A Nation of Regions: From the Founding to 1830

1
A Nation of Regions From the Founding to 1830
2
The Northeast

• The Northeast region stretched from eastern
  Pennsylvania and New Jersey to New England.
• Small family farms dotted the landscape and
  produced a surplus of goods.
• People used the barter system for economic
  exchanges. Cash was rare.
• The demand for heating fuel quickly depleted the
  regions forests.

3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5
The South

• The South stretch from Maryland to Georgia along
  the coast, and west to the newly forming states
  of Alabama and Mississippi.
• Planters had experimented with a number of
  grains, but had little success until cotton was
  imported from Europe.
• The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 allowed
  one laborer to clean up to 50 pounds of cotton a
  day.

6
Trans-Appalachia

• The Trans-Appalachia region consisted of the
  lands west of established white settlement known
  as the backcountry or frontier.
• Settlers, drawn by the promotions of land
  speculators, moved west into the region in
  astounding numbers between 1790 and 1810.

7
(No Transcript)
8
The Nations Cities

• Although most Americans lived on the land or in
  small villages, a growing number chose to live in
  the expanding cities.
• The most aggressive urban growth was found in the
  Northeast due to established ports of commerce
  and booming economy.
• In Trans-Appalachia, cities like Chicago and
  Pittsburg began to spring up along the Great
  Lakes and interior rivers.
• Cities were relatively small, dangerous, and
  unhealthy.

9
(No Transcript)
10
Indian-White Relations in the Early Republic

• From 1790 to 1830, the federal government
  established policies toward Native Americans
  ostensibly to integrate them into white society.
• The Indians refusal to view themselves as a
  conquered people forced the government to deal
  with the tribes through land treaties.
• Illegal infringement of tribal lands rarely
  ceased, always in the benevolent guise of
  education or Christianization.

11
(No Transcript)
12
Perfecting a Democratic Society The
Revolutionary Heritage

• Social reform was inspired by the democratic
  ideals of the Revolution.
• Americans accepted the ideal of differences in
  wealth or social standing but could not tolerate
  the suggestion that such differences made some
  people better than others.

13
Race, Slavery, and the Limits of Reform

• In the South, the aggressive growth of cotton
  cultivation made the price of slave labor
  skyrocket.
• Antislavery appeals from abolitionists all but
  disappeared, even from once-vehement religious
  groups and the nations capital.
• Antislavery reform also weakened in the Northeast.

14
(No Transcript)
15
International Conflict The War of 1812

• War Hawks of Congress had tolerated enough of
  Britains presence on American soil.
• President Madison finally asked Congress for a
  declaration of war on June 1, 1812.
• British forces occupied Washington in 1814,
  burning the Capital and presidential mansion.
• Hostilities ended by the Treaty of Ghent on
  Christmas Eve, 1814.

16
(No Transcript)
17
Strengthening American Nationalism

• National pride during this era was shaped by the
  War of 1812 and the religious revivalism of the
  Second Great Awakening.
• Also important were landmark decisions by the
  Supreme Court regarding judicial review and
  supremacy of the federal government over the
  states.

18
The Specter of Sectionalism

• Despite the rampant nationalism following the War
  of 1812, political unity in the nation was
  fragile.
• Most divisive was the issue of slavery in the
  vast, new territory west of the Mississippi
  River.
• Again, a compromise avoided disaster. The new
  state of Missouri was admitted to the Union as a
  slave state and Maine was admitted as a free
  state.

19
(No Transcript)