romangone – U.S. to 1877

December 3, 2013

A Necessary Evil

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The Civil War is often seen as a terrible tragedy in American History, but Davis raises valuable points about the importance of the Civil War. It was a revolution of such great magnitude that it had never been seen before in America. The country was so divided on the issue of slavery and the states rights when it came to slavery that the only way they would reach a quick and decisive decision was through a war or crisis such as this. “Given the economic growth and vitality of Southern slavery in 1860, it is difficult to imagine any other historical scenario that would have led to full and universal slave emancipation in the nineteenth or even early twentieth century.” (Davis 299) In his post WIROBERTSON said that “The North seemed much more open to compromise” but I think in reality neither side was willing to compromise. The North was eventually just going to keep pushing and pushing for more and more. The South was scared to give anything because they didn’t want their rights infringed on. They knew that the North wasn’t going to just stop with limiting slavery. They heard the talk all around the country and saw that it was growing more and more radical with every passing decade. The sides were just too far apart to reach a solution, so it took the destruction of one side for a decision to be made. The South was strong and its economy, which was reliant on slaves, was an essential part of the American economy as a whole.

The aftermath led to controversy even though the issue of slavery had been decided once and for all. Some blamed the blacks for what had happened. (Davis 299) Others marginalized the issues and focused more on the specifics of the war. They didn’t want to focus on the overarching questions that had divided the country.

December 1, 2013

A Torn America

Very few singular events have occurred in in America’s 200+ years of being a country that have a defined a generation, but the Civil War is one of them. Historians have gone as far back as the founding of the country to explain the events that triggered the war. Throughout their childhood children hear that slavery caused the war, or that it was a war for states rights, or even in very southern states that this was “A War of Northern Aggression” but no matter how you put it the true start to the war was the Secession of the south. Its the factors that lead up to this event which Willentz discusses in the reading.

Tension had been growing in the country especially regarding slave politics. Lincoln’s election marked the growth of the Republican party, especially in the north. But this didn’t sit so well in the South. Although the Southern Democrats were divided they stood together in opposition to Lincoln. They saw Lincoln’s election as “the North’s embrace of John Brown” (Willentz 434) who was a radical who had, in 1859, led a raid on an armory supported by a group of radical slaves. Although he failed he later went on to write from jail in a manner that gathered support for his cause and in turn for abolitionists. This angered the southerners to say the least and talk of secession began to circulate. “Angry Southerners now asked…whether the South could any longer “live under a government, a majority of whose subjects or citizens regard John Brown as a martyr and a Christian hero” (Willentz 425)

Although the South was angry they did not stand together all the time. As seen in this post many non-slaveholders opposed secession while others wanted to secede right away. But an important thing to note is that there was very little support for Lincoln in the South. He didn’t win any states in the election and although there were those who didn’t want secession right away most people in the south were opposed to the ideals on Lincoln and supported the states rights and slavery claims of the Secessionist states.

October 29, 2013

New Era

The early republic was characterized by multiple changes in the political power in the United States. From the beginning of the nation and the power of the Federalists to the dramatic growth of middle and lower class power inspired by Jackson it was always evolving. The 1824 election, won by John Quincy Adams, resulted in an almost stagnant presidency, an exception for the time period. Adams wasn’t able to accomplish much during his presidency because of issues stemming from the election, such as the “corrupt bargain” and also because “Congress would enact none of [Adams] improvement projects” (Willentz 138) The most important part of Adams presidency may in fact be that he opened the door for Jackson to become the President in 1828.

In an earlier post on October 23rd NAKINDIG said that “environment also played a huge role on early American History” and this was very true, especially when it came to Jackson’s rise to power. His growth to power started because of his rise to fame during the War of 1812 and it didn’t stop there. He became the man of the people, someone that the lower and middle class could identify with. His victory “marked the culmination of more than thirty years of American democratic development.” (Willentz 164) He was a savvy political mind and his building of his party he changed how democracy would forever be run in America. This was the true beginning of universal white male suffrage.

Now Jackson’s actual presidency was by no means perfect as it was quickly riddled with scandal and his removal of the Indians will forever cloud his presidency. But his ability to reach out to the common man, and his identity as an everyman changed how politics would be done forever. It was no longer just the elites who had a say in the governance of America.

October 22, 2013

The Growth of a Nation and the Decline of a Party

When America was first brought into existence it was under the control of the Federalists, a political party which believed in a strong, centralized government. From the Constitutions conception, until the death of Washington in 1799, the country was firmly in the grips of this Federalist party, and there was never much of a challenge from other parties, such as the Jefferson led Democratic-Republicans. But after Washington’s death and the Federalist passage of controversial laws such as the Alien and Sedition Acts there was a change in the government, putting the Democratic-Republicans in power. “The Republicans united behind Vice President Jefferson-‘the rallying point’…[and] began to create of perfect electioneering machinery in every important state early in 1800.”(Wilentz 37) The election of 1800, in which Jefferson won power was a turning point in American politics. The change of political party in power represented much more than than a simple change as this was a successful, peaceful transition of power. It showed that the Republican model of government could function in America. There would be peaceful transitions of power even when political parties were voted out of office, and forced to relinquish control to another party which had very different views. The election of 1800 was a growing point for politics in America but also the beginning of the end for the Federalist party. In his post JELAWS says “The War of 1812 marked the decline and eventual disappearance of the Federalist Party” but I believe that was started much earlier in the Election of 1800. People became disheartened towards the Federalist party and began to embrace Jeffersonian style democracy. Although the party didn’t totally disappear until after the war of 1812 the decline began as early as 1800.

Even as the Federalist party was fading from relevance the Democratic-Republicans were growing to new heights of political power. Under Jefferson the country flourished. Willentz seems to be very favorable of Jefferson, almost to a fault. He appears to be a great admirer of Jefferson and talks about him almost entirely in a positive light. While I do appreciate the style that Willentz brings because it makes the read more enjoyable his constant adoration of Jefferson is almost a detractor from his credibility. Jefferson did make some hypocritical moves as President, such as the Louisiana Purchase which was an expansion of central power, something Jefferson had said he disagreed with but Willentz is quick to push decisions such as that off as “largely flexible responses to unforeseen events.”(Willentz 64) Through Jeffersons presidency though one thing remained constant, the “sink[ing] of Federalism into the abyss.” (Willentz 66)

The War of 1812 was an important time period in America’s history, because it is one of the first times America has tried to flex her muscles and see how she matches up to European powers. The growth of Nationalism led by Calhoun was a major reason for the war. There developed an anti-British sentiment that ultimately led to Congress’s declaration of war. This war didn’t mark the beginning of Federalist decline, but rather the final nail in the coffin. “That engagement…would complete the Federalists’ ruin”(Willentz 82) It also opened up a new breed of Republican party. The war brought the name of Andrew Jackson to Americas attention and eventually he would lead one of the greatest political revolutions the country had ever seen. The politics of early America were complicated but the decline of the Federalists opened the door for the Democratic-Republicans, and other parties to take control of the country.

October 2, 2013

Winning the West

Taylor brings an interesting perspective to the colonization of America in this chapter, especially when it comes to Russian attempts to reach America. It was unknown to me that Russia had even made significant attempts colonize America but Taylor makes it clear that they were very set on crossing the Bering Strait. By doing so the Russians “hoped to prove that they belonged, culturally and politically, to Europe.(Taylor 447)” There were many similarities to what the Russians were doing and what the Spanish were doing in their imperial quests. Taylor mentions that “the Russians resembled the Spanish Conquistadores of Mexico.(Taylor 447)” But the comparison made between the French and the Russians doesn’t hold up. It is interesting that these countries, who were quite a ways away from each other and who didn’t have contact in the New World would have such similar tactics and goals.

The Spanish fear of the Russians was unwarranted though. I agree with JeLaws http://sites.davidson.edu/his141/the-russians-are-coming-the-russians-are-coming-and-the-spanish-missionaries-too/ that the false claims about Russian expansion forced the Spanish to colonize more quickly, but I do not believe that is the only reason that the Spanish colonized California. The Spanish were always looking for ways to expand and to hopefully stumble upon more of the mineral wealth that they had found in Mexico. So when they heard that someone else might be encroaching on land that they wanted they used it as an excuse to push forward, establishing missions as they went.

The Spanish missions were a new way that the Spanish were using to claim land. They were used to “help” the natives embrace christianity and force them to become more like the Spanish. Although this was the primary goal they were also important to the Spanish government because they were an easy way for the Spanish to control the natives, and therefore control the land more easily. The natives became dependent on the missions making it easier for the Spanish to get what they wanted.

September 24, 2013

Religion and Witches

In a recent post Amgaither continued the debate on this blog about whether the witch trials and evangelical great awakening have a cause and effect relation. She believed that the two events did not have a cause and effect relationship which I believe to be incorrect. She makes the point that both the Great Awakening and the witch trials happened in the same place merely because the conditions there were ripe for both of these events. But I believe there is more to it than that, and that the witch trials and the evangelical preaching of the time period both had more influence over other because they were going on around the same time period.

I found the most interesting of the witchcraft articles to be the one written by Elizabeth Reis because I felt like it dealt with the relationship between the witch trial and the Great Awakening very well. Reis mentioned at one point that “Ministers spoke of the devil’s proximity in their weekly sermons and they articulated the notion that his presence was ubiquitous.” I think this is an accurate way to describe how the Great Awakening helped the witch craze to reach even greater heights. People lived in fear of the devil and his control because much of the Great Awakening dealt with the devil and how he was out to get people. Pastors and religious leaders were trying to scare people into becoming better Christians. Although this did lead to more devout religious practices in many cases it also led to a heightened “awareness” of the devil. Taylor mentioned that how ministers tried to “shock their listeners” and it worked. It shocked them so much they began seeing the devil where it didn’t really exist.

In chapter 15 Taylor discusses in great detail the evangelical awakening that occurred early in the 18th century. This time of religious renewal, marked by a fire and brimstone type of preaching, was called the Great Awakening. The effect that the Great Awakening had on the witch craze wasn’t a one way street. It was more of a cycle in which as the heightened fear of the devil grew people began to see witches everywhere, which in turn led to more fear of the devil. Taylor did a good job of using quotes from people in this time period to show how intense the sermons were at that time. People were legitimately very scared of hell and so it influenced their every day activities. I think without each other the Great Awakening and the witch craze would not have been as important as they were.

September 17, 2013

Sweet Carolina (Chapter 11 Taylor)

In Chapter 11 of American Colonies Taylor discusses the life of the colonists and the beginnings of the Carolina colonies. Carolina was started in defiance of the Spanish, a way for the English to try and assert their dominance. Taylor made an interesting point about how back in 1607 the English had to hide their colonies but then in 1670 when Charleston was founded they did it to challenge the Spanish and show that they were no longer scared. This was bold but also somewhat foolish and the Lord Proprietors found themselves needing to grow in numbers quickly. To do this they promised freedom of religion and large portions of land to draw settlers to come to Carolina.

Originally Carolina was under the control of 8 Lords Proprietors. It became apparent to the colonists living in Carolina though that these 8 men were not well suited to be leading the colony. The Lord’s Proprietors weren’t able to effectually lead the people and didn’t have any power in the colony. After they lost their power changes were made to the colony, such as a state sponsored religion and soon there was a revolution. The revolutionaries decided they wanted the crown to control them, so in 1729 the crown bought out 7 of the 8 Proprietors

Slavery was also a large attraction for plantation owners in the Carolinas. The Lords Proprietors promised the plantation owners total power over the slaves. After the Stono Rebellion, which was brought up in a previous post here http://sites.davidson.edu/his141/contrasting-slave-systems-in-colonial-america-inhuman-bondage-ch-6/, the slave owners became much more strict in their dealings with the slaves. Rice was the large cash crop of the region and this demanded numerous workers. Because of the large amount of slaves, the owners lived in constant fear of rebellion. Taylor makes this point using a quote from a slave owner about how they wished their slaves weren’t so dangerous and cumbersome.

Taylor also mentions Georgia in this chapter but he glazes over it. They were the colony that no one really wanted to be a part of but it was necessary. This is how Taylor portrays it. He does try to make the point that it is not the hoodlum colony that many people in modern times have made it out to be but it is still used primarily as a place for beggars and dissenters and as a buffer zone to stop slaves from fleeing into Florida as easily.