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American System for kids: Background History
America was growing as a new, autonomous nation and realized
that they needed to become independent from Britain and the other
European countries of Europe, in an economic and commercial sense.
Before the
War of 1812 the US had depended on exports for most of
their manufactured goods - 84% of American people were farmers. The
United States was brimming with
natural resources but needed factories to make manufactured goods.
The government needed to create an economical environment in which
American trade would flourish, money was made available for the
industrialists to build factories in the east and people had the
transport system to make homes in the new lands in the west. The
American system was designed to meet the requirements of the new,
expanding and independent nation.
The
American System for kids: Henry Clay, the 'Man with a Plan' - The
American System
Henry Clay (1777 – 1852) was a skilled politician and a 'man with a
plan'. Henry Clay was a great supporter of the American System, an
economic plan based on many of the ideas of Alexander Hamilton.
What was the American System? The Economic Plan
The economic plan called the American System was based on:
● Taxing all foreign
goods, to boost the sales of US products and protect
manufacturers from cheap British goods
● Establishing another
Bank of the United States to offer easy credit to
Americans
● Constructing new
roads and canals in the West
What were the aims of the American System?
The American system was a three-pronged plan aimed at:
● Improving the economy of
the United States
● Introducing a protective
Tariff to enable the nation to raise money from these taxes and
at the same time protect the nation's goods from cheaper priced
foreign items
● Improving the lives of
American citizens
● Creating new
transportation systems connecting America
What was the Purpose of the American System?
The purpose of the American System was to make the most of the
opportunities provided by the acquisition of the new lands in
the west and ensure that US money benefited US Citizens. In 1816
the plan that incorporated the American System was made a
reality by passing two laws to meet these objectives. In 1816
Congress created another Bank of the United States and passed
the Tariff of 1816, which placed a 20-25% tax on all foreign
goods. (The chartering
of the
Second Bank of
the United States on April 10, 1816
was badly managed at first and the
Panic of 1819 occurred when the Second Bank
of the United States tightened its loan policy.)
The
Significance of the American System:
What was the significance of the American System?
● New industries were
established
● Factories were built
● America reduced their
dependence on foreign goods
●
Americans prospered and
felt confident in making homes in the new lands acquired in the
Louisiana Purchase and in
Florida
●
Roads and canals were
built that enabled Americans to travel and the
Cumberland Road, the
Erie Canal
were constructed
●
General Survey Act of 1824
was passed, authorizing the president to have surveys made of important
transportation routes by the Corps of Engineers
● The
American System helped to fuel the belief in the
Manifest Destiny of the
United States
For additional
information of transportation systems of the 1800's
refer to
Railroads in
the 1800s,
Steamboats of the
1800's and the
History of Turnpikes.
The American System for kids: Who was Henry Clay?
Who was Henry Clay?
● Henry Clay was a strong
supporter of the American System
● He was a lawyer, statesman
and excellent orator
● Henry Clay was born on April
12, 1777 in Virginia, married Lucretia Hart Clay and had eleven
children
● He owned a plantation and law
firm in Kentucky
● Henry Clay started his
political career as a State Legislator for Kentucky in 1803
● He was elected to the Senate
in 1806 and 1810
● In 1811 Henry Clay was
elected to the House of Representatives and chosen Speaker of
the House
●
He was one of the 'War Hawks'
who advocated war with the British in the
War of 1812
● Henry Clay was a strong
supporter of the economic policies of Alexander Hamilton (who
had been killed in 1804 in the
Aaron Burr duel)
● It was Henry
Clay who named the national economic plan to build US industry,
the 'American System'
● Henry Clay,
together with John. C. Calhoun (a politician, political theorist
and proponent of a protective tariffs), helped to push through
the Protective Tariff of 1816
● The 'American
System' was implemented during the Era of Good Feelings
● The
Tariff of
1828 aka the "Tariff of Abominations" raised tariffs
considerably in an attempt to protect new factories
● Henry Clay's
American System eventually ran out of steam during the
administration of President Jackson
Protective Tariffs
For additional facts and a timeline
refer to
Protectionism and Tariffs.
American System for kids - President James Monroe Video
The article on the
American System provides an overview of one of the Important
events in his presidential term in office. The following
James Monroe video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 5th American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1817 to March 4, 1825.
American System
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Interesting Facts about the American System for kids and schools
●
James Monroe and the American System
●
Definition of the American System
●
James Monroe Presidency from March 4, 1817 to March 4, 1825
●
Fast, fun, interesting facts on the American System
●
The American System and Henry Clay
●
James Monroe Presidency and American System for schools,
homework, kids and children |
