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Nationalism and Sectionalism 3 Nationalism and Sectionalism MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES Patriotic pride united the states, The tension led to the Civil War, and nationalism James Monroe but tension between the North regional differences can still be Henry Clay sectionalism and South emerged. found in the United States today. American System Missouri Compromise Erie Canal Monroe Doctrine CALIFORNIA STANDARDS ONE AMERICAN’S STORY 8.4.1 Describe the country's physical The War of 1812 sent a wave of nationalist feeling landscapes, political divisions, and through the United States. Nationalism is a feeling territorial expansion during the terms of the first four presidents. of pride, loyalty, and protectiveness toward your 8.4.2 Explain the policy significance of country. Representative Henry Clay, from Kentucky, famous speeches (e.g., Washington's Farewell Address, Jefferson's 1801 was a strong nationalist. After the war, President Inaugural Address, John Q. Adams's James Madison supported Clay’s plan to strengthen Fourth of July 1821 Address). the country and unify its regions. 8.5.2 Know the changing boundaries of the United States and describe the relationships the country had with its A VOICE FROM THE PAST neighbors (current Mexico and Canada) and Europe, including the Every nation should anxiously endeavor to establish its influence of the Monroe Doctrine, absolute independence, and consequently be able to and how those relationships influ- feed and clothe and defend itself. If it rely upon a enced westward expansion and the foreign supply that may be cut off . it cannot be Mexican-American War. independent. Henry Clay 8.6.1 Discuss the influence of industri- alization and technological develop- Henry Clay, quoted in The Annals of America ments on the region, including human modification of the landscape and how physical geography shaped In this section, you will learn how nationalism affected U.S. economic human actions (e.g., growth of cities, growth and foreign policy. You’ll also see how Americans were beginning deforestation, farming, mineral extraction). to be torn between the interests of their own regions and those of the 8.6.2 Outline the physical obstacles to country as a whole. and the economic and political fac- tors involved in building a network of roads, canals, and railroads (e.g., Henry Clay's American System). Nationalism Unites the Country In 1815, President Madison presented a plan to Congress for making the United States economically self-sufficient. In other words, the country would Taking Notes prosper and grow by itself, without foreign products or foreign markets. Use your chart to The plan—which Henry Clay promoted as the American System— take notes about included three main actions. nationalism and sectionalism. 1. Establish a protective tariff, a tax on imported goods that protects Causes a nation’s businesses from foreign competition. Congress passed a tariff in 1816. It made European goods more expensive and en- couraged Americans to buy cheaper American-made products. 354 CHAPTER 11 2. Establish a national bank that would promote a single currency, A. Recognizing making trade easier. (Most regional banks issued their own money.) Effects How In 1816, Congress set up the second Bank of the United States. would the three 3. Improve the country’s transportation systems, which were im- parts of the American System portant for a strong economy. Poor roads made transportation slow help to make and costly. the country self- sufficient? A. Answer A tar- Roads and Canals Link Cities iff would protect Representative John C. Calhoun of South Carolina also called for bet- businesses; a national bank ter transportation systems. “Let us bind the Republic together with a and improved perfect system of roads and canals,” he declared in 1817. Earlier, in transportation 1806, Congress had funded a road from Cumberland, Maryland, to would make internal trade Wheeling, Virginia. By 1841, the National Road, designed as the coun- easier. try’s main east-west route, had been extended to Vandalia, Illinois. Water transportation improved, too, with the building of canals. In fact, the period from 1825 to 1850 is often called the Age of Canals. Completed in 1825, the massive Erie Canal created a water route Skillbuilder between New York City and Buffalo, New York. The canal opened the Answers upper Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes region to settlement and trade. 1. a route includ- It also fueled nationalism by unifying these two sections of the country. ing Lake Erie, the Erie Canal, and The Erie Canal allowed farm products from the Great Lakes region the Hudson River to flow east and people and manufactured goods from the East to flow 2. the North west. Trade stimulated by the canal helped New York City become the nation’s largest city. Between 1820 and 1830, its population swelled from less than 125,000 to more than 200,000. Lake Champlain Canal 6 Major Canals, 1840 5 CANADA ° W Lake 70 National Road n ° a Huron W g i i o Champlain h tar 0 200 Miles c ake On Canal i L M al e E n 0 400 Kilometers rie Ca Albany H k a Buffalo . u d L R e a s N ri o 40° E . n n n e R R ak a ATLANTIC OCEAN y . L n h e e Chicago Toledo h u Cleveland g q e l s l Su New York A ia C lvan an . Miami and Wheeling Pe y a La Salle ash R. nns l R ab s Erie Canal i W o Pittsburgh Columbia n i . ll ad R o I rland) R Chesapeake and umbe i P (C Ohio and Cumberland otom Ohio Canal al m a n a c io i t Erie Canal R Na Cincinnati M . Portsmouth O K 75 Vandalia hio a R n ° . aw W M h Richmond a Ja m is R es R si . ss Evansville ip p i R . GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER Interpreting Maps 1. Movement By what water route could goods from °N Cleveland reach New York City? 35 2. Region Which region benefited more from canals— The Erie Canal was 4 feet deep, 40 feet wide, and the North or the South? 360 miles long. 355 8 8 5 0 W ° ° ° W W 90 Around the 1830s, the nation began to use steam-powered trains for transportation. In 1830, only about 30 miles of track existed in the United States. But by 1850, the number had climbed to 9,000 miles. Improvements in rail travel led to a decline in the use of canals. The Era of Good Feelings HISTORIC DECISIONS As nationalist feelings spread, people slowly shifted their loyalty away OF THE SUPREME COURT from state governments and more toward the federal government. For more Democratic-Republican James Monroe won the presidency in information on 1816 with a large majority of electoral votes. The Federalist Party McCulloch v. provided little opposition to Monroe and soon disappeared. Maryland, see pp. 742–743. Political differences gave way to what one Boston newspaper For more called the Era of Good Feelings. information on During the Monroe administration, several landmark Gibbons v. Ogden, Supreme Court decisions promoted national unity by strength- see pp. 744–745. ening the federal government. For example, in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the state of Maryland wanted to tax its branch of the national bank. If this tax were allowed, the states Background could claim to have power over the federal government. The Maryland also argued that Court upheld federal authority by ruling that a state could not tax Congress had no a national bank. power to create James Monroe the bank, but A VOICE FROM THE PAST the Court ruled that it did have The States have no power, by taxation or otherwise, to retard, impede, such power. burden, or in any manner control the operations of the constitutional laws enacted by Congress. Chief Justice John Marshall, McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Another Court decision that strengthened the federal government was Gibbons v. Ogden (1824). Two steamship operators fought over ship- ping rights on the Hudson River in New York and New Jersey. The Court ruled that interstate commerce could be regulated only by the fed- eral government, not the state governments.The Court also weakened the states’ control over business and financial transactions by extending the range of the “contract clause” in the Constitution to forbid states from passing laws “impairing the obligation of contracts.” The 1819 B. Finding Main decision Dartmouth College v. Woodward established that states could not Ideas How did interfere with or nullify corporate contracts. This ruling built on an ear- the Supreme Court strengthen lier one, Fletcher v. Peck (1810), which extended the contract clause to the federal include public and private contracts. government? The Supreme Court under John Marshall clearly stated important B. Answer By ruling that states powers of the federal government. A stronger federal government could not inter- reflected a growing nationalist spirit. fere with federal laws and that Settling National Boundaries only the federal government could This nationalist spirit also made U.S. leaders want to define and expand regulate inter- the country’s borders. To do this, they had to reach agreements with state commerce. Britain and Spain. 356 CHAPTER 11 U.S. Boundary Settlements, 1818 and 1819 100 ° 8 Claimed by U.S. W 0 ° and Britain W OREGON BRITISH TERRITORY COUNTRY (claimed by U.S. CANADA PACIFIC and Britain) OCEAN 40°N Territory gained: UNITED Convention of 1818 STATES with Great Britain (including new north border line) Adams-Onís Treaty ATLANTIC of 1819 with Spain MEXICO OCEAN Spain gave up Florida to the United States (including new southwest border line) (NEW SPAIN) Gulf of Mexico after Andrew Jackson invaded the territory Florida to capture raiding Seminoles.
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