Part One: A New World

Ch. 2: Britain and Its Colonies

1. England suffered political turmoil in the years after Elizabeth,
factors were parliaments refusal to relinquish power and religious
turmoil, however English liberties increased, as did the power of
the monarchs and—encouraged by joint-stock companies such as
the Virginia Company—began to look into settling colonies in the
new world.
2. The first British settlements in the new world struggled to stay
alive—the Chesapeak colonies of Roanoke was completely wiped
out from lack of food and harsh climate, Jamestown suffered
from laziness and a rough winter and Plymouth in the north also
suffered a harsh winter.
3. The colonies main export was tobacco but the Indians also
taught them how to fish and plant corn along with other crops;
other peaceful interaction with Indians included fur and other
goods trading.
4. Relations with the neighboring Indians were often not as
peaceful, the colonists invaded Indian land and farms, their
desire for land pushed the Indians out of their homes and farms,
used them as laborers and the Indian population decreased
dramatically when the English arrived because of disease and
warfare.
5. In 1619 a Dutch ship dropped of twenty slaves in Jamestown and
after more slaves began to be imported from the Caribbean
because Indians were undesirable workers and workers were
needed to help produce tobacco.
6. 13 other colonies came after Virginia: Maryland was settled as a
catholic refuge, other colonies spread from Plymouth and the
Massachusetts Bay Colony (the dominant colony of the region)
such as Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Haven
and New York—Dutch founded then British controlled,
Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, New jersey, Delaware
and Georgia.
7. The English had become the most successful in the new world
because they started as private investments with limited royal
control, American colonists were better fed, clothed and housed,
they essentially ran their own governments and contacted the
crown periodically.

Ch. 3: Colonial Ways of Life

1. After a decline in the early years, population in the colonies
began to rapidly increase, as did the number of livestock,
birthrates and death rates, this can be attributed to the increase
in availability of food and women devoting more time to their
families.
 2. The southern colonies capitalized on the warm climate that
provided a long growing season and became large exporters of
cash crops, such as tobacco, indigo and rice, these were grown
on large plantations causing the need for workers.
3. The Triangle Trade is a common term used to describe trade in
the Atlantic ocean where New England shipped goods to Africa
and Africa shipped slaves to the Indies and the Indies shipped
goods and slaves to the colonies and the colonies shipped goods
to England and England in turn shipped commodities to the
colonies.
4. In New England, farming was harder because of the colder
climate and less fertile soil, thus they turned to the sea for their
livelihood—fishing and ship building, New Englanders created
townships and remained very religious.
5. The middle colonies, geographically located in the between New
England and the Southern colonies were a mix of the southern
and northern colonies in everything from farming to society,
many new immigrants came to the middle colonies because of
the land availability, from other countries in Europe and some,
such as the Germans and Scotch-Irish moved to the backcountry
along the Appalachian mountains.
6. As the population grew, more people moved to the cities,
causing them to become dirty, overpopulated and unsafe, the
growing number of poor in the cities made the class divide more
distinct, roads between the cities were created and taverns,
which became centers if communication popped up along them
for lodging.
7. The ideas of the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution were
easily accepted in the colonies as the people already
experimented and thought in new ways, the great awakening
arrived in the wake of the enlightenment because people had
turned towards reason, several preachers sermons and marches
caused a split in the existing sects of the church however both
movements emphasized the power of the individual.

Ch. 4: The Imperial Perspective

1. England and many other European countries adopted the
mercantile system in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
this caused trade between Britain and the colonies to increase as
did Britain’s dependence on the colonies and their raw goods.
2. The crown named governors and a council for the colonies,
however the colonies preferred self-government through
assemblies because of the lax policies of the crown and influence
of liberal ideas such as John Locke’s.
3. Spain failed to create thriving colonies the North America
because the region they colonized lacked gold, silver, and they
 were too obsessed with religious conversion and war that they
neglected to set up stable and self sustaining settlements.
4. France entered North America through the St. Lawrence river,
explored the great lakes, went down the Mississippi and
established Louisiana, they maintained friendly relations with the
Indians through trade and tried not to displace them, thus
gaining them as allies.
5. There were four major wars involving European powers and their
colonies, the last one was the French and Indian War, which
started the Seven Years’ War in Europe; the British General Pitt
mobilized his troops in Britain and in the colonies, used land and
sea to his advantage and obtained the victory for England.
6. The war ended in the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France was forced
to give up all their colonies in North America, Spain was given
Louisiana but had to give up Florida, England also won full
control of India and the Philippines; the war put Britain in debt,
causing Britain to attempt to tighten control on the colonies.

Ch. 5: From Empire to Independence

1. Colonists felt a sense of pride and nationalism after the victory in
the French and Indian War, they also felt a sense of
disillusionment because the British army was rude and
occasionally cowardly, after the war Britain tried to tighten their
control of the colonies to make up for the debt and the Whig
party emerged—they had opposed James II and supported
parliament.
2. The incompetent King George III hired many inept advisors such
as Grenville, Townshend and Lord North, they all passed acts
that taxed the colonies, these acts such as the Stamp Act, the
Sugar Act, The Quartering Act, the revenue act, the Townshend
Acts and the Coercive Acts created animosity towards the crown.
3. The colonists were opposed to this taxation without
representation, John Dickenson, a moderate Maryland planter
published letters in the paper then sent the Olive Branch Petition
—offering peace—that the king ignored, Sam Adams of Boston
started the Sons of Liberty, a rebel group and Thomas Payne
published a pamphlet saying that it was Common Sense for the
colonies end British control.
4. Growing resentment towards the crown was demonstrated
through boycotts of British goods, The Boston Massacre, the
burning of the Gaspee and the Boston Tea Party, all of these
radial acts were in response to tighter taxation and laws
implemented by the crown.
5. The first Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia in
September 1774, they stated that all colonies should boycott
British goods; it brought together representatives from all
 colonies and improved communications and roads.
6. The King declared the colonies in a “state of rebellion” and
shipped more troops overseas, the battles of Lexington and
Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill caused many British
casualties and humiliation, the Battle of Quebec was the first
military set back the revolutionaries faced—they lost because of
small pox.
7. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence and
on July 4, 1776, Congress adopted the declaration and sent it to
the king—the colonies had governed themselves from the
beginning and did not like it when Britain tried to govern them,
thus they declared independence.

Section 2: Building A Nation

Ch. 6: The American Revolution
1. In August 1776 British troops landed in New York, the war started
with quick successes for the British, the revolutionaries had
surprise wins at Princeton and Trenton and the British general
Burgoyne suffered an embarrassing defeat at Saratoga, then
both sides spent the winter regrouping—the patriots stayed in
Valley Forge.
2. In early 1778, France and America signed the treaties of Amity
and Commerce, where France shipped many supplies to America
and aided them militarily, Spain also allied with France against
Britain in promise that they would get their land in North America
back.
3. In 1778, the Americans won some battles on the frontier, the
south was more desirable to the British because of their valuable
farms and the British won the battles of Savannah and
Charleston while the North remained in stalemate with the
battles of Cowpens and Monmouth, after their southern victories,
the British returned north where the suffered their last defeat
and surrendered at Yorktown—the patriots had outlasted the
mighty British army.
4. The fighting had lasted from 1776 to 1782 and in September
1783 the Treaty of Paris was signed—America was recognized as
an independent nation whose boundaries went up to the
Mississippi river and Spain regained the remaining territory and
Florida.
5. Two parties emerged, the Federalists and the Republicans,
however each state had its own constitution—which gave most
of the power to the legislature and protected many liberties—all
of the states were tied together by the Articles of Confederation,
which was adopted in 1777 and lasted through the war.
6. Indians had sided with the British during the war and as a result
much of their land was ruined and many died or were displaced,
 some slaves fought in the war and many escaped to freedom,
but slavery still ran strong in the south, women continued to be
disregarded and the war did not change much about their social
situation.
7. A positive result of the war was religious freedom, many states
added this to their bill of rights in their constitutions, July 4th
became independence day and was celebrated through out the
new country and Americans now wanted to lead the world
towards greater liberty and equality.

Ch. 7: Shaping A Federal Union

1. The Congress of the Confederation had little authority to
reinforce any action it took, also the confederation never put its
finances in order and never set up a national bank because of
the decentralization of power.
2. The Congress ruled that the western territories would not be
treated as colonies, they would be “distinct Republican states”,
The Land Ordinance and The Northwest Ordinance set rules for
the new territories such as the northwest states could not have
slaves and land was to be surveyed first, then split into
townships and sold—a new territory could join the union as a
state on it had reached 60,000 “free-inhabitants”.
3. The post-war economy was full of booms and busts, trade
became difficult in the first few years because America was no
longer part of the mercantile system and the British Empire
refused, however trade with Britain did resume, as did trade with
many new European countries and China.
4. The Confederation faced many problems, such as the payment of
soldiers, the emergence of skilled artisans and paper money, this
led to inflation, debt, riots in Rhode Island and Shay’s Rebellion—
where a group of disgruntled farmers marched on weapons
stores in Springfield to protest money—these radial acts led to
the realization that a more centralized government needed to be
created.
5. In May 1787, a Constitutional Convention took place, with George
Washington as the leader, delegates met in Pennsylvania to
either change the Articles of Confederation or write an entirely
new constitution, they struggled with the questions of how to
prevent one person or the masses from becoming too powerful,
several plans were offered, one with a bicameral house and an
entirely new constitution called the Virginia Plan, and the New
Jersey Plan which gave congress the power to appoint judges and
the president.
6. The delegates tried to avoid the subject of slavery and
mentioned nothing about women’s rights, however they did
establish three branches—the executive, legislative and judicial
 —and all branches had checks and balances on the other to
prevent one from becoming too powerful.
7. For the new constitution to take effect 9 out of the 13 states had
to ratify it, however some states were anti-federalist—against
centralized government—and some were for it; after the promise
of a Bill of Rights and more state rights, the constitution was
finally ratified by all states on May 29, 1790.

Ch. 8: The Federalist Era

1. Congress created different departments that reported to the
president and these became his cabinet, John Jay was named
Chief Justice and a Bill of Rights was ratified—this bill is the first
ten amendments to the constitution and protects various
freedoms.
2. Alexander Hamilton was named first secretary of the treasury
and he implemented many reforms—he established the national
bank, public credit, and a plan to implement tariffs to eliminate
national debt and create revenue.
3. Hamilton’s ideas of a strong central government became the
foundation for the Federalist Party and Madison and Jefferson
emerged as the leaders of a group called he Democratic
Republicans, or Republicans—the leaders of the parties were
bitter enemies and created many hostilities.
4. As a result of the French Revolution, France and Americas
relationship was strained and Britain and Spain entered a war
that America desperately wanted to stay out of and Jay’s
controversial treaty attempted to smooth over relations with
Britain.
5. In the frontier General Wayne fought Indians and won some
northwest territory (Ohio) and in the Whisky rebellion
backcountry farmers opposed high taxes on whisky and attacked
revenue officers, and many Americans went along the
Wilderness Trail to explore west.
6. John Adams was elected in 1796; during his presidency he tried
to smooth over relations with France however this led to higher
tensions between parties back in the states.
7. Thomas Jefferson was elected as the nations 3rd president in
1800 by the House of Representatives because there was a tie in
the electoral college, being a republican, his win secured triumph
for the primarily southern Republican party.

Ch. 9: The Early Republic

1. Thomas Jefferson was elected president in 1800 and 1804, he
was a Democratic-Republican and his election was one of the
part turning points in American history, however throughout his
term he used some federalist ideas—he did not dismantle
 Hamilton’s economic system, he created a wise and frugal
government and outlawed international slave trade in 1803.
2. As Jefferson was becoming more federalist, a group of
Democratic-Republicans who held true to their original ideals
banded together in congress; the federalists, mainly in the north,
opposed the War of 1812 and threatened succession when they
met at the Hartford convention—this failure put an end to the
Federalist Party.
3. In 1803, Jefferson bought land from Napoleon—the Louisiana
Purchase—this vast territory stretched from the Mississippi river
to essentially the Pacific Ocean; Congress hired Lewis and Clarke
to explore this new land and they embarked on an informative
and successful two-year trip to the pacific and back.
4. Napoleon and France were still warring with Britain in Europe and
trade had been inconsistent with the two nations—Jefferson
implemented an embargo that failed—and the demand for
neutral shipping rights was the main cause of the War of 1812.
5. The lack of a national bank made the war hard to finance,
however America finally won—the war started with battles
against the Indians in the north, then into Canada, the
Chesapeake where the new capital was burned down and into
New Orleans where Andrew Jackson secured the victory.
6. Peace talks had already began before the war had even started,
but the late American victories made the British eager to finalize
a treaty and the treaty of Ghent was signed in 1814 and it
restored everything to how it had been before the war; results of
the war of 1812 include national pride, a stronger more
independent economy, a more divided nation and the reversal of
partisan roles.

Part Three: An Expansive Nation

Ch. 10: Nationalism and Sectionalism
1. The “era of good feelings” lasted from the end of the war of 1812
until 1819, during that time the US pursued economic
nationalism through the national bank, tariffs and infrastructure;
the era also saw compromises and an increase in trade with
Britain.
2. John Marshall, chief justice of the Supreme Court, strengthened
the court and set precedents such as a national supremacy in
interstate commerce and leaving states’s charters and laws open
to incorporating provisions and changes.
3. The panic of 1819 started when cotton prices fell dramatically
which set off a decline in demand for other American goods, and
state banks were reckless causing inflation and many saw their
income decrease.
4. The Monroe Doctrine on foreign affairs stated that the American
 continent could not be a subject of future European colonization,
the United States would interoperate any move by Europe into
their hemisphere dangerous because of the different political
systems, the US would not interfere with any existing European
colonies and the US would keep out Europe’s internal affairs and
wars—this doctrine remained vital to America through its
precedent of isolationism and self sufficiency.
5. The Federalist Party had no power or influence any longer, thus
the Democratic-Republican Party was the only one and riffs
started to emerge as some of their policies became more
federalist.
6. John Quincy Adams, a Nationalist, won the election for president
because the vote had gone to the house and Henry Clay
endorsed him, in his term he passed the Alien Act that tightened
immigration however he was generally disliked and disregarded
by congress; a new party, the National Republicans emerged
which challenged the Democratic Republicans.
7. Andrew Jackson, a Democratic Republican, schemed to have
Adams discredited through high tariffs, which the people
believed to be Adams’ fault, thus Jackson won the election of
1828.

Ch. 11: The Jacksonian Impulse

1. Andrew Jackson was the first president not to come from a
wealthy, respected family and his presidency ushered in a new
era of politics and social development; his two closest advisors
Martin Van Buren and John Calhoun feuded, and Jackson grew
closer to Van Buren, and he endorsed federal financing of road
improvements, the national bank and states rights.
2. Nullification was the ability of a state to ignore federal laws if
they did not agree with them; Calhoun and South Carolina liked
this idea because they opposed the tariffs in place that protected
trade and favored the North—this set of a large debate and many
people, including Daniel Webster believed nullification and
seceding from the union should not be allowed.
3. Jackson’s Indian policy was that of displacement, in 1830 the
Indian removal Act was passed and most Indians gave up their
land and moved west to land granted to them by the
government.
4. Under Nicholas Biddle, the National Bank had prospered and
Biddle wanted to renew the charter, Jackson did not like how the
bank was owned by private investors, which could lead to easy
corruption, thus he opposed the bank and took government fund
out and put them in “pet” state banks, this caused an
uncontrollable “boom and Bust” cycle.
5. Van Buren was elected president after Jackson and had to deal
 with the depression after the financial panic during Jackson’s
term; also emerging was a new party, the Whig Coalition, and
the Democratic Republicans changed their name to Democrats.
6. The Whigs led an impressive campaign in 1840 for the election of
William Henry Harrison; they used posters, slogans, buttons, etc.
to campaign and led to success.

Ch. 12: The Dynamics of Growth

1. In the early 1800’s cotton became “king” of the south thanks to
Eli Whitney’s cotton gin—which removed the seeds from cotton
faster thus reducing prices and increasing out put, which fueled
the mills in the north; in the west inventions like the steel plow
and grain reaper fueled farms.
2. As population increased and people migrated West the need for
more transportation arose, more paved roads were built, water
transportation by clipper ships, flatboats and steamboats along
rivers and canals increased dramatically and reduced travel
time, however rail roads became the most popular mode of
transportation as it was the safest and fastest.
3. Textile mills and new technology gave rise to the factory system
and Industrial revolution in America, northern cities situated on
rivers became large centers of migration and the industrial North
further separated itself from the agrarian south.
4. By the early 1800’s the more urban society could indulge in more
forms of recreation such as social drinking, animal fights, boxing,
theater and minstrel shows—the first true American form of
entertainment that made fun of Africans.
5. Throughout the nineteenth century immigration to America
increased, attracted by rumors of getting rich and plentiful land,
immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Britain, Sweden and China
flocked to the United States—however the reality was they could
only get low jobs and faced much discrimination.
6. Workers in factories and in cities banded together and created
labor unions, in 1842 Commonwealth v. Hunt, the supreme court
ruled that forming a trade union and demanding owners only hire
from that union was not illegal.
7. Unions, skilled immigrants and the growth of cities all
contributed to the rise of professions, teaching became a
common first job for many men who then became lawyers,
doctors were common and many wanted the prestige of the
name and engineering grew to one of the largest professions in
the nation

Ch. 13: An American Renaissance: Religion, Romanticism and Reform

1. The inquisitive ideas of the enlightenment led to new religions
such as Deism, Unitarianism and Universalism—these religions
 welcomed all
2. In the wake second great awakening, many new religions
appeared in the “burned over districts”, the most famous of
these is the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints, or
Mormons, founded by Joseph Smith; as they searched for
freedom from religious prosecution, they traveled westward and
built communities finally ending in Salt Lake City Utah in 1847.
3. In 1795 Timothy Dwight became president of Yale College and he
attempted to reform the college, in doing so he launched a series
of revivals know as the Second Great Awakening; many intense
revivals took place in camp meetings, where large groups on the
frontier would gather and pray.
4. The romantic movement came about in the 1800s in America as
a response to the concrete ideas of the enlightenment, romantics
addressed more abstract ideals through transcendentalism—
whose ideas rose above the limits of reason, questioned social
order and called for a more self reliant man, these ideas came to
embody the American spirit.
5. In the mid 1800s states began supporting education, however
public schools became well established after the civil war; many
colleges and universities were also founded in the 1800s and
some even admitted women, however co-education rarely meant
equality.
6. In the antebellum period there were many reform movements
such as temperance—against drinking, prison and asylum reform
—for better treatment of inmates and women’s rights led by
Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.
7. Americans pursued an idealist utopian society, however this and
the quest for social equality highlighted the irony of American
freedoms and the American dream that would eventually erupt
into the Civil War.

Ch. 14: Manifest Destiny

1. The idea of Manifest Destiny, the term coined by John O’Sullivan,
gripped many Americans in the 1800s—they moved westward
with expansionist fever in pursuit of land, riches and the
American dream where a man can become happy and rich based
on his own merit and hard work.
2. John Tyler succeeded William Henry Harrison when he died one
month into his term; Tyler was a Whig on the ballot but he was
expelled from the party, his main accomplishment was the
Webster-Ashburton Treaty with Great Britain that settled
disputed territory in Wisconsin and Maine.
3. In 1821 the last Spanish officials withdrew from Mexico and they
gained their independence, this new government was much
more interested in trade with the US, and many people flocked to
 Texas—which eventually won their independence in 1845.
4. In the mid 1800s, more than 350,000 people migrated west on
the Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails, they traveled in
covered wagons called Prairie Sooners; the trip west was
immensely difficult with rough terrain—mountains and deserts,
river crossings, food shortages and the threat of Indian attacks.
5. In 1844 James Knox Polk was placed on the democratic ballot
and was the first “dark horse” to win the presidency, he focused
on tariff reduction, re-establishing an independent treasury,
settling the Oregon border dispute and acquiring California and
Texas.
6. In May of 1846 news that Mexicans had shot Americans north of
the Rio Grande prompted congress to declare war, both sides
were unprepared but thanks to quick mobilization, great strategy
and enthusiastic generals America won and the treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, in which Mexico ceded New
Mexico and California to the US, making America a continental
nation.

Part Four: A House Divided

Ch. 15: The Old South
1. The Old South—Virginia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee
and Georgia, and the Southwest—Alabama, Mississippi,
Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas were all heavily agrarian
communities based upon the plantation system, the warm
climate fostered cash crops such as cotton, rice and sugar in
contrast to the primarily industrial north.
2. White southern society consisted of rich, plantation owners and
their wives, who ran the plantations with senses of entitlement
and owned many slaves, the majority of whites in the south were
yeomen, or small farmers who lived in cabins with their families
and owned small farms and occasionally a few slaves, and the
lowest were known as “poor whites” who lived off the land and in
swamps like hobos.
3. Slavery was one of the fastest growing elements of American life
during the early 1800s, most lived on plantations in the south,
however a few escaped north and lived freely but with many
prejudices; life on plantations consisted of work sun up to sun
down, small meals and dirt floor cabins, many families were torn
apart and slaves were often beaten however some African
Americans found jobs as skilled laborers on plantations or
overseers, and they used religion and songs to help them forget
about their troubles.
4. Many slaves got back at their masters by stealing crops or other
forms of sabotage and some even planned large rebellions,
however most of these never got past the planning stage except
 for Nat Turner’s rebellion, where the overseer rallied friends and
killed the master and his family on their plantation and walked
down the road killing other farm families, they killed 55 whites
but were captured and put to death in the end.
5. Criticism of slavery developed in the north and south after the
revolution, however in the 1800s many reformers took up the
cause—there were abolitionist papers and a start up colony in
Africa for freed slaves, the American Anti-Slavery Society was
formed in 1833 and was aided by freed slave abolitionists
Fredrick Douglas and Sojourner Truth, however the outspoken
abolitionists remained a minority to a quiet and passive majority.
6. In the south, they created many ideas for the justification of
slavery: in the bible the Hebrews held slaves, the notion that
Africans were somehow inferior and not human and made to
work, it was a social necessity that Africans remained enslaved,
many southerners refused to give up these ideals and further
widened the gap between the north and the south.

Ch. 16: The Crisis of the Union

1. The Wilmot Proviso politicized the hostile debate over slavery
once and for all, it addressed the question of slavery in the
territories, which many southerners wanted and many
northerners opposed, and free soil in territories rather than
abolition in the south—these ideas became a rallying point of a
new party.
2. In order to settle disputes about slavery in the territories,
admitting new states and to keep the union together, the
compromise of 1850 was created—President Fillmore signed the
final version which was originally suggested by Henry Clay, main
points included California’s admittance to the union as a free
state, the Utah and New Mexico territories were open to slavery
by popular sovereignty and the fugitive slave act was enacted,
which gave slave catchers free reign in the north and territories.
3. Increased trade with Asia aroused the want for a transcontinental
railroad, and with the bill for that came about the Kansas-
Nebraska crisis, the bill stated that the Kansas-Nebraska territory
was open to slavery through popular sovereignty; when Kansas
tried to have an election, border ruffians from the south came in
and voted in favor of slavery, this led to three skirmishes, known
as bleeding Kansas in which pro-slavery and anti-slavery
extremists attacked each other.
4. After the wake of incidents in Kansas James Buchanan, a
democrat, was elected in 1856, he found that the hostilities had
spread to the senate, where one member brutally attacked
another with a cane; the Supreme Court ruled that African
Americans were not citizens, a financial crisis and the Lecompton
 Constitution, which caused more trouble in Kansas.
5. For the election of 1860, the democrats had split over the issue
or slavery and a new Republican party, made up of free-soilers
and dissatisfied members of other parties, nominated Abraham
Lincoln, a humble, anti-slavery, self-educated Illinois man born in
a log cabin.
6. In Charleston on December 20, 1860, South Caroline withdrew
from the Union and in February 1861 the rest of the southern
states followed, for the remainder of his term Buchanan waited
for drastic action and there were a few desperate attempts at
compromise, however they ultimately failed and the deep
festering hatred and differences finally erupted into the Civil
War.