Growth of a New Nation

Growth of a New Nation

SS8H5 The Student will explain significant factors that affected the development of Georgia as part of the growth of the US

between 1789 and 1840. (a, b, c, d )

Map of the United States : exhibiting the post-roads, the situations, connections & distances of the post-offices, stage roads, counties & principal rivers / by Abraham Bradley Jun'r

CREATED/PUBLISHED[5th ed.]Philadelphia : Made and sold by Caldcleugh and Thomas, [1804]

The U. S. ExpandsAs a new country we begin to establish ourselves in the world.

Following the American Revolution the United States begins to expand, there was a thirst for land and for the independence it brought to its owners. Farming was the country’s main occupation and source income.

Louisiana Purchase of 1803

Thomas Jefferson negotiated the purchase from France that doubled the size of the United States for just $15,000,000

• Even though he knew that there was no executive authority in the Constitution to purchase the territory, he feared Spain and France had the power to block American trade access to the port of New Orleans.• Then, in 1804 he sent an expedition

(Corps of Discovery) into this unknown territory to find a “Northwest Passage”.

Corps of Discovery 1804-1806• Lewis and Clark explore the newly acquired

land for a water route through the continent. They returned

with numerous plant and animal specimens, as well as vast amounts of information about the terrain and people.

Age of Expansion and Economic Growth

• Even though the Revolution left the U.S. in financial ruin and few people had any money to pay taxes, there were many new inventions that soon brought prosperity.– mechanized farming tools, steamboats, and

railroad engines– advances in industry, business, and commerce

Steam engines power many new inventions

Canal boat being towed by a mule.

Early steamboat

Advances in transportation create business opportunities. The movement of goods andpeople is made easier and consequently causes economic growth.

Economic impact of new inventions

• Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin

Date Created/Published: 1869 Dec. 18.

•Increased the speed at which the seeds could be removed from the cotton.•Cotton now becomes a profitable cash crop.•Increased the demand for labor to tend the new fields of cotton that were now being planted.

Time saving and labor saving= economic gains

Cyrus McCormick’s Grain Reaper

Land Fever in Georgia

Land policies

• Georgia tries to attract new settlers• Georgia uses different systems to give land away– Headright system was the first method used and gave the

land to the white male “head’ of the family which had the “right” to receive up to 1,000 acres (lands east of the Oconee River)

– Land lotteries began around 1803 when any white male at least 21 years of age could buy a chance to spin the lottery wheel for a designated land lot (lands west of the Oconee River)

Yazoo Land Fraud of 1795

• One of the worst political scandals in GA history

• When GA borders still went west to the Mississippi River

• Native tribes such as the Creek and Cherokee still lived there

Yazoo River located in the present day state of Mississippi

• Land speculators tried to make profits from the sale of this land

• First needed to own it in order to sell it for profit• Bribed the governor and legislators to pass the

Yazoo Act which sold this land (35 million acres) to four main speculation companies for merely $.02 an acre

(See map on slide 14)

Yazoo Fraud discovered• New settlers bought this land• Citizens of Georgia discover the bribery (fraud) and replace

all the legislators the following year in the next election• Newly elected General Assembly repeals the Act which now

causes confusion on ownership of the land• Laws suits are filed by those who bought the land and did

not want to give up their claims• This went all the way to the Supreme Court which settled by

paying off all the claims• Georgia’s new border now becomes the Chattahoochee

River, Georgia ceded the disputed land to the federal government in exchange for $1,250,000

War of 1812

What are some major events leading to The War of 1812?

US shipping was being harassed, and cargo was seized.

Britain required licenses for ships bound for EuropeFrance confiscated cargo from licensed ships

Impressment of American sailors Many British sailors became naturalized US citizens and deserted British vessels and joined American crews.British Navy kidnapped these sailors off American ships and had them rejoin the British Navy

What were some drawbacks to going to war?

Not everyone in the U.S. wanted to go to warMilitary was small

Standing army was smallMilitia comprised most of our forces, and they did not like to fight outside of their state bordersNavy was quite small- only 22 ships

Britain was a great superpower and could crush us like a bug; we could lose territory that was gained in the Treaty of Paris or the Louisiana Purchase

Problems during the WarBritain blockades the Eastern Seaboard

This prevented shipping from leaving, and made the war more unpopular in the Northeast

In August 1814, British forces sailed into Chesapeake Bay and captured Washington D.C., they burned the White House and the Capitol, Madison and Congress barely escaped

Oh Say Can You See…Unlike D.C., Baltimore was ready for the BritishThe City militia inflicted heavy casualties on the BritishAfter bombarding Fort McHenry on September 13, 1814, the British abandoned the attackFrancis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment and penned a poem which becomes the National Anthem.

If The War of 1812 ended in a tie, why was it important?

Gave the United States a National identityWe were able to hold our own against the BritishStarted us thinking about continuing westward expansionEnded bad feelings toward the British

Creates a hero in Andrew Jackson and the Western frontiersmen

Review:Following the American Revolution the U.S. experiences some financial issues but soon becomes very prosperous due to new inventionsThe size of the country doubles with the Louisiana PurchaseYazoo Land Fraud rocks Georgia’s governmentWar of 1812- causes and outcome