History 141 Online

Victoria Herrera

Ning Site Posting #1

The Americas in the 19th Century

Chinese migrants increased the ethnic diversity of American populations and stimulated economic development in the western hemisphere

In the 18th and 19th centuries almost all the lands of the western hemisphere won independence from European Colonial powers

Ideas from the Declaration of independence changed over time to become more equal to “all men”

The United States doubled in size by purchasing France's Louisiana Territory

The U.S. Army relocated indigenous people of North America, the most important of these was the forced removal of Cherokees from the eastern woodlands

The Americas in the 19th Century

Abolition didn’t bring full equality for blacks in northern states but it did help to distinguish between slave and free states

Abraham Lincoln thought that slavery was immoral

The Emancipation Proclamation had little immediate effect on slaves' status

The victory of the northern states ended slavery in the U.S.

John A. MacDonald became the first prime minister of Canada

Latin America was very interested in Enlightenment values and republican ideals but leaders had little experience with self government

The Little Ice Age

In 1645 glaciers started moving slowly and engulfed farms and crushed entire villages

In parts of Europe and North America temperatures plummeted and harsh weather set in

The Little Ice Age was abundantly documented by human observers

On average the world was 1 to 2 degrees cooler than it is today

Many scientists have different theories about the temperature drop

Some popular ideas as to what caused these bitter years include a decrease in solar activity, an increase in volcanic activity or a change in ocean circulation

Frontiers of the Americas

Jefferson decided to purchase Louisiana because he felt uneasy about France and Spain having the power to block American trade access to the port of New Orleans

The American government used $3 million in gold as a down payment, and issued bonds for the balance

The Haitian Revolution was a period of brutal conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, leading to the elimination of slavery and the establishment of Haiti as the first republic ruled by people of African ancestry

By the 1730's Saint-Domingue together with Jamaica had become the main supplier of the world's sugar

The Haitian Revolution was influential in slave rebellions in the United States and British colonies

Frontiers of the Americas

Prince Alexander traveled around the world and studied different tribes and collected insects and plants from each area

Karl Bodmer was a Swiss painter of the American West. He was hired by Maximilian to record images of the different tribes along the way as they traveled

Bodmer's pieces of art are recognized as the most accurate painted images ever made of Native Americans

A public recognition of valor was extremely important to these men

The honor of men depended on how well they upheld the standards of the groups in which they sought recognition

Even when the law was ineffective, killing to make a point was always defined by the authorities as a crime

Crossroads of Freedom

To “win” the war the South needed only to defend with it already possessed by repelling enemy invasions and wearing out the wall of the Northern people

The soldiers' affection for McClellan became legendary

Robert E. Lee was a great risk-taker

April 6th the confederates attacked, they caught Grant by surprise and drove his army back toward the river

McClellan insisted that Johnston outnumbered his army 2 to 1

Lincoln relieved McClellan of his post as general

The Confederates pulled out of Norfolk thus yielding the most important naval yard in the South to the Yankees

Crossroads of Freedom

Jackson became the most renowned commander in the South and most feared in the North

The Seven Days Battle produced 20,000 Confederate causalities

During the Seven Days Lincoln took several actions to revitalize the Union was effort

Congress passed a militia act that authorized the president to call state militia into federal service for 9 months and to draft them if a state failed to fulfill its quota

Other than events on the battlefield and the worsening cotton famine, the slavery issue influenced European attitudes

Thousands of slaves worked as army laborers, teamsters, cooks, musicians, servants, and in other capacities

Crossroads of Freedom

The Union became embarrassed when they failed to capture Chattanooga. They must develop effective cavalry of their own.

The Union decided to combine the two armies in order to take on Lee's army of 200,000 men

No one was more aware of the army's demoralization than Lincoln

Four of Lincoln's Cabinet members signed a memorandum urging the president to dismiss McClellan

Lincoln decided to keep McClellan and actually put him in charge of the whole army. And it turned out to be a good idea.

Republicans favored a prolongation of the was and Democrats wished to bring it to a termination

Great events awaited the outcome of Lee's decision to cross the Potomac

Crossroads of Freedom

Pope had been outgeneralled, but he hoped to turn this embarrassment into an opportunity to “bag Jackson”

Lee launched the invasion with 55,000 men and ended up making up for his losses at Second Manassas

The hardest fighting outfit was commanded by John Bell Hood

McClellan would take no initiative without “absolute assurance of success”

The Army of Northern Virginia was not utterly beaten as McClellan claimed

Lincoln had a draft of a proclamation of emancipation in his desk for almost 2 months while he waited for the military situation to improve

“Without slavery the rebellion could never have existed; without slavery it could not continue”

No other campaign and battle in the war had such momentous, multiple consequences as Antietam