American System

Examples of American System in the following topics:

• The Role of the Government

  • The American System was an economic plan that played a prominent role in American policy during the first half of the nineteenth century.
  • The American System, originally called "The American Way," was an economic plan that played a prominent role in American policy during the first half of the nineteenth century.
  • Another key goal of the American System was the development of a strong central bank.
  • Henry Clay says "Walk in and see the new improved grand original American System!
  • He was the primary advocate of the American System during the Market Revolution.

• Economic Nationalism

  • The "American System," a term synonymous with "National System" and "Protective System," was a system of economics that represented the legacy of Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the treasury under George Washington's presidency.
  • As later defined by Senator Henry Clay, who became known as the "Father of the American System," the American System unified the nation north to south, east to west, and city to farmer.
  • The American System was comprised of the three following cardinal policy points:
  • The South, however, opposed the American System.
  • Henry Clay is considered the Father of the American System of economics.

• Manufacturing

  • The "American System" was the first to successfully implement the use of interchangeable parts in industry.
  • The name "American System" came simply from the fact that for a time in the 1800s the system was strongly associated with the American companies who had first successfully implemented it.
  • Within a few decades, manufacturing technology had evolved further, and the ideas behind the "American System" were in use worldwide.
  • Such innovation, as demonstrated in the American System, had been extolled by Hamilton and the Federalist Party in the 1790s as the supreme virtues of American republicanism.
  • Describe the social and economic significance of the American System's use of standardized, interchangeable parts

• Colonial Government

  • American colonial governments were a local enterprise rooted deeply roots in communities.
  • This promoted the rapid expansion of the legal profession, so that the intense involvement of lawyers in politics became characteristic of the American political system by the 1770s.
  • Unlike Europe, where aristocratic families and established Churches dominated the political sphere, American political culture was relatively open to economic, social, religious, ethnic, and geographical interests (although still excluding the participation of American Indians, women, and African Americans).
  • Hence, the colonial American political system was remarkably different from Europe, where widespread public participation in the political sphere by free white males was expected and enjoyed.
  • While politics in colonial America were public and relatively accessible to most social groups of white males, however, it was primarily localized in scope--the thirteen colonies were not united by a confederate system across regional boundaries until the outset of the American Revolution.

• The Madison Presidency

  • By 1815, there were 400,000 European-American settlers in Ohio, and the American Indians' rights to their lands had effectively become null and void.
  • Madison also implemented an effective taxation system based on tariffs, a standing professional military, and the internal improvements championed by Henry Clay under his American System.
  • The United States looked upon this as an affront to American sovereignty no different than if the British had invaded American soil.
  • The problems were exacerbated by Jefferson's and Madison's dismantling of the systems put in place by Hamilton and the Federalists: They had reduced the military, closed the First National Bank, and narrowed the tax system.
  • They distrusted standing armies and banks, and the dismantling of the Federalist taxation system meant they could not finance the quick hiring of mercenaries.

• The Lowell System

  • The Waltham-Lowell System was a labor and production model employed during the early years of the American textile industry.
  • The Waltham-Lowell System was a labor and production model employed in the United States, particularly in New England, during the early years of the American textile industry in the 19th Century.
  • The precursor to the Waltham-Lowell system was the "Rhode Island System," established by British immigrant Samuel Slater in the 1790s.
  • This immensely profitable model became known as the Waltham-Lowell System, or Lowell System.
  • Describe the transformation of the "Rhode Island System" into the Waltham -Lowell System and its effects on textile production

• American Republicanism

  • American republicanism is a political ideology that sees government as the pursuit of common good by a virtuous, participating citizenry.
  • American republicanism is a multifaceted ideological conception that provoked stark disagreement among those who enshrined it as the foundation of the United States political system.
  • The "Founding Fathers" were strong advocates of republican values who were involved in the shaping of the American political system.
  • Yeoman agriculture, as depicted by the Democratic-Republicans, was a system of small-share farming in which an independent (white male) farmer owned his own land and the fruits of his labor.
  • According to this vision, the yeoman was to be the backbone of American society, rather than the merchant or the artisan.

• The Language of Liberty

  • The American language of liberty is a concept deeply rooted in the Anglo-American colonial experience as well as the American Revolution.
  • Therefore, Anglo-American colonies were extensive communal cultures, centered on the civic and political sphere.
  • Such widespread participation in local community governments was characteristic solely of the Anglo-American colonies.
  • Such widespread participation in public and political life was remarkable, especially when compared with the more rigid, elitist systems in Europe.
  • However, by the mid 18th century, these civic ideals had been enshrined in the American colonial political system as a fundamental foundation of political rights and liberties.

• American Indians and the War Effort

  • The resulting increase in contact with the world outside of the reservation system brought profound changes to American Indian culture.
  • American Indians first saw action in the Pacific Theater along with the rest of the American army and navy.
  • American Indians were also among the first Americans to enter Germany and played a role in the Liberation of Berlin.
  • Many military awards offered to American Indian soldiers were later used during the termination period by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as proof that American Indians were eager to assimilate into white mainstream American culture.
  • The war's aftermath, says historian Allison Bernstein, marked a "new era in Indian affairs" and turned "American Indians" into "Indian Americans."

• Race and Opportunity

  • By 1810, 75 percent of African Americans in the North and 13.5 percent of all African Americans in the United States were free.
  • The system of white supremacy that provided cultural justification of slavery also affected the status of free African Americans, who were perceived as members of an inferior race.
  • Free African American males enjoyed wider employment opportunities than free African American females, who were largely confined to domestic occupations.
  • The African American community also established schools for African American children, who were often barred from entering public schools.
  • While the majority of free African Americans lived in poverty, some were able to establish successful businesses that catered to the African American community.