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 marked the end of the previous unit
• There were fierce debates between the Democratic Republicans and the Federalists


  On American relations with foreign powers and the scope of federal power
• Barbary Pirates


  A group that the US had troublesome relations with during this period
• Jefferson's policy towards the Barbary Pirates


  Ceased payments, Barbary Pirates attacked US merchant ships, Jefferson sent the US navy to retaliate, Negotiated reduced payment
• Strict constructionist


  (Democratic Republicans) Believed the federal government could only do what was explicitly written in the Constitution
• Loose constructionist


  (Federalists) Believed the federal government had more flexibility with the Constitution and could do more than what was explicitly written
• The Louisiana Purchase


  Jefferson saw an opportunity to gain navigation rights on the Mississippi River, Sent James Monroe to France, Napoleon offered to sell all of Louisiana for $15 million, Jefferson justified the purchase despite it violating strict constructionist principles
• The Louisiana Purchase led to the exploration of the new territory by Lewis and Clark and Zebulon Pike
• Judicial review


  The Supreme Court's power to determine the constitutionality of laws, established in Marbury v. Madison
• McCulloch v. Maryland established that federal law trumps state law
• The War of 1812 was caused by issues like the seizure of American merchant ships, British stirring up Indian resistance, and the practice of impressment
• APUSH Period 4 (1802-1848)


  • Federal-state government relationship continues to evolve
  • Rapid economic, territorial, and demographic changes in US
  • Sectionalism increases
  • Extension and struggle to define democratic ideals
  • Various reform movements seek to change American society
• Consequences of the War of 1812


  • Intense nationalism in America
  • Demise of the Federalist party
  • Exposed weaknesses like lack of a national bank and infrastructure
• US territory more than doubles in size during this period
• American System


  Henry Clay's economic prescription comprising federally funded internal improvements, protective tariffs, and a second Bank of the United States
• US attempts to increase foreign trade, expand borders, and isolate from foreign affairs after War of 1812
• Population changes


  • Population density shifts from Atlantic seaboard to westward expansion
  • Population growth from natural increase and immigration (Irish, German, English)
  • Transportation improvements (canals, roads, railroads) enable western expansion
• The Missouri Compromise of 1820 admitted Missouri as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and established the 36°30' line as the boundary between slave and free territories
• Cotton production increases with Eli Whitney's cotton gin, leading to expansion of slavery westward
• Under President Monroe, the US sought to firm up its boundaries and gain more territory
• Napoleon's plans for French empire in North America are defeated, allowing US expansion
• The US-Canada border was established at the 49th parallel through treaties negotiated by John Quincy Adams
• US gains Florida from Spain through Adams-Onís Treaty in 1819
• Native American land declines significantly from 1783 to 1850 due to various defeats and the Indian Removal Act
• US seeks to expand global presence by focusing on North American continent and promoting foreign trade
• 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
• Key US expansionist actions


  • Louisiana Purchase
  • War against Barbary pirates
  • War of 1812
  • Rush-Bagot Treaty
  • Adams-Onís Treaty
  • Monroe Doctrine
  • Texas independence
  • Mexican-American War
• The major goals for America during this period were to firm up our boundaries and to gain more territory
• Rise of nationalism


  • Cultural nationalism in art, literature, science
  • Economic nationalism through American System
  • Political nationalism with one-party system and "Era of Good Feelings"
• 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
• Transition from Federalist to Democratic-Republican one-party system, leading to disputes over issues like tariffs and slavery
• Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819


  Spain sold Florida to the US and established the southern border of the US
• Age of the common man with expansion of voting rights for white men
• Monroe Doctrine


  Established the Western Hemisphere as a US sphere of influence, free from European influence
• Women's roles restricted, with rise of cult of domesticity, but women also demand equal rights at Seneca Falls
• Market Revolution


  Linking of northern industries with western and southern farms, driven by advances in agriculture, industry, communication, and transportation
• Expansion of slavery westward as cotton production increases
• Impact of new transportation technologies


  • Steamboats allowed upriver and downriver trade
  • Canals like the Erie Canal expanded trade
  • Railroads replaced canals as the primary mode of transportation