US History

2/28/12international politics & revolutions

territorial expansion

announcements

• syllabus handout – note 2 required papers.

• need volunteer to copy readings.

Independence doesn’t mean the rest of the Atlantic world is irrelevant.

French Revolution, 1789 - 1799

• Liberte, egalite, fraternite!• Abolished slavery in colonies.

Haitian revolution, 1791 - 1804

• 1st independent Black republic in the Americas

Napoleonic wars

• 1799, coup d’etat by Napoleon. Became head of French state, eventually called Emperor.

• 1799 – 1815, Napoleon attempted to conquer Europe. All major European powers at war.

• installed his brother on Spanish throne.• Napoleon defeated, 1815, & French monarchy returned.

Latin American independence, 1806 - 1825

• Europe diverted by Napoleonic wars. • Simon Bolivar, Great Liberator, Venezuelan (1783 – 1830).• led Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, & Bolivia to independence.• Bolivar regarded as the father of all • Latin American independence movements. • Spain loses all American colonies by 1825, except Caribbean. • Latin American countries abolish slavery.

Spain established outpost in Alta California

• 21 missions constructed, 1769 – 1823, San Diego to Sonoma, each a day’s journey apart.

• Forced conversion & enslavement of Indians.

• Avila Adobe, Olvera Street, Los Angeles (1818)

Russia colonization

• Russian forts in Alaska & as far south as Fort Ross, California, 1812 - 1842.

• Fort Ross in Spanish territory.

Mexican independence

• War, 1810 – 1821, ended in independence from Spain.

• population consisted of indios, descendants of Spaniards, and mestizos (mixed).

• -- call for land reform.• -- call for racial equality.• -- 1823, became a republic

after 300 years of Spanish rule -- abolished slavery.

1st contact, US & Ottoman Empire

Barbary Wars in Mediterranean

• Merchant ships in Mediterranean attacked by Barbary pirates, Arabic-speaking North Africans from Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli.

• ships were plundered, men held for ransom or enslaved.

• Long-term practice with European ships.

Barbary pirates & need for US navy

• Independence meant British navy no longer protected American merchant ships.– no possibility of creation of a navy under Articles

of Confederation. – after Constitution created, major debate over

building a navy.• “tribute” commonly paid for protection. • debate over paying tribute or going to war.• multiple wars with Barbary pirates early 19th c.

meanwhile, back in the USA….

• Americans rapidly settle across Appalachian mountains.

• Negotiation, not conquest, brought Transappalachia into US after Revolution.

• US wants to control use of Mississippi River.

• Jefferson believes in “enlarging the empire for liberty.”

Appalachian farms

constant & dramatic population increase

• no famines in North America, plentiful farmland.

• no plagues – except diseases to which Indians had no immunities.

• high rate of reproduction, especially in frontier areas.

• all caused more pressure for more land.

Louisiana Purchase, 1803

• Having successfully become independent, US leaders wanted to expand & to protect US against European powers: France, Spain, Britain. Also wanted access to Mississippi River.

• Diplomats empowered to buy New Orleans from France, for $2 million.

• Napoleon decided to sell it all, for $15 million. (Total income of federal government was $11 million, 1803).

• more than doubled the size of US. • Constitutional? • Unclear whether France had rights from Spain, & Napoleon

consulted no one.

Louisiana Purchase -- note river & Rocky Mountain boundaries

Lewis & Clark expedition, 1804 - 1806

• sent by Pres. Jefferson to explore Louisiana Territory, find land route to Pacific Ocean, & declare sovereignty over Natives along Missouri River.

permanent capitol: Washington, DC

• compromise on location: locate the capitol in south & southern states would help pay war debts of northern states.

• site selected on Potomac River between Maryland & Virginia (both slave states).

• a separate legal entity, District of Columbia.• always had significant African American population. • city plan designed by Pierre l’Enfant, 1791.• 1800 – government moves to DC.

Washington, DC: a planned city

• National Mall• Congress• White House• Supreme Court

announcements

• syllabus handout – note 2 required papers.

• need volunteer to copy readings.

• reading for March 6, 2012: 105 – 107, 110 – 114 in Out of Many: Documents.– Lewis & Clark meet Shoshones.– Henry Clay calls for war– President Madison’s war message