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Unit 4 - Challenges of Expansion

  • Unit Question -  How do economic needs and wants affect decisions of individuals, groups, and institutions (political and social)?
  • Historical Context - Louisiana Purchase, Lewis & Clark, Manifest Destiny, Missouri Compromise, 3/5ths Compromise,  John Brown, Kansas Nebraska Act, Compromise Collapse
  • Final Assessment - Federalists Papers, Bill of Rights Quiz, & War of 1812 Quiz

Shays' Rebellion & 

The Collapse of the Articles of Confederation 

Shays’ Rebellion was a series of violent attacks on courthouses and other government properties in Massachusetts that began in 1786 and led to a full-blown military confrontation in 1787. The rebels were mostly ex-Revolutionary War soldiers-turned farmers who opposed state economic policies causing poverty and property foreclosures. The rebellion was named after Daniel Shays, a farmer and former soldier who fought at Bunker Hill and was one of several leaders of the insurrection. Read more: History: Shay's Rebellion

Use the resources provided to answer the Shays' Rebellion & The Collapse of the Articles of Confederation questions:

  1. What was Shays' Rebellion? Why was Daniel Shays so angry?
  2. What legal forms of protest were taken by Shaysites before it turned violent?
  3. How does Shays' Rebellion prove that the current Constitution, The Articles of Confederation, was not working?
  4. How has Sam Adams changed from his early days as a leading revolutionary in the Sons of Liberty?
  5. How does Shays' Rebellion force George Washington out of his peaceful retirement at Mount Vernon?
  6. How does Shays’ Rebellion prove the need for a new constitution and a strong central/federal government? 

BONUS: How does this explain the state’s demand for a Bill of Rights to be added to the new Constitution?

Engraving depicting Daniel Shays (left) and Job Shattuck, another rebel leader; the artist intentionally rendered them in an unflattering way.

The Federalists 

New Hope and a New Constitution

When delegates to the Constitutional Convention began to assemble at Philadelphia in May 1787, they quickly resolved to replace rather than merely revise the Articles of Confederation. Although James Madison is known as the “father of the constitution,” George Washington’s support gave the convention its hope of success.

Division of power between branches of government and between the federal and state governments, slavery, trade, taxes, foreign affairs, representation, and even the procedure to elect a president were just a few of the contentious issues.  Diverging plans, strong egos, regional demands, and states’ rights made solutions difficult. Five months of debate, compromise, and creative strategies produced a new constitution creating a federal republic with a strong central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments. Ten months of public and private debate were required to secure ratification by the minimum nine states. Even then Rhode Island and North Carolina held out until after the adoption of a Bill of Rights.  Read more: Library of Congress: Creating the US Constitution

“For we are sent hither to consult not contend, with each other; and Declaration of a fix’ Opinion, and of determined Resolutions never to change it, neither enlighten nor convince us.” - Benjamin Franklin, Speech in Congress, June 11, 1787


Let's take a closer look at some of the debate between the Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists Game and some of the important compromises 
Constitutional Convention: A Country Through Compromise Video.  The Constitution and a central or federal government would not have been possible without the work of the key Federalists, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.  Let's take a moment to look at some of the arguments for a central government, separation of powers, and a check and balances system with
Federalists Papers WS-Webquest (Assessment OF Learning) 

Life After Washington

Read p.37-47 & 52-56 in your The New Nation mini-book and answer the Life After Washington questions in your COMP books:

  1. Who was the first president to live in the Federal City (later called Washington D.C.) and the President's House (later called the White House)?
  2. How did George Washington die?  How did the country respond?
  3. What did Benjamin Franklin mean by, Adams "was always an honest man, often a wise one, but sometimes and in some things, absolutely out of his senses"?
  4. Why didn't John Adams and Alexander Hamilton believe in democracy?
  5. Why did John Adams decide to keep the United States out of the conflict between England and France?  NOTE:  Remember without France it is unlikely that George Washington and Continental Army would have won the War of Independence / Revolutionary War. 
  6. What did the Democratic-Republicans (later the Republican Party) call the Federalists?
  7. What were the Alien and Sedition Acts signed by President John Adams?  Were they constitutional?
  8. What did President Thomas Jefferson mean at his inaugural address when he stated, "Let us unite with one heart and one mind.  Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle...We are all Republicans-we are all Federalists"?  HINT:  Start reading p.52
  9. What purchase did President Thomas Jefferson make for $15 million dollars in 1803?
  10. Why did Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr get involved into a real duel?

John Adams

Thomas Jefferson

Manifest Destiny 

& 

The Adventures of Lewis and Clark

Expansion westward seemed perfectly natural to many Americans in the mid-nineteenth century. Like the Massachusetts Puritans who hoped to build a "city upon a hill, "courageous pioneers believed that America had a divine obligation to stretch the boundaries of their noble republic to the Pacific Ocean. Independence had been won in the Revolution and reaffirmed in the War of 1812. The spirit of nationalism that swept the nation in the next two decades demanded more territory. The "every man is equal" mentality of the Jacksonian Era fueled this optimism. Now, with territory up to the Mississippi River claimed and settled and the Louisiana Purchase explored, Americans headed west in droves. Newspaper editor JOHN O'SULLIVAN coined the term "MANIFEST DESTINY" in 1845 to describe the essence of this mindset.  Read more: US History: Manifest Destiny


BONUS:  Conspiracy Time -Did Meriwether Lewis really commit suicide?  If it was murder, who killed him and why?  HINT: Try Manifest Destiny and Adventures of Lewis and Clark Resources (below) to help you decide.

Use the Manifest Destiny and The Adventures of Lewis and Clark Resources (below) and read p.57-67 in your The New Nation mini-book and answer the Manifest Destiny & The Adventures of Lewis and Clark questions:


  1. Why did Thomas Jefferson select Meriwether Lewis and William Clark for the great Louisiana Purchase expedition? 
  2. How far did Lewis and Clark cover?  HINT:  Try the map below
  3. How many species of plants did the two discover?
  4. How do you think Lewis and Clark responded to Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin when he asked, "that country is susceptible of a large population"?
  5. What were some of the threats to Lewis and Clark's safety?  
  6. Who was York?
  7. Who was Sacajawea?  How did she get involved with the expedition?  Who was Ca-me-ah-wait?
  8. Manifest Destiny begins!  Who was Chief Red Jacket?
  9. What are missionaries?  Critical Thinking: Were the Christian Missionaries right or wrong for attempting to spread their religion?

War of 1812 (Revolutionary War, Part 2)

For two and a half years, Americans fought Against the British, Canadian colonists, and native nations.  In the years to come, the War of 1812 would be celebrated in some places and essentially forgotten in others.  But it is a war worth remembering—a struggle that threatened the existence of Canada, then divided the United States so deeply that the nation almost broke apart.  Some of its battles and heroes became legendary, yet its blunders and cowards were just as prominent.  Read more:  PBS: The War of 1812

Read p.73-89 in your The New Nation mini-book and answer the War of 1812 (Revolutionary War, Part 2) questions in your COMP books: 

Watch the History Channel: War of 1812 (Full Documentary) and use the War of 1812 Resources to answer the War of 1812 (Revolutionary War, Part 2) questions:  

U.S.S. Constitution

  1. Who was Tecumseh?  What was his message to the Native American tribes he came into contact with?
  2. What side of the war do the Red Sticks and White Sticks fight for during the War of 1812?  Was this a lost opportunity for the Native Americans in regards to their independence from the white man?
  3. Who was the general, later President, that led the White Sticks against British and Red Sticks?  How were the White Sticks thanked by the U.S. government after their victory in battle?
  4. What does the word Seminole mean?
  5. I know you all remember how President John Adams kept the U.S. out of the European conflict between England and France (see Life After Washington above).  Well, that peace or policy of neutrality doesn't last long.  Did the English ever leave this country after the Revolutionary War?  How does the War of 1812 start?  HINT: Start reading p.76-77.
  6. Who was President during the War of 1812?  Why was he cautious not to get involved with the European conflict?
  7. Who declared war?  How long did the war last?
  8. Why did the younger politicians believe that Canada would welcome the U.S. army as allies?
  9. Why was the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in Europe, so devastating to the U.S.A.?
  10. What happened to our capital, Washington D.C., in 1814?  HINT: First Lady, Mrs. Madison famously rescued a painting of President George Washington from the White House (this where it gets it's famous nickname).
  11. After the fall of our capital, the British moved on to Baltimore where the expected and easy victory.  What happened at Fort McHenry?
  12. Who witnessed the battle of Baltimore (Fort McHenry) from the Chesapeake Bay (Baltimore) as a prisoner of war inside a British ship?  What song did he write?  How long did the bombing of Fort McHenry go on for? 
  13. Birth of the U.S. Navy!  What ship saw the most at sea war battles during the War of 1812?  What famous founding father helped build the ship? HINT: The ship's nickname was "Old Ironsides".  

Presidents: 3 Present / 2 Past

Read p.90-102 in your The New Nation mini-book and answer the Presidents:  3 Present / 2 Past questions in your COMP books:

  1. Who became our fifth president in March of 1817?
  2. Why was the capture, later purchased for 5 million, of Florida important?
  3. Why were many Americans upset with General Andrew Jackson for his actions in Florida?  The U.S. Government were not as upset as other Americans because Andrew Jackson was given what job in 1821?
  4. With Florida now in American hands, what happened to the Seminoles?  
  5. What was the message/purpose of the "Monroe Doctrine"?
  6. Remember the struggles of President John Adams (see Life After Washington above), what similarities are there for his son, John Quincy Adams' presidency?
  7. Why was July 4, 1826, a special day in American history?  How did we celebrate?  Why did many cry as well?
  8. What was different about our seventh President, Andrew Jackson, from the first six?
  9. Andrew Jackson was our last Revolutionary War president.  How young was he when he became a member of the South Carolina militia?  What happened to him during the war?
  10. What political party did Andrew Jackson create?
  11. How did Andrew Jackson receive the nickname "Old Hickory"?
  12. The second question and most controversial was his treatment regarding Native Americans.  Why did President Andrew Jackson urge Congress and sign the Indian Removal Act?  What were it's ramifications?  HINT: Try this PBS: Indian Removal Act
“If he had shot me through the brain, sir, I should still have killed him.”
- Andrew Jackson
BONUS:  Although it may seem that duels were archaic or barbaric for this time period in history, they weren't.  In fact duels were quite common and serious manner of honor in society.  It has been reported that Andrew Jackson was involved in 13 duels in his lifetime and had several musket balls lodged in his body.  One so close to his heart that doctors were too scared to take it out.  The womb caused him serious pain the rest of his life and those close to him stated that he would often cough up blood.  The most famous of his duels was the attorney Charles Dickinson.  What were the reasons behind this famous duel? HINT: Try this Hubpages: 3 Famous Duels of AJ
BONUS:  What is the Amistad? How is it an example of the growing tension between North and South, Abolitionists and Slave Owners, and Federalists and Democratic-Republicans?  


Before Whitney’s gin entered into widespread use, the United States produced roughly 750,000 bales of cotton, in 1830. By 1850 that amount had exploded to 2.85 million bales. This production was concentrated almost exclusively in the South, because of the weather conditions needed for the plant to grow. Faster processing of cotton with the gin meant it was profitable for landowners to establish previously-unthinkably large cotton plantations across the south. But harvesting cotton remained a very labor-intensive undertaking. Thus, bigger cotton farms meant the need for more slaves. The slave population in the United States increased nearly five-fold in the first half of the 19th Century, and by 1860, the South provided about two-thirds of the world’s cotton supply. Southern wealth had become reliant on this one crop and thus was completely dependent on slave-labor.


In terms of understanding what the cotton gin means for Civil War history, the connection to the growth of slavery and its economic centrality for the South is clear. Between the political conflict of the 1820s to 1850s regarding new states and slavery, the election of Lincoln, whom Southerners perceived to be anti-slavery, and the high tariffs imposed on cotton and cotton goods by laws written in the North, the fact that the cotton states of the Deep South chose to succeed seems far less surprising.  

Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin

Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin Questions

Use the Cotton Gin Resources below to help you answer the Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin Questions in your COMP books: 

  1. How does the cotton gin work? What products are made from cotton? 
  2. How does the cotton gin affect the live of slaves? 
  3. How does the cotton gin help the plantation owners? 
  4. What would have happened if the cotton gin was never invented?  Could it have changed life then and now?
  5. Does Eli Whitney get wealthy?  Why or why not?
  6. How does the cotton gin expand the evil institution of slavery? (Use graph below)
  7. Can we blame the growth of slavery and the Civil War on Eli Whitney?  Explain. 

Slavery Renewed / 

Beginning of the Abolitionists Movement 

"The race problem in America was a deliberate invention of men who systematically separated 
black and white in order to make money."
- Lerone Bennett
Read more:  The Road Not Taken

Read p.150-161 in your The New Nation mini-book and answer the Slavery Renewed / Beginning of the Abolitionists Movement questions in your COMP books:

  1. Where was cotton cultivated in the U.S.A.?  HINT: Cotton is King! 
  2. The south becomes more and more violent.  How many people were lynched between 1840-1860?  Who were these people?  Why do think this happened?
  3. The cotton gin made slavery too profitable to end, but also created and evolved the real racism we all know and unfortunately still exists today.  How did Southerners justify slavery through racism?  HINT: Read p.152, Scientific Racism, and look at the images below.
  4. What does abolish mean?  What abolishment society did Benjamin Franklin help create?  NOTE: Told you Benjamin Franklin was awesome!  
  5. Who was Elijah Lovejoy?
  6. What religious group(s) in the North wanted to end slavery?
  7. What was the Missouri Compromise?
  8. Who was the editor of The Liberator newspaper?  What was the newspaper's message?  HINT: See Slavery Renewed...Resources below.
  9. Who was Frederick Douglass?  Why did his message shock even those in the North?  How did those in the West [Indiana] respond?
  10. Was Frederick Douglass' message limited to the abolishment of slavery?  What famous president does Frederick Douglass become and advisor to?  NOTE:  More on this later.
  11. What was the premise (message) of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin?  HINT:  See Slavery Renewed...Resources below.

How Science was used to expand on racist ideologies.  

Class Discussion:  

Why did the slave owning class had to use "science" and produce images like the ones above?

Compromise (North & South) Collapse 

 

Caning of Senator Charles Sumner

Compromise (North & South) Collapse Questions:

Use the Compromise (North & South) Collapse, Kansas Nebraska Act to Bleeding Kansas resources (above) to answer the Compromise (North & South) Collapse questions:  


  1. One of, if not, the first compromises between North and South, free soil and slavery, was the Three-Fifths Compromise.  So, what was the Three-Fifths compromise?  
  2. What was the Missouri Compromise?  What was the importance of the 36° 30′ latitude line?  HINT: Think extension of the Mason-Dixon line.  
  3. In 1831, Nat Turner, a Virginian slave, led a major slave revolt.  In the end, how many people will be killed?  Slaves?  White people?
  4. What was the Compromise of 1850?  What was the Fugitive Slave Act? 
  5. Why was the Kansas Nebraska Act a really bad idea?  What was the result of this really bad idea?  
  6. What happened to Senator Charles Sumner (look left) on the Senate floor?  The attack on Charles Sumner signifies that the compromises of the past were doomed to fail.  Explain. 
  7. Why was the 1857 Supreme Court decision of Dred Scott important?  
  8. Who was John Brown?  What was his raid on Harper's Ferry?