Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny

• A belief that the U.S. was destined by God to expand across North America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean
• Annexation of Texas (1845): Texas gained independence from Mexico in 1836
• Tensions between the U.S. and Mexico increased.
• Resulted in the Mexican-American War.
• Mexican-American War (1846-1848): U.S. war with Mexico over Texas annexation and border disputes
• Concluded with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
  • Mexico ceded large territories, including California, Arizona, and New Mexico.
• Oregon Trail & Oregon Territory (1846): Thousands of settlers moved westward to Oregon
• Oregon was a disputed territory between the U.S. and Britain
• The Oregon Treaty of 1846 established the U.S.-Canada border at the 49th parallel.
• James K. Polk: 11th U.S. President
• Expanded U.S. territory through Texas annexation and acquiring Oregon and California.
• John L. O'Sullivan: Journalist who coined the term "Manifest Destiny"
• Advocated for U.S. expansion across the continent.

Monopolies and the Gilded Age

• Industries became dominated by large corporations in the late 19th century
• Resulted in the formation of trusts or monopolies stifling competition and exploiting workers.
• Sherman Antitrust Act (1890): First federal legislation aimed to break up monopolies and trusts
• Weak in enforcement
  • Laid foundation for future antitrust legislation.
• Haymarket Riot (1886): A peaceful labor protest in Chicago turned violent after a bomb was thrown
• Symbol of the labor movement and struggle for workers' rights.
• Pullman Strike (1894): A nationwide railroad strike
• Began at the Pullman Company over wage cuts and high rents
• Resulted in violent clashes and highlighted labor and management tensions.
• John D. Rockefeller: Founder of Standard Oil
• Created a near-monopoly in the oil industry using ruthless tactics to control competition.
• Andrew Carnegie: Steel magnate who controlled the steel industry
• Practiced vertical integration to eliminate competition and dominate the market.
• J.P. Morgan: A powerful banker
• Consolidated businesses and played a key role in monopolies by financing them.

Emancipation Proclamation

• Lincoln's executive order, issued January 1, 1863
• Declared freedom of enslaved people in Confederate states; did not immediately free all.
• The Proclamation shifted the Civil War's focus making the abolition of slavery a war goal
• Helped prevent European powers from supporting the Confederacy.
• Did not free slaves in border states loyal to the Union, allowing Lincoln to keep their support.
• Abraham Lincoln: 16th President
• Issued the Emancipation Proclamation and navigated the U.S. through the Civil War.
• Frederick Douglass: Former enslaved African American
• Became an abolitionist and argued for immediate emancipation.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

• White supremacist group formed in 1865 after the Civil War
• Resisted Reconstruction and intimidated freed African Americans and white allies.
• Enforcement Acts (1870-1871): Federal laws protecting African Americans from violence and discrimination
• Specifically targeted Klan actions.
• The Klan reemerged in the early 20th century expanding its targets to include immigrants, Catholics, and Jews.
• Nathan Bedford Forrest: Confederate general and first Grand Wizard of the Klan
• Played a key role in its early activities.
• Justice Henry Brown: Delivered the majority opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson
• Upheld racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.

Progressive Era

• Reform movement (1890s-1920s) aimed to address negative effects of industrialization
  • Poor working conditions, corruption, and inequality.
• The Square Deal: President Theodore Roosevelt's plan
• Tackled corporate corruption, protected consumers, and conserved natural resources.
• Pure Food and Drug Act (1906): Regulated food and drug industries
  • Ensured products were safe and properly labeled.
• 16th Amendment (1913): Established federal income tax
  • Allowed the government to collect taxes based on income.
• Theodore Roosevelt: 26th President,
  • Known for progressive policies, trust-busting, and conservation efforts.
• Woodrow Wilson: 28th President
  • Enacted progressive reforms like the Federal Reserve Act, which reformed banking and monetary policy.
• Upton Sinclair: Muckraker
  • Wrote "The Jungle" exposing unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry, leading to reform.

Andrew Jackson and Jacksonian Conflicts

• Jackson's presidency (1829-1837): Marked by populist style and conflicts over federal power and national policy.
• Bank War: Jackson vetoed the recharter of the Second Bank of the U.S.
  • Argued it concentrated too much power in elites and was unconstitutional.
• Indian Removal Act (1830): Led to the forced relocation of Native Americans
  • Resulted in the Trail of Tears.
• Nullification Crisis (1832-1833): South Carolina opposed federal tariffs, claiming right to nullify them
  • Jackson threatened military action
  • Issue resolved with a compromise tariff.
• Andrew Jackson: 7th President
  • Favored the common man, led to conflicts with Native Americans and the Bank of the U.S.
• John C. Calhoun: Jackson's vice president
  • Supported South Carolina's nullification stance, leading to tensions.

Slavery and Political Discussions

• The U.S. was divided over slavery in new states leading to political debates.
• Missouri Compromise (1820): Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state
  • Established a line (36°30') dividing future slave and free states.
• Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): Allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to decide on slavery
  • Led to violence in Kansas ("Bleeding Kansas").
• Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857): Ruled African Americans were not citizens
  • Had no right to sue in federal court.
• Abraham Lincoln: 16th President
  • Led the nation during the Civil War
  • Issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
• Stephen A. Douglas: Illinois Senator
  • Promoted popular sovereignty to decide the slavery issue.

The Civil War

• Union vs. Confederacy: (1861-1865) War over slavery and states' rights.
• Battle of Gettysburg (1863): Turning point of the war
  • Union forces defeated the Confederate Army, halting its invasion of the North.
• Appomattox Court House (1865): Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant
  • Effectively ending the Civil War.
• Abraham Lincoln: 16th President
  • Led the Union through the Civil War and sought to end slavery.
• Robert E. Lee: Confederate general
  • Widely respected for military leadership.
• Ulysses S. Grant: Union general
  • Played a key role in winning the war, later served as president.

Plessy v. Ferguson

• The Supreme Court ruled in 1896 that racial segregation was constitutional
  • Under the "separate but equal" doctrine
  • Legitimizing Jim Crow laws.
• "Separate but Equal" Doctrine: Allowed segregation if separate facilities were deemed equal
• Rarely truly equal.
• Segregation rules within the South: Homer Plessy, an African American
  • Wasn't allowed to ride in a "whites only" train car.
• Homer Plessy: Plaintiff in the case who was arrested for sitting in a "whites only" rail car
  • Challenging segregation laws.
• Justice Henry Brown: Delivered the majority opinion which upheld segregation laws in public facilities.

The Missouri Compromise

• Federal legislation in 1820 to balance the desires of Northern and Southern states.
• 36°30' parallel: Border between Tennessee and Kentucky
  • Allowed states below that line to have slaves and above it not to.
• Increased hostility: Physical divide between the North and South grew tensions
  • Angered the North, ending Unionist ideas of the Era of Good Feelings
• The three-fifths compromise, passed in 1787
• The US included enslaved people in the total state's population
  • Increased the total number of electoral votes
    • Each slave, freed black person, and indentured servant only counted as Three-fifths of a person.
• Henry Clay: Represented Kentucky in both the US Senate and House
  • Known as "The great compromiser", played a role in passing the Missouri Compromise
  • Balanced interests of both the free and slave states
• Eventual Downfall: -Dred Scott Decision: the Supreme Court ruled that a state has no right to prohibit slavery
  • Outraged Northerners and deemed the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. -Kansas-Nebraska Act, in 1854 : act repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed settlers to decide themselves whether or not to allow slavery

Brooks-Sumner

• The Brooks Sumner Incident(1856): A violent altercation in the US
• Showed rising tensions between the North and South of Slavery
• The original fight: Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts gave a speech attacking slavery
  • Insulted Rep Preston Brooks
    • Brooks beat Sumner to the floor with a cane.
• Connection to Bleeding Kansas: Attack showed border conflict and a divide between slave and free states.
• Popular Sovereignty: Political idea for territories to vote to permit or ban slavery.
• Charles Sumner: Abolitionist senator
  • Spoke against slavery's expansion
  • Symbol after renaissance.
• Preston Brooks: Pro-Slavery congressman
  • Used violence to defend his reputation and southern pro-slavery values.
• Dred Scott Decision : Supreme Court ruled that Congress had no power to restrict slavery
  • Showed that violence would determine the future of slavery, not legislation.
• Missouri Compromise: Resistance to slavery restrictions
  • Weakened the agreement that had once maintained balance between free and slave states

Dred Scott Decision

• A supreme court case
  • That Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be US citizens
  • Congress had no authority to ban Slavery in US territories
• The ruling: The Supreme court declared that Dred Scott, an enslaved man who sued for freedom
• Had no right to sue in court as he was not considered a citizen
• Connection to Popular Sovereignty: It undermined popular sovereignty
  • By suggesting territories could not exclude slavery
  • Contradicting the Kansas-Nebraska Act's principle.
• Impact on Missouri compromise: The decision showed an invalidation to the Missouri Compromise
  • Ruling Congress could not prohibit slavery in territories.
• Dred Scott: Enslaved man who lived in a free state who sued
  • Becoming a major highlight of supreme court cases
• James Buchanan: 15th President, supported the Dred Scott decision
  • Supreme court was used to balance between North and south by having someone from the North vote in favor of the south.

Spoil System

• The Spoil system overview: A political practice where government jobs are given to supporters regardless of qualifications
• Political influence: Presidents, senators, and local officials used the spoils system to build loyalty
  • Government positions went to allies rather than competent individuals
• Bribery: Wealthy businessmen funded the campaigns of the candidates
  • The politician will need to listen to the demands of the businessman
• Corruption and Inefficiency: System led to unqualified people holding important positions
  • Causing inefficiency.
• Andrew Jackson: 7th President
  • Expanded the spoils system, believing that government jobs should go to loyal supporters
  • Idea of to the victor belong the spoils."
• James Garfield: 20th President
  • Assassination by office-seeker in 1881 exposed the dangers of the spoils system
  • pushed for civil service reform.

Yellow Journalism

• Exaggerated features in Newspapers to attract readers and increase sale and circulation
• Impact on the Spanish American war: Inflaming the public opinion against spain
  • pushing the US towards war.
• Public Manipulation: Yellow journalism blurred the lines between fact and fiction
  • Manipulating public perception and pushing agendas that benefited the newspaper owners' interests
  • Rather than unbiased reporting.
• William Randolph Hearst: Owner of the New York Journal
  • One of the leading figures promoted sensationalist stories and played a key role in stirring public support for the Spanish-American War.

Industrialism

• Industrial Growth: In the Late 19th century
• The US economy transformed causing greater growth in factories, railroad and other major industries.
• Expansion: Steel, oil, and textiles created a booming economy
  • overcrowded cities and unsafe work environments.
• Captains of Industry: Controlled a major industry
  • Carnegie steel (Vertical integration) and Rockefeller oil (Horizontal integration) Controlled most of the industry and held power in the government.
  • Vertical integration: Buying all the companies that are needed to manufacture goods
  • Horizontal integration: Buying all the companies fitting your same original company combining them to create a monopoly
• John D. Rockefeller: Founder of Standard Oil
  • Created a near-monopoly using ruthless tactics to control competition.
• Andrew Carnegie: Steel magnate who controlled the steel industry in the U.S.
  • Practiced vertical integration to eliminate competition and dominate the market.
• J.P. Morgan: Powerful banker
  • Consolidated businesses and played a key role in the rise of monopolies by financing them.

Important Amendments

• Thirteenth amendment: Abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude in the US
• Step towards ending racial oppression
• Fourteenth Amendment: Grant citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the US
  • Ensured equal protection
  • Secured rights of former slaves
  • Foundation for the Civil rights movement
• Fifteenth Amendment: Prohibits the Denial of voting rights based on race, color
• Aimed to protect the voting rights of African American men

The Workarounds

• The 15th Amendment allowed anyone the right to vote
  • There were workarounds to target demographic
• Poll Taxes: States required voters to pay tax fees
• Excluded African-Americans and whites from voting
• Most times, poll taxes were lowered for whites.
• Literacy tests: English passage was required to vote
  • Passages that African Americans were complex and difficult compared to simple passages for whites.