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If you were female, African American, or an immigrant, it was hard to get a good education in the United States during the early 19th century. To address the lack of education for girls and women, a number of women established schools for them, including Emma Willard, who founded the Troy Female Seminary in 1821, and Mary Lyon, who founded Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1837. Schools and colleges for girls and women were a step forward, but women’s literacy rates were still half those of men. -
The presidential election of 1824 pitted John Quincy Adams, the current secretary of state and son of John Adams, against Andrew Jackson, who, as you may remember fought in the War of 1812. The two candidates embodied the regional differences that divided the country. Adams represented the businessmen of the East. He wanted to build canals and roads to improve the nation’s transportation system, and he promoted science and education. -
Between the 1830s and 1860s, Irish immigrants represented the largest number of newcomers to the United States. Most were poor farmers who had no opportunities to improve their lives in their homeland. For centuries, Britain had claimed sovereignty over Ireland, and many of the Irish were dissatisfied with the oppression of British rule. To make matters worse, the country was experiencing widespread starvation due to the Great Irish Famine. A famine is an extreme shortage of food. -
It was a law passed by congress to allow for the legal removal of the native Americans -
Many reformers who spoke out about social issues were also abolitionists, or people who wanted to end slavery. However, some Americans did not agree with abolitionists. Southerners and northerners alike considered abolitionists and their ideas too radical as well as dangerous, un-Christian, and even unpatriotic. In 1831, an abolitionist named William Lloyd Garrison published the first issue of his newspaper, The Liberator. -
In an 1823 decision, Johnson v. M’Intosh, the Supreme Court had offered some protection for Native American lands. So, in 1832, the Cherokee turned to the Supreme Court to seek legal means to stay on their land. The Court ruled in their favor, determining that the Indian Removal Act was unconstitutional and that it violated previous treaties with the Cherokee. But the state of Georgia and President Andrew Jackson opposed the Supreme Court’s decision. They wanted the Cherokee to go. -
The Seminole were among the Native Americans who refused to leave their homes. They lived near the Everglades, a large wetlands region in southern Florida. After the Seminole rejected a removal treaty, President Jackson and the federal government declared war on them in 1835. But it didn’t turn out to be an easy fight. -
The annexation of the Republic of Texas as the 28th state caused tension between northern and southern states. -
A new political party formed to oppose Jackson, and its candidate won the 1840 presidential election. -
Pioneers heading west usually traveled in groups of covered wagons called wagon trains. No matter the destination, the journey was grueling and took several months. Wagon trains crossed rivers and mountains as well as arid lands where water and vegetation were scarce. The long days demanded difficult chores and wearying travel. -
he annexation of Texas upset the balance of slave and free states and led to the Mexican-American War. -
Despite some Americans’ opposition to the Mexican-American War, the United States had the upper hand from the start. On August 18, 1846, General Stephen Kearny and his troops marched into Santa Fe, the capital of the New Mexico Territory. They had expected to face strong opposition from Mexican troops and militia, but they found the city unguarded. For unknown reasons, Santa Fe’s Mexican governor, Manuel Armijo , had decided not to fight. -
In 1848, supporters of women’s rights laid the groundwork for a movement that would change the lives of American women. -
Sutter’s Fort had become a thriving farm community. Various new projects were underway, including the construction of a sawmill upstream on the American River. You might recall from the American Story in this chapter that this was where workers spotted a few flecks of gold on January 24, 1848. Sutter swore the workers to secrecy, but the word soon got out. The next few years would be chaos for Sutter. His men immediately stopped working, abandoned the colony, and went hunting for gold instead. -
On July 21, 1853, the New York State Legislature set aside more than 750 acres of land in the middle of Manhattan Island to establish America’s first major landscaped park. Sensibly called “the Central Park,” it was designed by architects and social reformers who believed that great parks would benefit public health and contribute to a “civil society.”