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How and Why the USA Expanded from 1789 to 1838 - Coggle Diagram
How and Why the USA Expanded from 1789 to 1838
The Original 13 States
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Maryland
New York
New Jersey
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
North Carolina
South Carolina
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Virginia
The USA was a New Democratic Republic in 1789 - Only White Property-Owning Men were Able to Vote
The USA was only a few years old in 1789. It fought for independence from Great Britain between 1776 and 1783.
The British handed over 230 million acres of Native American lands to the USA. The Native Americans were not defeated in the war and were angry about this.
The USA was a republic. This is a country which has no monarch.
The USA followed the rules set out in its Constitution (a set of rules which says how a country should be run).
The USA was also a democracy (a system where people vote for leaders).
The growth of the USA between 1789 and 1838 was extremely fast - this created tensions which would last for the rest of the century.
In 1789, the President of the USA was George Washington. It was made up of 13 states. Lands to the north of the River Ohio were known as the 'Northwest Territory' and lands to the south of the Ohio were called the 'Southwest Territory'.
The USA was Known as a Federal Country - it Means Each of the 13 Original States had Their Own Powers
The USA was made up of states (smaller political units). Each state had its own government led by a state governor - this is still the case now.
The state government could make its own laws but they could not go against the rules set down in the Constitution.
The Constitution could be amended if Congress and enough states agreed to this.
Each state in the USA sent representatives (politicians) to Congress where they would make laws.
Each state helped to elect a President every four years. The President could suggest laws but Congress had to agree to them.
Territories (areas with too few people to have a state government) were controlled directly by Congress and run by a territorial government.
Why Did the USA Grow So Rapidly
The first President, George Washington, fought against Native Americans in the Northwest and took their lands.
From 1791, Washington put 80% of his government budget into campaigns against the Native Americans.
In 1794, the Native Americans were defeated at the Battle of Fallen Timbers and their leaders agreed to the Treaty of Greenville which allowed the USA to take parts of the Northwest Territory under its control.
Other early Presidents like Thomas Jefferson opened the Northwest and Southwest territories for settlement.
Slaveholders wanted to expand their plantation businesses, especially in the warm South.
The US government arranged the Louisiana Purchase (530 million acres of land bought from France) in 1803.
America Grew Rapidly from 1789 to 1838
New states were rapidly added
Vermont (1791)
Kentucky (1792)
Tennessee (1796)
Ohio (1803)
Indiana (1816)
Mississippi (1817)
Illinois (1818)
Alabama (1819)
Florida was taken from the Spanish in 1819
The colony of Louisiana was bought from the French in 1803.
Between 1790 and 1838, the number of states in the USA doubled to 26 as the USA expanded
President Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) was Keen to Expand Across the Continent
The purchase of Louisiana in 1803 led to more trade routes to the West
1804 Lewis and Clark expedition
Merriweather Lewis and William Clark were given the task of exploring new lands.
They set out in May 1804 following the Missouri River into the Rocky Mountains through to the Pacific Coast.
They mostly got on well with the Native Americans - a Shoshone woman called Sacagawea acted as their guide
Their exploration led to a further expansion in the fur trade and encouraged other trades to head west.
Trade with Native Americans grew and there were few problems before 1840.
The County's Growth Caused Divisions and Conflict Between Different Groups Living in the USA
As the USA spread, the Native Americans who had occupied the land moved further west. This led to tension and conflict between the different Native American groups.
White Americans and Native Americans
Many of the lands taken over by the US government were already occupied by Native American tribes. Thousands of Native Americans were forced to move further west to escape the growing USA
White Northerners and White Southerners
Northern business owners thought that slavery was unfair competition for their factories. They also saw slavery as old fashioned.
White Southerners and White Northerners
Many people in the South thought Northern business owners were greedy and morally corrupt. They saw a powerful North as a threat to their way of life.
Abolitionists and other White Americans
A small number of white and free-black Americans called abolitionists (people who were against slavery) thought that the growth of slavery was immoral. They set about trying to stop it altogether.