Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
pragmatic compromise (eg to get slave-dependent Southern states on board) as well as
widespread beliefs in the essential rightness of things as they were.
The whaling industry thrived in New England in the 18th century, especially around Mas-
sachusetts. Buzzards Bay, Nantucket Island and New Bedford were all prominent cen-
ters. New Bedford eventually hosted a whaling fleet of over 300 ships, employing 10,000
people and earning over $12 million in profits.
Louisiana Purchase & the Move West
As the 19th century dawned on the young nation, optimism was the mood of the day.
Agriculture was industrialized, and US commerce surged. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson
bought land from French leader Napoleon Bonaparte. The Louisiana Purchase included
New Orleans and about 15 present-day states west of the Mississippi River. Expansion
began in earnest.
Relations between the US and Britain - despite lively trade - remained tense, and in
1812 the US declared war on England again. The two-year conflict ended without much
gain by either side, although the British abandoned their forts, and the US vowed to
avoid Europe's 'entangling alliances.'
In the 1830s and 1840s, with growing nationalist fervor and dreams of continental ex-
pansion, many Americans came to believe it was 'Manifest Destiny' that all the land in
North American should be theirs. The 1830 Indian Removal Act aimed to clear one
obstacle by designating land west of the Mississippi as 'Indian territory.' Native Americ-
ans were meant to relocate themselves there, thus clearing fertile valleys in eastern states
like Georgia and Alabama for white settlement. Many tribes resisted removal, including
the Seminole in Florida, but the US government cajoled, threatened and bribed Native
Americans to sign treaties and cooperate; when that failed, the government used guns.
Meanwhile, newly built railroads cleared another hurdle, linking midwestern and west-
ern lands with East Coast markets. As new states joined the USA, a troubling question
loomed: would they be slave states or free states? The nation's future depended on the
answer.
For 100-plus years, Tecumseh's Curse loomed over presidents elected in a year ending
in zero (every 20 years). Tecumseh was a Shawnee warrior whom future president Willi-
am Henry Harrison battled in 1811. Tecumseh hexed him as revenge. Harrison became
president in 1840, but died a month later. Lincoln and Kennedy were also victims.
