United States History Student Edition

Understanding the Time and Place: The United States, 1789–1828

The political and geographic changes that the United States experienced in the 1830s and 1840s had their roots in the nation-building period following the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

The United States Forms a New Government On April 30, 1789, George Washington took the oath of office as the first president of the United States under the new Constitution. Washington worked closely with Congress to create departments within the executive branch and to set up the court system. During George Washington’s presidency, the nation’s first political parties began to form. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, favored a strong federal government. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison led the Democratic- Republicans, who argued that the Constitution limited federal powers. Disagreements over laws led to early divisions and claims that states could overturn federal laws they thought were unconstitutional. During this period, citizen participation in government was quite limited. Eligibility to vote, which was determined by the states and not by federal law, was restricted to men who owned land. The Nation Expands As the new nation’s government developed, settlement patterns also changed. White settlers hoped to fill the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. Native Americans, however, occupied those lands. Daniel Boone’s Wilderness Road opened up Kentucky and Tennessee to settlers in the late 1700s. In 1806, Congress approved funds for a national road from Cumberland, Maryland, to Wheeling, Virginia, although it did not open until 1818. Travel by water also changed. The invention of the steamboat by Robert Fulton made shipping goods and moving people cheaper and faster. Between 1791 and 1803, the United States added four new states—Vermont and the western states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. In 1803, President Jefferson signed a treaty to purchase the Louisiana Territory, doubling the size of the United States. By 1820, the number of white

settlers living west of the Appalachian Mountains grew to more than 2.4 million. Besides conflicts with Native Americans, westward expansion also led to disagreements between white Americans. Citizens debated whether slavery should be allowed in the new territories. It was not until 1820 that Congress addressed the question of slavery in the Louisiana Purchase territory. The Missouri Compromise blocked slavery north of 36°30’ N latitude but permitted it south of that line. Domestic and Foreign Conflicts Native Americans, aided by the British and the Spanish, fought the westward advance of American settlers. Early treaties between the U.S. government and Native American groups were often ignored by American settlers. Military defeats forced Native American leaders to surrender most of the land in what was then the northwest part of the country. A number of actions by the British led to the War of 1812. The United States declared war after the British incited Native American hostilities and interfered with American shipping. The Shawnee leader Tecumseh joined with the British, but he was killed during the war. Near the end of 1814, British and American representatives met to sign a peace agreement.

This engraving from the mid-1800s shows the factories of Lowell, Massachusetts, lined up along the Merrimack River.

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division [LC-DIG-pga-07376]

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