Creating and Growing a Nation

AFTER THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, THE UNITED STATES UNDERWENT S IGNIF ICANT SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND TERRITORIAL CHANGES. THE U.S . EXPERIENCED THE GROWTH OF SECTIONAL DIFFERENCES THAT LED TO THE C IV IL WAR.

AS THE POPULATION GREW THE DEMAND FOR ADDIT IONAL LAND GREW. EXPANDING INTO THE LANDS WEST OF THE APPALACHIANS AND EAST OF THE MISS ISS IPP I R IVER, SETTLERS DEMANDED CONNECTIONS BETWEEN WESTERN AND EASTERN MARKETS. AN ON- GOING WAR BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND FRANCE LED AMERICA INTO A SECOND WAR WITH THE BRIT ISH AND TO ACQUIS IT ION OF ADDIT IONAL LANDS FOR SETTLEMENT.

Jefferson Madison Monroe

Western Land Claims, 1783

The Articles of Confederation established a good system of settling western lands

oThe lands between the Appalachian Mountains & Mississippi River that were acquired from the British in 1783 were claimed by numerous states.

o States had to cede (give up) their claims to lands in the west to the national government in order to get out of debt from the war

o The government then sold the land back

o Selling western lands was the only way the national gov’t could generate money since it did not have the power to tax

Land Ordinance of 1785oThe Land Ordinance established an orderly way to divide the west into townships and farms

oLand was divided into rectangular sections

oThis method was used every time new land was acquired

oProvided a way for free public education to be financed through the sale of the 16th section in each township

The Northwest Ordinance - 1787

o Land North and West of the Ohio River became the Northwest Territory

o Provided the method by which new territories would be admitted to the U.S.

o Banned Slavery in the Northwest Territory – made the Ohio River the boundary between free and slave regions

o The NW Ordinance showed Americans that the government encouraged westward expansion

o New territories had to follow the laws of the nation

o New states would be admitted to the nation as equal members of the Union

Thomas Jefferson – 3rd Presidenthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssX5X4wpvuo

As a Democratic-Republican, Jefferson tried to reverse Federalist policies & reduce the size & cost of the national gov’t:

o He reduced the size of the armyo Cut back Hamilton’s financial plan by

ending all excise taxes and allowing the charter of the Bank of the U.S. to expire

Jefferson & the Louisiana Purchase

o Many American merchants and farmers lived in the Louisiana Territory

oNew Orleans was a key port for agricultural goods produced in the Ohio River Valley

o In 1800, Napoleon reclaimed Louisiana from Spain but by 1803, he needed money to fund his European war

o Jefferson sent Robert Livingston and James Monroe to France to inquire about purchasing the territory

o This purchase doubled the size of the U.S., gave the U.S. a permanent port on the Mississippi River, and secured the port at New Orleans for exports

o As a strict constructionist Jefferson did not know if he had the Constitutional power to buy Louisiana but he did it anyway and expanded the power of the President!

Lewis and Clark Expedition Lewis and Clark were sent by Jefferson to map and explore this new territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean

On their 16 month expedition they:

o Charted trails

o Mapped rivers and mountain ranges

o Wrote descriptions and collected samples of unfamiliar animals and plants

o Recorded facts and figures about Native American tribes

o They reached the Pacific Ocean and established a legal claim to the region along the Columbia River