I. Introduction
Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration heralded a change from the Federalist-controlled government that had preceded. The nation’s political system became better defined and its nationalistic and international positions grew clearer over the next 15 years.
II. The Jefferson Presidency and the Marshall Court
A. Jefferson’s Inaugural
In his inaugural address, Jefferson tried to heal the wounds of the 1800 campaign by appealing to the electorate as citizens with shared common beliefs.
B. Democratic-Republican Ascendancy
Jefferson refused to recognize any of Adams’s late-term Federalist appointments and where possible filled government positions with loyal Democratic-Republicans. Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, cut the federal budget and moved to reduce the national debt.
C. War on the Judiciary
Jefferson had Congress repeal the Judiciary Act of 1801. The Democratic-Republican Congress also impeached and removed Federal District Judge John Pickering. They could not, however, remove Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase.
D. John Marshall
As Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Marshall upheld federal supremacy over the states and protected the interests of commerce and capital. Under Marshall, the Court became an equal branch of the government.
E. Marbury v. Madison
In this case, John Marshall ended criticism that the Supreme Court functioned as a partisan instrument. He also advanced the concept of judicial review, enhancing the independence of the judiciary.
III. Louisiana and Lewis and Clark
A. Louisiana
Spain’s decision to deny Americans the right to store their products at New Orleans prior to transshipment to foreign markets and the subsequent transfer of the Louisiana Territory to the French, threatened the American economy.
B. Louisiana Purchase
James Monroe joined Robert Livingston in France with orders to buy New Orleans. Napoleon offered all 827,000 square miles of the Territory to the United States for fifteen million dollars.
C. Lewis and Clark
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were commissioned by President Jefferson to head an exploratory expedition to the Pacific coast.
D. Corps of Discovery
The Corps of Discovery was a diverse groups consisting of immigrants, Clark’s slave York, the French Canadian trader Toussaint Charbonneau and his Shoshone wife, Sacagawea. The expedition brought valuable information on the West to an expansion-minded United States.
E. Exploration of the West
Zebulon Pike’s wanderings led him to tour and describe Spanish holdings.
IV. Political Factionalism and Jefferson’s Reelection
A. A New Style of Campaigning
Popular campaigning and political organization would become an essential part of the new style of democracy. Several younger Federalists decided to emulate the political style of the Democratic-Republicans.
B. Grassroots Electioneering
The new style of campaign was symbolized by political barbecues. Federalists, however, never mastered the art of campaigning.
C. Hamilton-Burr Duel
In American politics in the early nineteenth century, divisiveness and personal animosities were as strong a force as ideology. And, as seen in the Hamilton-Burr duel, political disagreements sometimes erupted into violence. In the famous duel, Burr killed Hamilton. Burr then conspired to create a political empire in the Southwest. Tried for treason, he was acquitted and fled to Europe.
D. Jefferson’s Reelection
Jefferson carried 15 of 17 states in the 1804 election.
E. Indian Resistance
F. The Prophet
Before the War of 1812, Shawnee brothers Tecumseh and Prophet attempted to create an Indian federation. Prophet (Lalawethika) claimed to have returned from the dead, and he encouraged Indians not to fear whites.
G. Tecumseh
Prophet and Tecumseh encouraged resistance. Tecumseh turned Prophet’s religious message into a political one and traveled widely in an attempt to unify northern and southern Indians.
V. American Neutrality Imperiled by a World at War
A. Impressment of American Sailors
Britain resorted to stopping American ships to remove deserters, although many of them had become American citizens.
B. Chesapeake Affair
In 1807, the crew of the H. M. S. Leopard attacked and boarded the U.S.S. Chesapeake in American waters. The incident led many Americans to demand war, but Jefferson responded instead with “peaceable coercion.”
C. Embargo Act
The Embargo of 1807 forbade virtually all exports from the United States and became extremely unpopular as the American economy collapsed.
D. Election of 1808
Jefferson, emulating Washington, declined a third term leading to the contested nomination of Democratic-Republican James Madison who later won the election.
E. Non-Intercourse Act
The Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 resumed trade with all countries except Britain and France. In 1810, Congress substituted Macon’s Bill Number 2, which Napoleon used to trick the United States into declaring non-intercourse with Great Britain.
VI. Commerce and Industry
A. Stimulants to Industry
After 1807 embargoes and war stimulated domestic manufacturing.
B. Waltham or Lowell System
This system combined all manufacturing processes in a single location, thereby eliminating numerous problems for the textile industry. To find the people necessary to staff the mill at Waltham, inducements were offered to New England farm daughters and the managers accepted responsibility for their living conditions.
VII. The War of 1812
A. The Vote for War
The War of 1812 revealed a deeply partisan Congress.
B. Recruiting an Army
Payroll and supply problems hampered recruiting efforts in the West. Many Federalists considered the conflict to be “Mr. Madison’s War,” and raising an army in New England also proved difficult.
C. Invasion of Canada
The British captured Fort Dearborn and turned back American troops north of Niagara and near Lake Champlain, thwarting American efforts to invade Canada.
D. Naval Battles
The navy provided the only good news during the first year of the war; however, the British continued to rule the waves.
E. Great Lakes Campaign
Oliver Hazard Perry’s victory gave the Americans control of Lake Erie and allowed William Henry Harrison’s forces to win the Battle of the Thames, killing Tecumseh and crushing Indian unity. However, in August 1814, the British occupied and burned Washington, D.C. In September 1814, the Americans held firm at Baltimore and Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner.”
F. Campaign against the Creeks
Andrew Jackson overcame problems with his own militia to defeat the Creek nation, annex most of their lands, and become a national hero.
G. Battle of New Orleans
Andrew Jackson became a national hero when his troops defeated 6,000 British soldiers near New Orleans. Ironically, the battle occurred two weeks after diplomats had signed the Treaty of Ghent.
VIII. Peace and Consequences
A. Treaty of Ghent
The treaty, signed on December 24, 1814, restored the status quo antebellum. European conflicts had ended, so both sides could afford to accept the accord.
B. Consequences of the War of 1812
The war brought a sense of nationalism and isolationism to Americans, it destroyed Indian resistance, it exposed weaknesses in the national defense and transportation systems, it stimulated economic growth, and sealed the fate of the Federalists.
C. Hartford Convention
Made up of Federalist delegates from New England, the convention that met in Hartford, Connecticut, in the winter of 1814-1815 endorsed radical changes to the constitution.
