What global changes prompted the Monroe Doctrine?
Summary: This chapter concentrates on the last of the three historical processes unleashed by the Revolution that accelerated after the War of 1812—the rise of a vigorous political democracy. Democracy increased as the electorate enlarged with the abolition of property requirements for suffrage in most states. However, women and free blacks were largely excluded from political democracy. Much of the political debate during the period involved economic issues raised by the market revolution spurred by the War of 1812. Some national leaders argued that the federal government had a responsibility to ensure American economic development. They favored the “American System,” a political program for economic development that included a high protective tariff, public-financed transportation improvements, and a national bank. Others, such as those injured by the Panic of 1819, viewed government involvement in the economy negatively. Differences also emerged over whether to admit Missouri as a slave state; the two compromises (1820 and 1821) Congress hammered out to address that issue revealed sectional divisions over slavery. Also, under President Monroe (1817–1825), the United States recognized newly independent Latin American nations and asserted that the Americas were off-limits for further European colonization. The chapter highlights the emergence of new political parties from the one-party era of the Monroe presidency (the so-called Era of Good Feelings, when the Federalist Party disintegrated). Opponents of President John Quincy Adams’s vision of vigorous national power, guided by Martin Van Buren’s idea that competing political parties were healthy for the nation, coalesced into the Democratic Party that succeeded in electing Andrew Jackson to the presidency in 1828. The new party system took shape during Jackson’s two terms when nullification, Indian removal, and a “war” over national banking policy helped to divide the nation into Democrats (Jackson’s supporters) and Whigs (his opponents). One key Jackson opponent was John C. Calhoun, who wanted to protect the power of the South as a minority in a Democratic era. Democrats exploited popular themes to win elections, but the Panic of 1837 and subsequent depression allowed the Whigs to take the White House in 1840. They did so, in part, by using techniques pioneered by the Democrats. Appropriately enough for a more democratic age, the Whigs portrayed their presidential candidate, William Henry Harrison, as a common man.
Source 1: Watch: Andrew Jackson, Good, Evil, and The Presidency (Links to an external site.)
Think about the reasons that some viewed him as a hero and why others saw him as evil. Does the good outweigh the wrong?
Source 2: For a different perspective on the Jackson Presidency watch: We Shall Remain: Trail of Tears (Links to an external site.)
Pay close attention to the methods that the Cherokee use to fight the Indian Removal Act.
When the Indian Removal Act was found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, how did Andrew Jackson respond? Should he have been held responsible for defying a Supreme Court ruling? Why wasn’t he? Who benefited from the removal of the Native American Tribes?
Discussion Questions
- What were the major economic, humanitarian, political, and social arguments for and against Indian removal? Make sure to reference the multiple course material in this module.
- Make the connection between the market revolution, slavery, and the Indian Removal Act. Use the course materials provided to explain how one drove the others.
- What global changes prompted the Monroe Doctrine? What were its key provisions? How does it show America’s growing international presence?
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