Last Best Hope of Earth

Category: Early Republic

  • Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable

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    Daniel Webster.

    In 1830, Daniel Webster, Senator from Massachusetts, engaged in a heated debate with Robert Hayne, Senator from South Carolina, which touched on the political theory of federal and state sovereignty.

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  • Jackson’s Early Economic Success

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    President Andrew Jackson. Circa 1830-32. By: Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl.

    President Andrew Jackson had good fortune as his presidency began with a wave of prosperity. See Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 360.

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  • The Maysville Road Veto

    Political Cartoon of Andrew Jackson
    Political Cartoon Depicting the Maysville Road Veto.

    The Maysville Road was a major internal improvement that Congress had captured in a bill, the Maysville Road Bill. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 357. It was meant to be a link in the burgeoning transportation network, “connecting the National Road to the north with the Natchez Trace to the south and the Ohio with the Tennessee river systems.” Id.

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  • Jackson’s Removal of Native Americans

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    Depiction of the Removal of Native Americans.

    In the first year of Andrew Jackson’s presidency, the removal of Native Americans from their lands became a top priority.

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  • The Jurisprudence of the Removal of Native Americans

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    William Wirt. By: Henry Inman.

    In the face of the removal of Native Americans, the Cherokees turned to the federal courts for help.

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  • America’s First Sex Scandal

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    Andrew Jackson. By: Alexander Hay Ritchie.

    Upon arriving in the White House, Andrew Jackson appointed John Eaton as Secretary of War. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 336. Little did Jackson know the extent to which this decision would plague the first year of his presidency.

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  • The Dawn of the Age of Jackson

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    Inauguration of Andrew Jackson. By: Robert Cruickshank.

    Andrew Jackson, upon taking the White House, was bound to change the political landscape of America, and he did so quickly.

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  • Introduction of the Seventh President

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    Depiction of Andrew Jackson Taking the Oath of Office.

    Following the Election of 1828, Andrew Jackson was preparing to move into the White House, newly a widower and introducing a change in leadership.

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  • Nat Turner’s Rebellion

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    Depiction of Nat Turner’s Rebellion.

    On August 22, 1831, the greatest slave rebellion in United States history occurred, led by a “mystic religious visionary named Nat Turner.” Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 323.

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  • The Image of Democracy

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    Alexis de Tocqueville. By: Theodore Chasseriau.

    America, in the early part of the 1800s, developed a reputation for being an experimental society. It was a prime example of popular rule, which brought a unique perspective to the world stage. See Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 304.

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