Period 5.1 Notes Immigration 1820s – immigrants arrived from Europe 1830s – there was a sudden increase in immigration which continued to rise From the 1830s-1850s nearly 4 million people from northern Europe came to the US to seek a new life, arriving in Boston, New York & Philadelphia, and either remained in these cities or moved to the “Old Northwest” (Ohio River Valley; around the Great Lakes). Few journeyed to the South because of limited opportunities for free labor (meaning non-slave).

Who were these immigrants? The Irish (about half of all immigrants) who were mostly tenant farmers driven from Ireland because of the potato famine. They arrived with limited interest in farming, few special skills, and little money. They worked hard at whatever employment they could find, usually competing with African Americans for domestic work and unskilled labor jobs. They faced discrimination because of their Roman Catholic religion. Most joined the Democratic party which had a long tradition of anti-British feelings and support for workers. At first they were excluded from joining New York’s Democratic organization, Tammany Hall, but by 1850 they had secured jobs and influence and by the 1800s they controlled this party’s organization.

Germans Economic hardships and the failure of democratic revolutions in 1848 caused more than 1 million Germans to seek refuge in the US in the late 1840s & 1850S. Most had some money and considerable skills as farmers and artisans. Most moved westward in search of cheap, fertile farmland and established homesteads throughout the Old Northwest and generally prospered. At first their political influence was limited but as they became more active in public life, many strongly supported public education and opposed slavery.

Nativists In addition to sectional divisions between North and South, there was also in the mid-1850s growing ethnic tension in the North between native-born Protestant Americans and immigrant Germans and Irish Catholics. This led to the formation of the American Party or Know-Nothing party. This party drew support away from the Whigs (National Republicans) who lost the presidential election in 1852 which was pretty much the end of this party.

Birth of the Republican Party Formed in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act Composed of Free-Soilers, antislavery Whigs and Democrats Political platform – oppose the spread of slavery in the territories (the West); not to end slavery It was mainly a Northern or sectional party which alienated and threatened the South

How did Manifest Destiny lead to overseas expansion? Since the 1790s (after the Revolutionary War) the US foreign policy had centered on expanding westward, protecting US interests abroad, and limiting foreign influences in the Americas (Monroe Doctrine). After the Civil War, the US experienced a second Industrial Revolution, which caused a shift in US relations with the rest of the world. Instead of a nation (since the War of 1812) relatively isolated from European politics, the US became a world power controlling territories in the Caribbean and extending across the Pacific to the Philippines.

Imperialism = “overseas” expansion The need to look beyond the borders of the US because “Manifest Destiny” had been fulfilled. The primary reason for the US to expand its “spheres of influence”, meaning territories over which a nation exercises control, usually economic & political, was economic – the need for markets. It was somewhat a revival of mercantilism – export more than you import.

Justification for Imperialism Just like with Manifest Destiny, the US Wanted to continue the pioneer spirit (sense of adventure and accomplishment that characterized the westward movement). Frederick Jackson Turner, a historian, wrote in this “Frontier Thesis” that the frontier (the West) had played a vital role in forming the American character US responsibility and destiny to civilize the rest of the world – Social Darwinism; Poem by Rudyard Kipling “The White Man’s Burden” To spread Christianity To spread democracy The belief in Anglo-Saxon superiority advocated by Josiah Strong, a minister

Imperialism – where? Hawaii – for a naval base for refueling ships Alaska – for its natural resources China – the Open Door Policy that opened trade between the US & China to fulfill the #1 reason for Imperialism (markets)