Reflections of Chapter 4. From Jefferson through Jackson 1789-1840

Reflections

The Election of 1800: A Turning point in History

      The main idea of this section is to view how the elections of 1800 made American leaders accomplished the Nation’s first transfer of power from one party to another.  I was impressed how Alexander Hamilton used a program of Treasury Secretary to centralized United States. He increased support by taking over the debts of the states.  I also find interesting how the French Revolution divided Americans. With fear of war, the Federalist passed laws restricting freedoms and Jeffersonian acted angrily. They have two different ways to see the French Revolution Federalist tended to oppose it, seeing it as an example of a democratic revolution gone wrong. The Jeffersonian generally embraced the French Revolution as an extension of the American Revolution.  Then the elections came white American men had a choice between liberty and order so they elected Thomas Jefferson.

Life in the New Nation

     The main idea of this section is to see how Americans pushed westward, and how they knit the land together in a network of refreshed religion, new communication, and commerce fueled by bold inventions.  I found it interesting when in 1700s; Americans of both European and African descent migrated over the Appalachians into the Ohio, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland River valleys. So in that year many Americans settle and transformed the Appalachian region of the United States with unprecedented speed. Many inventions where made such as the cotton gin and a lot of improvements in transportation, this allowed rapid economic development and the new communication changed the social and political life in nation. There many changes during that year in United States and with this comes the new awakening of religion where men and women, rich and poor, and people of all races and ages were more encourage in society because religion became more democratic.

Changing Households and New Markets

     In this section I learned that people in the early republic and how they focused on how to keep their households operating. They were very determined to make money as quickly as possible. I was impressed how Americans used money both cash and credit to get what they needed. This changed in the way people made, bought, and sold goods is now called the Market Revolution. During this period the meaning of work changed. It was amazing to know that instead of an activity that kept households running, labor became something to be bought and sold. It was a big growth in power of banks because they reflected the importance of credit and money.  When manufacturing increased, more and more households purchased goods that once had been produced in the household.

The Age of Jackson

     The main idea of this section was too learned more about Andrew Jackson and how he became a symbol for an age in which Americans started to believe that elected officials should act and make decisions according to the view of the voters. I learned more about two national republicans John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay and how they argued that government’s power should be used to promote economic developments. Many Jacksonian democrats strongly opposed this role for the national governments. It was amazing to know how President Andrew Jackson opposed one state’s attempt to strike down federal law. Jackson made many decisions and one of them was to refuse to support the Cherokee when that state of Georgia seized their land.