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April 9, 2020 History NotesCHAPTER 12: EDUCATION AND CULTURECulture—customs, beliefs, and arts of a peopleFactors that made America’s culture different from that of Europe 1. Geography 2. Immigration 3. Love of freedom 4. Economic opportunityThe earliest Americans had repudiated socialism in favor of capitalismAmericans judged each other on what they did, not what family they came fromEDUCATION Education was important to Americans because 1. Americans were generally Christian—they thought it important to be able to read scripture 2. Americans knew that to remain free, they must be educatedEarly in our history schools were primarily 1 room cabinsStudents of all ages learned in the same environmentTeachers were hired by the parentsTeachers were generally highly respected members of the community TEXTBOOKSNOAH WEBSTER’S Blue Backed Speller was the only textbook for many frontier childrenThe book incorporated reading spelling, geography, economics, and scripture teachingsWebster sold a huge number of these booksWebster produced the first dictionary of the English language MCGUFFEY’S READERS were also widely used by American children during this periodMcGuffey’s books were similar in content to Webster’s “Blue Backed Speller” An estimated 120,000,000 of these books were publishedHORACE MANN, a Massachusetts teacher, was a key figure in providing free ‘public’ schools for elementary students; he is called the ‘father of education” in the USAHe also advocated for free public high schools, but it was not until after the civil war that public high schools became common placeHIGHER EDUCATIONThe UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA was the first public universityOBERLIN COLLEGE (Ohio) was the first to award a degree to a black female WESLEYAN (Georgia) was the first college for women LITERATURE, MUSIC, ARTThe period from 1800 – 1860 produced an abundance of very high quality literature, music, and art Page 2LONGFELLOW-poet who wrote “Paul Revere’s Ride”, “Hiawatha”, and many other great poems p. 6OLIVER WENDELL HOMES-wrote “Old Ironsides” and other great worksWASHINGTON IRVING-wrote ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ and other notable short storiesHERMAN MELVILLE- wrote ‘Moby Dick’ and other great novelsEDGAR ALLEN POE-wrote mysterious short stories and poemsHORACE GREELEY-was the editor of the New York Tribune and used his paper to support abolition and temperanceSTEPHEN FOSTER-wrote “My Old Kentucky Home” and other familiar songs. SMALL TOWNSPrior to the civil war, 80% of Americans lived on family farms or in small towns.Typical country towns consisted of a general store, church, post office, bank, school, and a few houses. Many small towns also had a doctor. General stores sold goods that farmers could not make: tools, nails, salt, sugar, candy, etc.Barter was often used rather than the exchange of moneyGeneral stores were a social gathering place where people got together to discuss politics and any other subjects of interestChurches also provided social gathering placesCITIES—only about 20% of Americans lived in cities in 1860The largest cities in the US were New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston, and New OrleansCities were busy places that were full of activityStreets were filled with horses, buggies, carts, peopleCitizens could find most anything they wanted in these cities: cobblers made and/or repaired shoes and boots tailors made clothes milliners made hats butchers sold meatBy the 1860s, cities had gas street lights, sources of clean water, and waste disposalFAMILY FARMSLife on a family farm meant lots of hard work that involved every family member Land had to be cleared, plowed, and plantedFarmers who did not own an ox or mule had to pull his plow himselfFarmers also had to build a cabin and a barnLivestock had to be taken care of—often by the childrenMom took care of the garden and made clothes for the familyFrequently, neighbors would get together to help a farmer build a barn or a cabin The ladies might get together to make quilts or to shuck the corn Page 3The family farm required much work but provided families with plenty of everything needed Family farms provided a good environment in which to raise childrenFamily farms promoted discipline and self-reliance Hunting, fishing, playing games, and telling stories provided recreationChapter 13: THE PROMISE OF THE WESTTHE PROMISE OF THE WESTThe Promise of the west was just more of the American Dream…own land, work hard, make a good living for yourself and your family. The dream was the same as always, it just moved west as land in the east became too expensive or too worn out to produce good crops. Like earlier pioneers who came across the Appalachians, these pioneer faced danger and hardship that is hard for us to understand.TEXASTexas was a very popular destination for Americans moving west in search of the American DreamTexas was Mexican territory during this anche and other Indian tribes used Texas as their base to raid Mexicans south of the Rio GrandeThe Mexican government began to encourage Americans to settle in Texas to serve as a barrier or buffer from these Indian raids Stephen F. Austin’s father was given a large tract of land in Texas by the Mexican governmentStephen took leadership of the Americans in Texas following the death of his fatherThousands of Americans poured into Texas and at first were welcomed by the Mexicans Life was good for Americans under Stephen AustinAustin became known as the ‘Father of Texas’; Texas’ capital city is named for himCONFLICTThe good life changed drastically for Americans when SANTA ANA became dictator of MexicoAmericans had many of their freedoms taken: 1. Mexico dissolved the Texas legislature 2. Roman Catholic was made the official religion of Texas 3. Mexico required that Catholic priests conduct weddings 4. Texans were taxed to pay for the Catholic ChurchSoon angry Texas drove the small contingent of Mexican soldiers out of TexasTHE ALAMOIn February 1836, Santa Ana led a large Mexican army into Texas to regain control of the regionA small group of Texans was stationed at an old Spanish mission in San Antonio for defense purposesThe Mexican army made plans to attack the AlamoFeb 23, 1836 1,800 Mexicans commanded by Santa Ana laid siege to the Alamo defended by about 200 Texans under the command of William Travis and Jim Bouie For 12 days the American Texans held firm against repeated attacks by Mexico Page 4On the 13th day, however, Mexicans overpowered the Texans and were able to come over the wallsALL of the Texas were shot dead or bayoneted to deathAmong those killed that day was DAVY CROCKETT, famous frontiersman and former Congressman who represented Jackson, TN in Congress The Alamo was important, even in defeat, for at future battles in the war which this incident triggered, Texas soldiers would yell ‘REMEMBER THE ALAMO’ as they went into battle.THE ALAMO TODAY IS A STATE SHRINE AND THE MOSTED VISITED SITE IN TEXAS.THE TEXAS WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE SAM HOUSTON was named commander of the Texas army.Santa Ana determined to defeat Houston and thus regain control of Texas About 1,500 men volunteered to fight the Mexicans with HoustonSanta Ana welcomed fresh troops and now commanded about 2000 menSanta Ana immediately set out to find, capture, and defeat the Texas armyApril 21, 1836 Santa Ana caught up with Houston’s volunteer army at SAN JACINTOSanta Ana divided his army into 3 groups with the intention of surrounding Houston Houston, however, ordered a surprise attack during siesta time that caught the Mexicans unpreparedThe battle that followed last less than 30 minutes with the Mexicans totally defeatedSanta Ana did his best to disguise himself and hide among his menThe trick did not work…he was caught in a corn field Houston had been shot in the ankle, but he was able to conduct the surrenderLONE STAR REPUBLICTexas was awarded her independence and became a NEW COUNTRY…NOT YET A STATEThe new country was called the Lone Star RepublicIts flag was red, white, and blue with 1 large white star…today it is the state flag of TexasSam Houston was elected as president of the LSR SETTLING THE NORTHWESTWhile many Americans migrated to the Texas country to the south and west, many others seeking the American Dream went northwest, the area that Louis and Clark had explored a few years earlier. BLAZING THE TRAILFur traders and missionaries were the first Americans to explore areas west of the Mississippi River.These were the people who marked the trails that settlers would follow in their quest for western land.JEDIDIAH SMITHJed Smith was maybe the most important fur trader and mountain man in American History. Page 5He was hired to go west in search of new lands on which fur trappers could find fur bearing animals.Along the way, however, he discovered the SOUTH PASS, a relatively easy passage through the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming that wagons could navigate. He and his companions were also the first white men to cross the Great Basin Desert of Utah and Nevada, although in doing so their horses died and they had to eat lizards and snakesSmith and his men were also first to visit Southern California, an area sparsely settled by Mexicans. Smith and his men then traveled north along the California Coast to the Columbia River.There is much additional information to be shared from this chapter. We will conclude this topic next week. ................
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