Chapter 11

War of 1812

Fought between Britain and the United States largely over the issues of trade and impressment. Though the war ended in a relative draw, it demonstrated America’s willingness to defend its interests militarily, earning the young nation newfound respect from European powers.

New Orleans, Battle of

Resounding victory of American forces against the British, restoring American confidence and fueling an outpouring of nationalism. Final battle of the War of 1812.

Congress of Vienna

Convention of major European powers to redraw the boundaries of continental Europe after the defeat of Napoleonic France.

Ghent, Treaty of

Ended the War of 1812 in a virtual draw, restoring prewar borders but failing to address any of the grievances that first brought America into the war.

Hartford Convention

Convention of Federalists from five New England states who opposed the War of 1812 and resented the strength of southern and western interests in Congress and in the White House.

Creek War

Conflict fought by “Red Stick” Creeks against fellow Creeks, Cherokee, and American militias. Ended with the Treaty of Fort Jackson, imposed by Andrew Jackson, in which the Creek were forced to cede hundreds of thousands of acres of land.

Rush-Bagot agreement

Signed by Britain and the United States, it established strict limits on naval armaments in the Great Lakes, a first step in the full demilitarization of the U.S.-Canadian border, completed in the 1870s.

Tariff of 1816

First protective tariff in American history, created primarily to shield New England manufacturers from the inflow of British goods after the War of 1812.

American System

Henry Clay’s three-pronged system to promote American industry. Clay advocated a strong banking system, a protective tariff, and a federally funded transportation network.

Era of Good Feelings

Popular name for the period of one-party, Republican rule during James Monroe’s presidency. The term obscures bitter conflicts over internal improvements, slavery, and the national bank.

panic of 1819

Severe financial crisis brought on primarily by the efforts of the Bank of the United States to curb overspeculation on western lands. It disproportionately affected the poorer classes, especially in the West, sowing the seeds of Jacksonian democracy.

Land Act of 1820

Fueled the settlement of the Northwest and Missouri Territories by lowering the price of public land. Also prohibited the purchase of federal acreage on credit, thereby eliminating one of the causes of the panic of 1819.

Tallmadge Amendment

Failed proposal to prohibit the importation of slaves into Missouri Territory and pave the way for gradual emancipation. Southerners vehemently opposed the amendment, which they perceived as a threat to the sectional balance between North and South.

peculiar institution

Widely used term for the institution of American slavery in the South. Its use in the first half of the nineteenth century reflected a growing division between the North, where slavery was gradually abolished, and the South, where slavery became increasingly entrenched.

Missouri Compromise

Allowed Missouri to enter as a slave state but preserved the balance between North and South by carving free-soil Maine out of Massachusetts and prohibiting slavery from territories acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, north of the line of 36o, 30'.

McCulloch v. Maryland

Supreme Court case that strengthened federal authority and upheld the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States by establishing that the State did not have power to tax the bank.

loose construction

Legal doctrine that the federal government can use powers not specifically granted or prohibited in the Constitution to carry out its constitutionally mandated responsibilities.

Cohens v. Virginia

Case that reinforced federal supremacy by establishing the right of the Supreme Court to review decisions of state supreme courts in questions involving the powers of the federal government.

Gibbons v. Ogden

Suit over whether New York State could grant a monopoly to a ferry operating on interstate waters. The ruling reasserted that Congress had the sole power to regulate interstate commerce.

Fletcher v. Peck

Established firmer protection for private property and asserted the right of the Supreme Court to invalidate state laws in conflict with the federal Constitution.

Dartmouth College v. Woodward

Supreme Court case that sustained Dartmouth University’s original charter against changes proposed by the New Hampshire state legislature, thereby protecting corporations from domination by state governments.

Anglo-American Convention

Signed by Britain and the United States, the pact allowed New England fishermen access to Newfoundland fisheries, established the northern border of Louisiana Territory, and provided for the joint occupation of the Oregon Country for ten years.

Adams-Onís Treaty

Under the agreement, Spain ceded Florida to the United States, and the two nations agreed on the southwestern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase. Spain retained the territory from Texas to California while abandoning its claims to the Oregon country.

Monroe Doctrine

Statement delivered by President James Monroe, warning European powers to refrain from seeking any new territories in the Americas. The United States largely lacked the power to back up the pronouncement, which was actually enforced by the British, who sought unfettered access to Latin American markets.

Russo-American Treaty

Fixed the line of 54o, 40' as the southernmost boundary of Russian holdings in North America

Isaac Brock

(1769-1812) British general who helped stave off an American invasion of upper Canada during the War of 1812. He successfully captured Detroit from American forces in August of 1812 but was killed in battle later that year.

Oliver Hazard Perry

(1785-1819) American naval officer whose decisive victory over a British fleet on Lake Erie during the War of 1812 reinvigorated American morale and paved the way for General William Henry Harrison’s victory at the Battle of the Thames in 1813.

Thomas Macdonough

(1783-1825) American naval officer who secured a decisive victory over a British fleet at the Battle of Plattsburg, halting the British invasion of New York.

Francis Scott Key

(1779-1843) American author and lawyer who composed the "Star Spangled Banner"—now the national anthem—purportedly while observing the bombardment of Fort McHenry from the deck of a British ship where he was detained.

James Monroe

(1758-1831) Revolutionary War soldier, statesman, and fifth president of the United States. As president, he supported protective tariffs and a national bank but maintained a Jeffersonian opposition to federally funded internal improvements. Though Monroe sought to transcend partisanship, even undertaking a goodwill tour of the states in 1817, his presidency was rocked by bitter partisan and sectional conflicts.

George Canning

(1770-1827) British foreign secretary who proposed what would later become the Monroe Doctrine, a declaration issued by James Monroe warning European powers to refrain from acquiring new territories in the Americas.