This section covers the following topics

• Economic development
• The Missouri Compromise
• Life in the south
• Industrialization
• Urbanization and family life
• The Second Great Awakening
• The Abolitionist movement
• The Jackson presidency
• The nullification crisis
• The formation of the Whig Party

Section Summary

This era saw increased industrialization and urbanization. The commercialization of agriculture, shown by the transfer from subsistence farming to growing crops for market, continued. Decisions rendered by the Marshall Court further aided business interests. In industry, the putting-out system was adopted, while production companies began specializing labor and mandating stricter work schedules. Transportation advances were heralded by the development of turnpikes and canals (such as the Erie Canal), but most importantly by the construction of railroad networks. Cities continued to grow as the size of urban families shrank. Cities became industrial centers, hubs for transportation and a destination for the immigrants that continued to flood into the country (particularly from Germany and Ireland). In addition, this era saw the Second Great Awakening: a massive wave of religious and moral revivals that emphasized a traditional and religious way of life. Finally, the abolitionist movement began in force, led by William Loyd Garrison and Theodore Weld.

The presidential election of 1824 ended the Era of Good Feelings, a period with only one major political party (the Federalists had dissolved in the wake of the Hartford Convention during the War of 1812). Jackson lost his bid for the presidency in the House of Representatives, but won the next year at the head of the new Democratic Party. Jackson came into conflict with South Carolina, which had nullified the so-called Tariff of Abominations under the economic policy known as Clay’s American System. Jackson passed the Force Act and negotiated a Compromise Tariff to resolve the situation.... Sign up to continue reading Antebellum America >

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