of slavery; he felt that slavery was unjust but did not believe that the federal government had the constitutional authority to tamper with it. 4. Lincoln argued that prohibiting the expansion of slavery, gradual emancipation, and the colonization of freed slaves were the only practical ways to address the issue. 5. Both abolitionists and proslavery activists derided Lincolns pragmatic policies, and for a while he withdrew from politics in order to devote his time to law. 6. Lincoln later attacked the doctrine of popular sovereignty and said he would leave slavery where it existed but not extend it into the territories. 7. Lincoln abandoned the Whig Party and joined the Republicans; he soon emerged as their leader in Illinois. 8. In Lincolns House Divided speech, he predicted a constitutional crisis over slavery.
9. In the 1858 duel for the U.S. Senate, Stephen Douglas declared his support for white supremacy, and Lincoln advocated economic opportunities for blacks. 10. Douglass Freeport Doctrine asserted that settlers could exclude slavery by not adopting local legislation to protect it; this upset proslavery advocates and abolitionists. 11. Douglas was elected to the Senate, but Lincoln had established himself as a national leader. B. The Party System Fragments 1. Southern Democrats divided into two groups: the Moderates (Southern Rights Democrats) pursued protection of slavery in the territories, and the Radicals promoted secession. 2. In October 1859, John Brown led a raid that temporarily seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia; his purpose was to supply the arms for a slave rebellion. 3. Brown was charged with treason, sentenced to death, and hanged. He was a martyr to abolitionists. 4. In 1860, northern Democrats rejected Jefferson Daviss program to protect slavery in the territories; Republicans opposed both slavery and racial equality. 5. The election of 1860 had four candidates: Stephen Douglas, John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Abraham Lincoln. 6. Lincoln garnered a majority in the electoral college; the Republicans had united the Northeast, the Midwest, and the Far West behind free soil and had seized national power.
Lecture Strategies
1. Explore why the presidents between Jackson and Lincoln were so lackluster. Discuss the programs, accomplishments, and failures of each one and note that all were one-term presidents. Consider why the political leaders of the day Clay, Webster, and Calhoun never became president. Explore whether the need for compromise in the political system led to the selection of mediocre leaders. 2. Explore the life and career of James K. Polk as a representative expansionist. Explore why he was willing to compromise on Oregon but went to war with Mexico. Discuss Polks leadership as a wartime president. Was he guilty of unnecessarily provoking war? Consider this action as a precedent for future presidents. Emphasize the initially overwhelming public support for the war. Describe the experiences of U.S. troops during the invasion of Mexico. Explain how changes in public opinion came about, resulting in Polks considerable decline in popularity by 1848.
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3. Explore the nature of Manifest Destiny, showing how the areas intended for American expansion changed over time from including all of North America to including all the areas now part of the United States. Ask whether the westward movement was a matter of expansion or conquest. 4. Review Manifest Destiny from the perspective of the Mexican people. How did the actions of American citizens in the 1830s and 1840s look from Mexicos point of view? Discuss the Mexican War from the perspective of the Mexican government. What alternatives did it have? Raise the topic of Pierces actions with regard to Japan, pointing out similarities in the United States actions toward Mexico. Discuss whether a style in diplomatic relations with nonindustrial countries had already been set. 5. Historians have long debated the causes of the Civil War. Review the events of the 1850s, and explore how economics, the political structure and leadership of the time, and slavery caused the war. Discuss how the increasingly industrial North competed with the agricultural, plantation South. Explore evidence of poor leadership among politicians pushed by fanatics in both the North and the South. Finally, discuss the debate over slavery as a cause of the war. 6. Students need to understand why the 1850s was such a politically contentious period. Focus a lecture on the question of slavery in the national territories. As background, review the Missouri Compromise, and discuss plans to extend it across the Mexican cession. Explain how territorial acquisition from the Mexican War forced the issue onto the national agenda. Expand on the arguments over the Wilmot Proviso. Explain the Compromise of 1850, and show how the generation of political leaders that included Clay was committed to compromise. Explain why the organization of Kansas and Nebraska into territories was necessary. Explore the effects of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, emphasizing the horror that Bleeding Kansas became for the nation. Conclude with the Dred Scott decision and its answer to the question of slavery in the territories.
9. Highlight the significance of the Fugitive Slave Act. Explain why southerners were so insistent that such an act was needed. Discuss runaway slaves such as Frederick Douglass and the assistance they received from the underground railroad and abolitionists in the North. Discuss the ways in which northerners tried to circumvent the Fugitive Slave Act. Discuss Uncle Toms Cabin as a political act and as a work of literature, explaining its impact on the North. Ask students whether the Fugitive Slave Act hurt the southern cause more than it helped it. 10. Historians consider the demise of the Second Party System as a primary cause of the Civil War. Discuss how slavery and the Liberty and Free-Soilers weakened the Whigs and Democrats in the 1844, 1848, and 1852 presidential elections. Explain why the Whig Party split after 1852. Focusing on Stephen Douglas, explain how Democratic leaders worked to keep their party together. Explore the growth of the American Party. Use Millard Fillmores ideas and career to show how potentially powerful was Know-Nothingism. Discuss how and why the Democrats split in 1860. 11. Students often fail to understand the Republican Partys ties to northern industrial capitalism. Review the American System, and show how Polk tried to dismantle it. Explore how the Republican critique of slavery represented the North as a classless society that harmonized all interests. Show how indebted the Republicans were to the Whigs for this perspective. Discuss why many urban immigrants did not respond to this view. 12. Discuss the Dred Scott case, covering Scotts personal story and the impact of the case on the nation. Emphasize Buchanans connivance with the Supreme Court. Discuss Chief Justice Taneys arguments that African Americans were not citizens and that neither Congress nor territorial governments could prohibit slavery in the territories. Discuss the constitutional validity of Taneys points. Review Taneys statements in light of his background as a Jacksonian Democrat. Explain why Abraham Lincoln felt that this case proved that the southerners goal was to make slavery legal throughout the country. 13. While southerners vilified abolitionists, many northerners lionized them. Discuss John Browns motives and actions, noting that most of his victims were not slaveholders. Explore evidence that Brown was a fanatic. Was his extremism justifiable in the defense of liberty? Explore the commitment among northern religious leaders to abolitionism. Discuss the practicality of Browns goals at Harpers Ferry. Explore the long-term effects of Brown on the North and the South.
7. Students often fail to relate territorial expansion to political issues. Raise the question of how politicians reacted to expansion. Describe the questions slavery raised in regard to expansionists schemes. Show how the expansion of franchise heightened the reflection of Manifest Destiny in politics. 8. Discuss American schemes to expand into Latin America in the 1850s. Explore President Pierces attempts to distract public attention from slavery by playing up those schemes. Explain southern interest in Latin America for the purpose of expanding plantation agriculture and slavery.
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14. Discuss the birth and growth of the Republican Party. Review how events in the early 1850s led to the end of the Whig Party. Explain how former Whigs in the North responded to the Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act by forming the Republican Party. Discuss the political leadership of John C. Frmont. Discuss the search for a presidential candidate in 1860. Explain how the Republican Party attracted Know-Nothing supporters. Discuss why the party chose Lincoln and whether that was a sound decision.
Possible answers: a. Northern abolitionists believed in a law higher than the Constitution. b. Northerners denunciations of states rights were hypocritical. They believed in what was best for the North at the moment. c. Northerners believed that southerners had used shady means to dominate the government and to get the Fugitive Slave Act passed. 5. How might the events of the 1850s have been different if Congress had extended the Missouri Compromise line instead of passing the KansasNebraska Act? Possible answers: a. Slavery would never have been considered for Kansas, and bloodshed would not have occurred there. b. Southerners would have been far more assertive regarding expansion into Mexico and the Caribbean. c. The Republican Party might not have been formed. Even if it had been, it would not have had to focus so strongly on prohibiting slavery in the territories. 6. Why didnt popular sovereignty resolve the issue of slavery in the territories? Possible answers: a. The slavery issue was so crucial to the rest of the country that northerners and southerners didnt leave Kansas settlers alone; they sent armed forces to fight for their positions. b. Popular sovereignty set up the conditions for a competition between pro- and antislavery forces that degenerated into warfare. c. Proponents of popular sovereignty were never clear about when a territory could decide whether to accept or prohibit slavery. 7. Was John Brown justified in his actions at Harpers Ferry? Why or why not? Possible answers: a. Brown defended antislavery settlers in Kansas when proslavery forces used violent, illegal means that President Buchanan supported. b. By arming slaves to rebel, Brown was trying to equalize the power relationship between masters and slaves. c. In Virginia, the slaves Brown attempted to arm never had a chance of success, so he only led them to their death. d. By attacking federal property and taking innocent lives, Brown lost justification for his actions.

1. What were the most important causes of the war with Mexico? Possible answers: a. Southerners desire to expand slavery. b. Americans desire to gain more land for settlers. c. Americans belief in Manifest Destiny. d. American arrogance, including scorn for the Mexican government and the Catholic religion, and a belief in American superiority. e. Mexican weakness that made Texas a temptation for opportunists. 2. Was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo fair or unfair to Mexico? Possible answers: a. Fair. After all, Mexico had lost the war, and the United States could have taken even more land. b. Fair. The United States paid Mexico $15 million for land it had conquered and could have just seized. c. Unfair. The treaty was forced on a government installed by the conquering American troops. d. Unfair. The payment did not equal the value of the lands seized, which constituted one-third of the area of Mexico. 3. How do you think the Californios viewed the influx of Americans in the 1840s and 1850s? Possible answers: a. Some probably felt foreigners were invading them. b. Ranchers and merchants saw opportunities to sell their products to the newcomers. c. Many old Californios decided to ally themselves with the Americans by marrying their daughters to young American men. These sons-in-law helped the Californio families adjust to American control. 4. How do you explain northern attempts to circumvent the Fugitive Slave Act with personal liberty laws and denunciations of states rights theory?
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8. What could President Buchanan have done to prevent the Civil War? Possible answers: a. Buchanan could have worked harder to keep Democratic Party leaders in the North and South together in 1860, in which case the Democrats probably would have won the presidency. b. Buchanan could have extended the Missouri Compromise line. c. The Civil War was inevitable, and there was nothing Buchanan could have done. 9. Why was Lincoln chosen to be the Republican Party candidate for president in 1860? Possible answers: a. He was a moderate antislavery Free-Soiler who did not propose to challenge slavery in the South; his beliefs matched those of many northern voters. b. He was from the important swing state of Illinois. c. His support for economic development was popular among Democrats as well as Republicans. 10. How could Lincoln have reassured southerners before his election? Possible answers: a. Lincoln could have supported an amendment prohibiting the federal government from touching slavery in the states. b. Lincoln could have committed the U.S. military to enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act in order to assist slave owners in recapturing runaways. c. Lincoln could have agreed to enact a territorial slave code, as Jefferson Davis wanted. d. Any concessions Lincoln made would have alienated his Republican supporters and failed to convince Southerners. 11. Which of the following was the most important cause of the Civil War: economic differences, political failures, or slavery? Possible answers: a. Southern economic interests included low tariffs, low taxes, expansion into Mexico, and close ties to the British textile industry. Northern interests included high protective tariffs, taxes to build transportation networks, and the growth of the Norths manufacturing base. b. Democratic leaders such as Buchanan were inept, and Republican leaders had decided against making compromises that might have prevented the war. c. The issue of slavery continually forced politicians in the North and South into confrontations. d. Slavery was the economic difference and the ethical difference, and politics broke down trying to protect it.

1. In what ways did western expansionism appeal to both southerners and northerners? Why did the objections of many northern Whigs fail to prevent the war with Mexico? 2. Was the development of free-soil ideology a positive or negative aspect of the move to end slavery? In the movement to make African Americans full citizens? Explain your answer. Discuss the responses of people such as Garrison and Douglas to free-soil ideology. 3. Compare and contrast the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Explore how each attempted to satisfy different sectional interests. Assess the success and/or failure of each. 4. In what ways was Lincoln a typical Whig? How did his views evolve to fit the new Republican Party?
Document Exercises
Mary Boykin Chesnut: A Slaveholding Womans Diary (p. 370)

Document Discussion
1. What reasons does Chesnut give for disliking slavery? (Chesnut was upset by sexual relations between slave owners and female slaves, calling the women prostitutes. She was particularly bothered by the impact on slave owners wives surrounded by that immorality. She also derided the hypocrisy that covered for the mens behavior. As well, Chesnut disliked the work slave owners wives had to do in order to care for slave children, whom she felt were inferior.) 2. How does Chesnut describe female slaves? What do you think female slaves felt toward their owners? (Chesnut describes female slaves as prostitutes who had sexual relations with married slave owners and bore their children. Female slaves must have been furious with women such as Chesnut who could not understand the physical violence slaves experienced and the lack of power held by slave women.)
Writing Assignments
1. Were white southern women victims of slavery, as Chesnut claimed, or were they collaborators with slaveholding men? Assess the degree of responsibility of southern white women for the institution of slavery.
Document Exercises
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2. How did Chesnuts racism affect her perspective on slavery? VO I C E S F R O M A B R OA D
Colonel Jos Enrique de la Pea: A Mexican View of the Battle of the Alamo (p. 372)
Document Discussion
1. Colonel de la Peas account reveals that he and Santa Anna held quite different views regarding the conduct of the battle at the Alamo. Identify and explain. (Colonel de la Pea was much more of a pragmatist than Santa Anna. As such, the colonel seemed to embody a modern sense of strict military objectives, whereas Santa Anna demonstrated typically romantic notions regarding the conduct of war. Colonel de la Pea recognized that the Alamo, held by only 250 isolated Americans, did not call for a great sacrifice. But Santa Anna believed, as others did, that the fame and honor of the army were compromised the longer the enemy lived. Colonel de la Pea even revealed that he considered the events at the Alamo to constitute a defeat for the Mexicans quite the opposite of the portrayal offered in most historical accounts.) 2. According to Colonel de la Pea, what action was Travis about to take? (Given the scarcity of supplies, a lack of ammunition, and few fighting men, Travis was near the point of ordering a surrender or an escape attempt by the garrison. Santa Anna hurried his attack to ensure that he could assault the Americans while they were still present and willing to fight.)
slavery reflect the problems of African Americans in the North? (Douglass had to avoid slave catchers who would have returned him to his master; he eventually had to flee to Canada and Britain. Although he helped the Union to recruit African American soldiers, Douglass never received a major political appointment from Republican administrations.) 2. How did Douglass persuade others of the rightness of his cause? (Douglass convinced others through a commanding personal presence, dramatic rhetoric, and forceful intellect. He used historical argument, logic, and example as he tried to change Americans minds. Douglass faced a daunting challenge, as he asked Americans to do no less than fundamentally alter the political, social, and religious convictions that had arisen over two centuries of settlement in America.)
Writing Assignments
1. What factors accounted for Douglasss relative success in northern society? 2. Analyze Frederick Douglasss relationship with northern abolitionists. To which of Douglasss ideas were northerners most receptive? Why? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Axalla John Hoole: Bleeding Kansas: A Southern View (p. 390)

Document Discussion
1. Why was Hoole disappointed with the people of Kansas City? (Hoole found that Missourians were not sufficiently enthusiastic regarding Kansas becoming a slave state. He implies that he expected to be warmly received as a southerner, but instead the citizens were more concerned with earning commercial profits for themselves.) 2. How did Hoole describe the fighting at Lecompton? (Hoole claimed that the proslavery forces were acting on the defensive and were only attempting to protect themselves by gathering together at Lecompton.)
Writing Assignments
1. Investigate the attitudes of Mexican politicians and soldiers toward Texas. Why did the Mexicans fight for Texas? 2. Why were the Americans willing to fight for the Alamo? How did the outcome of this battle affect the remainder of the campaign? AMERICAN LIVES
Frederick Douglass: Development of an Abolitionist (p. 380)

Document Discussion
1. How did Douglasss life after he escaped from
Writing Assignments
1. What did Hoole and other proslavery settlers in Kansas hope to achieve politically and economically? 2. Why is Hoole pessimistic regarding the future of slavery in Kansas?
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Map 13.1: American Settlements in Texas, 18211836 (p. 371)

1. What does the location of the Republic of Texas suggest about its relationship with Mexico? (Texas is located nearest to the stream of American migration westward. By the 1830s, American traders and settlers were familiar with the lower Mississippi Valley and were beginning to push westward. The plantation lands of the Old Southwest were filling, and landowners were seeking financial reward in a similar climate. Likewise, Texas was distant from Mexico City and difficult for Mexican authorities to govern. Few Mexican citizens were moving to the area. In the end, Anglo-American culture and political institutions usurped Mexican rule.) 2. Why did Mexico organize Anglo-American settlement of its territory in Texas during the 1820s and 1830s? (The Mexican government realized that it needed to settle Texas to govern it effectively. The intent was to encourage migration from the United States with the understanding that the settlers would then become supporters of Mexico.)
Map 13.5: The Mexican Cession, 18481853 (p. 382)

1. Why did Mexico cede its northern territories? (Mexico had been decisively defeated militarily, the government was virtually bankrupt, and there was little prospect that Mexican rule could be reimposed in the region.) 2. Why did President Polk value these lands? (The territories gained by the United States expanded the nations boundary all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Popular opinion was ripe with the idea that it was Manifest Destiny to govern the continent.)
on the issue of slavery. Thus the party may have been trying to mute its idealism and therefore broaden its appeal. Was this really the case? How calculating were the Republicans in 1860? What exactly was the Republican position on slavery in 1860? Was their 1860 position on slavery internally consistent? What other programs did the Republicans endorse? What groups do you think the Republicans were trying to please or attract? Did all of the Republican proposals in 1860 form a coherent package? How consistent were Lincolns views on slavery, and other aspects of national policy, with those of the platform? Parties and presidents who win elections often conveniently ignore the platforms on which they ran. As a final element in your analysis of the platform, you might read ahead into the next chapter of the text and consider whether or not the 1860 platform was anything more than a campaign document. Did the Republicans, after they took power, regard this platform as a serious statement of their objectives? Which planks in the platform did they implement into law, and which planks did they ignore? In the last analysis, how important to the actual programs of the Republicans was the idealistic message they had fashioned during the 1850s? Additional information on the development of the Republican Party can be found in Michael Les Benedict, A Compromise of Principle: Congressional Republicans and Reconstruction, 18631869 (1974); Eric Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War (1970); William E. Gienapp, The Origins of the Republican Party, 18521856 (1987); and Michael Holt, The Political Crisis of the 1850s (1978). You might also want to consult one of the biographies of Lincoln listed in the Suggested References (SR=14).

Topic for Research
For Instructors
The Republican Agenda in 1860

When the Republicans first reached for the presidency in 1856, they seemed preoccupied with the moral issue of slavery. In 1860, however, they nominated Abraham Lincoln, who, among Republicans, was relatively moderate
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material cov-
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ered in Chapter 13 include The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, edited with an introduction by David W. Blight; The Confessions of Nat Turner and Related Documents, edited with an introduction by Kenneth S. Greenburg; Dred Scott v. Sanford: A Brief History with Documents, by Paul Finkelman; and Defending Slavery: Proslavery Thought in the Old South, A Brief History with Documents, by Paul Finkelman. For descriptions of these titles and how you might use them in your course, visit bedfordstmartins .com/usingseries.
Southern View (p. 390) and Colonel Jos Enrique de la Pea: A Mexican View of the Battle of the Alamo (p. 372 and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 13 are Carlos Maria de Bustamante, The American Invasion of Mexico, 1847 John L. OSullivan, Texas, California, and Manifest Destiny (1845) Thomas Oliver Larkin, The Importance of California (1845) Salmon P. Chase, Defining the Constitutional Limits of Slavery (1850) John C. Calhoun, A Discourse on the Constitution (1850) The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The Massachusetts Personal Liberty Act (1855) Opposing Accounts of the Rescue of a Fugitive (1851) Charles Sumner, The Crime against Kansas (1856) The Dred Scott Decision (1857) The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858) The Trial of John Brown (1859) The Republican Party Platform of 1860
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Map Activity The map activity presents Map 13.7: The Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 (p. 386) and asks students to label states and territories as free, slave, or popular sovereignty under these two pieces of legislation. Visual Activity The visual activity presents a woodcut of the assault on the Alamo (p. 371) and asks students to analyze this visual interpretation of the event. Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Axalla John Hoole: Bleeding Kansas: A
CHAPTER 14
Two Societies at War

18611865

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. Why did the North and the South choose the path of military conflict in 1861? 2. What were the stated war aims and military strategies of each side as the war progressed? 3. How and why did the Civil War become a total war? 4. What was the significance of emancipation toward the conduct and outcome of the war? 5. How and why did the North win the war in 1865?
Chapter Summary
Fearful that Lincoln would support abolition in the South, South Carolina led the states of the lower South into secession. President Buchanan and Congress failed to find a compromise. South Carolina fired the first shots when President Lincoln sent supplies to reinforce federal troops at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Lincoln succeeded in keeping four of the eight states of the upper South plus newly created West Virginia in the Union. Both Lincoln and Jefferson Davis claimed that they were fighting for the principles of democratic self-government. Union advantages included a larger population, control of the Ohio River, and industrial superiority. The Confederacy boasted trained military leaders, familiarity with the terrain, and a coastline that was difficult to blockade. Both societies imposed a draft to fill their armies. The Union relied more on voluntary enlistment, but both
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sides allowed draftees to pay a sum to avoid conscription, a policy that angered lower-class men and led to rioting and resistance. The Union paid for the war through taxes, bonds, paper money, and deficit spending. Republicans in Congress enacted the old Whig economic program in order to transform the northern economy and win public support. Unable to tax planters, the Confederacy relied on paper money, and this led to severe inflation. Because it opposed centralized power, the South did not restructure its economy. Early in the war the Confederacy came close to victory, but the Union won important battles in the West. As slaves fleeing their masters made for the Union lines, the North was forced to face the issue of slavery. Lincoln emancipated the slaves in rebel states as of January 1, 1863, leaving slavery untouched in border states loyal to the Union. The Emancipation Proclamation transformed the conflict, as ending slavery became a war aim. In 1863 the Union gained control of the Mississippi River and repelled Lees second invasion of the North. Union diplomacy succeeded in keeping Great Britain from entering the war on the side of the Confederacy. The Union began to enlist African Americans in 1863 but under conditions of segregation and unequal pay. In 1864, Lincoln put Grant in charge of the Union armies because of Grants willingness to use modern technology to direct the war at southern society. General Sherman marched across Georgia and through South Carolina, destroying southern morale and property. In Virginia, Grant and Lee settled into a battle of attrition. Lincoln won reelection on a unity ticket, running with a Democrat, Andrew Johnson, as vice president. Shermans victories won popular support for Lincoln. Shortly after, Grant forced Lee to surrender at Appomattox. The Union victory ended the secessionist rebellion and ensured the triumph of nationalist and constitutionalist principles.
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I. Secession and Military Stalemate, 18611862 A. Choosing Sides 1. The Civil War was called the War between the States by Southerners, and the War of Rebellion by Northerners. 2. On December 20, 1860, the South Carolina convention voted unanimously to secede from the Union; fire-eaters elsewhere in the Deep South quickly followed. 3. The secessionists met in Montgomery, Alabama, in February 1861 and proclaimed a new nation the Confederate States of America and named Jefferson Davis as president. 4. Secessionist fever was less intense in the slave states of the upper South, and their leaders proposed federal guarantees for slavery in states where it existed. 5. In December 1860, President James Buchanan declared secession illegal but said that the federal government lacked the authority to restore the Union by force. 6. South Carolina demanded the surrender of Fort Sumter, a federal garrison in Charleston Harbor. 7. Lincoln upheld the first part of the Crittenden plan to protect slavery where it already existed but was not willing to extend the Missouri Compromise line to the California border. 8. Lincoln declared that secession was illegal and that acts against the Union constituted insurrection; he would enforce federal laws as well as continue to possess federal property in seceded states. 9. Jefferson Davis forced the surrender of Fort Sumter on April 14, 1861; Lincoln called in state militiamen to put down the insurrection. 10. Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina joined the Confederacy after the fall of Fort Sumter; Missouri, Delaware, Maryland, and Kentucky stayed with the Union. B. Setting Objectives and Devising Strategies 1. Jefferson Daviss focus was on the defense of the Confederacy rather than conquering western territories; the Confederacy only needed a military stalemate to guarantee independence. 2. Lincoln portrayed secession as an attack on popular government, and he insisted on a policy of unconditional surrender. 3. On July 21, 1861, General Irwin McDowells troops were routed by P. G. T. Beauregards Confederate troops in the Battle of Bull Run. 4. Lincoln replaced McDowell with George B. McClellan and signed bills for the enlistment
of men for the newly created Army of the Potomac. 5. In 1862, McClellan launched a thrust toward Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital, but he moved too slowly and allowed the Confederates to mount a counterattack. 6. Washington was threatened when a Confederate army under Stonewall Jackson marched north up the Shenandoah Valley in western Virginia; Jackson won a series of small engagements, tying down the larger Union forces. 7. General Robert E. Lee launched an attack outside Richmond and suffered heavy casualties, but McClellan failed to exploit the advantage, and Richmond remained secure. 8. Jackson and Lee routed a Union army in the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862. 9. The battle at Antietam Creek on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest single day in U.S. military history; Jacksons troops arrived just in time to save Lees troops from defeat. 10. Lincoln replaced General McClellan with Ambrose E. Burnside, who later resigned and was replaced by Joseph (Fighting Joe) Hooker. 11. The Union dominated the Ohio River Valley, and in 1862 General Ulysses S. Grant took Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. 12. In April a Confederate army caught Grant by surprise near Shiloh; Grant forced a Confederate withdrawal but suffered a great number of casualties. 13. Union naval forces captured New Orleans, undermining Confederate strength in the Mississippi Valley. II. Toward Total War A. Mobilizing Armies and Civilians 1. After the defeat at Shiloh in April 1862, the Confederate Congress imposed the first legally binding draft in American history. 2. The Confederate draft had two loopholes: it exempted one white man for each twenty slaves on a plantation, and it allowed drafted men to hire substitutes. 3. Some Southerners refused to serve, and the Confederate government lacked the power to compel them; the Confederate Congress overrode state judges orders to free conscripted men. 4. To prevent sabotage and concerted resistance to the war effort in the Union, Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and imprisoned about 15,000 Confederate sympathizers without trial. He also extended martial law to civilians who discouraged enlistment or resisted the draft.
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Chapter 14 Two Societies at War, 18611865
5. The Union governments Militia Act of 1862 set a quota of volunteers for each state, which was increased by the Enrollment Act of 1863; Northerners, too, could hire replacements. 6. Hostility to the draft and to African Americans spilled into the streets of New York City when Irish and German workers sacked the homes of Republicans, killed a dozen African Americans, and forced hundreds of black families from their homes. 7. The Union Army Medical Bureau and the United States Sanitary Commission provided medical services to the soldiers and tried to prevent deaths from disease, which killed more men than did the fighting. 8. The Confederate health system was poorly organized, and soldiers died from camp diseases at a higher rate than Union soldiers. 9. Women took a leading role in the Sanitary Commission and other wartime agencies; Dorothea Dix was the first woman to receive a major federal appointment. 10. Women staffed growing bureaucracies, volunteered to serve as nurses, and filled positions traditionally held by men. 11. A number of women took on military duties as spies, scouts, and (disguised as men) soldiers. B. Mobilizing Resources 1. The Union entered the war with a distinct advantage; its economy was far superior to the Souths, and its arms factories were equipped for mass production. 2. The Confederates had substantial industrial capacity, and by 1863 they were able to provide every infantryman with a modern riflemusket. 3. Confederate leaders counted on King Cotton to provide revenue to purchase clothes, boots, blankets, and weapons from abroad. 4. The British government regarded the American conflict as a war rather than a domestic insurrection, thereby giving the rebels the status of a belligerent power with the right under international law to borrow money and purchase weapons. 5. To sustain the allegiance of Northerners to their party while bolstering the Unions ability to fight the war, the Republicans raised tariffs; created a national banking system; devised a system of internal improvements, especially railroads; and developed the Homestead Act of 1862. 6. The Confederate governments economic policy was less coherent. The Davis administration built and operated shipyards, armories,
foundries, and textile mills; commandeered food and raw materials; and requisitioned slaves to work on forts. 7. The Union government created a modern nation-state that raised revenue for the war by imposing broad-based taxes, borrowing from the middle classes, and creating a national monetary system. 8. The Confederacy lacked a central government. It financed about 60 percent of its expenses with unbacked paper money, which created inflation; citizens property rights were violated in order to sustain the war. III. The Turning Point: 1863 A. Emancipation 1. As war casualties mounted in 1862, Lincoln and some Republican leaders accepted Frederick Douglasss argument and began to redefine the war as a struggle against slavery. 2. Exploiting the disorder of wartime, tens of thousands of slaves escaped and sought refuge behind Union lines, where they were known as contrabands. 3. Congress passed the First Confiscation Act in 1861, which authorized the seizure of all property including slaves used to support the rebellion. 4. In April 1862, Congress enacted legislation ending slavery in the District of Columbia, and in June it enacted the Wilmot Proviso. 5. In July 1862, the Second Confiscation Act declared forever free all fugitive slaves and all slaves captured by the Union army. 6. Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, changed the nature of the conflict: Union troops became agents of liberation. 7. To reassure Northerners who sympathized with the South or feared race warfare, Lincoln urged slaves to abstain from all violence. B. Vicksburg and Gettysburg 1. Vicksburg, Mississippi, surrendered to the Union army on July 4, 1863, followed by Port Hudson, Louisiana, five days later. 2. Grant had cut off Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas from the rest of the Confederacy; hundreds of slaves deserted their plantations. 3. The battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was a great Union victory and the most lethal battle of the Civil War. 4. After Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, Republicans reaped political gains in their elections, while Confederate elections went sharply against politicians who supported Davis.
Lecture Strategies
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5. The Confederates defeats at Vicksburg and Gettysburg ended their prospect of winning foreign recognition and acquiring advanced weapons from the British. 6. British manufacturers were no longer dependent on the South for cotton; however, they were dependent on the North for cheap wheat. Also, the British championed the abolitionist cause and wanted to avoid provoking a wellarmed United States. IV. The Union Victorious, 18641865 A. Soldiers and Strategy 1. Lincoln initially refused to consider blacks for military service; nonetheless, by 1862, some African Americans had formed their own regiments in South Carolina, Louisiana, and Kansas. 2. The Emancipation Proclamation changed popular thinking and military policy; some northern whites argued that if blacks were to benefit from a Union victory, they should share in the fighting and dying. 3. As white resistance to conscription increased, the Lincoln administration was recruiting as many African Americans as it could. 4. Military service did not end racial discrimination, yet African Americans volunteered for Union military service in disproportionate numbers. 5. Lincoln put Ulysses S. Grant in charge of all Union armies and directed him to advance against all major Confederate forces simultaneously; they wanted a decisive victory before the election of 1864. 6. Grant knew how to fight a modern war, relying on technology and directed at an entire society. He was willing to terrorize the civilian population in order to crush the Souths will to resist. 7. Grant was narrowly victorious in the battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House. At Cold Harbor, Grant eroded Lees forces, yet the Union losses were even greater. 8. Union and Confederate soldiers suffered through protracted trench warfare around Richmond and Petersburg; the enormous casualties and military stalemate threatened Lincoln with defeat in the November 1864 election. 9. To punish farmers who provided a base for Jubal Early and food for Lees army, Grant ordered General Philip H. Sheridan to turn the region into a barren waste. 10. Grants decision to carry the war to Confederate civilians changed the definition of conventional warfare. B. The Election of 1864 and Shermans March to the Sea
1. In June 1864 the Republican convention endorsed Lincolns war measures, demanded the surrender of the Confederacy, and called for a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery. 2. The Republican Party temporarily renamed itself the National Union Party and nominated Democrat Andrew Johnson for vice president. 3. The Democratic convention nominated General George McClellan, who promised to recommend an immediate armistice and peace convention if elected. 4. On September 2, 1864, William T. Sherman forced the surrender of Atlanta, Georgia; Shermans success gave Lincoln a victory in November. 5. The pace of emancipation accelerated; Maryland and Missouri freed their slaves, followed by Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana. 6. On January 31, 1865, the Republican-dominated Congress approved the Thirteenth Amendment, which prohibited slavery throughout the United States. 7. Sherman declined to follow the Confederate army into Tennessee after the capture of Atlanta; instead he wanted to cut a swath through sea that would devastate Georgia and score a psychological victory. 8. After burning Atlanta, Sherman destroyed railroads, property, and supplies during his march to the sea; many Confederate soldiers deserted and fled home to protect their farms and families. 9. In February 1865, Sherman invaded South Carolina with a desire to wreak vengeance upon the state where secession had begun. 10. Due to class resentment from poor whites, the Confederacy had such a manpower shortage that they were going to arm the slaves in exchange for their freedom; the war ended before this had a chance to transpire. 11. The symbolic end to the war occurred on April 9, 1865, when Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia; by May the Confederate army and government had dissolved. 12. The Union armies had destroyed slavery as well as the Confederacy and much of the Souths economy. Almost 260,000 Confederate soldiers paid for secession with their lives.
Lecture Strategies
1. To many students, secession seems to be an extreme reaction to Lincolns election in 1860. Discuss the degree to which Lincolns presidency threatened the South. Consider how much Lincoln could have, or
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would have, disrupted southern society and whether he would have encouraged abolition in the South. The South might have kept considerable political leverage by remaining in the Union, as Lincoln would have attempted to avoid secession and the political blame for it. 2. Lincolns attitude toward slavery and African Americans has been much debated. Show how Lincoln moved from emphasizing national unity as the only purpose of the war to including the end of slavery as a primary aim. Discuss his racial views and their influence on his politics. Lincolns free-soil principles represented a compromise with abolitionism and were consonant with his doubts about the inherent capabilities of African Americans. Discuss how emancipation allowed Lincoln to put his feelings about slavery into effect. Explore how the valor of African American soldiers might have affected him. Question whether Lincolns attitudes toward slavery and African Americans were representative of those of the North or whether he was more liberal than most Northerners. Both the North and the South experienced serious internal conflict during the war. Discuss how the war challenged the stability of both societies by heightening class and racial conflict. Discuss how the draft led to active and passive resistance. Explain how the Norths economic programs represented an attempt to strengthen industrial capitalism and appeal to western settlers. Discuss the northern emphasis on voluntary compliance with war measures, particularly the draft. Compare northern and southern draft resistance. Discuss southern resistance to the Confederate government in the form of food riots and refusal to sell supplies to Confederate troops. Explore the formation of West Virginia. Discuss the ways in which slaves hampered Confederate activities and the contributions northern African Americans made to the Union cause.
served. Discuss how they and some white officers attempted to change those policies. Explore the impact their enlistment had on the northern population. 6. Why did the South lose? Discuss the differences in industrial capacity and their impact on the wars outcome. Explore the difficulties Lincoln and Davis had in finding suitable generals. Explain the strategy and tactics of both sides; ask whether Confederate leaders were too prone to attack even in disadvantageous situations. Compare and contrast the generalship of Lee and Grant. Most of the military campaigns and their attendant destruction occurred on southern soil. How do you think this affected the will to persevere in the South and North, respectively? Explain. 7. The Civil War is often called the first modern war. Explore the technological and conceptual changes that the war introduced. Discuss how European battles were conducted in the eighteenth century. Explain the evolution of Lincolns thinking in this area. Explore how the Union strategy gradually changed, resulting in Shermans activities in Georgia and South Carolina. Show how the Civil War, as a total war, was a precursor of twentieth-century conflicts. Finally, discuss the new technology, from the rifle-musket to the use of telegraphs and railroads, and show how those innovations changed the face of warfare.
3.
4. Lincolns treatment of civil liberties is often debated. Explore when and in what ways Lincoln disregarded constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties in order to put down antiwar activities in the North. Lincoln has been called both generous and dictatorial. Consider the problem of internal dissent and freedom of speech during the war. 5. The Emancipation Proclamation transformed the war, and the enlistment of African Americans confirmed that transformation. Explore the reasons why African Americans enlisted, and discuss their experiences in the Union army. Many African Americans first learned to read in the army, and that later enabled them to participate in Reconstruction governments. Explain the segregation, limited work assignments, and pay differentials under which they
8. Biography is an approach that appeals to many students. Discuss the lives of some of the military leaders who came to the fore in the Civil War: describe what their lives were like before the war, the opportunities the war presented, and their lives after the war. Include men such as Grant, McClellan, and Sherman for the North. For the South, Lee continues to be much admired; other southern leaders should include Longstreet and Jackson. Although the text discusses northern political leaders during the war, southern politicians are not mentioned frequently. Discuss the lives of men such as Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens.

1. How might the war have been different if Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri had seceded? Possible answers: a. The loss of Kentucky and Missouri would have made it much more difficult for Union troops to keep the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers open. b. Without Kentucky and Missouri, Union troops would not have been able to penetrate the Deep South as easily. c. Without Maryland, the Union would have lost Washington, D.C.
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d. With Maryland in the Confederacy, Rebel troops would have been able to invade Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 2. How did Lincoln and Davis use the principles of the American Revolution to justify their causes? Possible answers: a. Lincoln said that the war was a battle for the survival of democracy against domestic foes. b. Davis said that the Confederacy was fighting for democratic self-government. c. Davis believed that slavery made democracy possible for whites, who would face serfdom otherwise. d. Davis described the southern cause as protecting democracy by defending the independence of the Confederacy. 3. How did the war aims expressed by Lincoln and Davis affect the ways in which both sides prosecuted the war? Possible answers: a. Lincoln was committed to putting unity before domestic differences. b. Daviss emphasis on states rights forced him to tolerate the activities of southern governors who impeded the war effort. c. Since Davis said that slavery was necessary for whites to benefit from democracy, he could not consider emancipation. d. By asking that the Confederacy be left alone, Davis envisioned the war as a defensive conflict on the part of the South. 4. Why do you think both the Union and the Confederacy included provisions for paying substitutes in their draft programs? Possible anwers: a. Both sides needed the additional revenue. b. Wealthy young men would resist the draft in any case, and so it made sense for each government to profit from their determination to avoid military service. c. Government officials such as congressmen and senators wanted to save their sons from military service. 5. In what ways did Union policies strengthen the northern publics voluntary compliance with economic war measures? Possible answers: a. Cash bounties encouraged young men to enlist voluntarily. b. Bonds, paid in gold, were attractive to investors. c. Bonds were marketed using newspaper advertisements and other propaganda techniques.
d. By encouraging Northerners to invest in the northern cause, Union policies tied northern investors to the future success of the Union. 6. How did the war change womens lives? Possible answers: a. Women who lived near the fighting feared being caught in battle or facing marauding troops. b. Farm women had to do additional work when their men joined the army. c. New fields of employment in nursing and civil service were opened to women. 7. How did the Civil War affect the barriers of class, race, and gender? Possible answers: a. Class distinctions were heightened because young men with resources could buy their way out of military service. b. Men of all classes served together in both armies. c. Racism increased in the North as young white men resisted fighting in the Union army and resented the hiring of African Americans to break labor strikes. d. African Americans eventually were enlisted by both sides, but they served in segregated units in the North and barely had time to enlist in the South before the war was over. e. Women filled farm, nursing, and civil service jobs previously held by men. 8. Although the Thirteenth Amendment did not go into effect until after the war was over, how did the war and Union policies hasten the end of slavery? Possible answers: a. General Benjamin Butler refused to return slaves who had escaped to Union lines, a policy formalized in the First and Second Confiscation Acts. b. In 1862, Congress abolished slavery in the District of Columbia. c. In 1862, Congress abolished slavery in the territories. d. As of January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in states and areas rebelling against the Union. e. Union enlistment of African Americans increased the northern commitment to abolition. f. Toward the end of the war, Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Congress agreed to enlist and free slaves who would fight for the Confederacy. While a few blacks actually fought for the South, more remained in service and support roles. Nonetheless, this move challenged southern racist views regarding the capability of African Americans.
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9. How might the war have been different if Britain had entered on the side of the Confederacy? Possible answers: a. The Union navy probably would not have been able to blockade the southern coastline. b. New Orleans, and thus the Mississippi River, probably would have remained under Confederate control. c. The Confederacy would have had access to more and better weaponry. d. Union attention would have been divided between the Confederacy and Great Britain. 10. What effect did domestic opposition, such as that presented by the Peace Democrats, have on Lincolns policies? Possible answers: a. Lincoln chose Andrew Johnson, a Democrat, as his vice president in 1864 in order to appeal to northern Democrats. b. He was slow to move on the issue of slavery, not wanting to offend northern moderates, Democrats, and voters in the border states. c. He suspended habeas corpus and other traditional constitutionally guaranteed rights to move quickly against antiwar Democrats. 11. How would the war have ended if the Union had continued to emphasize military conflict rather than the total war concept of Lincoln, Grant, and Sherman? Possible answers: a. The war would have lasted much longer, and northern civilian support for it might have declined. b. The Confederate army would have held out, deteriorating into guerrilla bands with significant local support; this could have prolonged the conflict for many years. c. There might have been no definitive end to the war, as southern civilians would have refused to accept defeat. d. The South would have sunk into chaos, victimized by guerrilla bands of ex-Confederates; slaves would have resorted to violence; famine and disease would have cut down civilians of both races. 12. Why did the North win the Civil War? Possible answers: a. The Norths greater population and manufacturing capacity overwhelmed southern resources by 1865. b. In the long run, Grant with his determination to take the war to southern society was a better military strategist than was Lee.
c. Union military leaders executed superior operational campaigns. d. The southern commitment to states rights weakened the Souths ability to marshal its society. e. Lincoln did a better job directing the war in the areas of military strategy, economic policy, and political direction than did Jefferson Davis. f. The Souths physical capacity to wage war had been destroyed by 1865. The South simply could no longer sustain armies in the field given the devastation inflicted upon its manufacturing, transportation, and agricultural assets.

1. Compare and contrast the North and Souths mobilization of political will and economic resources in support of the war. Which side was more effective? Why? 2. In terms of military strategy, how and why did the North fight a total war more successfully than did the South? 3. Historians have called the Civil War the second American Revolution. In what ways is this term applicable to the political, social, and economic changes that occurred during the war?
Document Exercises
Ernest Duveyier de Hauranne: German Immigrants and the Civil War within Missouri (p. 402)
Document Discussion
1. How did Hauranne characterize American society? (Hauranne described a divided society. He first pictured ethnic conflict that pitted proslavery French families against strongly abolitionist Germans. Next, he suggested that class war between propertyless newcomers and established landowners was further adding to the passions of the region. Finally, he illustrated the outright violence between federal forces and Confederate guerrillas.) 2. What does Haurannes assessment reveal about the Civil War in Missouri? (Haurannes portrayal of the hostility and passion engendered by the Civil War reveals the depth of disagreement within societies that bordered the North and the South.)
Document Exercises
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Writing Assignments
1. Compare and contrast Haurannes account of the war in Missouri with the war in another border state. 2. Why didnt Missouri secede from the Union and join the Confederacy? NEW TECHNOLOGY
The Rifle-Musket (p. 410)

Document Discussion
1. Why did the new technology of the rifle-musket baffle military commanders? (Military leaders had almost no experience with riflemuskets prior to the outbreak of hostilities. The riflemusket had not been produced in any quantity. And since most Civil War soldiers were citizens who volunteered to serve, they had not been exposed to the new weapons before being thrust into the fighting.) 2. Why didnt commanders more rapidly adjust their doctrine and organization to accommodate the rifle-musket? (The dynamic between the induction of new technology and its effective use by military units on the battlefield is complex. The rifle-musket required new kinds of individual training, which in turn led to the gradual adoption of new styles of tactics and organization. These innovations took time and could only begin after large numbers of the weapons had been issued, which wasnt until late in the war.)
pended on individual decisions and choices. Some of Ingrahams slaves remained attentive and courteous, while others did not. Ingraham evaluated her slaves rather harshly. She was resentful of those who had departed and wished that the secessionists would arrive to discipline the slaves. Ingraham mentioned that she feared the blacks more than the Yankees. However, Ingraham seemed to be quite dependent on her slaves to feed and care for her and never considered taking any responsibility for herself.) 2. How did the slaves at Ashwood Plantation react to the proximity of Union troops? (Although some remained to work for Ingraham, many others departed. Some slaves began to steal from their masters and mistresses. African Americans held meetings, probably to discuss the situation. Others refused to work for whites.)
Writing Assignments
1. How does Ingrahams diary illustrate the effects of the war on southern civilians? 2. Why did Ingraham express such a hostile attitude toward her slaves and yet admit that she was utterly dependent upon them for her survival? What does this kind of attitude indicate about the effects of slavery upon both slaves and masters? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Spotswood Rice: Freeing My Children from Slavery (p. 419)

Document Discussion
1. Why did Rice write to his children? (Rice wanted to calm his children by assuring them that he would soon be coming to rejoin them. He feared that their owner would frighten them or harden their feelings in his absence.) 2. Why did Rice write to Kittey Diggs? (Rice adamantly reminded Diggs, who was the master of Rices children, that they belonged to him. He established his parental authority with Diggs and admonished her for holding them. Rice informed Diggs that he would be coming in the vanguard of a military host with the backing of the government and that Diggs was powerless to halt his progress.)
Writing Assignments
1. Which side, the North or South, incorporated novel technologies more effectively in the Civil War? Why? 2. Was the rifle-musket sufficient by itself to change the conduct of the war? What other technologies complemented the rifle-musket? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Elizabeth Mary Meade Ingraham: A Vicksburg Diary (p. 416)

Document Discussion
1. What does Ingrahams account reveal about the relationship between masters and slaves? (Ingrahams description of events at Vicksburg indicates that relationships between masters and slaves were often complex and seem to have frequently de-
Writing Assignments
1. What does Rices letters suggest about his relationship with this slave owner? Was this a typical relationship?
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2. Rice mentions that once he held a measure of respect for slaveholders. Explain this sentiment. What had caused it to change by 1864 when Rice wrote these letters? AMERICAN LIVES
Map 14.1: The Process of Secession, 18601861 (p. 399)

1. Identify the states where there was no substantial opposition to secession as well as those in which substantial opposition to secession existed. (There was little opposition to secession in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Arkansas. In West Virginia, eastern Tennessee, northern Alabama, central Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland, opposition was more frequent.) 2. Why did opposition to secession manifest itself in some states and not others? (The presence or absence of secessionist support varied according to locale. Factors to consider are the nature of the local economy, the degree of slave ownership, the political leaning of the local elite, and the cultural origin of the white settlers in the area.)
William Tecumseh Sherman: An Architect of Modern War (p. 422)

Document Discussion
1. Why do you think Sherman was so successful as a Union military leader? (Sherman recognized that not only were northern and southern armies fighting on the battlefields, but, those societies were in conflict. Thus, if the Civil War was a total war, it must have a total conclusion, with one side achieving absolute victory and the other reduced to total defeat. Sherman loathed the suffering and hardships that this kind of fighting entailed. His forces acted no differently than did other armies toward civilians and their property, but Sherman did direct his troops against targets whose loss would undermine the southern war effort and morale. In so doing, his leadership no doubt brought the war to a more conclusive, and earlier, finish than would have otherwise been possible.) 2. How did Sherman so decisively affect the outcome of the Civil War? (Sherman understood earlier than almost anyone what a long and bloody war it would be, so he was prepared to go to great lengths to end it. Sherman believed in organization and military discipline. He worked well in concert with Ulysses S. Grant. He deployed his troops swiftly and was willing to risk them in battle. Sherman understood that the Union had to demoralize southern society; he used both direct confrontation and psychological tactics to destroy the southern will to resist.)
Map 14.4: Lee Invades the North, 1863 (p. 417)

1. Through what three states did Lees army move between May and July of 1863, and why were these states important to the war effort of each side? (Lees forces marched through portions of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The Confederates hoped to gain much needed supplies such as clothing, forage for their horses, and fresh food for themselves as well as to inspire additional enlistments in their ranks. Lee also hoped to demonstrate to foreign observers that the Confederacy could bring the war to the North. The Yankees wished to deny all of these things to the rebels and to defeat Lee decisively in the field.) 2. How far north were Lees troops able to move? (Lees troops moved in force as far as Carlisle, Pennsylvania, which is in the southern portion of the state. Lee turned to meet Meades Union army when he thought that he might be able to destroy a significant portion of the Yankee forces before they could concentrate. He did not plan to fight at Gettysburg before the battle opened. )
Writing Assignments
1. Most Northerners were not committed abolitionists; they came to support the Union cause for many other reasons. Discuss this statement with respect to William Tecumseh Sherman. What were the influences on him, and why did he choose to fight for the Union? 2. Examine the relationship between Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant. This command team that brought military victory to the North is perhaps the most effective in American history. Explain why these two men were successful.
Topic for Research
The Enlistment of African American Troops

By the end of the Civil War, both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis had dropped their objections to arming
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slaves; in the course of fighting the war, each leader decided to enlist slaves in his armed forces. These decisions raise many questions. How did each leader arrive at his decision? What did the development of the thinking of Lincoln and Davis on arming slaves reveal about their attitudes toward slavery and toward African Americans? Did they change these attitudes during the course of the war? What other factors, such as shifting war aims and fortunes of war, accounted for their decisions to use African American troops? And, finally, what impact did these troops have on the outcome of the war? Books that help in studying these questions include Ira Berlin et al., Freedom, A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861 1867, Series II, The Black Military Experience (1982); Dudley Cornish, The Sable Arm: Negro Troops in the Union Army, 18611865 (1956); Robert F. Durden, The Gray and the Black: The Confederate Debate on Emancipation (1972); and James M. McPherson, The Negros Civil War: How American Negroes Felt and Acted during the War for the Union (1967).
questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Map Activity The map activity presents Map 14.6: Shermans March through the Confederacy, 18641865 (p. 425) and asks students to analyze this campaign and the effect it had on bringing the Civil War to a close. Visual Activity The visual activity presents a painting of Confederate prisoners (p. 423) and asks students to analyze the artists motivation for painting it. Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Sportswood Rice: Freeing My Children from Slavery (p. 419) and Elizabeth Mary Meade Ingraham: A Vicksburg Diary (p. 416) and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 14 are Charles Memminger, South Carolina Secedes from the Union (1860) Constitution of the Confederate States (1861) Mary Boykin Chesnut, The Crisis at Fort Sumter (April 1861) William Howard Russell, A British Reporter Witnesses the First Battle of Bull Run (July 1861) The Work of the United States Sanitary Commission (1864) Charlotte Forten, A Northern Black Woman Teaches Contrabands in South Carolina (1862) Abraham Lincoln, The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (1862) Anna Elizabeth Dickinson, The New York City Draft Riots (July 1863) Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address (1863) Slave Runaways in South Carolina (1861) Confederates Debate Emancipation (18631864) Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (1865)

For Instructors
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material covered in Chapter 14 include Abraham Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War: Selected Writings and Speeches, edited by Michael P. Johnson. For descriptions of this title and how you might use it in your course, visit bedfordstmartins .com/usingseries.
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer
CHAPTER 15
Reconstruction
18651877

After you have taught this chapter, your students should be able to answer the following questions: 1. How did Presidents Lincoln and Johnson envision Reconstruction? 2. How and why did Republicans in Congress take control of Reconstruction? 3. Analyze and explain what African Americans expected and the realities they encountered during Reconstruction. 4. What was the southern response(s) to Reconstruction? 5. Analyze and explain the political crisis of 1877 and the end of Reconstruction. 6. What were the successes and failures of Reconstruction?
Chapter Summary
When the Civil War ended in 1865, the slaves had been emancipated and the South militarily defeated, but there was no consensus about how to integrate the slaves into American society and restore the rebel states into the Union. Presidents Lincoln and Johnson attempted to install loyal state governments quickly but faced opposition from congressional Republicans who wanted to punish southerners. Johnson foiled his Republican opponents while Congress was not in session by restoring the southern states on generous terms, but Johnson refused to give land on plantations confiscated by Union troops to African Americans who had hoped to keep it.
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Johnsons supporters fared poorly in the congressional elections of 1866, so congressional Republicans divided the South into five military districts through the Reconstruction Act of 1867. Congress impeached Johnson, failing to convict him by only one vote, and in 1868 the nation elected Ulysses S. Grant, a supporter of the Radical Republicans, to the presidency. Southern state governments under Republican control included African Americans, white southerners who hoped to attract northern capital or rid the South of the planter aristocracy, and northerners who moved south to settle. They modernized and democratized state governments and built schools, hospitals, roads, and railroads. African Americans built their own social institutions, creating new communities and founding their own churches. Former slave owners united in the Democratic Party to regain political control of the South. Appealing to racial solidarity and southern patriotism, they gained the allegiance of poorer whites and terrorized black voters through violent secret societies. Grants unwillingness to risk reopening the war allowed former Confederates to regain control of all but three southern states by 1877. With diminishing political power and limited land redistribution, freedmen became sharecroppers in debt to the landlords and merchants who provided them with supplies at exorbitant prices and interest. During his second term, Grants administration was plagued by scandals and economic depression. In 1876, although Democrat Samuel J. Tilden won the popular vote, electoral votes were contested in the three southern states still under military control. A congressional commission gave the contested electoral votes to Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, a decision congressional Democrats accepted. Reconstruction then ended, leaving African Americans without federal support.
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I. Presidential Reconstruction A. Lincolns Approach 1. The Constitution did not address the question of secession or any procedure for Reconstruction, so it did not say which branch of government was to handle the readmission of rebellious states. 2. Lincoln offered general amnesty to all but high-ranking Confederates willing to pledge loyalty to the Union; when 10 percent of a states voters took this oath and abolished slavery the state would be restored to the Union. 3. Most Confederate states rebuffed the offer, assuring that the war would have to be fought to the bitter end. 4. As some African Americans began to agitate for political rights, congressional Republicans proposed the Wade-Davis Bill, a stricter substitute for Lincolns Ten Percent Plan. 5. The Wade-Davis Bill served notice that congressional Republicans were not going to turn Reconstruction policy over to the president. 6. Rather than openly challenge Congress, Lincoln executed a pocket veto of the Wade-Davis Bill by not signing it before Congress adjourned. B. Johnsons Initiative 1. Andrew Johnson, a Jacksonian Democrat, championed poor whites. A slave owner himself, he had little sympathy for formerly enslaved blacks. 2. The Republicans had nominated Johnson for vice president in 1864 in order to promote wartime political unity and to court southern Unionists. 3. After Lincolns death, Johnson offered amnesty to all southerners except high-ranking Confederate officials and wealthy property owners who took an oath of allegiance to the Constitution and ratified the Thirteenth Amendment. 4. Within months, all the former Confederate states had met Johnsons requirements for rejoining the Union and had functioning, elected governments. 5. Southerners held fast to the antebellum order and enacted Black Codes designed to drive the ex-slaves back to plantations and deny them civil rights. 6. Southerners perceived Johnsons liberal amnesty policy as tacit approval of the Black Codes; emboldened, the ex-Confederates filled
southern congressional delegation with old comrades. 7. Republicans in both houses refused to admit the southern delegations, and the Joint Committee on Reconstruction began public hearings on conditions in the South. 8. In response, some Black Codes were replaced with nonracial ordinances whose effect was the same, and across the South a wave of violence erupted against the freedmen. 9. Congress voted to extend the life of the Freedmens Bureau and authorized its agents to investigate cases of discrimination against blacks. 10. Lyman Trumbull, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, proposed a Civil Rights Bill that declared all persons regardless of race born in the United States to be citizens and gave them equal rights. 11. Republicans demanded that the federal government accept responsibility for securing the basic civil rights of the freedmen. C. Acting on Freedom 1. Across the South, ex-slaves held mass meetings and formed organizations; they demanded equality before the law and the right to vote. 2. In the months before the end of the war, freedmen had seized control of land where they could; General Sherman had reserved tracts of land for liberated blacks in his March to the Sea. 3. When the war ended, the Freedmens Bureau was charged with feeding and clothing war refugees, distributing confiscated lands to loyal refugees and freedmen, and regulating labor contracts between freedmen and planters. 4. Johnsons amnesty plan entitled pardoned Confederates to recover confiscated property, shattering the freedmens hopes of keeping the land on which they lived. 5. To try to hold onto their land, blacks fought pitched battles with plantation owners and bands of ex-Confederate soldiers; generally the whites prevailed. 6. A struggle took place over the labor system that would replace slavery; because owning land defined true freedom, ex-slaves resisted working for wages, preferring to sharecrop, even though sharecropping was not in their best interest financially. 7. Many freedpeople abandoned their old plantations in order to seek better lives and more freedom in the cities of the South; those who remained refused to work under the ganglabor system.
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Chapter 15 Reconstruction, 18651877
8. To help former slaves with their struggle to control their lives, blacks turned to Washington and the federal government. D. Congress versus President 1. In February 1866, Andrew Johnson vetoed the Freedmens Bureau Bill and a month later vetoed Trumbulls Civil Rights Bill calling it discriminatory against whites. 2. Galvanized by Johnsons attack on the Civil Rights Bill, Republicans enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1866; Congress had never before overridden a veto on a major piece of legislation. 3. As an angry Congress renewed the Freedmens Bureau over a second Johnson veto, Republican resolve was reinforced by news of mounting violence in the South. 4. Republicans moved to enshrine black civil rights in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 5. Johnson urged the states not to ratify the amendment and began to maneuver politically against the Republicans; the Fourteenth Amendment became a campaign issue for the Democratic Party. 6. Republicans responded furiously by decrying Democrats as the party responsible for the Civil War, a tactic that came to be known as waving the bloody shirt. 7. Johnson embarked on a disastrous railroad tour campaign and made matters worse by engaging in shouting matches and exchanging insults with the hostile crowds. 8. Republicans won a three-to-one majority in the 1866 congressional elections, which registered overwhelming support for securing the civil rights of ex-slaves. 9. The Republican Party had a new sense of unity coalescing around the unbending program of the radical minority, which represented the partys abolitionist strain. 10. For the Radicals, Reconstruction was never primarily about restoring the Union but rather remaking southern society, beginning with getting the black man his right to vote. II. Radical Reconstruction A. Congress Takes Command 1. The Reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the South into five military districts, each under the command of a Union general. 2. The price for reentering the Union was granting the vote to the freedmen and disenfranchising the Souths prewar political class. 3. Congress overrode Johnsons veto of the Reconstruction Act and, in effect, attempted to
reconstruct the presidency with the Tenure of Office Act. 4. After Congress adjourned in August 1867, Johnson suspended Edwin M. Stanton and replaced him with General Ulysses S. Grant; he then replaced four of the commanding generals governing the South. 5. When the Senate reconvened, it overruled Stantons suspension, and Grant, now Johnsons enemy, resigned so that Stanton could resume office. 6. On February 21, 1868, Johnson dismissed Stanton; the House Republicans introduced articles of impeachment against Johnson, mainly for violations of the Tenure of Office Act. 7. A vote on impeachment was one vote short of the required two-thirds majority needed, but Johnson was left powerless to alter the course of Reconstruction. 8. Grant was the Republicans 1868 presidential nominee, and he won out over the Democrats Horatio Seymour; Republicans retained twothirds majorities in both houses of Congress. 9. The Fifteenth Amendment forbade either the federal government or the states to deny citizens the right to vote on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 10. States still under federal control were required to ratify the amendment before being readmitted to the Union; the Fifteenth Amendment became part of the Constitution. 11. Womens rights advocates were outraged that the Fifteenth Amendment did not address womens suffrage. 12. At the 1869 annual meeting of the Equal Rights Association, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony spoke out against the amendment. 13. The majority, led by Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe of the American Womens Suffrage Association, accepted the priority of black suffrage over womens suffrage. 14. Stantons new organization, the National Womens Suffrage Association, accepted only women and took up the battle for a federal woman suffrage amendment. 15. Fracturing of the womens movement obscured the common ground of the two sides, until both sides realized that a broader popular constituency had to be built. B. Republican Rule in the South 1. Southern whites who became Republicans were called scalawags by Democratic exConfederates; rich white northerners who
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moved to the South were called carpetbaggers. 2. Some scalawags were former slave owners who wanted to attract northern capital, but most were yeoman farmers who wanted to rid the South of its slaveholding aristocracy. 3. Although never proportionate to their size in population, black officeholders were prominent throughout the South. 4. Republicans modernized state constitutions, eliminated property qualifications for voting, got rid of the Black Codes, and expanded the rights of married women. 5. Reconstruction social programs called for hospitals, more humane penitentiaries, and asylums; Reconstruction governments built roads and revived the railroad network. 6. To pay for their programs, Republicans introduced property taxes that applied to personal wealth as well as to real estate, similar to the taxes the Jacksonians had used in the North. 7. In many plantation counties, former slaves served as tax assessors and collectors, administering the taxation of their onetime owners. 8. Reconstruction governments debts mounted rapidly, and public credit collapsed; much of the spending was wasted or ended up in the pockets of state officials. 9. Republican state governments viewed education as the foundation of a democratic order and had to make up for lost time since the South had virtually no public education. 10. New African American churches served as schools, social centers, and political meeting halls as well as places of worship. 11. Black ministers were community leaders and often political officeholders; they provided a powerful religious underpinning for the Republican politics of their congregations. C. The Quest for Land 1. The Southern Homestead Act of 1866 was mostly symbolic since the public land it made available to former slaves was in swampy, infertile parts of the lower South. 2. After Johnsons order restoring confiscated lands to the ex-Confederates, the Freedmens Bureau devoted itself to teaching blacks how to be good agricultural laborers. 3. Sharecropping was a distinctive labor system for cotton agriculture in which the freedmen worked as tenant farmers, exchanging their labor for the use of land. 4. Sharecropping was an unequal relationship, since the sharecropper had no way of making
it through the first growing season without borrowing for food and supplies. 5. Storekeepers furnished the sharecropper and took as collateral a lien on the crop; as cotton prices declined during the 1870s, many sharecroppers fell into permanent debt. 6. If the merchant was also the landowner, the debt became a pretext for peonage, or forced labor. 7. Sharecropping did mobilize black husbands and wives in common enterprise and shielded both from personal subordination to whites. 8. By the end of Reconstruction, about onequarter of sharecropping families saved enough to rent with cash, and eventually many black farmers owned about a third of the land they farmed. 9. Sharecropping committed the South inflexibly to cotton because it was a cash crop; the South lost its self-sufficiency in grains and livestock, and it did not put money into agricultural improvements. III. The Undoing of Reconstruction A. Counterrevolution 1. Democrats worked hard to get the vote restored to ex-Confederates, appealing to racial solidarity and southern patriotism and attacking black suffrage as a threat to white supremacy. 2. The Ku Klux Klan first appeared in Tennessee as a social club, but under Nathan Bedford Forrest, it quickly became a paramilitary force used against blacks. 3. By 1870 the Klan was operating almost everywhere in the South as an armed force whose terrorist tactics served the Democratic Party. 4. The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 authorized Grant to use federal prosecutions, military force, and martial law to suppress conspiracies that deprived citizens of the right to vote, holding office, serving on juries, and enjoying equal protection of the law. 5. The Grant administrations assault on the Klan illustrates how dependent African Americans and the southern Republicans were on the federal government. 6. But northern Republicans were growing weary of Reconstruction and the bloodshed it seemed to produce, and sympathy for the freedmen also began to wane. 7. Prosecuting Klansmen under the enforcement acts was difficult, and only a small fraction served significant prison terms. 8. Between 1873 and 1875, Democrats overthrew Republican governments in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi.
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9. In Mississippi, local Democrats paraded armed, kept assassination lists of blacks called dead books, and provoked rioting that killed hundreds of African Americans. 10. By 1876, Republican governments remained in only Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida; elsewhere the former Confederates were back in control. B. The Acquiescent North 1. Sympathy for the freedmen began to wane, as the North was flooded with one-sided, often racist reports describing extravagant, corrupt Republican rule and a South in the grip of a massive black barbarism. 2. The political cynicism that overtook the Civil Rights Act signaled the Republican Partys reversion to the practical politics of earlier days. 3. Some Republicans had little enthusiasm for Reconstruction, except as it benefited their party, and as the party lost headway in the South, they abandoned any interest in the battle for black rights. 4. As Grants administration lapsed into cronyism, a revolt took shape inside the Republican Party; the dissidents broke away and formed a new party called the Liberal Republicans. 5. The Liberal Republicans nominated Horace Greeley during the 1872 election; the Democratic Party, still in disarray, also nominated Greeley. 6. Grant won the election overwhelmingly, yet the Democrats adopted the Liberal Republicans agenda of civil service reform, limited government, and reconciliation with the South as they reclaimed their place as a legitimate national party. 7. Charges of Republican corruption came to a head in 1875 with a scandal known as the Whiskey Ring; the scandal implicating Grants cronies and even his private secretary engulfed the White House. 8. The economy fell into a severe depression after 1873; among the casualties was the Freedmens Savings and Trust Company, and many exslaves lost their life savings. 9. In denying the blacks plea for help with their banking disaster, Congress signaled that Reconstruction had lost its moral claim on the country. C. The Political Crisis of 1877 1. Republicans nominated Rutherford B. Hayes as their presidential candidate, and his Democratic opponent was Samuel J. Tilden; both favored home rule for the South.
2. When Congress met in early 1877, it was faced with both Republican and Democratic electoral votes from Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana. 3. The Constitution declares that Congress regulates its own elections, so Congress appointed an electoral commission; the commission awarded the disputed votes to Hayes by a vote of 8 to 7. 4. Democrats controlled the House and set about stalling a final count of the electoral votes, but on March 1 they suddenly ended their filibuster, and Hayes was inaugurated. Reconstruction had ended. 5. By 1877, however, three rights-defining amendments had been added to the Constitution, there was room for blacks to advance economically, and they had confidence that they could lift themselves up.
Lecture Strategies
1. Presidential Reconstruction is a complex topic. Discuss why the executive branch preferred lenient plans for the South. Explore Lincolns early policies toward the South as well as his last speech, which moved toward an endorsement of freedmens suffrage. Examine Johnsons policies as an attempt to build a coalition to oppose congressional Republicans. Consider Johnsons hope of rooting southern politics in the independent yeomanry as a reflection of his own background and the principles of Jefferson and Jackson. Historians typically rate Johnson as one of our worst presidents and Lincoln as one of the best. Consider how Lincoln might have fared if he had lived. How would he have handled Congress and the South? Consider the degree to which Johnsons problems were of his own making and which were the product of a vengeful Congress. 2. Students often have difficulty keeping track of the changes in the period of 1865 to 1877, from the two presidents policies, to a Congress torn between moderate and Radical Republicans, to the loss of commitment on the part of the North, and the resulting success of those wishing to deny civil rights to blacks. Stress the reverses in policy caused by these changes and their impact on the South. Emphasize the fact that this wavering in policy was due to the constant struggle for political power both in the South and in Washington, D.C. 3. Explain to students the important precedent set by the Johnson impeachment and hearing. Begin with the reasons for Lincolns choice of Johnson as his vice president. Explain Johnsons quarrels with congres-
Lecture Strategies
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sional Republicans over Reconstruction, including his vetoes of the civil rights bill and extension of the Freedmens Bureau and his attempt to build an opposition party. Discuss the Tenure of Office Act and review the Supreme Courts conclusion that it was a breach of constitutional separation of powers, referring to Article II of the Constitution. Explore the impeachment hearing and the decisions of the various congressmen. Discuss the precedent set by impeaching Johnson on criminal, not political grounds. Compare Johnsons impeachment to Congresss situation during the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. 4. Explore the changing historiography of Reconstruction. Discuss the historical interpretation that black suffrage was a disaster for the South. Explain how this interpretation survived for so long because it fit with American prejudices as well as with social and political realities. Discuss the impact of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s on changing interpretations of Reconstruction. Consider whether the Radical Republicans were cynical, selfserving politicians or idealists. Thaddeus Stevens is a good example of the radical as idealist. Explore whether the Radicals programs were practical or unrealistically visionary. Discuss the Radicals linkage of political power for freedmen with economic independence. Explore why land distribution was unacceptable to many people in the North. Relate these issues to the present day, showing how political and economic power are linked today, as well as the extent of the American commitment to protecting private property. 5. The Freedmens Bureau is an interesting topic for students. Explain who became involved in it and why. Describe the conditions agents found in the South. Discuss what the bureau tried to do in education, employment, housing, and medical care and then explore the bureaus degree of success in those areas. Question whether the Freedmens Bureau was essentially radical or conservative, and why. 6. Discuss the struggle in the South among former slave owners, independent yeomen, and freedmen. Describe the goals of each group; show where they conflicted and where possible alliances existed between any two groups. Show how these groups struggled over labor control, race relations, and political power and how these three issues were interrelated. Discuss the crucial role played by white small-acreage farmers, and explain how and why the planters courted them. Explain how the resulting systems of sharecropping and segregation represented compromises among the three groups. Compare the situation in the southern states with the end of slavery in other
countries, particularly in the Caribbean. Explain some of the factors that made the United States different, including demographics and the attempt to achieve political equality during Reconstruction. 7. Explore the contributions of the African American community to southern Republican state governments. Use the careers of men such as Blanche K. Bruce to illustrate how African Americans participated in politics. Describe the accomplishments of these governments, including the democratization of southern politics and the development of the southern infrastructure (schools, roads, railroads). Show how African Americans addressed the needs of their community. Explain, however, that this community was not always unified. Compare and contrast the interests and goals of freedmen with those of African Americans who had been free before the Civil War. Discuss how African Americans strengthened their family structures and built their social institutions on the local level. 8. Discuss white resistance to maintaining civil rights for blacks in both the North and South. Explain how the declining social position of blacks was due to the activities of planters in groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and how much it was due to the loss of northerners commitment to, and interest in, the plight of the freedmen. Discuss planters attempts to resist Republican state governments and freedmen. Show how the planters desire for a disciplined labor force led them to organize against freedmens suffrage. Describe the degree of violence used by groups such as the Klan. Discuss how the North responded, including the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the Force Acts. Describe President Grants position and his fear of restarting the war. Discuss the movement by the Liberal Republicans to capitulate to planters desires by removing troops from the South. Consider the degree of racism in the North and the impact it had on Reconstruction. 9. Historians have attempted to describe the concept of southern honor and explain how it created a particularly violent society. Use Nathan Bedford Forrests life to illustrate this concept. Discuss how Forrest emphasized family honor and how affronts to his relatives led him to respond with violence. Discuss how the loss of the war was particularly shameful to men such as Forrest, and examine the degree to which that sense of shame played a role in the formation of the Ku Klux Klan. Discuss how this concept of southern honor had to find new bases after the war. 10. Students sometimes become confused by the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. Explain what each one entails and
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how it came about. Discuss how the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments substantially changed the relationship between the federal government and state governments. Show how they created a national citizenship for the first time. Explain that these amendments shifted power toward the national government. Discuss how this process was a result of the Civil War as well as of the amendments. Discuss the difference between the pre-Civil War Union and the post-Civil War United States. 11. Women tend to be neglected in most histories of this period. Discuss the differing experiences of white women in the North and South and freedwomen. Note that although the end of war brought men home, it also led to the return of white women to traditional roles. Discuss how the high death rate in both the North and the South left a generation of widows and single women who had to survive without male breadwinners. Describe the experiences of freedwomen who chose to leave field work, drastically reducing the Souths labor supply. Explore the activities of freedwomen in creating black communities in the South. End with a discussion of suffrage, and explain why woman suffrage leaders felt betrayed. Explore how the Fifteenth Amendment led the woman suffrage movement to change its strategies. 12. Students need to understand how and why the North failed to support the freedmen in the long run. Describe the Norths sense of exhaustion with freedmens issues in the 1870s. Describe how the North became reconciled with the white South politically, socially, and culturally. 13. Compare and contrast the post-Civil War economic status of the South with that of the North. Show how the Republican Partys commitment of government assistance to industrial capitalism created a dynamic northern economy moving toward the Industrial Revolution. Explain the rationale for this government-business alliance, and show how the Civil War pension plan satisfied many workers and farmers in the North. Describe the state of the southern economy at the end of the war. Show how some southerners attempted to bring industry to the region. Describe how and why the South differed from the North. Describe how the South remained dependent on agriculture and why tenancy and sharecropping came to characterize southern farming. Explain the long-range effect of this situation.
Possible answers: a Lincoln would have allied himself with the moderate Republicans in support of a program less lenient than what he initially wanted but not as severe as what the Radicals desired. b. Reconstruction would have been more consistent, without changes in policy. Southerners would not have been encouraged by battles between the president and Congress, which would not have occurred. c. Lincoln would have broken with congressional Republicans and would have had struggles with Congress similar to Johnsons, although with less personal hostility because of Lincolns more tactful personality. d. Lincoln would have remained committed to full citizenship for ex-slaves; he would not have backed down before the Ku Klux Klan and would have used the force necessary to root it out. He could have co-opted Lee and other southerners with genuine honor to help him rebuild the Union. 2. Lincoln is frequently considered our best president for his handling of the Civil War. How do you rate his early attempts at Reconstruction? Possible answers: a. Lincoln was too ready to give in to the South on slavery and was too soft toward the Confederates. b. Lincolns moderate approach was exactly what the country needed to recover from the war. c. Lincoln had an easy time of it because of patriotic support for the president; after the war he would have had problems similar to Johnsons. 3. How would American political development have differed if President Johnson had been removed from office? Possible answers: a. Reconstruction would not have changed much, since Congress took control of policy anyway, and the North was ambivalent. b. Impeachment and conviction would have occurred more often in American history because they would have resulted from a lack of political support, not from criminal activity. c. Congresss power would have increased even more than it did in the late nineteenth century. 4. Did Reconstruction go too far, not far enough, or was change impossible to achieve? Possible answers: a. It went too far. The attempt to give African Americans political equality with white southerners was fruitless. It could not, and did not, last.

1. How might Reconstruction have been different if Lincoln had not been assassinated?
Document Exercises
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b. It did not go far enough. Land redistribution alone would have made a difference in the political and economic relationship between white southerners and freedmen. c. It was an impossible task. The North was never prepared to support the extent of change that was necessary in the South. 5. Were the Radical Republicans astute when they abandoned woman suffrage to ensure that African American suffrage would be accomplished? Possible answers: a. Yes. Woman suffrage was considered so extreme that to insist on it might have led the moderates to abandon the movement to extend suffrage to blacks. b. No. Woman suffrage might not have passed, but it would not have damaged the movement for African American suffrage. c. No. Womens efforts in support of the war should have gained them suffrage. 6. Why didnt freedmen and poor whites form an alliance against the planters? Possible answers: a. Planters successfully appealed to white racism in order to prevent such an alliance. b. Freedmen and poor whites were in competition for land in the distressed southern economy after the war. c. Both groups distrusted each other and could not overcome latent racism. 7. In what ways was the African American community in the South split after the war? Possible answers: a. African Americans who had been free before the war were more conservative in their goals for Reconstruction and were more protective of private property. b. Freedmen often sought the confiscation and redistribution of former Confederate estates. c. Freedmen enjoyed their new geographical mobility, often seeking out relatives who had been sold away. 8. Why do you think the Fifteenth Amendments provision for reducing congressional representation in states that denied suffrage to their citizens was never enforced? Possible answers: a. Once southern states again had representatives in Congress, southern Democrats blocked political support for enforcement. b. Northerners and the Republican Party were not sufficiently unified to agree on a plan to enforce the amendment.
c. Presidents after Grant did not want to risk reopening the war. d. The Republican Party was torn between reformers who wanted to abandon Reconstruction and a scandal-torn administration. e. Racism prevented northerners from seeing African Americans as citizens whose right to vote had to be protected. 9. How did changes in the North during the war prepare the country for the postwar Republican economic program? Possible answers: a. The war accustomed northerners to massive government spending. b. The war weakened Democrats, who traditionally opposed government expansion. c. Wartime spending led northerners to look to the federal government as a customer for their products.

1. Contrast the postwar careers of several important military leaders from the North and the South. 2. Explain why, during radical Reconstruction, Congress gave in on issues such as woman suffrage and land redistribution but remained firm on issues such as black suffrage. 3. How similar were the interests of congressional Republicans during Reconstruction and the interests of southern African Americans? How were they different? Explain the reasons for these similarities and differences. 4. How did the Republican economic program in the North appeal to both industrial capitalists and northern farmers? 5. Why do you think so much government corruption occurred in the North and the South in the decade after the Civil War?
Document Exercises
David Macrae: The Devastated South (p. 432)

Document Discussion
1. According to Macrae, how did the war affect the South?
164
(The war changed nearly every aspect of antebellum southern society. Not only were lives lost outright, but hundreds of thousands were wounded and maimed, homes had been demolished, and businesses were destroyed. The fact that so much physical damage remained several years after the war suggests that southern society also suffered pains of a more intangible sort. The cotton-based, slave-dependent economic and political structures had been eliminated. However, before the end of the century, whites would reassert their influence. In many respects, the old South would not disappear until well into the post-World War II era, when full economic and political integration demanded change in the South.) 2. What evidence did Macrae include to support the assertion that the Civil War had been a total war? (The fact that so much of the destruction Macrae witnessed was not constrained to the boundaries of the battlefield is the most obvious evidence that the Civil War had been a wide-ranging military contest. The information he provided about the human devastation provides further evidence of the all-encompassing nature of the Civil War. The fact that within several decades many of the former political and cultural power structures that supported whites would reemerge was difficult to imagine in 1865. )
is the availability of education. He links the development of virtuous habits with school attendance and wants this opportunity for his girls.) 2. In exchange for a return to service, what did Anderson demand from his former master? (Anderson insists upon a secure environment and educational opportunity for his children. He also describes in detail the level of financial remuneration he expects, first for his prior labor while a slave and second what he will charge a free man. Interestingly, Anderson set his wage rate to equate his current income in Ohio.)
Writing Assignments
1. Why would Anderson write a letter to his former owner? What part of his text (if any) is serious, and which is sarcasm? 2. Assess the nature of the relationship between Jourdan and Colonel Anderson. How does Jourdan feel about his master and the life he led while a slave? AMERICAN LIVES
Nathan Bedford Forrest: Defender of Southern Honor (p. 446)

Document Discussion
1. What factors led to Forrests success in the prewar South? (His willingness to use violence and his physical courage fitted with the antebellum southern mentality. He was hardworking. He took advantage of the expansion of cotton agriculture into the Southwest.) 2. Why do you think that so many whites joined the Klan after the war? (Forrest was known for his physical bravery and spectacular success as a commander, and that attracted many young men whose side had just suffered defeat. Forrest was very entrepreneurial in his ability to attract supporters. Many white men were unwilling to accept the roles given to African Americans during radical Reconstruction.)
Writing Assignments
1. Compare Macraes description of the South in 1867 to 1868 with an account prepared before the war. What are the most important differences? 2. Why werent southerners busily repairing the damages that Macrae witnessed? 3. Did Congress and the Reconstruction presidents miss an opportunity to co-opt the South by repairing the damage done in the war and providing for war widows and orphans, etc.? A M E R I C A N VO I C E S
Jourdon Anderson: Relishing Freedom (p. 433)

Document Discussion
1. What does Andersons letter reveal about the lives of young slave women? (Anderson declares that he would rather die than subject his daughters to the predations of young male masters. While Anderson mentions no specific act or event, his letter clearly indicates that young slave women were subject to sexual and physical exploitation. Another matter of concern for Anderson
Writing Assignments
1. Compare and contrast the postwar career of Forrest with another Confederate general officer such as Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, or Joseph Wheeler. 2. In what ways did Forrests life and personality typify southern conceptions of honor? Forrest quit the Klan when it became too violent for him; how does his southern honor explain that? or does it?
Topics for Research
165
Harriet Hernandes: The Intimidation of Black Voters (p. 448)

Document Discussion
1. Why did the Klan terrorize Harriet Hernandes and her daughter? (Hernandess husband had voted for Republican candidates. The women were vulnerable because Mr. Hernandes was not home. The Klan wanted to punish Mr. Hernandes and his family for his voting. They hoped to change the way he voted, or to get him to stop voting altogether, by terrorizing his wife and daughter.) 2. What effect do you think this testimony had on the Joint Congressional Select Committee? (They would have been furious at this attempt to intimidate black Republicans, for both compassionate and political reasons. The committee would have been appalled by this treatment of a woman and would want to protect others like her. Many Republicans hoped to create a political base in the South by earning the loyalty of black voters.)
who were acceptable to congressional Republicans, so Tennessee was subjected to a military government under the Reconstruction Act of 1867. Other states fell under military control and thus took a few years to organize new state governments that Congress would approve.)
Map 15.2: The Barrow Plantation, 1860 and 1881 (p. 444)
1. Why did the pattern of African American residence and farming change? (Valuing autonomy, freedmen left their old plantation grounds to establish their own farms independent of former slave owners. They set their farms on good land and near roads and rivers to make it easy to get their crops to market.) 2. Whose interests did this change serve? (This pattern reflected freedmens interests as they resisted gang labor and white control.)
Topic for Research
The Overthrow of Radical Reconstruction

One by one, the Reconstruction state governments fell to counterrevolutions. This text has surveyed the general reasons for the victories of the Democratic redeemers over the Republicans, but the timing and particular circumstances differed from state to state. Choose one of the states of the former Confederacy, and investigate how and why Reconstruction came to an end there. You should explore the methods of the redeemers, examining the extent to which they relied on conventional methods of political persuasion and organization as opposed to terrorism and guerrilla warfare. You should also consider the role of divisions among the various groups of Republicans African Americans, carpetbaggers, and scalawags in the partys defeat. And, finally, examine the role of the federal government and the Union army. Could greater effort and commitment in Washington have saved the Republicans? General books on Reconstruction, such as Eric Foners Reconstruction: Americas Unfinished Revolution, 18631877 (1988), have bibliographies listing books, articles, and other sources on the individual states. Be alert to the possibility of consulting the documents compiled by Congress as it struggled to understand the problems of Reconstruction. Especially fascinating, for example, are the hearings on the Ku Klux Klan: Testimony Taken by the Joint Committee to Enquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States, indexed as 42nd Cong., 2nd sess., H. Rept. 22.
Writing Assignments
1. In what ways did the Klan terrorize Hernandes, her family, and her neighbors? Why were those tactics chosen? 2. Do you think vigorous, long-term enforcement of the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act eventually would have defeated the Klan? Why or why not?
Map 15.1: Reconstruction (p. 437)

1. In what area of the South did states return to the Union earliest? latest? (The border state of Tennessee returned to the Union in 1866. Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina returned to the Union in 1868. Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, and Virginia did not reenter the Union until 1870.) 2. Why do you think the Confederate states returned to the Union at different times? (Before being accepted by Congress, the southern states had to construct acceptable governments. The time it took for each state to do this varied. Tennessee had many Union sympathizers and state politicians
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Recent examinations of Reconstruction include Eric Foner, Reconstruction (2002, originally published in 1989); John Hope Franklin and Daniel J. Boorstin, eds., Reconstruction After the Civil War (1995); David Herbert Donald, et al., Civil War and Reconstruction (2000); James McPherson, Ordeal By Fire (3rd edition, 2000); and Roger L. Ransom and Richard Sutch, One Kind of Freedom (2000).
Freedom (p. 433) and asks students to analyze their content, thinking critically about the sources. Documents to Accompany Americas History Each of the documents listed is introduced by a headnote, which places the document in context, and is followed by questions, which help students to analyze the piece. Sources for Chapter 15 are Carl Shurz, Report on Conditions in the South (1865) The Mississippi Black Codes (1865) The Civil Rights Act of 1866 Thaddeus Stevens, Black Suffrage and Land Redistribution (1867) The Fourteenth Amendment and Woman Suffrage (1873, 1875) Richard H. Cain, An Advocate of Federal Aid for Land Purchase (1868) Statistics on Black Ownership (18701910) Thomas Nast, The Rise and Fall of Northern Support for Reconstruction (1868, 1874) Albion W. Tourgee, A Fools Errand. By One of the Fools (1879) President Grant Refuses to Aid Republicans in Mississippi (1875) Samuel F. Miller, The Slaughterhouse Cases (1873) Susan Myricks Interview of Catherine Beale, Former Slave (1929)

For Instructors
Using the Bedford Series in History and Culture in the U.S. History Survey This brief online guide by Scott Hovey provides practical suggestions for incorporating volumes from the highly regarded Bedford Series in History and Culture into your survey course. Titles that complement the material covered in Chapter 15 include Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington with Related Documents, edited with an introduction by W. Fitzhugh Brundage. For a description of this title and how you might use it in your course, visit bedfordstmartins.com/usingseries.
Thinking about History: Religion in American Public Life (p. 452)

1. How and why did the contradictory traditions of constitutional secularism and religious conviction originate in America? 2. How did the eighteenth-century Enlightenment seek to reconcile rational inquiry with Christian theology? How has the Enlightenment compromise manifested itself during modern times? 3. Imagine that you are a judge or government official and are asked to preside over a contemporary issue of state and religion such as the teaching of evolution, the recital of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools, or references to God on U.S. currency. How would you rule? Why?
For Students
Online Study Guide at bedfordstmartins.com/henretta Each of the activities listed below includes short-answer questions. After submitting their answers, students can compare them to the model answers provided. Visual Activity The visual activity presents an engraving of a lynching (p. 439) and asks students to analyze the image to discern southern attitudes toward Reconstruction. Reading Historical Documents The document activity provides a brief introduction to the documents Harriet Hernandes: The Intimidation of Black Voters (p. 448) and Jourdon Anderson: Relishing

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FIFTH EDITION

3 The British Empire in America,

The Creation of American Society,

1 Worlds Collide: Europe, Africa, and America,

4 Growth and Crisis in Colonial Society,

2 The Invasion and Settlement of North

5 Toward Independence: Years of Decision,

Chapter Instructional Objectives Chapter Summary 49 Chapter Annotated Outline 50

9 The Quest for a Republican Society,

Slavery, Racism, and the American Republic

The New Republic,

Part Instructional Objectives Thematic Timeline 60 Part Essay 61

6 War and Revolution, 17751783

Federalism as History and Contemporary Politics 100

Economic Revolution and Sectional Strife,

7 The New Political Order, 17761800

Part Instructional Objectives Thematic Timeline 102 Part Essay 103

10 The Economic Revolution,

8 Dynamic Change: Western Settlement and

Chapter Instructional Objectives

14 Two Societies at War, 18611865

12 Religion and Reform, 18201860

13 The Crisis of the Union, 18441860

Religion in American Public Life

The Creation of American Society

Persecuted English Puritans and Catholics migrate to America

Puritans implant Calvinism, education, and freehold ideal

Religious liberty in Rhode Island

Aristocratic aspirations in the Chesapeake

Tobacco trade stagnates Rice cultivation expands

Emergence of African American language and culture

Mature yeoman farm economy in North Imports from Britain increase

Scots-Irish and German migration Growing rural inequality

German and Scots-Irish Pietists in Middle Atlantic region Great Awakening

Trade boycotts encourage domestic manufacturing

Uprisings by tenants and backcountry farmers Artisan protests

Ideas of popular sovereignty Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775)

Evangelical Baptists in Virginia Quebec Act allows Catholicism (1774)

Worlds Collide: Europe, Africa, and America

Chapter Instructional Objectives

Chapter 1 Worlds Collide: Europe, Africa, and America, 14501620

Chapter Annotated Outline

Chapter Annotated Outline

Chapter 1 Worlds Collide: Europe, Africa, and America, 14501620

Chapter 1 Worlds Collide: Europe, Africa, and America, 14501620

Class Discussion Starters

Chapter Writing Assignments

A Navajo Emergence Story (p. 7)

Chapter 1 Worlds Collide: Europe, Africa, and America, 14501620

Indian Women and Agriculture (p. 14)

Father le Petite: The Customs of the Natchez (p. 13)

Skill-Building Map Exercises

Skill-Building Map Exercises

Map 1.2: Native American Peoples, 1492 (p. 10)

Corts and Malinche: The Dynamics of Conquest (p. 30)

Chapter 1 Worlds Collide: Europe and the Americas, 14501620

Topic for Research

How to Use the Ancillaries Available with Americas History

The Environmental Consequences of 1492

How to Use the Ancillaries Available with Americas History

The Invasion and Settlement of North America

Chapter Instructional Objectives