Jefferson Through Jackson
A doubled nation, a second war with Britain, a line splitting free from slave territory, and democracy widened for some.
7 topics · 22 questions
Each topic is a path, not a menu: work down it in order and every question builds on the one above. Click any of them to watch the answer draw itself.
The Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition
- How it worksShow me the Louisiana Purchase doubling the size of the United States overnight in 1803.
- Worked exampleTrace Lewis and Clark's roughly 8,000 mile round trip from St. Louis to the Pacific and back between 1804 and 1806.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't Jefferson buying Louisiana obviously allowed by a Constitution that never mentions purchasing land?
Your turn1 of 2
Lewis and Clark's expedition covered about 8157 miles round trip from St. Louis to the Pacific and back, taking about 29 months between 1804 and 1806. About how many miles per month did the expedition average?The War of 1812
- How it worksShow me the War of 1812's three fronts: the Canadian border, the Chesapeake, and the Gulf Coast at New Orleans.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't the Battle of New Orleans pointless just because it happened after the peace treaty was signed?
- How it worksWalk me through how British troops burned Washington DC in 1814 while Baltimore's fort held out overnight.
Your turn1 of 2
In 1812, the United States declared war on Britain, then possessor of the most powerful navy in the world. Why did the young country pick that fight?The Missouri Compromise
- Going furtherWhat happens to the Missouri Compromise line every time the country adds new territory further west?
- How it worksShow me the Missouri Compromise line at 36 degrees 30 minutes splitting future states into free and slave.
- How it worksHow did admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state keep the Senate balanced?
Your turn1 of 2
In 1820, Missouri's application to join the Union as a slave state set off a bitter national fight in Congress that threatened to split the country apart. Why did admitting just one new state cause a crisis this large?The Monroe Doctrine
- How it worksShow me the Monroe Doctrine drawing a line around the Americas that European powers were told not to cross.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't the Monroe Doctrine something the United States had the military power to enforce alone in 1823?
- Going furtherWhat happens to the Monroe Doctrine's meaning once later presidents start using it to justify US intervention.
Your turn1 of 2
In 1823, President Monroe declared that the United States would consider any European attempt to colonize or interfere in the newly independent nations of the Western Hemisphere an unfriendly act - even though the US Navy was far too small to enforce that warning on its own. Why declare it anyway?Jacksonian Democracy and Expanding Suffrage
- Worked exampleShow me the share of adult white men who could vote climbing as states drop property requirements by the 1820s and 1830s.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't expanding the vote in the Jacksonian era mean voting rights expanded for women or Black Americans too?
- Going furtherWhat changes about political campaigns once ordinary voters, not just property owners, decide elections?
Your turn1 of 2
Around 1800, only about 49 percent of adult white men could vote in most states, since many required owning property. By the 1830s, after states dropped those property requirements, about 90 percent of adult white men could vote. By how many percentage points did the voting-eligible share grow?The Bank War and the Nullification Crisis
- Going furtherWhat happens to the idea of nullification once Jackson makes clear a state can't opt out of federal law.
- How it worksWalk me through how Jackson killed the Second Bank of the United States by pulling out its federal deposits.
- How it worksHow did South Carolina's nullification of a federal tariff push Jackson to threaten sending in troops?
Your turn1 of 2
President Andrew Jackson fought to destroy the Second Bank of the United States with the same determination he might have brought to fighting a foreign enemy, eventually vetoing its charter renewal. Why did Jackson see a bank as such a serious threat?Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears
- How it worksShow me the Trail of Tears routes carrying five Southeastern nations from their homelands to Oklahoma.
- Worked exampleTrace the roughly 1,000 mile forced march of 16,000 Cherokee in 1838 and the estimated 4,000 who died along the way.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't the Indian Removal Act simply a policy the Supreme Court had approved as constitutional?
- Ties togetherHow does Indian Removal in the 1830s connect to the reservations Native nations are pushed onto later in the century?
Your turn1 of 2
In Worcester v. Georgia, the Supreme Court ruled that Georgia's laws had no authority over Cherokee land. President Jackson nonetheless backed the Indian Removal Act and pushed Cherokee families off that same land. Why did the federal government force them out despite the ruling?