I. Jeffersonianism
A. Man behind the myth
1. Fluent in French, Latin, Greek
2. President of American Philosophical Society for 20 years
3. Architect, inventor, horticulturist, archeologist, writer
4. Wrote Declaration of Independence
5. Governor of VA, founder of UVA
6. Ambassador to France during Articles Government
7. Secretary of state under Washington
8. Vice President under Adams
9. Slave-owner who viewed slaves as protection against landless white class uprising
10. Fathered illegitimate children with Sally Hemming, his slave
11. Considered radical and godless infidel by his critics
B. Political views
1. Lower taxes by reducing federal expenses
2. Against large standing army
3. Advocated of state’s rights- drafted VA and KY resolution (states rights to nullify laws) Compact Theory
4. “Popular virtue: - good of all before personal gain
5. Anti-bank, against permanent national debt
C. Early policies
1. Reducing national debt
a. Cut taxes
b. Closed some embassies
c. Reduced standing army & navy
2. Gaining international credibility
a. War with Barbary Pirates of Tripoli (Northern Africa 1801-1805)
3. Reining in Federalist Judiciary
a. Fought Judiciary act of 1801 that reduced # of supreme court judges
b. Refused to honor Adams’s appointment of ‘midnight judge’ Marbury and won Marbury vs. Madison case (though supreme court established Judicial review)
c. Initiated impeachment of two federal judges (won one, lost the other)
d. Judiciary act of 1801 repealed by supreme court because it was unconstitutional
D. The Louisiana Purchase
1. Louisiana territory transferred from Spain to Napoleon in France in 1800
2. Spain closed New Orleans to American traders in 1802
3. Fears rose over napoleon’s intentions
4. Jefferson sent Monroe and Livingstone to settle issue in 1803- authorized to spend $10 million to but New Orleans
5. B/c he had lost Haiti and b/c he needed money for European wars, napoleon sold entire Louisiana territory to USA for $15 million (13.5 ç per acre)
E. Election of 1804
1. Resounding victory for Jefferson, winning all but 2 states
2. First election after 12th amendment (putting president and vice president on the same ticket)
3. ‘Mischievous’ Burr dropped from Republican ticket (replaced by Clinton of NY)
F. Lewis and Clark Expedition
1. Jefferson picked Meriwether Lewis (his personal secretary) to lead reconnaissance mission of Louisiana Territory
2. The expedition was greatly aided by Native American Woman (Sacagawea)
3. Traveled from St Louis Missouri to the Pacific Ocean between May 1804 and November 1805
II. Jefferson’s Challenges
A. Domestic issues
1. The Notorious Burr
a. Burr’s Conspiracy with High Federalists (1804)- create a pro-British Northern Confederation with New England, New York, Pennsylvania and Nova Scotia.
b. Fails to win NY governorship, duels Hamilton
c. With renegade Wilkinson, tries to create a Southern Confederacy and take over west Florida and Mexico (1806)
d. Tried but not convicted of treason
2. The Quids
a. Led by Republican John Randolph, who accused Jefferson of not upholding pure Republican values.
b. Cited Yazoo Land Scandal as evidence of federal corruption
B. International Affairs
1. Interference with American trade
a. England and, to a lesser extent, France, began to seize American ships as the Napoleonic Wars re-started (Peace of Amiens collapsed)
b. British impressments of American sailors increased
c. Chesapeake Affair- British warship attacks US Navy vessel Chesapeake
d. Peaceable Coercion- Embargo Act of 1807 (under Jefferson, closes all US trade with foreigners), Non Intercourse Act (1809, under Madison, closes trade with England and France), Macon’s Bill #2 (1810, opened trade with England and France, offered exclusively if either removed restrictions)- failed to coerce but unexpectedly boosted US industry.
e. Failure of Peaceable Coercion led to War Hawks rise during Madison’s second term.
III. Madison’s Presidency
A. Unrest in the West (1808-1812)
1. Tecumseh and the Prophet
a. Gov. Harrison of Indiana pushes Treaty of Ft. Wayne, which got Indians to cede millions of acres of land for only 2ç/ acre.
b. Shawnee Chief Tecumseh and his brother the Prophet disputed validity of treaty.
c. Harrison led a successful attack against the Prophet- Battle of Tippecanoe.
d. Tecumseh began to seek alliances with the English
B. The war of 1812
1. Reasons for US War Declaration
a. Impressments (nothing new there)
b. British incitement of Western Indians (nothing new there)
c. Economic recession in South and West
d. Madison viewed Britain as attempting to get rid of trade competition by the US
2. Highlights of War of 1812
a. American General Hull leads unsuccessful attacks on Canada (1812)
b. Tecumseh and Shawnees provide help to British in Canada
c. Battle of the Tames- US victory led by Harrison, Tecumseh killed (1813)
d. Much of the war was fought on the Great Lakes. Oliver Perry led US victories.
e. Successful British offensive in Chesapeake area (1814); Washington DC, captured and burned down, but Baltimore resisted successful protected by Ft. McHenry (inspired Francis Scott Key to write Star Spangled Banner)
f. Battle of New Orleans (**2 weeks after the peace Treaty of Ghent**) Andrew Jackson successfully repels a British attack, becomes national hero.
3. Treaty of Ghent
a. War viewed as a tie
b. Status quo ante bellum restored
c. No solution to impressments
d. No agreement on a US-Canada border between Mississippi River and Rockies but commission created to find a solution
4. Ramifications of the War of 1812
a. Demonstrated that republics could fight wars without reverting to despotism
b. Rise of American nationalism
c. End of Federalist Party- viewed as traitors because of Hartford Convention’s proposal to have New England secede during the war.
d. Rise of new American heroes (Jackson and Harrison)
e. Strengthened the American Navy (Hull and Perry to lead)
f. Increased international respect for the US
g. Increased in industry and manufacturing caused by trade disruptions between 1807-1814
IV. Important figures and events following the war
A. John Marshall and the Supreme Court
1. Chief Justice (prominent Federalist, appointed by John Adams), served between 1801-1835)
2. Established tradition of long service
3. Set precedent of judicial review in Marbury v. Madison
4. Major rulings that asserted the power of private corporations
a. (1819, Dartmouth v Woodward) and federal over state power through “implied powers of the constitution” ruling
b. (1819, McCulloch v. Maryland) Maryland tried to tax a federal agency but lost.
5. Attempted to stop abuses against Cherokees in Georgia through ruling that Cherokees were a distinct political community entitled to federal protection. Against state abuses in Worcester v Georgia (1832) but pres. Jackson ignored ruling and began forced relocation of Cherokees.
B. Monroe’s Foreign Policy (1816-1824)
1. John Quincy Adams (Secretary of State, became President in 1824, son of John Adams) responsible for most decisions.
2. Rush-Bagot Treaty (1817) with England-demilitarized the Great Lakes.
3. British-American Convention (1818)- got back American fishing rights in Newfoundland; established border with Canada between Great Lakes and Rockies; declared Oregon Territory “Free and open”.
4. Adams-Onís Treaty (1819)- after several attacks by Jackson on Seminoles and Spanish forts in Florida, Spain agreed to sell Florida to the US ($5 million) and establish a Northern border to its territory from present-day Texas to California. The US allowed Spain to keep Texas while gaining access to the Northern part of the West Coast. Spain was about to lose its war of Mexican Independence (1810-1821) and would soon lose most of its colonies in the Americas.
5. Monroe Doctrine (1823)- Spain’s Latin American colonies gained independence, US declared that any attempts at European re-colonization in the Western Hemisphere would be construed as a “unfriendly act” against the US. US, however, did not say that it would not annex formerly Spanish territory (leaving the door open for US takeover in Texas and the Southwest.