The Great American Story Course Notes Part 3

To solve the financial crisis the United States faced following the Revolution, Alexander
Hamilton proposed that the federal government ought to assume the debts of the states,
establish a nation bank, and enact high tariffs.

The War of 1812 produced two glorious results for the United States: Andrew Jackson’s victory
in New Orleans and “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The Monroe Doctrine declared the Western Hemisphere off-limits to further European colonization.

Andrew Jackson argued that the common man was innately capable of governing.

The popularity of revivalism in the 1820s was an example of democracy’s influence on religion in
America.

Dr. McClay argues that the anti-slavery movement of the 1830s is best understood as a religious
cause.

Cotton was the most important and profitable sources of income for the South.

Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin in 1793 made southern agricultural more productive
and increased the demand for slave labor.

In the early 1830s, it was still possible to have a debate about slavery in the South.

George Fitzhugh, a proponent of the positive good theory of slavery, argued that slavery was
the best form of socialism.

Source: “The Great American Story: A Land of Hope”