Back Aa

Short History of the United States, A

<h2>CHAPTER 30</h2> <h3>DEMOCRATS AND WHIGS, 1837-1844</h3> Causes of the Panic. Hard times, 1837-39. 314. The Panic of 1837.--The Panic was due directly to Jackson's interference with the banks, to his Specie Circular, and to the distribution of the surplus. It happened in this way. When the Specie Circular was issued, people who held paper money at once went to the banks to get gold and silver in exchange for it to pay for the lands bought of the government. The government on its part drew out money from the banks to pay the states their share of the surplus. The banks were obliged to sell their property and to demand payment of money due them. People who owed money to the banks were obliged to sell their property to pay the banks. So every one wanted to sell, and few wanted to buy. Prices of everything went down with a rush. People felt so poor that they would not even buy new clothes. The mills and mines were closed, and the banks suspended payments. Thousands of working men and women were thrown out of work. They could not even buy food for themselves or their families. Terrible bread riots took place. After a time people began to pluck up their courage. But it was a long time before "good times" came again. The national finances. The Sub-Treasury plan. Independent Treasury Act, 1840. 315. The Independent Treasury System.--What should be done with the government's money? No one could think of depositing it with the state banks. Clay and his friends thought the best thing to do would be to establish a new United States Bank. But Van Buren was opposed to that. His plan, in short, was to build vaults for storing money in Washington and in the leading cities. The main storehouse or Treasury was to be in Washington, subordinate storehouses or sub-treasuries were to be established in the other cities. To these sub-treasuries the collectors of customs would pay the money collected by them. In this way the government would become independent of the general business affairs of the country. In 1840 Congress passed an act for putting this plan into effect. But before it was in working order, Van Buren was no longer President. New parties. The Democrats. The Whigs. 316. Democrats and Whigs.--In the Era of Good Feeling there was but one party--the Republican party. In the confused times of 1824 the several sections of the party took the names of their party leaders: the Adams men, the Jackson men, the Clay men, and so on. Soon the Adams men and the Clay men began to act together and to call themselves National Republicans. This they did because they wished to build up the nation's resources at the expense of the nation. The Jackson men called themselves Democratic Republicans, because they upheld the rights of the people. Before long they dropped the word "Republican" and called themselves simply Democrats. The National Republicans dropped the whole of their name and took that of the great English liberal party--the Whigs. This they did because they favored reform. [Illustration: Log Cabin Song Book.] "A campaign of humor." Higginson, 269; McMaster, 315-316. Harrison and Tyler elected, 1840. 317. Election of 1840.--General William Henry Harrison was the son of Benjamin Harrison of Virginia, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. General Harrison had moved to the West and had won distinction at Tippecanoe, and also in the War of 1812 (pp. 202, 209). The Whigs nominated him in 1836, but he was beaten. They now renominated him for President, with John Tyler of Virginia as candidate for Vice-President. Van Buren had made a good President, but his term of office was associated with panic and hard times. He was a rich man and gave great parties. Plainly he was not a "man of the people," as was Harrison. A Democratic orator sneered at Harrison, and said that all he wanted was a log cabin of his own and a jug of cider. The Whigs eagerly seized on this description. They built log cabins at the street corners and dragged through the streets log cabins on great wagons. They held immense open-air meetings at which people sang songs of "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too." Harrison and Tyler received nearly all the electoral votes and were chosen President and Vice-President. Death of Harrison, 1841. 318. Death of Harrison, 1841.--The people's President was inaugurated on March 4, 1841. For the first time since the establishment of the Spoils System a new party came into control of the government. Thousands of office-seekers thronged to Washington. They even slept in out-of-the-way corners of the White House. Day after day, from morning till night, they pressed their claims on Harrison. One morning early, before the office-seekers were astir, he went out for a walk. He caught cold and died suddenly, just one month after his inauguration. John Tyler at once became President. President Tyler. His contest with the Whigs. 319. Tyler and the Whigs.--President Tyler was not a Whig like Harrison or Clay, nor was he a Democrat like Jackson. He was a Democrat who did not like Jackson ideas. As President, he proved to be anything but a Whig. He was willing to sign a bill to repeal the Independent Treasury Act, for that was a Democratic measure he had not liked; but he refused to sign a bill to establish a new Bank of the United States. Without either a bank or a treasury, it was well-nigh impossible to carry on the business of the government. But it was carried on in one way or another. Tyler was willing to sign a new tariff act, and one was passed in 1842. This was possible, as the Compromise Tariff (p. 248) came to an end in that year. [Illustration] Northeastern boundary dispute. The Ashburton Treaty, 1842. 320. Treaty with Great Britain, 1842.--Perhaps the most important event of Tyler's administration was the signing of the Treaty of 1842 with Great Britain. Ever since the Treaty of Peace of 1783, there had been a dispute over the northeastern boundary of Maine. If the boundary had been run according to the plain meaning of the Treaty of Peace, the people of Upper Canada would have found it almost impossible to reach New Brunswick or Nova Scotia in winter. At that time of the year the St. Lawrence is frozen over, and the true northern boundary of Maine ran so near to the St. Lawrence that it was difficult to build a road which would be wholly in British territory. So the British had tried in every way to avoid settling the matter. It was now arranged that the United States should have a little piece of Canada north of Vermont and New York and should give up the extreme northeastern corner of Maine. It was also agreed that criminals escaping from one country to the other should be returned. A still further agreement was made for checking the slave trade from the coast of western Africa. [Illustration: JOHN TYLER.] [Illustration: THE FIRST MORSE INSTRUMENT.] The Morse code. First telegraph line, 1844. Usefulness of the telegraph, McMaster, 372. 321. The Electric Telegraph.--Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Henry made great discoveries in electricity. But Samuel F. B. Morse was the first to use electricity in a practical way. Morse found out that if a man at one end of a line of wire pressed down a key, electricity could be made at the same moment to press down another key at the other end of the line of wire. Moreover, the key at the farther end of the line could be so arranged as to make an impression on a piece of paper that was slowly drawn under it by clockwork. Now if the man at one end of the line held his key down for only an instant, this impression would look like a dot. If he held it down longer, it would look like a short dash. Morse combined these dots and dashes into an alphabet. For instance, one dash meant the letter "t," and so on. For a time people only laughed at Morse. But at length Congress gave him enough money to build a line from Baltimore to Washington. It was opened in 1844, and proved to be a success from the beginning. Other lines were soon built, and the Morse system, greatly improved, is still in use. The telegraph made it possible to operate long lines of railroad, as all the trains could be managed from one office so that they would not run into one another. It also made it possible to communicate with people afar off and get an answer in an hour or so. For both these reasons the telegraph was very important and with the railroads did much to unite the people of the different portions of the country. [Illustration: THE FIRST MCCORMICK REAPER.] Problems of what growing. The McCormick reaper, 1831. McMaster, 31-372. Results of this invention. 322. The McCormick Reaper.--Every great staple depends for its production on some particular tool. For instance, cotton was of slight importance until the invention of the cotton gin (p. 185) made it possible cheaply to separate the seed from the fiber. The success of wheat growing depended upon the ability quickly to harvest the crop. Wheat must be allowed to stand until it is fully ripened. Then it must be quickly reaped and stored away out of the reach of the rain and wet. For a few weeks in each year there was a great demand for labor on the wheat farms. And there was little labor to be had. Cyrus H. McCormick solved this problem for the wheat growers by inventing a horse reaper. The invention was made in 1831, but it was not until 1845 that the reaper came into general use. By 1855 the use of the horse reaper was adding every year fifty-five million dollars to the wealth of the country. Each year its use moved the fringe of civilization fifty miles farther west. Without harvesting machinery the rapid settlement of the West would have been impossible. And had not the West been rapidly settled by free whites, the whole history of the country between 1845 and 1865 would have been very different from what it has been. The influence of the horse reaper on our political history, therefore, is as important as the influence of the steam locomotive or of the cotton gin. [Illustration: MODERN HARVESTER.] QUESTIONS AND TOPICS CHAPTER 28 §§ 293, 294.--Compare the condition of the United States in 1830 and 1800 as to (1) extent, (2) population, (3) interests and occupation of the people. Illustrate these changes by maps, diagrams, or tables. §§ 295, 296.--a. How had the use of steamboats increased? b. Why had this led to the separation of the West and the East? How was it proposed to overcome this difficulty? c. Do you think that roads should be built at national expense? Give your reasons. d. Mark on a map the Erie Canal, and show why it was so important. Describe the effects of its use. §§ 297, 298.--a. Do you think that railroads should be carried on by the state or by individuals? Why? b. What influence has the railroad had upon the Union? Upon people's minds? Upon the growth of cities? (Take your own city or town and think of it without railroads anywhere.) §§ 299, 300.--a. Explain how one discovery or invention affected other industries (as shown, for instance, in the use of anthracite coal). b. How did these inventions make large cities possible? c. Why is the education of our people so important? d. What were the advantages of Webster's "Dictionary"? CHAPTER 29 §§ 301, 302.--a. Why is this chapter called the "Reign of Andrew Jackson"? Do you think that a President should "reign"? b. In what respects was Jackson fitted for President? c. What is meant by his "kitchen cabinet"? d. What is a "party machine"? How was it connected with the "spoils system"? e. Did the "spoils system" originate with Jackson? §§ 303, 304.--a. Compare carefully the North and the South. Why was the North growing rich faster than the South? b. Where have you already found the ideas expressed in Calhoun's Exposition? Why was this doctrine so dangerous? Are the states "sovereign states"? § 305.--a. What view did Webster take? How does his speech show the increase of the love of the Union? b. What is the "supreme law of the land"? Whose business is it to decide on the constitutionality of a law? Is this wise? §§ 306, 307.--a. How did South Carolina oppose the Act of 1832? b. How did Jackson oppose the South Carolinians? c. Would a state be likely to nullify an act of Congress now? Give your reasons. §§ 308, 309.--a. Was the United States Bank like the national banks of the present day? b. Why did Jackson dislike and distrust the United States Bank? c. If a bill is vetoed by the President, how can it still be made a law? §§ 310.--a. Where did the United States government keep its money? b. How did Jackson try to ruin the United States Bank? §§ 311-313.--a. Why did people wish to buy Western lands? How did the favoring the "pet banks" increase speculation? b. What was done with the surplus? What was the effect of this measure? c. How did Jackson try to stop speculation? CHAPTER 30 §§ 314, 315.--a. Why did "prices go down with a rush"? b. Describe the Independent Treasury plan. Where is the nation's money kept to-day? §§ 316, 317.--a. State briefly the reasons for the split in the Republican party. Had you lived in 1840, for whom would you have voted? Why? b. Give an account of the early life of Harrison. c. Describe the campaign of 1840, and compare it with the last presidential campaign. §§ 318, 319.--a. What party came into power in 1841? Under the spoils system what would naturally follow? b. To what party did Tyler belong? c. Why was it difficult for the government to carry on its business without a bank or a treasury? §§ 320.--a. What dispute had long existed with Great Britain? b. Why did the British object to the boundary line laid down in the Treaty of 1783? Show on a map how the matter was finally settled. §§ 321, 322.--a. Explain carefully the application of electricity made by Morse. Of what advantage has the telegraph been to the United States? b. How did the McCormick reaper solve the difficulty in wheat growing? What were the results of this invention? c. Compare its influence upon our history with that of the cotton gin. GENERAL QUESTIONS a. Why is the period covered by this division so important? b. Give the principal events since the Revolution which made Western expansion possible. c. Explain, using a chart, the changes in parties since 1789. d. What were the good points in Jackson's administration? The mistakes? TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK a. Select some one invention between 1790 and 1835, describe it, explain the need for it, and the results which have followed from it. b. The Erie Canal. c. The career of Webster, Clay, or Calhoun. d. Life and works of any one of the literary men of this period. e. The Ashburton Treaty, with a map. SUGGESTIONS TO THE TEACHER The personality of Andrew Jackson, representing as he does a new element in social and political life, deserves a careful study. The financial policy of his administration is too difficult for children. With brief comparisons with present-day conditions the study of this subject can be confined to what is given in the text. Jackson's action at the time of the nullification episode may well be compared with Buchanan's inaction in 1860-61. The constitutional portions of Webster's great speeches are too hard for children, but his burning words of patriotism may well be learned by the whole class. The spoils system may be lightly treated here. It can best be studied in detail later in connection with civil service reform. <ANTIMG src="images/296.jpg" width-obs="100%" alt=""> THE UNITED STATES IN 1850. <hr style="width: 35%;"> <h2>XI</h2> <h3>SLAVERY IN THE TERRITORIES, 1844-1859</h3> <h4>Books for Study and Reading</h4> References.--Scribner's Popular History, IV; McMaster's With the Fathers, Coffin's Building the Nation, 314-324. Home Readings.--Wright's Stories of American Progress; Bolton's Famous Americans; Brooks's Boy Settlers; Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin; Lodge's Webster. <h2>CHAPTER 31</h2> <h3>BEGINNING OF THE ANTISLAVERY AGITATION</h3> Antislavery sentiments of the Virginians. Slavery in the far South. Source-book, 244-248, 251-260. 323. Growth of Slavery in the South.--South of Pennsylvania and of the Ohio River slavery had increased greatly since 1787 (p. 136). Washington, Jefferson, Henry, and other great Virginians were opposed to the slave system. But they could find no way to end it, even in Virginia. The South Carolinians and Georgians fought every proposition to limit slavery. They even refused to come into the Union unless they were given representation in Congress for a portion at least of their slaves. And in the first Congress under the Constitution they opposed bitterly every proposal to limit slavery. Then came Whitney's invention of the cotton gin. That at once made slave labor vastly more profitable in the cotton states and put an end to all hopes of peaceful emancipation in the South. Proposal to end slavery with compensation. The Liberator. 324. Rise of the Abolitionists.--About 1830 a new movement in favor of the negroes began. Some persons in the North, as, for example, William Ellery Channing, proposed that slaves should be set free, and their owners paid for their loss. They suggested that the money received from the sale of the public lands might be used in this way. But nothing came of these suggestions. Soon, however, William Lloyd Garrison began at Boston the publication of a paper called the Liberator. He wished for complete abolition without payment. For a time he labored almost alone. Then slowly others came to his aid, and the Antislavery Society was founded. Anti-abolitionist sentiment in the North. Higginson, 268. Disunion sentiment of abolitionists. The Garrison riot, 1835. Source-Book, 248-251. 325. Opposition to the Abolitionists.--It must not be thought that the abolitionists were not opposed. They were most vigorously opposed. Very few Northern men wished to have slavery reestablished in the North. But very many Northern men objected to the antislavery agitation because they thought it would injure business. Some persons even argued that the antislavery movement would bring about the destruction of the Union. In this idea there was a good deal of truth. For Garrison grew more and more outspoken. He condemned the Union with slaveholders and wished to break down the Constitution, because it permitted slavery. There were anti-abolitionist riots in New York, New Jersey, and New Hampshire. In Boston the rioters seized Garrison and dragged him about the streets (1835). Nat Turner's Rebellion, 1831. Incendiary publications in the mails. McMaster, 313-314. 326. Slave Rebellion in Virginia, 1831.--At about the time that Garrison established the Liberator at Boston, a slave rebellion broke out in Virginia. The rebels were led by a slave named Nat Turner, and the rebellion is often called "Nat Turner's Rebellion." It was a small affair and was easily put down. But the Southerners were alarmed, because they felt that the Northern antislavery agitation would surely lead to more rebellions. They called upon the government to forbid the sending of the Liberator and similar "incendiary publications" through the mails. Right of petition. J.Q. Adams and antislavery petitions, 1836. Hero Tales, 151-159. The "gag-resolutions." McMaster, 314-315. 327. The Right of Petition.--One of the most sacred rights of freemen is the right to petition for redress of grievances. In the old colonial days the British Parliament had refused even to listen to petitions presented by the colonists. But the First Amendment to the Constitution forbade Congress to make any law to prevent citizens of the United States from petitioning. John Quincy Adams, once President, was now a member of the House of Representatives. In 1836 he presented petition after petition, praying Congress to forbid slavery in the District of Columbia. Southerners, like Calhoun, thought these petitions were insulting to Southern slaveholders. Congress could not prevent the antislavery people petitioning. They could prevent the petitions being read when presented. This they did by passing "gag-resolutions." Adams protested against these resolutions as an infringement on the rights of his constituents. But the resolutions were passed. Petitions now came pouring into Congress. Adams even presented one from some negro slaves. Growth of antislavery feeling in the North. 328. Change in Northern Sentiment.--All these happenings brought about a great change of sentiment in the North. Many people, who cared little about negro slaves, cared a great deal about the freedom of the press and the right of petition. Many of these did not sympathize with the abolitionists, but they wished that some limit might be set to the extension of slavery. At the same time the Southerners were uniting to resist all attempts to interfere with slavery. They were even determined to add new slave territory to the United States. <hr style="width: 35%;"> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

1 of 2

2 of 2

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.