The Triumph and Travails of the Jefferson Republic Chapter 11

The Triumph and Travails of the Jefferson RepublicChapter 11

The Jeffersonian “Revolution of 1800”• Jefferson won 73 electoral votes to Adams’

65 (more than he won in when elected in 1796).• Running mate Aaron Burr was

instrumental in helping Jefferson win New York.• The 3/5 clause of the Constitution helped

Jefferson because of the new power of the Southern states.

The Jeffersonian “Revolution of 1800”• There was a big issue after the election

because Jefferson (Pres.) and Burr (VP running mate) earned the same number of electoral votes for the Presidency.• Under the Constitution, the tie could only

be broken by the House, who took several months to declare Jefferson the winner.• John Adams would be the last Federalist

President of the United States.

Jeffersonian Restraint

• Jefferson quickly pardoned the “martyrs” who were held under the now expired Alien and Sedition Acts.•After Congress met Jeffersonians

enacted a new naturalization law that reduced the residence requirement from 14 years to 5 years.

The “Dead Clutch” of the Judiciary• The Judiciary Act of 1801 was the last

important law passed by the expiring Federalist Congress.• It created 16 new federal judgeships and

other judicial offices.• The Republicans were mad because it was

one last attempt by Federalists to entrench their party into lifetime posts.

The “Dead Clutch” of the Judiciary• The Jeffersonians repealed the act a year

after it was passed.• The Jeffersonians were hard after Supreme

Court Chief Justice John Marshall ( a cousin of Jefferson) after he was appointed by Adams (he was the 4th choice) in the dying days of his term.• Marshall served 30 days under Adams and

another 34 years under Jefferson and subsequent Presidents.

Marbury v. Madison

• William Marbury (Fed.) was appointed justice of the peace of Washington D.C., but the position was being shelved by new secretary of state James Madison (Rep.).• Marbury sued for the delivery of the position.• Knowing he had no Federalist backing, Marshall

dismissed Marbury’s suit, but ruled that the Judiciary Act of 1789 (on which Marbury based his appeal) was unconstitutional because it attempted to assign to the Supreme Court powers that the Constitution had not foreseen.

Marbury v. Madison

• Marshall greatly magnified the authority of the Supreme Court.• Marbury v. Madison settled who had the final

authority to determine the meaning of the Constitution, the courts or the states.• Marshall promoted the principal of “judicial

review”- the idea that the Supreme Court alone had the last word on the question of constitutionality.

The Louisiana Godsend

• In 1800 Napoleon got the king of Spain to cede that Louisiana Territory to France.• In 1802 Spaniards withdrew the right

of deposit guaranteed to American traders by Pinckney’s Treaty of 1795.• The pioneers were upset and the

pacifist Jefferson needed to act.


• Spain was no threat, but in the hands of Napoleon, Louisiana signified a coming war and breaking the American practice of not seeking military alliances.• In 1803 James Madison was sent to meet

up with foreign minister Robert R. Livingston and buy New Orleans and as much land to the east as they could for $10 million.


• If no agreement could be made, they were to go seek an alliance with England and prepare for war with France.• At a critical point, Napoleon decided to sell all of

Louisiana and abandon his dream of a New World Empire.• Two reasons why Napoleon changed his mind;• The failure to retake Santo Domingo (Haiti) from

rebellious enslaved Africans led by Toussaint L’Ouverture.• Not wanting to get into another war with England or

drive the U.S. into an alliance with England.


• Napoleon decided to sell Louisiana and pocket the money.• On April 30, 1803 the French ceded Louisiana to

the U.S. for about $15 million.• There were a couple problems for Jefferson;• He had instructed Livingston to spend no more than $10

million on New Orleans and lands east, whereas Livingston spent $15 million on New Orleans and lands west.

• Jefferson wanted to pass an Amendment (he didn’t think he had power for this size purchase), but any stall might make Napoleon reconsider.


• Even though it was unconstitutional, senators were ecstatic to receive 828,000 square miles for $15 million ($.03/acre).

Louisiana in the Long View

• With the Louisiana Purchase, America secured at one bloodless stroke the western half of the richest river valley in the world and further laid the foundations of a future major power.• In spring of 1804, Jefferson sent his personal

secretary Meriwether Lewis, and a young army officer named William Clark to explore the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase.

Louisiana in the Long View

• Lewis and Clark and their exploration group, the Corps of Discovery crossed the Missouri River in St. Louis and spent the winter of 1804 with the Mandan Indians in North Dakota.• Aided by a Shoshone woman named

Sacajawea, they struggled across the northern prairies and through the Rockies to the Columbia River on the Pacific coast.

The Aaron Burr Conspiracies

• Burr dropped from Jefferson’s cabinet in his 2nd term.• Burr joined a group of Federalist

extremists to plot the secession of New England and New York.• Alexander Hamilton, though no friend of

Jefferson, exposed the plot and foiled it.• Incensed, Burr challenged Hamilton to a

duel.


• Hamilton deplore dueling and even though it was illegal in several states at that point, felt he needed to defend his honor.• Hamilton met Burr at the appointed hour, but

refused to fire his weapon.• Burr’s single shot killed Hamilton, along with Burr’s

political career.• With the help if Gen. James Wilkinson, military

governor of the Louisiana Territory, Burr plotted to split the country in half and invade Florida and Mexico.


• In fall of 1806, Burr and 60 followers floated down the Mississippi to meet with Wilkinson, but Wilkinson learned that Jefferson knew his plot and fled to New Orleans.• Burr was arrested and tried, but ultimately

acquitted.• He fled to Europe where he tried to urge

Napoleon to make peace with Britain and launch an attack on America.

Madison’s Gamble

• Following Washington’s precedent, Jefferson left the presidency after 2 terms.• On March 4, 1809 James Madison took the

oath of the presidency and immediately faced factions within his own party.• The U.S. looked to repeal the Non-

Intercourse Act that formally reopened trade with the world, except for Britain and France.

Madison’s Gamble

• Madison accepted an offer from Napoleon that France would lift restrictions if the U.S. continued its embargo against England.• This would allow Napoleon to partially

blockade his enemy without having to lift a finger.• Madison thought this would force Britain to

reopen its trade with the U.S., but Madison’s gamble did not pay off.

Mr. Madison’s War

• By spring of 1812, Madison believed war with England to be inevitable.• Natives were armed by the British, which

made matters worse.• One prominent Republican called the war a

test, “to determine whether the republican system adopted by the people is imbecile and transient, or whether it has force and duration worthy of the enterprise.”

Mr. Madison’s War

• Madison asked Congress to declare war on June 1, 1812 (this is the first of only 5 times when Congress has formally exercised its constitutional power).• The vote in the House was 79 to 49 and 19 to

13 in the Senate, which showed how deeply divided people were over the idea of fighting.• Support for the war came from the West and

the South, but also from PA and VA.

Mr. Madison’s War

• Federalists in both North and South damned the conflict, but New England took it further with muffled bells, flags at half-mast, and public fasting.• It is odd that the seafaring New Englanders

opposed the war for a free sea.• The Pro-British Federalists in the northeast

sympathized with Britain and resented the Republicans’ sympathy with Napoleon whom they regarded as the “Corsican butcher” and the “anti-Christ of the age”.

The Second War for Independence and the Upsurge of NationalismChapter 12

On to Canada over Land and Lakes• In 1812 the regular army was ill-trained, ill-

disciplined, and widely scattered.• The militia that supplemented the regulars

were mostly known for their ability to quickly leave the battlefield.• Instead of capturing Montreal and possibly

ending the war, the Americans attacked in a three-pronged force that set out at Detroit, Niagara, and Lake Champlain.

On to Canada over Land and Lakes• The Americans turned their attention to the

Great Lakes in which American naval officer Oliver Hazard Perry captured a British fleet in the battle of Lake Erie.• Despite successes, the Americans were grimly

defending their own soil against the British by 1814.• In 1814, Napoleon was exiled to the island of

Elba, leaving the Americans to face the music alone.

On to Canada over Land and Lakes• The Americans were able to fight off

British moving in from Canada by way of NY, which may have saved the American union from its demise.

Washington Burned and New Orleans Defended• In August of 1814 a 2nd British force (4,000

soldiers) landed in the Chesapeake Bay region.• They marched to Washington and set fire

to most public buildings, including the Capitol and the White House.• As this happened, the Americans in

Baltimore held firm at Fort McHenry as it was hammered by cannons.

Washington Burned and New Orleans Defended• A detained American prisoner named Francis

Scott Key watched the battle from a British ship and wrote the words of the “Star Spangled Banner”, which was set to the tune of an English tavern song.• The 3rd British wave was aimed at New Orleans in

1814.• Future President Andrew Jackson commanded a

force of 7,000 sailors, regulars, pirates, Frenchmen, and militiamen from LA, TN, and KY.

Washington Burned and New Orleans Defended• The British made a poorly calculated

frontal assault and lost 2,000 men in a half hour.• The victory made Andrew Jackson a

national hero, even though word arrived that the Treaty of Ghent had been signed two weeks before the battle.

The Treaty of Ghent

• Tsar Alexander I of Russia pushed for mediation Britain and America as early as 1812.• Five American peacemakers, including

John Quincy Adams (son of John) and Henry Clay met with British officials in the small Belgian town of Ghent.

Treaty of Ghent

• The British demanded (remember, British were in control at this point):• A neutralized Indian buffer state in the Great

Lakes region• Control of the Great Lakes• A substantial part of Maine• The U.S. rejected these terms and as the

war dragged on, the British were more willing to compromise.

Treaty of Ghent

• The British were also preoccupied with negotiating with France at the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815).• The Treaty of Ghent, signed on Christmas

Eve 1814, was essentially an armistice.• Both sides agreed to stop fighting and

restore territory to prewar conditions, but did nothing to address the grievances at the heart of the war.

Federalists Grievances and the Hartford Convention• As the war dragged on, New England

extremists became more vocal and some pushed for secession from the Union.• In late 1814, when the capture of New

Orleans seemed imminent, MA issued a call for convention at Hartford, CT.•MA, CT, and RI dispatched full delegations;

neighboring NH and VT sent partial representation.

Federalists Grievances and the Hartford Convention• 26 men met in complete secrecy for about three

weeks to discuss their grievances and to seek redress.• The final report demanded financial assistance from

Washington to compensate for lost trade and proposed constitutional amendments requiring 2/3 vote in Congress before an embargo could be imposed, new states admitted, or war declared.• Delegates sought to abolish the 3/5 clause (felt New

England was falling subservient to the agrarian west and south).

Federalists Grievances and the Hartford Convention• They also wanted Presidents limited to a single

term, and to prohibit the election of two successive presidents from the same state (break up the “Virginia dynasty”).• Three envoys from Mass went to the burnt out

Washington where word had just reached about New Orleans and shortly thereafter, the Treaty of Ghent.• As their complaints seemed petty, the envoys

sank away in disgrace.

Federalists Grievances and the Hartford Convention• The Federalists were never again to

mount a successful presidential campaign.•Until 1815, there was far more talk of

nullification and secession in New England than in any other section of the country, including the South.

The 2nd War for American Independence• Other nations developed a new respect for

America’s fighting prowess after the War of 1812.• In a diplomatic sense, if not in a military

sense, the conflict could be called the Second War for American Independence.• In 1817, the Rush-Bagot agreement between

the British and the United States severely limited armaments on the Great Lakes.

Nascent Nationalism

• The most impressive by product of the War of 1812 was a heightened sense of nationalism- the spirit of nation-consciousness or national oneness.• Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper

attained international recognition as they were the first writers to use American scenes and themes.• Textbooks were now being written for

Americans, by Americans.

Nascent Nationalism

• The Bank of the United States was voted by Congress in 1816.• The army was expanded to 10,000

men and the navy further covered itself in glory as they defeated pirates in Northern Africa.

“The American System”

• After the war, American manufacturing began to take shape due to self-imposed embargoes before and during the war.• British competitors tried to dump the contents of

their warehouses on the U.S., often cutting prices below cost to try and run the American factories out of business.• Having failed to crush the U.S. on the battlefield,

the British were now trying to crush the U.S. in the marketplace.


• The nationalist Congress responded by passing the Tariff of 1816- the first tariff in American history instituted primarily for protection, not revenue.• The rates (20 to 25 percent of dutiable imports)

were not high enough to provide completely adequate safeguards, but the law was a bold beginning.• Henry Clay threw himself behind an elaborate

scheme known by 1824 as the American System.


• The American System had 3 main parts; • A strong banking system, which would provide

easy and abundant credit.• A protective tariff, behind which eastern

manufacturing would flourish, and provide funds for• A network of roads and canals, especially in

the burgeoning Ohio Valley, in which foodstuffs and raw materials would flow in from all directions.


• In return, a stream of manufactured goods would flow in the return direction, knitting the country together economically and politically.• An outcry for better transportation (roads) was

one of the most striking aspects of the nationalism inspired by the War of 1812.• Congress voted in 1817 to distribute $1.5 million

to the states for internal improvements, but President Madison vetoed the handout as unconstitutional.


• The individual states were left to venture ahead with construction programs of their own, including the Erie Canal, which was completed by New York in 1825.• New England, not surprisingly, strongly

opposed federally constructed roads and canals, because such outlets would further drain away population and create competing states beyond the mountains.

The So-Called Era of Good Feelings• James Monroe was the Republican

nominee for the Presidential race of 1816.• He was the next in the line of the “Virginia

Dynasty”, following in the footsteps of Washington, Jefferson, and Madison.• The Federalists ran their last candidate in

their history, but he was crushed by 149 electoral votes.

The So-Called Era of Good Feelings• The Era of Good Feelings, the phrase

commonly used to describe Monroe’s presidency was somewhat of a misnomer.• Problems such as; the tariff issues, the

national bank, internal improvements, the sale of public land, and the conflict over slavery were issues that plagued Monroe’s time in office.

The Panic of 1819 and the Curse of Hard Times• Economic panic descended in 1819 and deflation,

depression, bankruptcy, bank failures, and unemployment came with it.• The main cause was that the national bank had

become involved in over speculation in frontier lands.• The national bank forced the speculative (“wildcat”)

banks to the wall and foreclosed mortgages on countless western farms.• People in the western states began to view the

national bank as a financial devil.

Growing Pains of the West

• Between 1791 and 1819, 9 frontier states were added to the union, alternately free or slave.• Immigrants were heading westward as were

former farmers who felt that the nutrients in the soil were being overused.• The embargo years also moved people away

from the coast and the pacification of the natives helped people move farther and farther inland.

The Uneasy Missouri Compromise• In 1821, Missouri was admitted as a slave

state.• To return balance between the free and

slave states, Maine (which until this time as part of MA) was admitted as a free state.• The balance between North and South

was at 12 each, where it would stay for 15 more years.

The Uneasy Missouri Compromise• Although Missouri was permitted to retain

slaves, all future bondage was prohibited in the remainder of the Louisiana Purchase north of the southern boundary of Missouri.• The Missouri Compromise lasted for 34

years and during that time it preserved the shaky compact of the states.

The Uneasy Missouri Compromise• Even though the Missouri Compromise (slave

problems) and the panic of 1819 should have clouded the Era of Good Feelings, the people loved President Monroe.• It didn’t hurt that Federalist opposition was weak.• During the Presidential election of 1820, Monroe

gained every electoral vote except one.• Monroe, as it turned out, was the only president in

American history to be reelected after a term in which a major financial panic began.

Sharing Oregon and Acquiring Florida• Monroe and John Q. Adams, negotiated the

underrated Anglo-American Convention with Britain in 1818.• This pact permitted Americans to share coveted

Newfoundland fisheries with their Canadian cousins.• The pact also provided for a ten-year joint

occupation of the untamed Oregon Country, without surrender of the rights or claims of either America or Britain.

Sharing Oregon and Acquiring Florida• At this point, most of FL remained under the

control of the Spanish.• Revolutions in South America left FL devoid of

Spanish troops, much to the excitement of Gen. Andrew Jackson.• Jackson secured a commission to enter Spanish

FL to defeat any Indians and recapture any runaway slaves taking refuge.• He was however, to respect all posts under the

Spanish flag.

Sharing Oregon and Acquiring Florida• Jackson exceeded his instructions and quickly

took over Pensacola and St. Marks.• As the presidential cabinet moved to take action

against the overzealous Jackson, Adams spoke out and demanded huge concessions from Spain.• The Florida Purchase Treaty of 1819 ceded

Spanish FL, as well as Spanish claims to Oregon, in exchange for the U.S. claims to Texas (becoming part of independent Mexico).

The Menace of Monarchy in America• Many European countries put down

republican revolutions in order to restore despotic rulers.• Rumors began to fly that Russia, Prussia,

Austria, and France would work together to overthrow revolted colonies in Spanish America.• Obviously, having powerful enemies with

differing ideals this close would not work out well.

The Menace of Monarchy in America• In 1821 the tsar of Russia extended Russian

jurisdiction into present day British Columbia and the Russians already established trading posts as far south as San Francisco.• The fear was that the Russians were planning on

cutting the U.S. off from California, its window to the Pacific.• George Canning, British foreign minister

approached the American minister in London with a proposition.

The Menace of Monarchy in America• Canning wanted the U.S. to combine with

Britain on a joint declaration renouncing any interest in acquiring Latin American lands, and specifically warning the European despots to keep their harsh hands off the Latin American republics.• The American minister, unsure of what to

do, relayed the message to Washington.

Monroe and His Doctrine

• Adams was very wary of Canning’s proposal because the U.S. had neither a strong navy nor army.• Canning worried that the U.S. would one

day seize Spanish territory in the Americas (possibly Cuba), which would jeopardize Britain’s possessions in the Caribbean.• On top of that, Adams concluded that there

were no definite plans for an attack on American soil.


• In late 1823 the Monroe doctrine was born after the nationalistic Adams convinced the nationalistic Monroe to see his way of thinking.• In his regular address to Congress on

December 2nd, Monroe gave a stern warning to the European powers;• Noncolonization• Nonintervention


•Directed toward the Russians in the Northwest; Monroe proclaimed that the ear of colonization in the Americas had ended and that the hunting season was permanently closed.•What the Europeans had they may

keep, but they were to take no more land.


•Monroe also spoke out against foreign intervention.•Monroe told the crowned heads of

Europe to keep their hated monarchical systems out of his hemisphere.

Monroe’s Doctrine Appraised

• Even before Monroe’s speech the Russian tsar decided to retreat.• In 1824, the Russo-American Treaty fixed the

southernmost limits of Russian territory at the present southern tip of the Alaska panhandle.• The Monroe Doctrine might have more

accurately been called the Self-Defense Doctrine because it was concerned with the security of the U.S., not Latin America.

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The Triumph and Travails of the Jefferson Republic Chapter 11