Lesson 7 Red Foxes and Bear Flags 1

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As the nation grew, it changed in its culture and religious makeup, with scores of new denominations and sects appearing. A distinctive American culture appeared. At the same time, the annexation of Texas and the Mexican War added still more territory to the American map.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR CHAPTER 7

• Students will be able to identify at least four new religious sects or denominations that appeared in this era.

• Students will be able to explain “utopianism,” “socialism,” “Quakerism,” and “transcendentalism,” identifying the contributions of Robert Owen, Sarah and Angelina Grimke, Lewis and Arthur Tappan, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and John Humphrey Noyes.

• Students should be able to discuss basic developments in American culture during this era, including literature and education, noting the role of Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and James Fennimore Cooper.

• Students will be able to discuss both the pre-presidency and the presidency of Martin Van Buren and his role in shaping the American political system.

• Students should be able to list the major platform planks of the Whig Party, and to identify its central leaders.

• Students should be able to define “manifest destiny” and explain it in the context of American expansion and the annexation of Texas.

• Students should be able to discuss the military and symbolic importance of the battle of the Alamo.

• Students should be able to explain the causes of the Mexican War from both the American and Mexican perspective; the course of the war; and the significance of the “Mexican Cession” in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.

• Students should be able to locate Sutter’s Mill and the region of the California Gold Rush and discuss its significance.

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VISUAL AIDS The Alamo (both the John Wayne version, 1960) and the Billy Bob Thornton version, 2004).

They Made America PBS (2004), segments on Lewis Tappan and Sam Colt

The Last of the Mohicans (1992), can also be used in Section Two, or used here as an aspect of American culture with James Fennimore Cooper

Texas Rising (2015), miniseries.

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1. The End of Jackson, but not Jacksonianism

a) How did Andrew Jackson’s policies—and Martin Van Buren’s political structures— long outlast the Jackson presidency?

Van Buren built a political party based on patronage designed to outlive Jackson or himself, which it did.

2. Buckskins and Bible Thumpers

a) What was the Second Great Awakening, how was it fueled and accelerated by the nation’s vastness and remoteness? What were some of the new sects and denominations that appeared?

The Second Great Awakening was the result of new “fire and brimstone” denominations such as the Methodists and Baptists. The lack of a number of theological schools led to the rise of self-taught clergymen who could not be policed or controlled by the church organizations. It also featured the rise of new denominations such as the Seventh-Day Adventists, Christian Scientists, and Mormons.

b) Why were these new denominations and sects often called “millennial” in their outlook?

Many of these groups believed in the imminent return of Christ.

c) What was the doctrine of “perfectionism” and how did it begin to transform traditional church goals and practices in the new denominations?

Perfectionism was the notion that human life on earth could be made perfect in the present age, which ran counter to many other churches and denominations that said this earth would never be perfectible.

d) Who were the feminists of the day and what were their goals?

The Grimke Sisters, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others sought both political equality in the vote and temperance, or the end to alcohol.

e) Who were the Mormons?

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The Mormons, led by Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, were a group that came out of New York, were persecuted, and eventually moved to Utah.

! ??? " Learning at a higher level

Why were many of these groups called “sects” and not “denominations?” Why were some called “cults?” ! ??? "

A cult usually has one single human leader who is looked at as central to the core teachings of the church, was occurred with Ellen White of the Seventh-Day Adventists or Joseph Smith of the Mormons. For this reason they were viewed as more than simply a “different interpretation” of existing gospel.

3. The ‘Isms’

a) Who were the secular “perfectionists” or the “utopians?” Why did they embrace socialism? How did local, Christian socialism differ from modern state socialism and communism?

Perfectionists and utopians believed that heaven was possible on earth, and many viewed socialism as necessary to do away with human greed and acquisition of property.

Christian socialists claimed to still believe in Jesus Christ and claimed to be following the tenets of the early church.

b) What was the doctrine of “transcendentalism?” Who were its chief advocates?

Transcendentalists believed they could “transcend” their physical existence and commune with God. They were led by Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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! ??? " Learning at a higher level Why did the early utopian communities fail? What was it about socialism/communism/utopianism that inherently seems doomed to collapse? ! ??? "

The utopian/socialist communities failed because it is impossible to substitute the control of the economy by one man or a committee for the price system, which is governed by the wants and needs of everyone. No one can know the wants and needs of all. It is doomed to fail.

c) What role did abolitionism play in these “isms?” How did Lewis Tappan his company’s Christian spy network to found a national credit reporting agency called the Mercantile Agency?

Abolition was another of the efforts to reform the world in the present. Lewis Tappan used his network of Christian morality spies to develop a system of business reporting.

Documents from A Patriot’s History Reader Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments, 1848, 137-141

4. American Renaissance

a) How did formal education expand in the young Republic?

Education was pushed through the public school movement supported by Horace Mann.

b) Who were the most influential writers of the era and what was the main subject of their works?

Herman Melville (Moby Dick), Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Scarlet Letter), James Fenimore Cooper (Last of the Mohicans) wrote about the West, agrarian utopias, and individualism.

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c) Why was Davy Crockett important and how did he straddle both the frontier and cultural worlds?

Davy Crockett was both a backwoodsman and a Congressman.

! ??? " Learning at a higher level

Even into the 1970s with “Star Wars,” singers, moviemakers, and writers continue to hold a special place for liberty in their works. Why is that? ! ??? "

Liberty and the search for freedom is a part of the human soul. God made every person separate and independent.

5. The Little Magician Takes the Stage

a) Why was Martin Van Buren’s presidency almost doomed before it started?

The Panic of 1837 was already on its way when Van Buren assumed the presidency.

6. Tippecanoe and Tyler Too

a) Who were the Whigs, and how did William Henry Harrison’s campaign truly represent the common man and Jacksonian Democracy?

The Whigs were the opponents of the Democrats who believed in “Internal improvements, a national bank, and a tariff.” Harrison’s election had much higher turnout than previous elections due to the elimination of property restrictions to vote.

b) How did John Tyler, upon Harrison’s death, assume control and why was it important that he did so?

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Tyler did not wait for anyone to approve his stepping into the Presidency. He just did it, based on the Constitution.

c) What were the major issues in Tyler’s administration?

Texas annexation, the tariff, and of course slavery

7. Empire of Liberty or Manifest Destiny?

a) What was meant by “manifest destiny” and why had, Americans always moved west as though they already believed in Manifest Destiny?

It means America had a destiny to conquer the continent. They moved because there was available open land.

b) Why was the Alamo so important in the context of the Texan revolt? Why, symbolically, does the Alamo to this day remain such a romantic and heroic tale?

The Alamo defenders held up the Mexican army for more than two weeks while Sam Houston trained the Texan army to fight them. The notion of a handful holding off much larger numbers is romanticized in history with the “300 Spartans” and the British defense of Roarke’s Drift.

! ??? " Learning at a higher level

Had the Alamo defenders not delayed Santa Anna’s army as long as they did, do you think Sam Houston would have been victorious at the Battle of San Jacinto? ! ??? "

Probably not. The Texans were not at all trained with Santa Anna first got to the Alamo. Plus the defeat gave them a powerful impetus for revenge.

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8. Mr. Polk’s War

a) Who wanted war in 1846? Was it just the Americans? Which political party or individuals opposed the war, and why?

The Mexicans and the Americans both wanted war. The Whigs were opposed to the war because they (rightly) feared that if victorious in the war Texas would be admitted to the Union as a slave state.

b) What was the relationship between the Mexican War and slavery?

Texas already had slaves and would be a slave state.

c) What was the Wilmot Proviso?

The Wilmot Proviso—NOT adopted—would have banned slavery in any of the territories taken in the Mexican War.

! ??? " Learning at a higher level So far, we have seen the Missouri Compromise and the Wilmot Proviso attempting to deal with the issue of slavery. How, by 1848, was this strategy of dealing with slavery working out for the nation? ! ??? "

The strategy of not discussing or debating slavery—as envisioned by Van Buren—was a dramatic failure. No matter what measures were taken, the issue kept coming into all debates.

d) Name some of the major battles of the Mexican War.

Resaca de la Palma, Palo Alto, Monterrey

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! ??? " Learning at a higher level In 1847 the United States controlled Mexico City, then handed it back over to the Mexicans in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Why might this be considered prime evidence of the absence of “imperialism” as a trait of the United States? ! ??? "

The fact that the US did what no other nation/empire in history had done, namely hand back over conquered territory to the vanquished, is the exact opposite of imperialism.

e) What role did California play in both the events during the Mexican War and the discovery of gold immediately thereafter?

California was Mexican territory but was a long way from Mexico City and difficult to hold. The fact that gold was found there made it all the more desirable to the U.S.

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@ACTIVITIES

) Write a short story involving a “frontier” of your choosing. What are the key elements involved in a frontier story?

) Draw or paint a picture of a “natural” landscape. What makes it “natural? Why did people think that nature was perfect? In your picture, highlight any parts of nature that might not be so “perfect.”

) As the Americans continued to move further West, and as they interacted with Mexico, they discovered new foods and crops. Cook a dish using primarily crops or spices the Americans would have discovered once they got past Missouri. (Hint: Most Mexican food is on the menu!)

) Visit a working or abandoned mine with your parents. (Be careful). If you can visit a mining town such as Jerome or Bisbee, Arizona or Sacramento, California, examine mining gear. Believe it or not, there are still working mines in almost every state.

) Find a place nearby where you can “mine” for some mineral (it doesn’t have to be rare or precious). After you get the first few rocks from the surface, what do you need to mine deeper minerals?

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