JEAN LOWRY50587

How the Americas Change: The Long 19th Century

The Americas in the Nineteenth Century

Chinese migrants began to settle in the Americas

Some went from mining to railroad construction or agricultural labor, but all contributed to the transformation of the Americas

Millions of others from Europe and Asia, Chinese migrants increased the Ethnic diversity of American populations and stimulated political, social, and economic development in the western hemisphere

American peoples then struggled throughout the nineteenth century to build states and societies that realized their potential in an age of independence

The united States built the most powerful state in the western hemisphere , Canada built a federal state under British Canadian leadership, and varied Latin America built smaller states that often fell under the sway of local military leaders

The Building of American States

After gaining independence the united States faced the need to construct a machinery of government

While working to settle constitutional issues, Americans also began to expand rapidly to the west

Westward expansion brought settlers and government forces in conflict with the indigenous peoples of North America, who resisted efforts to push them from their ancestral lands

Westward expansion also generated tension between the united States and Mexico

Canada did not fight a war for independence instead it came gradually as Canadians and British government agreed on general principles of autonomy

Fear of U.S expansion helped stifle internal conflict among Canadians and prompted Britain to grant independence to Canada

Following the example of the United States, creole elites usually established republics with written constitutions for newly independent states of Latin American

Before gaining independence, Latin American leaders had little experience with self-government, since Spanish and Portuguese colonial regimes were far more autocratic than the British imperial government

Independent Mexico experienced a succession of governments, from monarchy to republic to caudillo rule, but it also generated a liberal reform movement

The Little Ice Age

A period of cooling that occurred after the Medieval Warm Period, lasting from the 13th century till the 19th century

Brought colder winters to parts of Europe and North America

Farms and villages in the Swiss Alps were destroyed by encroaching glaciers during the mid-17th century

Canals and rivers in Great Britain and the Netherlands were frequently frozen deeply enough to support ice skating and winter festivals

Scientists believed that the cause of the Little Ice Age is due to: orbital cycles, decreased solar activity, increased volcanic activity, and altered ocean current flows

Frontiers of the Americas

The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of 828,800 sq. miles of France’s claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803

The U.S paid a total sum of 15 million dollars for the Louisiana territory

The purchase doubled the size of the United States

The purchase was a vital moment during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, thou the purchased faced domestic opposition as being unconstitutional

Jefferson decided to make the purchase because he felt uneasy about France and Spain having power to block American Trade access to the port of New Orleans

The Louisiana Purchase Treaty was signed on Saturday April 30, 1803

Plans were set fourth for several mission to explore and chart the territory, the most famous being the Lewis and Clark expedition

Frontiers of the Americas… Cont’d

Prince Alexander Philipp Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied was a German explorer, ethnologist, and naturalist

Wied led an expedition to southeast Brazil from 1815 to 1817. In 1816 he found the tribe of the Botocudos

In 1832 he travelled to the Great Plains region of North America on a journey up the Missouri River

During his travels, he studied the cultures of tribes such as the Mandan and the Hidatsa

Karl Bodmer who was a Swiss painter of the American west accompanied Prince Max, with specific intent to record images of the different tribes they saw along the way

When the expedition was complete, Bodmer returned to Germany with Prince Max then traveled to France

Bodmer had his images incorporated into a book, which was published in London in 1839

His images are recognized as among the most painstakingly accurate painted images ever made of Native Americans, their culture and artifacts, and the scenery of the pristine “Old West”

Crossroads of Freedom: George B. McClellan

George B. McClellan was born in Philadelphia, the son of a prominent surgical ophthalmologist, Dr. George McClellan whom was founder of Jefferson Medical College

He was a major general during the American Civil War, he organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army

McClellan was meticulous in his planning and preparations, these characteristics may have hampered his ability to challenge aggressive opponents in a fast-moving battlefield environment

He chronically overestimated the strength of enemy units and was reluctant to apply principles of mass, frequently leaving large portions of his army unengaged at decisive points

He was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the U.S Army Corps of Engineers

McClellan’s first assignment was with a company of engineers formed at West Point, but he quickly received orders to sail for the Mexican-American War

He was stricken with dysentery and malaria, which kept him in the hospital for nearly a month

The malaria would recur in later years, he referred to it as his “Mexican Disease”

McClellan’s experiences during the war developed various attitudes that affected his later military and political

He learned to appreciate the value of flanking movements over frontal assaults and the value of siege operations

George B. McClellan… Cont’d

McClellan received the assignment to be an official observer of the European armies in the Crimean War in 1855

He observed the siege of Sevastopol McClellan wrote a manual on cavalry tactics that

was based on Russian cavalry regulations A notable failure of the observers, including

McClellan, was that they neglected to explain the importance of the emergence of rifled muskets in the Crimean War, and how that would require fundamental changes in tactics for the coming Civil War

The army adopted McClellan’s cavalry manual and also his design for a saddle, the “McClellan Saddle”, which he claimed to have seen used by Hussars in Prussia and Hungary

It became standard issue for as long as the U.S horse cavalry existed and is currently used for ceremonies

At the start of the Civil War, McClellan’s knowledge of what was called “big war science” and his railroad experience implied he would excel at military logistics

McClellan was commissioned a major general of volunteers and took command of the Ohio militia on April 23,1861

May 14 he was commissioned a major general in the regular army, at age 34 he now outranked everyone in the army other than Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, the general-in-chief

His first military operations were to occupy the area of western Virginia that wanted to remain in the Union and later became the state of West Virginia

His forces moved rapidly into the area through Grafton and were victorious at the tiny skirmish called the battle of Phillip Races, arguably the first land conflict of the war

His victories propelled him to the status of national hero, “Gen. McClellan, the Napoleon of the present War”

After the defeat of the Union forces at Bull Run on July 21, 1861, Lincoln summoned McClellan from West Virginia

McClellan was appointed commander of the Military Division of the Potomac, the main Union force responsible for the defense of Washington

McClellan brought a high degree of organization to his new army, and greatly improved its morale by his frequent trips to review and encourage his units

George B. McClellan… Cont’d

The Army of the Potomac grew in number from 50,000 in July to 168,000 in November and was considered by far the most colossal military unit the world had seen in modern historical times

This was also a time of high tension in the high command, as he continued to quarrel frequently with the government and the general-in-chief, Lt. Gen. Scott, on matters of strategy

McClellan rejected the tenets of Scott’s Anaconda Plan, favoring instead an overwhelming grand battle, in the Napoleonic style

The immediate problem with McClellan’s war strategy was that he was convinced the Confederates were ready to attack him with overwhelming numbers

On November 1, 1861, Winfield Scott retired and McClellan became general-in-chief of all the Union armies

Lincoln, as well as many other leaders and citizens of the northern states, became increasingly impatient with McClellan’s slowness to attack the confederate forces still massed near Washington

On March 11, 1862, Lincoln removed McClellan as general-in-chief, leaving him in command of only the Army of the Potomac, so that McClellan could devote all his attention on Richmond

McClellan’s army began to sail from Alexandria on March 17. It was an armada that dwarfed all pervious American expeditions

McClellan’s plan for a rapid seizure of Yorktown was foiled when he discovered that the confederates had fortified a line across the Peninsula, causing him to decide on a siege of the city

After a month of preparation, just before he was to assault the confederate works at Yorktown, he learned that Johnston had withdrawn up the peninsula towards Williamsburg

The battle of Williamsburg on May 5 is considered a union victory – McClellan’s first- but the confederate army was not destroyed and a bulk of their troops were successfully moved past Williamsburg to Richmond’s outer defenses while it waged

On may 31, as McClellan planned an assault, his army was surprised by a confederate attack

McClellan was unable to command the army personally because of a recurrence of malaria fever, but his subordinates were able to repel the attack

Johnston was wounded in the battle, and General Robert E. Lee assumed command

George B. McClellan… Cont’d

McClellan soon received a miraculous break of fortune. Union soldiers accidentally found a copy of Lee’s orders dividing his army, wrapped around a package of cigars in an abandoned camp

The battle of Antietam on Sept 7, 1862, was the single bloodiest day in America military history

The outnumbered confederate forces fought desperately and well

Despite significant advantages in manpower, McClellan was unable to concentrate his forces effectively, which meant that Lee was able to shift his defenders to parry each of three Union thrusts

Launched separately and sequentially against the confederate left, center, and finally right

McClellan was unwilling to employ his ample reserves forces to capitalize on localized successes

The battle was tactically inconclusive, although Lee technically was defeated because he withdrew first from the battlefield and retreated back to Virginia

At the end of June, Lee began a series of attacks that became known as the Seven Days Battles. The first major battle, at Mechanicsville, was poorly coordinated by Lee and his subordinates and caused heavy casualties for little tactical gain

The battle had significant impact on McClellan’s nerve

As Lee continued his offensive at Gaines’s Mill to the east, McClellan played a passive role and decided to withdraw his army to a safer base

In doing so he may have unwittingly saved his army

Northern fears of a continued offensive by Robert E. Lee were realized when he launched his Maryland Campaign on Sept 4, hoping to arouse pro-Southern sympathy in the slave state of Maryland

McClellan’s pursuit began on Sept 5, he marched toward Maryland with six of his reorganized corps, about 84,000 men, leaving two corps behind to defend Washington

George B. McClellan… Cont’d

George B. McClellan… Cont’d

Sources

"George B. McClellan." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 July 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_B._McClellan>.

"Ironclad Warship." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 July 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironclad_warship>.

"Louisiana Purchase." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 July 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase>.

"Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 July 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Maximilian_of_Wied-Neuwied>.

"Karl Bodmer." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 July 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Bodmer>.

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