Peoples in Motion

1
Peoples in Motion

• 1832-1848
• (Chapter 12)

2
Background

• In 1830s and 1840s, many people migrated into
  the U.S.
• They came from Scandinavia, Ireland, Germany,
  England and Scotland
• They came to escape from poverty and/or religious
  persecution, and to get a better life
• Where they settled depended upon which country
  they came from
• Some were dirt poor and could not move westward,
  and settled in urban areas along eastern seaboard
• Others bought farmland in the Midwest and
  established themselves

3
Background

• Many depended on fellow countrymen to land jobs
  and get settled in their new life and country
• Mutual Aid Societies set up to assist new
  immigrants
• People generally willing to pick up and move, if
  the move guaranteed them a better economic life
  or religious freedom
• U.S. became home of people in motion

4
Mass Migrations

• People immigrated in large numbers into the U.S.
• People also moved around the country, quite
  frequently
• People moved to get better wages, or a better
  job, or for cheaper rent
• Some people were moved forcibly, such as slaves
  who worked in the plantations, or Indians who had
  to move west to accommodate the white mans
  needs

5
European Immigrants Irish

• Life in Ireland was miserable
• Reason for immigration Growing population,
  smaller plots of land for cultivation, cruel
  English laws which hurt Irelands economy, potato
  famine, death due to starvation
• 1820s 50,000 Irish immigrants
• 1830s 200,000 Irish immigrants
• 1850s More than a million

6
Irish Immigrants

• Irish immigrants lived in big cities like New
  York, Philadelphia or Boston
• Received assistance from previous immigrants in
  settling down into new life
• Most had no money to move westward
• Life not much different in the U.S.
• Most were Roman Catholic, and were resented by
  U.S. born Protestants, who feared competition for
  jobs due to their large numbers
• Many got menial jobs since Protestant employers
  were discriminatory

7
Germans

• 1831-1850 Over 1/2 a million Germans arrived in
  America
• Rebellion in Prussia in 1848 fueled German
  immigration
• Revolutions against the Austrian Empire sent
  Italians, Czechs, and Hungarians to the U.S.
• Germans settled mainly in the Midwest
• Many came to U.S. with some money to be able to
  buy land for farming, or to set up a business
• Farmers, merchants

8
The Slave Trade

• Boom in slave trade during 19th century
• Slaves were bought and sold between the upper and
  lower South
• Prices of slaves went up
• Sale of slave children rose, and broke up many
  slave families, who never saw their family
  members again
• Free blacks migrated out of slave states to the
  north
• Enslaved blacks ran away to the north as well
• Many found supportive black communities, but also
  found competition with white menial workers
  (Irish)

9
Map of the Cotton Belt
10
Trails of Tears (Indians)

• Many Indian tribes forced to migrate
• Jackson claimed their move would be beneficial
  for the Indians, but in reality, it only
  benefited the white population
• Many signed treaties, others threatened with
  violence to make the move westward
• 1832 Treaty of Paynes Landing Forced Seminoles
  out of Florida and to Indian Territory in present
  day Oklahoma
• 1835 Osceola fights the Second Seminole War,
  resulted in more Seminoles to move west and loss
  of life and large war expense

11
Trails of Tears (Indians)

• Creeks, Choctaws and Chickasaws also forced to
  move
• Cherokee Indians divided amongst themselves on
  this issue
• Some feel the move had to be embraced, while
  others felt it had to be fought
• Treaty Party leaders were Cherokee leaders who
  urged to Indians to peacefully move west and
  settle in Indian territory
• John Ross opposed the move westward, and urged
  the people to stay at all cost
• U.S. government imprisoned Ross to silence him

12
Trails of Tears (Indians)

• Signed treaty with Treaty Party where the
  Cherokee land would be sold to the U.S. for only
  5 Million
• Treaty Party members later assassinated by
  Cherokee assassins
• 1838 Trail of Tears
• U.S. troops rounded up Indians into concentration
  camps before marching them west
• Thousands died of starvation, cold, and disease
  during the forced march
• Many separated from family members
• Many Cherokee belongings stolen or broken by U.S.
  troops

13
Indian Removal
14
Life of Migrants in the West

• Life not easy for people who moved west
• Mormons looked down upon by Protestants and not
  accepted into society due to belief in polygamy
• Many Mormons living in Illinois decide to migrate
  West to escape religious persecution
• Settled in present-day Utah (Salt Lake City)
• Community prospered and became an agricultural
  community, due to disciplined church life and
  successful irrigation system
• 1834 Protestant missionaries settle near modern
  day Walla-Walla, Washington, but meet hostile
  resistance from Indians

15
Life of Migrants in the West

• The Great Migration of 1843
• U.S. Government commissioned survey of the Oregon
  Trail to help settlers
• Expedition led by John Fremont gave migrants
  valuable information on climate, availability of
  pasture land and water, as well as length of
  journey and environment
• Oregon settlement not very strong
• Indians resentful of white presence
• Measles epidemic brought in by new settlers
  killed many Indians

16
New Places, New Identities

• Mish-mash of different people and races in the
  Midwest and the land between U.S. and Spanish
  territories
• New identities to traditional groups
• Outside of the South, black became white (for
  example, the Gilliams experience, see textbook
  pg. 291)
• Gave blacks an opportunity to move up in life

17
New Places, New Identities

• Tejanos in Texas Spanish-speaking with North
  American culture
• Catholics intermingled with Protestants
• Fur traders easily crossed between
• Spanish, French, Native American
• communities
• Métis children from white men and Indian women

18
Political Scene

• Diverse population as well as diverse regional
  economies in U.S.
• Differences in basic beliefs and principles
• Increased tensions between different regions due
  to this diversity
• Politically, Second Party System in place
• First Party System Federalists v.
  Anti-Federalists
• Federalists slowly faded away, Anti-Federalists
  evolved in Democratic Republicans
• Second Party System Dem. Republicans v. Whigs
• 2 groups existed Jacksonian Democrats and Whigs
• Democrats were pro-Jackson while Whigs were
  anti-Jackson
• Issue of slavery was one very important bone of
  contention between the 2 groups

19
Election of 1836

• 1836 Presidential elections
• Jackson opts not to run for 3rd term
• Martin Van Buren (Democrat) is nominated to run
• Anti-Jackson faction nominated 3 Whig candidates,
  to run in opposition to Van Buren
• Disorganization in the Whip party cost them the
  election and Van Buren became President

20
Panic of 1837

• Trade Unions became popular during this time
• Unions insisted on getting better benefits for
  journeymen (skilled workers) such as shorter work
  day, removal of debtors prisons, higher wages,
  hard money v. bank notes for workers etc.
• 1834 National Trades Union set up
• 1837 Economic Depression and Panic started by
  speculation, crop failures and recalled British
  loans
• Depression greatly hurt the National Trades Union
  and many people lost jobs and businesses
• Depression lasted until early 1840s

21
Slavery Issue

• 1830-1840s A rise in abolitionist feelings
• 1831 Garrison launched The Liberator
• 1833 American Anti-Slavery Society formed by a
  group of whites and blacks
• 1833 Slavery abolished in British West Indies
  and this encouraged anti-slavery sentiment in
  America
• Abolitionists believed slavery was immoral and
  dehumanizing, and the government had to take
  immediate action to remove slavery from American
  society

22
Slavery Issue

• Abolitionists supported by a small group of
  whites as well as free blacks, from the North
• White women also empathized with the black
  struggle, and many were out-spoken about their
  feelings
• White men were resentful to both free people of
  color as well as women for their pro-abolitionist
  actions
• They looked upon both groups as inferior to them,
  unintelligent and hence fit only for domestic
  work

23
Slavery Issue

• Abolitionist activity opposed by southern slave
  owners, as well as northern white
  anti-abolitionists
• Whites feared that freed blacks would take their
  jobs
• 1834 New Haven, CT school for young women of
  color attacked
• 1835 William Lloyd Garrison (The Liberator) was
  attacked by another white mob
• 1837 Elijah Lovejoy (abolitionist), publisher of
  Alton Observer murdered by whites in Alton,
  Illinois
• 1841 La Amistad case fought and won, by John
  Quincy Adams in the Supreme Court for the
  Africans and abolitionists
• 35 out of 53 African captives aboard the
  Amistad were returned to Africa

24
Election of 1840

• Anti-abolitionist activity had no impact on
  political parties
• Election of 1840 William Henry Harrison (Whig)
  and Van Buren (Democrat) nominated as candidates
• Harrison won election, but died within a month of
  becoming President
• Vice President, John Tyler became successor, but
  did not uphold and support many Whig principles

25
Nativists and their Influence

• Nativists were those that had been born in
  America and they opposed first generation
  immigrants and immigration into America
• Immigrants in 19th century were from different
  countries and had come for different reasons
• Some were farmers while others worked as factory
  workers
• Many also advocated temperance
• Against immigration for many reasons
• that immigrants would steal jobs, or work for
  lower wages
• Catholicism
• Drinking habits of immigrants (Irish)

26
Nativists and their Influence

• 1844 Telegraph machine invented by Samuel Morse
  who was an active nativist
• Telegraph machine used to communicate nativist
  sentiment between people as well states
• Morse opposed to Catholic (Irish) immigrants and
  felt they were a threat to American Democracy
• Wrote a book called Imminent Dangers to the Free
  Institutions of the United States in which he
  lashed out against Catholics
• 1844 American Republican Party (nativist group)
  elected members to the Congress, as well as other
  offices
• 1847 Nativists founded the Order of the
  Star-Spangled Banner (Know-Nothing Party)
• Generally up-help anti-Catholic sentiment

27
Efforts to Reform Society

• Rapid pace of social and technological growth in
  America in the mid- 1800s
• Efforts made by numerous groups to reform society
• Targeted at status of women, public institutions
  such as churches and schools, slavery, as well as
  personal habits and beliefs of people of the time

28
Public Education

• Growing nation with migrant population needed
  good public education system
• Schools had to teach children more than just
  basic literacy requirements
• Horace Mann important educational reformer of
  the time
• 1837 Mann became Secretary of 1st State Board of
  Education
• Stressed idea of common school system which
  made education available to boys and girls
  regardless of their ethnicity or social
  background
• Schooling was not just meeting basic literacy
  requirements, but also learning values such as
  punctuality, sobriety, and hard work
• By 1840, many public schools had opened and had
  many white children in attendance, with women
  taking on role of teachers

29
Public Education

• Women used as teachers because they were natural
  nurturers for young children, and more
  importantly, they were paid wages that were much
  lesser than what a white man would have been paid
  for the same job
• In spite of the wage discrepancy, many women
  became teachers willing to move away from their
  home towns, to work
• Many colleges and private academies opened to
  feed demand for education
• States passed new requirements to be licensed to
  become a doctor women were denied this and
  continued to be un-licensed, self-taught
  mid-wives
• Manns principle not wholly realized
• Slave children were forbidden by law to learn to
  read and write free black children were needed
  in white households as child labor, which
  resulted in lower school attendance
• Poor whites did not benefit as the wealthy did

30
Communitarians

• Different reformers suggested different ideas for
  social reform (ex Graham)
• Experimental communities in existence where the
  entire community was responsible for bringing up
  a child, not just his/her parents
• Communitarians aimed at advancing the whole
  community, not just individuals
• Set up as Utopian (ideal) communities, as
  examples to other communities
• 1825 Robert Owen set up New Harmony in Indiana
  (condemnation of private property, organized
  religion, and marriage)
• 1848 John Humphrey Noyes set up Oneida
  Community, which encouraged complex marriages

31
Women

• Womens rights advocates and temperance had
  direct correlation
• Dorothea Dix womens rights advocate, teacher
  and writer
• Dix fought for better treatment and facilities
  for mentally ill women
• Eventually became very popular for her work in
  many states
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton famous abolitionist who
  fought for freedom of slaves and abolition of
  slavery
• Stanton worked with other famous womens rights
  activists such as Lucretia Mott, and Susan B.
  Anthony, and they paved the way for a womens
  rights convention at Seneca Falls, New York

32
Women

• Some advances in condition of women and how they
  were treated
• 1839 Married Womens Property Law in
  Mississippi aimed mainly at rich daughters of
  planters, and their inheritance
• 1848 New York Pennsylvania passed legislation
  giving women control of property that women
  brought with through marriage
• Transcendentalism made famous by Margaret Fuller
  who was influenced in her thoughts and actions by
  Thoreau and Emerson
• Transcendentalism was a philosophy that
  encouraged people to celebrate nature, the
  spirit, and the arts

33
Manifest Destiny

• Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United
  States was destined to extend its boundaries from
  the Atlantic coast to the Pacific Coast
• Supporters of the idea of Manifest Destiny
  believed that it was not only great for the
  nation, but also obvious and certain that this
  would happen
• In the mid-1800s, efforts were made to expand
  the nations borders, especially in the southwest

34
Texas

• 1830s Mexico closed Texas border to U.S.
  immigration
• 1835 1 out of every 8 people in Texas was a
  Tejano the rest were U.S. born
• 1836 Texians armed (pre-Texas Rangers) and ready
  for independence from Mexico
• Texians wanted independence so they could have
  their own nation, to do as they pleased
• February 1836 The Alamo. Santa Anna and Mexican
  troops killed 187 Alamo defenders including
  Crockett
• April 1936 Santa Anna was defeated by Sam
  Houston at San Jacinto River
• A new nation, Republic of Texas (Lone Star
  Republic) was born Sam Houston became 1st
  president in 1837
• Texas constitution legalized slavery and
  prohibited free blacks from living in Texas, in
  contrast to Mexico, which had abolished slavery
  in 1829
• U.S. abolitionists very uncomfortable with this
  situation

35
Election of 1844

• Two main debates during election whether or not
  U.S. should annex Texas and Oregon
• Democrats nominated James Polk (pro-annexation)
  for presidential candidate
• Whigs nominated Henry Clay who was
  anti-annexation (but later changed his mind)
• Growing controversy over issue of slavery, but
  both parties ignored subject all together
• Liberty party consisted of abolitionists under
  James Birney, but got no electoral votes
• Polk won election
• 1846 Polk arrived at compromise with Britain
  over Oregon issue and 49th parallel became new
  U.S.-Canadian border

36
War with Mexico

• After compromise over Oregon was reached, U.S.
  attention was diverted to southern and western
  borders of the nation
• Texians wished to join the Union and President
  Tyler invited them to join as the 28th state
• Dec., 1845 Texas statehood confirmed by Congress
• Boundary dispute between Mexico and U.S.
• Polk sent John Slidell as an envoy to oversee
  purchase of California and disputed parts of
  Texas from Mexico, but deal fell through
• Polk was determined to obtain this territory for
  the U.S., either through negotiation or through
  force
• Jan., 1846 Conflict broke out when Gen. Zachary
  Taylor provoked Mexico, by crossing the disputed
  border between Mexico and Texas
• Taylor was forced to retreat after a few American
  soldiers lost their lives

37
U.S. Mexican War
38
War with Mexico

• Polk used this bloodshed on American soil as an
  excuse to declare war on Mexico
• Many nativists, abolitionists and
  transcendentalists opposed the war
• Polk was looked upon as an aggressor looking for
  an excuse to grab land for the U.S.
• Polks campaign was 3-pronged
• Gen. Zachary Taylor was sent to northern Mexico
• Gen. Stephen Kearny was sent to New Mexico and
  then to California
• Gen.-in-Chief Winfield Scott landed in Vera Cruz
  via water
• Scotts troops brought Mexicans to their knees by
  committing atrocities such as murder, robbery and
  rape
• Sept., 1847 War ended when Mexico City
  surrendered

39
War with Mexico

• Un-equal match between the 2 countries
• U.S. military strength far superior to that of
  Mexico
• Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was signed between
  the 2 countries by which Mexico gave up all
  claims to Texas, and also gave to the U.S., all
  Mexican territory west of Texas border (New
  Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California)
• Residents of the area were given 1 year to decide
  whether to stay and become citizens or move to
  Mexico
• In exchange for the land, U.S. paid Mexico,
• 18, 250,000

40
Conclusion

• Immigration increased diversity of American
  population in the 1830s and 1840s
• Nativists, transcendentalists, abolitionists, and
  womens rights advocates grew in numbers as well
  as importance
• U.S. boundaries pushed farther west after war
  with Mexico
• Manifest Destiny was achieved
• Boundaries of the U.S. now stretched from the
  Atlantic coast in the east, to the Pacific coast
  in the west