Period 4: 1800-1848
This period in the APUSH timeline covers the early 19th century, characterized by rapid territorial expansion, economic growth, and increasing sectional tensions.
Key developments in the early 1800s include:
- 1800: Election of Thomas Jefferson
- 1803: Louisiana Purchase and Marbury v. Madison decision
- 1807: Embargo Act and introduction of the first steamboat
- 1812-1815: War of 1812
Definition: The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the Louisiana territory by the United States from France in 1803, nearly doubling the size of the young nation.
Economic and technological advancements:
- 1791: Samuel Slater establishes the first factory in the US
- 1793: Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin
- 1798: Whitney develops interchangeable parts
- 1825: Completion of the Erie Canal
- 1837: John Deere develops the steel plow
Example: The cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney in 1793, revolutionized cotton production and inadvertently strengthened the institution of slavery in the South.
Political and social developments:
- 1819: McCulloch v. Maryland decision
- 1820: Missouri Compromise
- 1823: Monroe Doctrine
- 1828: Election of Andrew Jackson
- 1830: Indian Removal Act
- 1831: Nat Turner's Rebellion and William Lloyd Garrison starts The Liberator
- 1832: Nullification Crisis and Bank War
Highlight: The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was a crucial agreement that maintained the balance between free and slave states in the US Senate.
Westward expansion and its consequences:
- 1845: Beginning of the Irish Potato Famine, leading to increased immigration
- 1846: Start of the Mexican-American War
- 1848: End of the Mexican-American War and Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This period set the stage for the increasing sectional tensions that would eventually lead to the Civil War.