Years of Growth

• because the land was becoming scarcer and expensive, people set off for new territories between Appalachians an Mississippi River where Amerindians used to live

• Amerindians were uncivilized – government failed in making treaties with them

• 1830 – law called the “Indian Removal Act” to move them further west to Indian territory beyond the Miss. River – support of President Andrew Jackson (“Old Hickory”)

• although many Indians started to live in European way of life, they were driven away

• 1838 – “The Trial of Tears” – in cold winter thousands of Cherokees were moved west (in 5 months 4 000 of them died)

• new western lands were organized for settlement, divided into “townships” and “sections” and sold at auctions

• land between Appalachians and Miss. River was divided (boundary The Ohio River) – Northwest and Southwest territory

• Northwest territory: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin

• when the number of white males living there reached 5 000, they could elect its own law- making body and send a representative to Congress, when it reached 60 000 – it became a new state

• War of 1812 – British ships blocked American ports and cut off the import of European goods

• US realized it was important to start producing own goods in order of future safety and prosperity of the country

• English mechanic Samuel Slater memorized the construction of cotton spinning machine and brought it to US – with a partner, businessman Moses Brown they built 1^st cotton mill (at Pawtucket, Rhode Island)

West to the Pacific

• beyond the western boundary of US, Miss. R., was Louisiana which belonged to France

• Napoleon needed money for war with Britain – sold it for 15 million dollars to US which doubled their area

• 1804 – 1806 expedition sent by President Thomas Jefferson led by Lewis and Clark showed that the journey to the Pacific coast was possible

• lands beyond Louisiana, Oregon, belonged to Russia, Spain, Britain and US – government persuaded Americans to starts farms in Oregon and outnumber British there

• by ships around the South America (long time, expensive) or on the “Oregon Trail” by land

• “manifest destiny” – US territory should stretch from Atlantic to Pacific

• US took over Oregon and after war with Mexico (1848) the area of Texas, California, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico

North and South

• in the beginning of 19^th century – over 1 million black slaves in the US

• North – against slavery, persuaded Congress to make buying new slaves illegal,

• South – defend slavery, for slaves were working on farms with rice, tobacco and cotton

• “Missouri Compromise” – slavery was banned in lands west from Missouri

• disputes whether new lands such as Oregon should allow slavery

• Congress passed a law – easier for southerners to recapture escaped slaves – a group of “bounty hunters” who hunted slaves for “bounty” reward was created

• northerners were angered, helped them to escape to Canada – “Underground Railroad”

• after Congress cancelled the Missouri Compromise, both groups met in Kansas where fighting and killing began – “Bloody Kansas”

• Supreme court said even free states had no right to forbid slavery – opponents of it formed the Republican Party with Abraham Lincoln and although they lost elections to Douglas (Democrats) they impressed many people, Lincoln was chosen as a candidate in next elections

• South believed North was preparing to use force to end slavery

• Lincoln won the elections – 1860 – South Carolina and 10 more states announced they are an independent nation called Confederacy – the civil war was about to begin