Expanding role of the United States in world affairs
Transformation of society and economy in the early Republic
Growing democratic impulses
Unit Themes and Key Topics
The Expanding Role in World Affairs
Barbary Pirates: U.S. Navy retaliated against attacks on merchant ships.
Louisiana Purchase: Acquired from France for $15 million, doubled the size of the U.S., and led to Lewis and Clark's exploration.
Marbury vs. Madison (1803): Established judicial review, increased Supreme Court's power.
Transformation of Society and Economy
Market Revolution: Linking of northern industries with western and southern farms, advanced by new technologies like the cotton gin and interchangeable parts.
Transportation: Development of steamboats, canals (e.g., Erie Canal), and railroads augmented trade and connectivity.
Urbanization and Immigration: Rise in population and diversity in northern cities, emergence of a laboring poor class in tenements.
Cult of Domesticity: Idealized women's role as home caretakers.
Democratic Impulses and Expanding Democracy
Franchise Expansion: Voting rights extended beyond property-owning white males after the Panic of 1819.
1824 Election: Marked by the "corrupt bargain," leading to the split of the Democratic-Republican party into Democrats and National Republicans.
Andrew Jackson and Federal Power: Jackson's presidency highlighted by the battle over federal power scope, including the tariff of 1828, veto of the Second Bank of the U.S., and the Indian Removal Act.
Detailed Insights
Foreign Affairs and Domestic Policy
Foreign Affairs: Efforts to delineate U.S. boundaries and assert dominance, including Monroe Doctrine establishing Western Hemisphere as U.S. sphere of influence.
Domestic Policy: Supreme Court cases (e.g., Marbury vs. Madison) and legislations (e.g., Missouri Compromise) aimed to balance federal and state power.
Society and Culture
Market Revolution Effects: Increased interconnectivity, growth of western agriculture, and emergence of a middle class.
Immigration and Urbanization: New social dynamics, with challenges and opportunities for cultural preservation and integration.
Women's Role and Reform Movements: Cult of domesticity, rise of women's rights movement (Seneca Falls Convention), and reform movements influenced by the Second Great Awakening.
Key Events and Figures
Louisiana Purchase: Expansive interpretation of Jefferson's powers.
Lewis and Clark Expedition: Exploration and mapping of new territories.
Jackson's Presidency: Tariff of Abominations, conflict over the Second Bank, Indian Removal policy leading to Trail of Tears.
Reform Movements and Social Change
Abolitionism: Gained momentum with publications like The Liberator.
Women's Rights: Push for equality and suffrage beginning with the Seneca Falls Convention.
Cultural Development: Rise of distinct American literature, art, and religious movements, including Transcendentalism and the Second Great Awakening.
Utopian Communities: Efforts to create ideal societies, e.g., Oneida Community.