Origins of the Republic à Civil War 15.05. №5

· 1^st half of the 19^th century

· Political transformation established

· Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson (both democrats): represent rival political interest groups after the foundation of the state

· Founded parties

· Hamilton – Federalist: pro British; bankers, merchants,focus on making the US strong state; Central Bank (1791); less power for the States;

· Jefferson – Republican: more pro French (supported French Revolution); small farmers & businessmen à power more to the countryside à away from cities; looking westward,

· Conflict: British & French

· Louisiana Purchase (1803) à doubled size of country (15 mill. $);

· Jefferson became president in 1800

· 1812: 1^st post independence war against British (war of 1812) à British wanted to secure British territory in Canada etc.

· Aug 1814: Washington was captured

· Dec 1814: Treaty of Ghent; America survived the 1^st conflict

· 1823: articulation of foreign policy agenda à US government suspected that France wanted to exchange Spanish governing Cuba

· James Monroe

· Monroe Doctrine (!)

· à distance for America in inter-European conflicts

· (1) separation of “spheres of influence”

· (2) non-colonization (US would not try to colonize South-American countries)

· (3) non-interference (European powers would not control other countries)

· à unilateral US privilege in the Western hemisphere

· Manifest Destiny

· Electorate à emerging middle class

· à founding of Democratic Party (leader: Andrew Jackson) à anti-elite à populist party

· Westward à settlers à Texas wants to become free from Mexico à won the conflict à became a state in 1840s

· Manifest Destiny: not a real doctrine more a slogan

· à America: God-given right/destiny to control/conquer NA-continent

Nationalism: our country is special

· Polk (the President 1840):urged the congress to call for the war with Mexico; try to capture as much territory as possible. Under pretext: Mexico - taxes

· à many victories in the 1^st time of US/the War was bloody & exhausting, turned out to be more expansive as supposed to be, the soldiers were exhausted

· Ralph Waldo Emerson & Henry David Thoreau

· Emerson: against Mexican War

· Thoreau refused to pay his taxes à prison à later argued that he did only non-violent resistance à defended it in an essay written when being in prison

· à willingly wanted to go to jail

· à protest: violation of the law

· à essay: hugely influential

· The outcome of the War: about 500.000m² new territory acquired by US

· High degree of population growth

· Expanding infrastructure

· Rapid industrialization and urbanization

· à increase of urban poverty, widening gap

· Indian Removal Act (1838): 1^st migration of Indian tribes banned from own land

· US: 1^st democratic Republic

· Capitalist class: people who own the means of production (merchants)

· Alexis de Tocqueville: French aristocrat

· à full spectrum analysis of American society

· à studied principles of American democracy

· à “individualism”

· à Resist to inherited power etc.

· à but focus on wealth

· à Americans very enthusiastic about joining associations (civil society) à schools etc. built by citizens instead of government

· Public Sphere: population culture was expanding

· Tension between official ideology and reality of capitalist/slavery

· Tocqueville: “slavery could lead to the most horrific of Civil War”

· Slave rebellions in Virginia à being put down

· 1819: equal number of slaves states and free states

· 1847: House of Representatives passed a bill to ban slavery in territories that were former Mexico à senate did not agree

· Compromise of 1850: to balance the political influence and ideological influenceà government wants to find a compromise (pro and contra slavery movements)

· à slave states: basis of economy, required slaves to work as state

· à free states: became more and more anti-slavery (is against liberty rights)

· Fugitive slave law: also normal citizens have the authority/are allowed to capture slaves who flee to North and return them to the South

· à if a slave escaped and made it to a free slave he could not be sure that he could stay à may be catched by the government

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 814