From Jefferson Through Jackson

During the early republic, history of the United States was drastically changed. From the late 1780’s to the middle of 1840’s the nation grew to become a whole new republic and government.

Political Parties did not exist until the Election of 1800. The Jeffersonian Republicans created the first American Party system, by separating the political parties into two individual groups. Alexander Hamilton attempted to create a stronger government by putting into place many excises on all foreign goods. These tariffs were faced with a very angry group of anti-federalists. These anti-federalists were so angered by the charges, that they created the Whiskey Rebellion. This rebellion was a fight to stop the tax on a common western drink of whiskey. Through all the issues that Washington had to fight to keep his country in order, he set a precedent that Presidents of the US government would only run for two terms. The campaign of the 1800’s ended up being a very close race for Jefferson, who in turn had to deal with a large amount of issues as well.

Colonists traveled to the Northwest Territories of the United States, which was established in 1787.  In June of 1812, war was declared under the instruction of Andrew Jackson. The Native and African Americans were very vulnerable at this time and were condemned to do whatever the US told them. The Indians were forced to move west, and the Africans were being bought as slaves. Missouri was on the border of what separated the slave states and the non slave states. After a time of debate, the Missouri Compromise was created to state that Missouri would be considered a slave state. As the US progressed, the Industrial Revolution began and caused a major change in the economy. Eli Whitney a man from New England, invented a cotton gin that made it easier to clean cotton much more efficient than that of a slave. The Industrial Revolution brought many new thoughts and people into the US. During the early 1800’s, religion sparked a movement called the Second Great Awakening. This evangelical movement shaped the religious belief and brought many new followers. The focus among this major religion was the idea of preaching instead of religious institutions. The common belief was that God could save them from going to hell. African Americans as well as Democratic government took part in the religious beliefs.

With a growing population, the US went through a market revolution, which caused men to strive for the main chance. Men started creating work for themselves and became entrepreneurs. Capital became an extremely important factor and capitalism became a large part of how the society would create money. No longer was the household economy important. Commodities were becoming popular throughout the household to create something that could be bought and sold. In an effort to make an easier work place, entrepreneurs centralized their manufacturing companies for marketing and production. As the market continued to progress, Americans learned to purchase more and capitalism was becoming a common practice.

Economically, colonists were becoming aware that sections were being created to divide the separate regions. The North was separated into two divisions: the Northeast and the Old Northwest. Mills and factories were built in the North to help farmers create a larger economy for themselves. The Northeast had large cities that almost twelve percent of the population lived in. New York one of the most bustling cities had a population of 516,000 by 1850. Capitalists created the capital for factories that in turn would bring money back into the household. The South had most crops, and was most known for its slavery. Southern cities consisted of almost a twelve percent African American population. Southerners owned slaves as a sign of power. People such as Denmark Vasey and Nat Turner both fought for African American rights. Rebellions that always ended in death and angry slaves against their owners.

The election of 1824 brought four new candidates to the race for presidency. Son of John and Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams had a grand support system because of the Monroe doctrine that he created. John J Calhoun worked with Adams and would soon drop out of the race to become vice president with Adams. Henry Clay had a large vote from the southern states because of his support of slavery.  In the end, he became the most hated candidate because of his view of African Americans. Andrew Jackson held a super close race against Adams, with the support from the common people. With the close tie between Adams and Jackson, two new parties were created. Adams followers began calling themselves National republicans, where as Jacksonian Democrats were in favor of Jefferson. The second American part system is what we would call now the separation between republicans and democrats. In the end, Jackson prevailed. Part of Jacksons federal power, he forced the Native Americans to walk the Trail of Tears that was a forcing of Native Americans to relocate to reservations for the new Americans to take over the land.

This holds such a huge significance in what we call the United States of America today. Without Jackson and Adams, there would be no separation of government and we would still be ruled under one party.