Background
- 1812 - the War of 1812 led to the rise of Andrew Jackson.
- 1829, Andrew Jackson becomes president, and opens up rapid expansion west.
- 1831, as white settlers move in, Indians are moved into Indian Territory, or Oklahoma.
- 1838, President Van Buren continues these policies, in what is known as the “Trail of Tears” by Cherokees.
- western expansion also ran into Mexico, who had attained independence from Spain. Americans settled in Texas during the 1820’s, and by 1836, war broke out there with the Mexicans, and the Alamo is remembered. Soon the U.S. had a “Manifest Destiny” to spread.
- 1846, President Polk instigates the Mexican War, and two years later, the U.S. grows to its present-day boundaries.
- with California in hand, the Gold Rush was on, and people from all over came for wealth.
- meanwhile, the Cotton Gin helped usher in the Industrial Revolution. It sped up production, and large profits resulted for the South. Federal taxes on this prosperity then helped fund the North's expansion of railroads, factories, highways, and canals. Many left for factory work, along with boatloads of mostly Irish and German immigrants, who arrived to many prejudices.
- also in the 1840’s Frederick Douglass arose. He was an escaped slave who became a great speaker, diplomat, advisor, and abolitionist. In addition, there was the women's movement, and Harriet Tubman, also an escaped slave,helped others through the underground railway.
- 1812-1860 was the general Antebellum period of the prewar South