APUSH unit 4

• The time period covered in Unit 4 of the AP US History curriculum is 1800 to 1848
• Main themes of Unit 4

  • The expanding role of the United States in world affairs
  • The transformation of the society and economy in the early years of the republic
  • How Americans came to terms with the growing democratic impulses
• The election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800


  Fierce debates between the Democratic Republicans and the Federalists continued
• Debates about American relations with foreign powers

  Debates about the scope of federal power
• Barbary Pirates


  A group that the US government had paid tribute to in exchange for protection of American merchant ships
• Jefferson's policy towards the Barbary Pirates

  1. Ordered payments to cease

  2. US Navy retaliated

  3. Negotiated reduced payment
• Strict constructionist


  Belief that the federal government could only do what was explicitly written in the Constitution
• Loose constructionist


  Belief that the federal government had more flexibility with the written Constitution and could do more than what was explicitly written
• The Louisiana Purchase


  1. Jefferson sent James Monroe to France to secure navigation rights on the Mississippi River

  2. Napoleon offered to sell all of Louisiana for $15 million

  3. Jefferson justified the purchase despite it violating strict constructionist principles
• Consequences of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

  • More accurate mapping of the territory
  • Greater geographic and scientific knowledge
  • Further diplomatic relations with Indians
• Judicial review


  The Supreme Court's power to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional
• McCulloch v. Maryland


  Federal law trumps state law
• Causes of the War of 1812


  • Seizure of American merchant ships by France and Britain
  • British stirring up Indian resistance to westward expansion
  • British impressment of American sailors
• Support or resistance to the War of 1812


  Fell along party lines, with Democratic Republicans in favor and Federalists opposed
• Consequences of the War of 1812

  • Intense nationalism in America
  • Demise of the Federalist party
  • Exposed weaknesses in the US, leading to the American System
• The American System


  1. Federally funded internal improvements

  2. Protective tariffs

  3. Second Bank of the United States
• Missouri applying for statehood

  Threatened to break up the balance between free and slave states in the Senate
• The Missouri Compromise


  1. Missouri admitted as a slave state, Maine admitted as a free state

  2. Established the 36°30' line as the boundary between slave and free territory
• James Monroe's goals as president were to firm up US boundaries and gain more territory
• John Quincy Adams negotiated treaties that established the US-Canadian border at the 49th parallel and settled other territorial claims
• Missouri Compromise


  Brought in Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, with the 36°30' line separating slave and free territory
• The major goals for America during this period were to firm up our boundaries and to gain more territory
• Treaties establishing US borders

  John Quincy Adams negotiated treaties establishing the US-Canada border at the 49th parallel and joint US-British occupation of the Oregon territory
• Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819


  Spain sold Florida to the US and established the southern border of the US
• Monroe Doctrine


  Established the Western Hemisphere as a US sphere of influence, free from European influence
• Market Revolution


  Linking of northern industries with western and southern farms, driven by advances in agriculture, industry, communication, and transportation
• Interchangeable parts


  • Allowed mass production of products like muskets by assembling standardized parts
• Steamboats


  Transformed trade by allowing navigation upstream and downstream
• Transportation advancements


  • Erie Canal
  • Railroads
• American industry became more interconnected and interdependent, promoting the growth of western agriculture
• 2 million immigrants arrived in the US from 1820-1840, mainly from Germany and Ireland, settling on the eastern seaboard and providing cheap labor
• Cult of Domesticity


  Societal norm that a woman's identity and purpose revolved around childbearing and making the home a haven for her husband
• Only property-owning white males could vote during this time
• Panic of 1819


  First major recession in US history, resulting from irresponsible banking practices and decreased demand for exported goods
• The Panic of 1819 led to laboring men demanding the right to vote to hold politicians accountable
• Democratic-Republican Party split


  National Republicans favoured a more expansive federal power, while Democrats favoured a restrictive federal power
• 1824 presidential candidates


  • Andrew Jackson (Democrat)
  • John Quincy Adams (National Republican)
  • Henry Clay (National Republican)
• Jackson won the popular vote in 1824


  But the House of Representatives chose Adams as president, leading to accusations of a "corrupt bargain"
• Tariff of 1828


  Raised import duties up to 50%, benefiting northern manufacturers and western farmers but harming southern states
• Doctrine of Nullification


  South Carolina's claim that states could determine the constitutionality of federal laws and nullify them