Market Revolution Dbq

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The Market Revolution (1815-1848) was a time of rapid political change throughout the United States, with democracy coming to the forefront. The fight for democracy reached a boiling point after the War of 1812. This was due to more diverse groups getting involved in politics, and demanding that the United States follow through on its promise of “liberty and justice for all.” This led to the rise of many different political movements including passive resistance by Native Americans and the abolitionist movement. Many groups were finding the best way to use a political platform to further their agenda toward liberty. Despite greater liberty for previously marginalized whites, liberty continued to contract during the Market Revolution for people …show more content…

The Market Revolution was a time of loss and restriction for Native Americans. They experienced the largest constraint of liberty through the loss of land and citizenship. Two Supreme Court rulings represented the government's anti Native American stance. The first ruling Johnson v. M’Intosh in 1823 proclaimed that Native American were not owners of their land and only had a “right of occupancy.” In 1831, Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, ruled that Native Americans were “wards” of the federal government. Both of these rulings were devastating for Native Americans, and resulted in the loss of the land that they had been living on for hundreds of years and loss of citizenship. In response, John Ross, a Cherokee chief, led a passive resistance movement where Native Americans refused to give up their land. This did not end well for Native Americans and led to their forced removal. The Trail of Tears during the winter of 1938-39 was the forced march of Native Americans to what is present day Oklahoma. About a quarter of the people died on trip and the survivors’ lives were radically changed by being forced to live on foreign land. Africans Americans were another group who were fighting for their equality during the Market Revolution with the abolitionist movement. This movement began during the Market Revolution, but faced significant barriers. Their lack of liberty became even more apparent when international slave trade was banned in 1807. The southern economy still relied on the slave labor and no US state considered free blacks full citizens. Race served as a boundary in the political world and despite the abolitionist movement even free blacks were still second class citizens. Liberty contracted for people of color as whites controlled the Market

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