1840's Flashcards
Charles Wilkes
An American explorer who led a global circumnavigation from 1838 to 1842, exploring Antarctica and claiming “Wilkes’s Island” for the United States. His behavior led to two convictions by court-martial, one stemming from the massacre of almost 80 Fijians on Malolo in 1840.
United States presidential election, 1840
The Whigs were united for the first time under the popular William Henry Harrison and they defeated Democrat Van Buren following the Panic of 1837. The election was marked by the highest voter turn-out up to that point, with large rallies held by both parties. The Whig message of increased centralization and control over the economy struck a cord with a depressed public. Harrison was packaged to the people as a humble, backwoods, war hero, running against the decadent van Buren.
Great Natchez Tornado
A devastating 1840 tornado which struck the Louisiana-Texas border (which was then an independent nation) and weakened relations between Texas and the U.S.
United States v. The Amistad
(1841) A Supreme Court case which found that the Africans who seized control of the slave ship the Amistad had done so legally, as their kidnapping itself was illegal.
William Henry Harrison’s death
1) It was caused by pneumonia.
2) Sparked a constitutional crisis, in which John Tyler insisted he was the U.S. President, beginning a new custom.
3) John Tyler abandoned the Whig agenda, alienating himself from the party.
Bill to Re-Establish the Second Bank of the United States
In 1841, Pres. John Tyler vetoed a bill re-establishing the Bank. The Whig party, which had supported the bill, reacted violently, burning Tyler in effigy and hurling stones and shooting at the White House. The reaction prompted increased security measures in the District of Columbia, but the Bank was never re-established.
Commonwealth v. Hunt
(1842) A Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that the common-law doctrine of criminal conspiracy did not apply to labour unions, effectively legalizing the labor movement.
Armed Occupation Act
(1842) A law signed by President Tyler to encourage armed population of Florida.
Webster-Ashburton Treaty
A treaty which resolved the Aroostook War and established the boundary between the United States and Canada. Granted the U.S. navigation rights on the St. John River, provided for extradition, and established a joint naval system for suppressing the slave trade off the African coast.
Aroostook War
(1838-39) An international incident involving the boundary between Canada and Maine. When the Maine Legislature and the British Royal Army had both occupied land in Maine, Pres. van Buren negotiated a temporary ceasefire, which kept the peace until the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.
Dorr Rebellion
(1841-42) An armed insurrection in Rhode Island against the state’s undemocratic representation system, which overrepresented rural towns and residents over urban residents. The Charter government compromised in 1843.
Minstrel show
An indigenous American theatrical form that was founded on the comic enactment of racial stereotypes. The tradition reached its zenith between 1850 and 1870. Although the form gradually disappeared from professional theatres and became purely a vehicle for amateurs, its influence endured—in vaudeville, radio, and television as well as in the motion-picture and world-music industries of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Oregon Trail
One of the two main emigrant routes to the American West in the 19th century, the other being the Santa Fe Trail. Flourished from the 1840s into the 1860s. Crossed varied and difficult terrain including Indian Territory. In the 1810s and 20s the west was dismissed as the Great American Desert. In the 1840s the myth was dispelled by explorer John C. Frémont, and Western immigration picked up. Most traveled in a wagon company with friends. Most also walked alongside their wagons despite popular belief. Roughly 4-10% of supposed settlers died. Most Indians were helpful and friendly, tensions only worsened in the 1850s as native hostilities grew. The Transcontinental railroad killed the Trail in 1869.
B’nai B’rith
A Jewish organization founded in New York City in 1843, it’s mission continues to be to promote human rights and combat anti-semitism.
The Great Disappointment
Thousands of Millerites, some of whom had given away all of their possessions, waited expectantly for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in 1844.
USS Princeton disaster of 1844
One of the guns on the USS Princeton exploded during an exhibition killing twenty people, included Secretary of State Abel Upshur, Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer, and then-President John Tyler’s father-in-law David Gardiner.
Treaty of Wanghia
An unequal treaty signed between Pres. Tyler and Qing China, in which the U.S. declared the opium trade illegal, but otherwise gave U.S. markets the right to use China as they wish.
Quorum of the Twelve
The governing bodies of the Church of Latter Day Saints.
United States presidential election, 1844
Pres. John Tyler had alienated the Whigs and Democrats and was denied the nominations of both parties, however, his treatment of Texas indicated expansionism would be the issue of the election. The Whigs nominated anti-expansionist Henry Clay. Martin Van Buren, anti-business, was assumed to have the Democratic nomination, however, his opposition to the annex of Texas cost him the support of Jacksonians and the nomination went to dark horse James K. Polk. Polk believed slavery was a state’s rights issue, while Clay’s supporters attempted to portray his beliefs differently in the South and North, and Clay reneged on his anti-expansionism during the campaign. With an energetic campaign style, Polk won the race.
The Raven
Edgar Allen Poe’s 1846 poem which propelled him to the national spotlight.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
An influential 1845 memoir considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature fuelling the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States.
Great Fire of Pittsburgh
An 1845 fire which destroyed Pittsburgh.
