payment page
Panic of 1819
The state banks that had risen up to financially support speculation and expansion had issued notes far in excess of what they could realistically redeem. In reaction to this situation, the Bank of the United States insisted that the state banks redeem all notes that had passed into the hands of the Bank of the US. In order to pay the Bank of the US, the state banks had to demand payment of debts by the farmers of the Midwest. The result was a vast restriction in the amount of circulating money, and a substantial cutback in the amount of credit offered farmers and speculators, dramatically slowing the economy. The Panic of 1819 punctured the land rush and the agricultural boom that had been underway since 1815, and alerted farmers to the need for more effective transportation to distant markets.
Texas Rebellion
As the population of American settlers in Texas had grown, relations with the Mexican government had steadily soured. When, in 1834, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna purged the liberals from the government and began restricting the independence of the Mexican territories, many Texans decided it was time for a clean break. Texan leaders met and declared independence, soon beginning a series of battles that culminated with the April 1836 capture of Santa Anna himself. Though the Texans forced him to sign a treaty declaring Texas independent, the Mexican government never officially recognized the treaty, and the status of Texas remained in question, to be decided by the Mexican War.
Trail of Tears
In 1835, federal agents persuaded a pro-removal Cherokee chief to sign the Treaty of New Echota, which ceded all Cherokee land for $5.6 million and free transportation west. Most Cherokees rejected the treaty, but resistance was futile. Between 1835 and 1838 bands of Cherokees moved west of the Mississippi along the so-called “Trail of Tears.” Between 2,000 and 4,000 of the 16,000 migrating Cherokees died. The Trail of Tears became a symbol for the harsh treatment of Native Americans at the hands of the federal government.
Wounded Knee
After an excited Native American fired a rifle shot in a non-combat situation, US Army troops massacred 300 Lakota People, including seven children. The massacre, which occurred on December 29, 1890, was the symbolic final step in the war for the West, and after Wounded Knee, Native American largely succumbed to the wishes of the federal government, resigning themselves to reservation life.
