A7 Slavery

Played a central role in the history of the USA. It existed from the early 17^th century until 1865 and dominates every cultural production in the southern states. In America the majority of slaves were black and they were used as a labour force for the production of crops, primarily cotton and tobacco.

In the 17^th century the number of Africans in the English mainland was small, for there were 2 other types of slaves: Native Americans and European engaged servants. The former new the land very well and could escape easily. The latter (poor Europeans) exchanged 4-7 years of their labour for the transatlantic passage. They were primarily young males from England, Wales, Germany and Ireland and served as agricultural workers. Africans were simply taken from their homes and sent to a new land. By the mid 18^th century American slavery acquired 2 distinctive features: 90% of slaves lived in the South and their population grew naturally, so slavery could survive without new slave imports.

In 1780 in Pennsylvania all children born to slaves would be freed at 28 years old. After 1787 slavery was barred in the north-western territories. Some slaves were freed in the upper south. By 1830 abolition of slavery in the North divided the USA. Slavery came to define the essence of the South. Although it was ended with the ratification of emancipation proclamation in 1863 black Americans continued to struggle against poverty, racism and segregation which were the legacy of slavery.

A8 Civil War

Was a military conflict between the United States (the Union) and the Confederate States of America (the Confederacy) in 1861-1865. Causes of the war: 1) slavery. 11 southern states depended on slave labour to produce crops and therefore support economy. Slavery was illegal. The main question was if it should be permitted in the western states. By 1860 the north and the south had developed into 2 different regions. The north was industrial. Both the south and the west were agricultural (the former completely dependant on the plantation system), but the west allied itself with the north. In 1850s 3 events took place: Missouri admitted as a slave state, Louisiana – pro-northern, and California – free to decide whether to permit slavery or not. Harriet Beacher Stowe wrote ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ – a popular anti-slave novel. After Abraham Lincoln was elected the president 7 southern states seceded from the Union. In 1861 Confederate General Beauregard opened fire on Fort Sumter starting the war. In this war the Confederacy sought independence and the North sought to restore the Union and to found a new nation. In 1863 Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in the states that rebelled. In 1865 slavery was abolished by the 13^th amendment.

Effects of the war: 1) slavery ended, 2) the future of black Americans was discussing for many years after its end, they did not become equal to whites, 3) since 1861 no state has seceded from the Union. 4) the South was put back a generation in industry and agriculture, while the North became a modern industrial state.

A9. The US Period of Reconstruction. (1865–77) Period after the American Civil War in which attempts were made to solve the political, social, and economic problems arising from the readmission to the Union of the 11 Confederate states that had seceded at or before the outbreak of war. As early as 1862, Pres. Abraham Lincoln had appointed provisional military governors for Louisiana, Tennessee, and North Carolina. He planned to readmit states in which at least 10% of the voters had pledged loyalty to the Union. Aware that the presidential plan omitted any provision for social or economic reconstruction, the Radical Republicans in Congress resented such a lenient political arrangement under solely executive jurisdiction. This lenient approach was opposed by the Radical Republicans, who favoured the harsher measures passed in the Wade-Davis Bill. As a result, the stricter Wade-Davis Bill was passed in 1864 but pocket vetoed by the President. Pres. Andrew Johnson continued Lincoln's moderate policies. The Fourteenth Amendment, defining national citizenship so as to include blacks, passed Congress in June 1866 and was ratified, despite rejection by most Southern states (July 28, 1868). But enactment in the South of the black codes and demand in the North for stricter legislation resulted in victories for Radical Republicans in the congressional elections of 1866. Congress then passed the Reconstruction Acts of 1867, which established military districts in the South and required the Southern states to accept the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution. Southern resentment of the imposed state governments, which included Republicans, carpetbaggers, and scalawags, and of the activities of the Freedmen's Bureau led to the formation of terrorist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of the White Camelia. By the 1870s conservative Democrats again controlled most state governments in the South. Though Reconstruction has been seen as a period of corruption, many constructive legal and educational reforms were introduced. The Reconstruction era led to an increase in sectional bitterness, dissension regarding the rights of blacks, and the development of one-party politics in the South. That victory launched the era of congressional Reconstruction (usually called Radical Reconstruction), which lasted 10 years starting with the Reconstruction Acts of 1867. Under that legislation, the 10 remaining Southern states (Tennessee had been readmitted to the Union in 1866) were divided into five military districts; and, under supervision of the U.S. Army, all were readmitted between 1868 and 1870. Each state had to accept the Fourteenth or, if readmitted after its passage, the Fifteenth Constitutional Amendment, intended to ensure civil rights of the freedmen. The newly created state governments were generally Republican in character and were governed by political coalitions of blacks, carpetbaggers (Northerners who had gone into the South), and scalawags (Southerners who collaborated with the blacks and carpetbaggers). The Republican governments of the former Confederate states were seen by most Southern whites as artificial creations imposed from without, and the conservative element in the region remained hostile to them. Southerners particularly resented the activities.

A10. Moving West & the Industrial Growth. Expansion of 1867-1959. The progressive movement. People moved West for various reasons; for adventure, new land, search for wealth, new life/starting over, and many other reasons. The Federal government encouraged this because new territories could be added to the US. This was called Manifest Destiny, the belief that Americans were entitled and ordained by God to occupy all of North America. If disputed areas in the West such as places like Texas, Oregon and New Mexico territories could be settled and have a majority of Americans there, then these places  could and would become US property by default. The Industrial Revolution just added to this push West by the influx of immigrants to America thus many people moved West to get away from this influx.

*After the War of 1812, America experienced a period of both economic and physical expansion.  As population increased, more and more people needed new opportunities in the west.  This was made easier by the many roads, old and new, that crossed the Appalachian Mountains.

*Americans first settled the Northwest Territory, which quickly was turned into states according to the Northwest Ordinance.

*As Americans pushed westward, they also pushed to the south, specifically, into Florida.

*Florida had always belonged to Spain since its discover by Ponce de Leon except for a brief period between 1763 and 1783.  In 1795, Thomas Pinckney arranged the Pinckney Treaty with Spain.  It fixed the border between the US and Spanish Florida, allowed American citizens to use the Mississippi River, and made both Spain and America promise not to send their Indian allies to attack each other.  However, both sides broke their promises.

*American began to settle illegally in Florida, and by 1810 part of West Florida had so many Americans in it that they seceded from Spanish Florida.  At about the same time, Indians living in Florida began attacking American settlements across the border in Georgia.  By 1818 America was sick of this, and Andrew Jackson, hero of New Orleans, invaded Florida.

*Amazed by the vastness and wealth of the land across the Appalachians, and later the Mississippi, Americans began to have a new idea, that of manifest destiny.  This literally means a destiny that is completely obvious.  The destiny that was manifest to mid-nineteenth century Americans was one in which liberty, democracy, and the American republic stretched from sea to shining sea.

*Some Americans would settle in the Oregon Country.  Unfortunately, this was claimed by the US, Great Britain, Spain and Russia. Settlement of Oregon began in the 1830s, and increased immensely after 1842 or 1843, when people began to follow the Oregon Trail by the thousands.  Several thousand more went to California during the same period, and other settled in other parts of the West.  Some came for land, either to farm or to re-sell to later settlers at a profit, some came to trade with the Indians, and some came for other reasons.  Among these were the Mormons.

*By 1848 a few thousand Americans had moved to California.  However, in that year something happened that would bring far more people to that state.  In January, John Sutter, leader of a small group of colonists, found gold in the stream outside his mill.  Soon thousands of prospectors came to Sutter’s Mill to see if they could find gold, and this mania spread throughout California.  This came to be called the California Gold Rush, and it caused California’s population to rise from 14,000 in 1848 to over 200,000 in 1852.

*As American moved west, they found other peoples already there.

*There were many tribes of Indians in the West, and most were characterised by a nomadic lifestyle, riding horses (which they got from the Spanish) as they pursued the buffalo along their yearly migrations.  Some still practised farming in villages, but in time most were killed either by the white men or by other Indians. Eventually, a couple powerful tribes of horse-warriors came to dominate the Great Plains:  the Sioux in the north and the Comanche in the south.

*Most Americans who settled in Mexico did so in Texas.  The first group was led by Stephen Austin in 1822, and they began to grow cotton along the southern coast of Texas.  Most of the early Texans are from the South, and many of them bring slaves and slavery with them.

*Initially Mexico encouraged Americans to settle in Texas, as long as they promised to be loyal to Mexico, which most did, not really meaning it.

*Eventually Mexico tries to stop American immigration, but it is too late.  Finally, Mexico goes too far, and tries to outlaw slavery.

Unlike many other powerful western nations, the United States had historically not been a country that has participated in traditional imperialist expansion or conquests. This changed following the Spanish American War, which was partially provoked by American politicians and businessmen, like William Randolph Hearst, interested in European-style expansionism. After the war, the defeated Kingdom of Spain agreed to cede most of her colonial possessions to the control of the United States.

The following areas have at one time or another been part of a sort of "American Empire," that is to say coloniesthat were annexed to the United States, yet not granted statehood or self-rule.

• Alaska (1867-1959) (now a state of the US)

• American Samoa (1900-)

• Cuba (1899-1909) (now independent)

• Dominican Republic (1916-1922) (now independent)

• Guam (1898-)

• Hawaii (1899-1959) (now a state of the US)

• Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (1944-1990) (now 3 independent states Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau and one commonwealth Northern Mariana Islands)

• Panama Canal Zone (1903-1979) (now part of Panama)

• Philippines (1898-1946) (now independent)

• Puerto Rico (1898-1952) (now a commonwealth)

• U.S. Virgin Islands (1917-)

• Okinawa (1945-1972) under US military control

There is also the odd case of Liberia, a nation founded in part by American slaves who were returned to Africa.

Many of America's former colonies have since become independent countries, states of the American union, or self-governing commonwealths.

Contemporary use of the term

Today, what many consider to be the "American Empire" does not fit historical definitions of imperialism andcolonialism, but the United States influence takes on different and discreet forms. America's military presence by itself is breathtaking and influential. According to researchers [1] , around the world, the United States maintains 750 military bases or installations staffed by American military personnel in roughly 130 countries. The economic influence of American corporations is also substantial.

Term

The term "American Empire" is mostly used as derogatory expression to personify America's military and cultural presence in most nations. American Empire is a book by Andrew J. Bacevich that says the United States started to act like an Empire after the end of the Cold War.

Many statesmen, scholars, and supporters within the United States insist that America "is" and "should be" an empire in every sense. This is exemplified by the neoconservative Project for the New American Century, which became influential in the 2003 decision to invade Iraq. As stated in PNAC's principles:

We need to accept responsibility for America's unique role in preserving and extending an international order friendly to our security, our prosperity, and our principles. [1] 

However, many in opposition to this view value a diversity, and reject the notion of a single dominating superpower in order to maintain "balance", "equality", "mutual respect", and "harmony" among all nations around the world.