Peter wang
Mrs. Constanzo
Period 3rd US History
March 01 2016
Historical Milestones during the Rule of President Zachary
Introduction
Zachary Taylor ascended to America’s presidency owing to his illustrious military career. The Whig party approached him to be the flag bearer in the then forthcoming elections. He vied for America’s top seat and he became the president between 1849 and 1850 (Hamilton, 2015). He is among the shortest serving presidents in the United States. However, during his short stint at the White House there are certain historical milestones that occurred in the record of the United States of America. In this paper, the focus is on some of the identical events that happened during Taylor’s short tenure at the White House.
Discussion
Opposed slavery in American territories
During his reign, slavery was a
…show more content…
Most people wanted independence for the states that had been taken from Mexico. One of the reasons for these states to seek session was because President Zachary had adopted legislations that abhorred slavery. Therefore, these states wanted to separate themselves from the union. However, President Zachary being one of the proponents of the unity of the union rejected the session calls from states such as New Mexico and California.
Utah’s Independence
Although President Zachary did not get involved in the Utah war, he had expressed his intention for the independence of the Utah territory. He is among the presidents who criticized the continued discrimination of the Mormons because of their religious affiliation. President Zachary advocated for the liberation of the Mormons so that they could enjoy their freedom of worship. Lewis (2010) argues that in case President Zachary’s term could have been longer the Utah would have not happened since he had shown the need to liberate the Mormons.
Border
He was a strong believer in popular sovereignity. Since he felt so strongly about it, he agreed that popular sovereignity would decide whether or not Kansas and Nebraska would be free states or slave states. This decision caused a huge disagreement between the North and South because this would allow slavery north of the Mason-Dixon dividing line created in the Missouri Compromise. The president at the time, Franklin Pierce, supported Douglas’ bill and passed it on May 30th, 1854.
Walker, Turley, and Leonard explain the reasons for high tension in Utah a different way. Instead of focusing about problems with the church like Denton, they explain about things happening around the church. They focus on how news of a coming U.S. army puts fear in the people. They quote Heber C. Kimball as saying “that the army wanted to take Mormon women back to the States” (Walker, Turley, Leonard 44). Also, the authors describe how Brigham Young also makes it seem like the second coming, where Christ comes to destroy the wicked, is near and that the people need to prepare for it. They also mention Brigham Young’s strict war policy. Within this war policy, they were to be frugal with all their supplies, and not sell or trade any of it to those of
Four years after the Wilmot Proviso was denied of passage in the Senate, Southerner, John C Calhoun delivered a speech to congress. Calhoun spoke to congress about the addition of California to the US. Because of values of Manifest Destiny, it was in a way a dream of the US to add California. However, according to Calhoun, it had be a slave state. He wanted this because he was a southerner and the more slave states there were, the better. Also, as he says in source B, that if t California was to be added as a free state, then the balance, or “equilibrium”, would be thrown off in the Union. There would be more free states than slave states. In order to keep the balance, he advocated California to be a slave state. Conflicts between parts of government over slavery, like Wilmot and Calhoun, only continued the schism in the nation and set the US on the path of the Civil War.
The United States became further united due to the continuous desire and procurement of new territories. In President James Polk’s 1845 Inaugural Address, he shared his opinion of the “danger to [the nation’s] safety and future peace” if Texas remained an independent
This new state created a permanent imbalance of power in the senate because there were now more free states than there were slave states. This ticked off the South because it meant it would be easier to pass anti-slavery legislation. Another problem solved and worsened by the Compromise of 1850 was the amount of land to be given to New Mexico, and later Oklahoma, from Texas after the Mexican War. This issue was solved by cutting off the border at the Nueces River instead of at the Rio Grande which effectively took away a large sum of land from Texas and made it become a free state. In return for the land, Texas was paid 10 million dollars . Despite this, the people in Texas were upset and some of them threatened secession. If President Taylor hadn't died, the U.S. most likely would have gone to war much earlier as he was threatening to send troops into Texas. The South realized that it had lost important territory when it lost
The United States began its life as a small nation consisting of only thirteen states. Over time the leaders of this county recognized that in order to prosper the nation would need to expand beyond the current set borders. Westward Expansion was the only solution, to adopt such a large endeavor meant that the population had to have a reason to migrate west. Expansion had appeal to the Southern land owners for the fact that the Missouri Compromise did not affect territories that were not part of the Louisiana Purchase, while those who did not have land moved west with the promises of land of their own to farm and own, yet congress continued to battle over “slave states” and “free states” to keep the balance. Westward expansion had many contributions to make to the Unites States.
The secession of seven southern states. After Lincoln was elected southern states were furious. The reason why they were furious was that they never voted for him. They felt that their votes did not matter to them. Some states threatened to secede from the union. Secession was declared unconstitutional, but the states did not care. Lincoln argued that “The government was a union of people and not of states.”. He could of of helped the states or let the states go and let the United States look weak and apart. He picked the second choice, eleven states seceded, South Carolina was the first to go. The states were Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee,
The presidency of Abraham Lincoln came during a highly radical and chaotic period of American history. For historians such as James McPherson, they see Lincoln as the greatest leader in American history. For McPherson, Lincoln succeeded in combining military pragmatism with the political ideologies of the North, as well as Lincoln’s own idealism, thus assuring Northern victory. However, not all historians agree that Lincoln was a masterful tactician. Chester Hearn, believes that although Abraham Lincoln was one of America’s most venerable statesmen, his presidency was marked by flaws and a general misunderstanding of how war is waged. McPherson’s Tried by War and Hearn’s Lincoln, The Cabinet and the Generals, make the argument for each of
America’s history is rich and full of countless heroes, scandals, and incredible stories. Perhaps one of the most interesting of those stories is that of Andrew Jackson’s. To some, he was a hero, but to others, he was their worst enemy. Being raised in the mountains of the Carolinas, he became the first “backcountry president” of the United States (Wilentz, 13). His fame, though, began years before his presidency.
President James Garfield’s tragic death is brought to new life in the book The Destiny of the Republic. Author Candice Millard shows readers just how that very incident brought one nation together. This being in the middle of the Gilded Age, at times it looked like the nation had everything under its belt but in reality, people didn’t see the corrupt happenings at that time. Through poverty, war, a surprising turn in events, to downright failure in medicine, President Garfield’s life was a downward spiral and he wasn’t even aware. As much as Garfield was unaware of that, Americans at the time were unaware that they were slowly beginning to unite over the ignorance of both Doctor Bliss and Charles Guiteau. Millard didn’t just write a book of a detailed and historic biography, she wrote somewhat effortlessly of the personal yet challenging circumstances Garfield and his family were in and simply told a story.
forces around the world. The grayness of this area comes from the fact that what
James Polk was the 11th president of the United States, James Polk was 10 years when his parents crossed the Appalachian Mountains. James Polk was born November 2, 1795. James Polk
The election of Lincoln in November 1860 was the final trigger for secession.[74] Efforts at compromise, including the "Corwin Amendment" and the "Crittenden Compromise", failed. Southern leaders feared that Lincoln would stop the expansion of slavery and put it on a course toward extinction. The slave states, which had already become a minority in the House of Representatives, were now facing a future as a perpetual minority in the Senate and Electoral College against an increasingly powerful North. Before Lincoln took office in March 1861, seven slave states had declared their secession and joined together to form the Confederacy.
The federal government denied states this right. However, proponents such as John C. Calhoun fought vehemently for nullification. When nullification would not work and states felt that they were no longer respected, they moved towards secession.
The United States of America has gone through huge transformation and historical events that has now given freedom and independence throughout. The freedom has been given through war and key decisions made that have eventually won its independence and created the United States of America from East to West. Andrew Jackson was the president in the early 1800’s that made a considerable amount of change. Theses changes and action that he was involved in changed America forever, in which gave him the respect from the people of America. He was a symbol for his age, becoming a true historical figure and a hero for the people. He defeated the British and expanded America to unifying and create nationalism for the common people of America. This essay will discuss the ways in which Andrew Jackson is depicted as a symbol of the age, in that he was the age. The events and action that took place to give the seventh president power and unify a nation and its own identity in the world.