Nationalism at Center Stage

1807-Robert Fulton installed a steam engine on a boat, & cruised up the Hudson River from New York City to Albany-150 miles in 32 hours

The boat-the Clermont-luxurious, with a wood-paneled dining room & private bedrooms

The Clermont inaugurated the steamboat era-& this method of transportation quickly spread to the Ohio & Mississippi Rivers

North & South would be united-US national spirit would be growing

Fulton Gains a State Charter Fulton had received a

charter from New York state, giving him exclusive rights to run steam boats on NY rivers

This gave Fulton a monopoly-(exclusive legal control of a commercial activity)

Fulton’s charter allowed him to charge other steamboat operators for licenses to run on the river

Supreme Court Boosts National Power

Fulton sold a state license to Aaron Ogden, allowing him to run a steamship between New York & New Jersey

Thomas Gibbons began to run a similar service in the same area without a NY license, claiming federal law gave him the right

Whose license-Ogden’s or Gibbon’s-was legally valid?

Ogden sued Gibbon in court to stop him from cutting into his business

Ogden Gibbon

Gibbons vs. Ogden, 1824 The case went all the way to

the US Supreme Court The issue was: Who has the

right to control interstate commerce-the states or the federal government?

Supreme Court ruled only the US govt. could regulate interstate commerce

Ogden’s exclusive right granted by New York was invalid, since the route connected 2 states

The Impact of Gibbons Vs. Ogden

The Supreme Court’s decision boosted the power of the federal government

After Gibbons vs. Ogden, anything that crosses state lines is subject to federal jurisdiction

Today, that authority means the feds control everything from air traffic to TV & radio to cell phones

The ruling also led to future court decisions favoring competition over monopolies

The Federal Govt. Higher Than States Supreme Court Chief Justice John

Marshall guided another ruling in 1819

Maryland put a heavy tax on the local Branch of the Bank of the US, hoping to make it fail

Bank Manager James McCullough refused to pay

In McCullough vs. Maryland, Marshall declared that if this were allowed, states would in effect be overturning laws passed by Congress

“The power to tax is the power to destroy” he said, denying Maryland the power to tax a federal institution

Baltimore Branch Office of the Bank of the US, managed by James McCullough

Limiting State Powers The Marshall Court also made

several rulings blocking state interference in business & overturning state laws

1810-Fletcher vs. Peck-The Court nullified a Georgia law that had violated individuals’ constitutional right to enter into contracts

1819-Dartmouth vs. Woodward- New Hampshire could not revise the original charter granted to Dartmouth College in colonial times

Nationalism Shapes Foreign Policy Nationalism-the belief that

national interests should be placed ahead of regional or state concerns, or the interests of other countries

Thus nationalism and sectionalism are opposed

One leading nationalist during the “Era of Good Feelings” was Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, son of 2nd president John Adams

Adams used nationalism to guide US foreign policy

Territory and Boundaries Working under President

Monroe, Adams made national security & expansion his priorities

Adams reached a treaty with Britain to reduce the Great Lakes fleets of both countries

1817-The Rush-Bagot treaty led US & Canada to completely demilitarize their border, which was set at the 49th parallel

Britain & the US would jointly occupy the Oregon Territory for 10 years

Getting Florida Most Americans assumed

that Spanish Florida would eventually become part of the US

1819-Spain was too weak to police its New World colonies

Mexico and most of Latin America would soon throw out the Spanish

In that year, Spain ceded Florida to the US, and gave up its claims to the Oregon Territory

Europeans Want Their Empires Back After Spain & Portugal defeated

Napoleon in 1815, both tried to reassert control over their American colonies

Meanwhile, Russia had been creating settlements from Alaska down to California

The US realized it needed to do something

Many Americans wanted to acquire northern Mexico & Cuba

Moreover, the Russian presence in California threatened the hugely profitable US trade with China

The Monroe Doctrine 1823-In his annual message to

Congress, Pres. Monroe warned all outside powers not to reestablish their colonies in the Americas

The US, Monroe said, would consider any attempt to overthrow the newly-emerging independent republics an act of war

The US would move to protect those countries

If Europe stayed out of the Americas, the US promised to stay out of European affairs

Nationalism Pushes Expansion West During the

administrations of Monroe & John Q. Adams, American settlers flooded into the old Northwest Territory

They felled forests, turned lush prairies into farms, & waterfronts into city centers

Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, & Michigan became states

Why Go West?

Some settlers went west to escape debts or trouble with the law

Most pushed west in search of economic gain-land was cheap, fertile, & plentiful

One could easily change jobs on the frontier

Example: Jim Beckwourth

Jim Beckwourth, son of a white man & African-American woman, started west with a fur-trading expedition in 1823

He lived among the Crow tribe, then became mountain man and an army scout

1850-He settled in California to become a rancher, but had other occupations before his death in 1867

Missouri Wants In When a territory reached

60,000 population, it could apply for admission to the Union, draft a state constitution, & elect representatives

1819-Missouri requested admission to the US, but this caused trouble

Nationalism was being challenged by an issue that confronted the framers of the Constitution---slavery

The Balance is Upset 1818-The US consisted of

10 free states, 10 slave states-Both sides were equal in the Senate with 20 senators each

That year, Illinois became the 11th free state

Southerners expected that Missouri would become the 11th slave state, thus keeping the balance between the 2 sections of the US

The Trouble With Missouri

In the House, the more populous northern states had an advantage A bill passed the House that would require Missouri to gradually free

its slaves if it wanted to become a state Southerners in the Senate saw this as a threat to their power, &

blocked its passage Meanwhile, Congress admitted Alabama to the Union as a slave state-

now it was 11 to 11

Missouri Threatens National Unity

Now Missouri’s status-slave or free-became crucial to the delicate balance between the North and South

Slaveholding states complained Northerners were trying to end slavery

Northerners accused Southerners of plotting to extend slavery to new territories

Both sides mentioned civil war and an end to the Union if their side did not get Missouri

The Missouri Compromise

Henry Clay of Kentucky came up with a solution to satisfy both sides

Maine was shaved off from Massachusetts to become a free state

Missouri would be admitted as a slave state, thus preserving the sectional balance in the Senate

Problem Solved (For Now) Clay drew a line

extending the bottom border of Missouri to the Pacific

Below that line, slavery was legal, but above it slavery was illegal (Missouri excepted)

For a generation, the problem of slavery in federal territories seemed settled

Influence of Nationalism

Nation’s Courts Foreign Affairs Westward Expansion

Gibbons vs. Ogden, 1824-allowed Fed. Govt.

to regulate interstate commerce

McCullough vs.

Maryland, 1819-states can’t tax federal

government

US & Canada demilitarize their

border with Rush-Bagot Treaty

Spain surrenders Florida with Adams-Onis Treaty

Monroe Doctrine

protects American republics from

Europeans

Land cheap, abundant, and fertile

US territories expand, with new states being

admitted

Balance in the Senate between sections

maintained by Missouri Compromise

Influence of Nationalism

Nation’s Courts Foreign Affairs Westward Expansion