Chapter 8-- Securing the Republic

The Adams Presidency

The “Revolution of 1800”

• There were more Republicans than Federalists, so Jefferson won the presidential election

  • There was a mistake in his election that caused it to go to the top and it was balloted 35 times before hamilton intervened and said he thought Jefferson would be the best choice (even though Hermitten was a federalist)

  • Constitution made 12th Amendment that said people should vote for VP & President separately 

  • Adams peacefully accepted defeat

Slavery and Politics

• Jefferson won the election because of slavery

  • He was popular in the South where slave votes counted as 3/5 of a person

• Slavery was still a big problem

  •  Northern states wanted to get rid of it while Southern States continued to defend it

    • Madison concluded that slavery was so divisive that it must be kept out of national politics

Haitian Revolution

• African Americans fled to Haiti because the Haitian government offered political rights and economic opportunities that weren’t given in the US

• Thousands of white people fled from haiti to us to escape turmoil of the Haitian Revolution

Gabriel’s Rebellion

• An 1800 uprising planned by Virginian slaves to gain their freedom

• Led by a blacksmith named Gabriel, but was discovered and quashed

• Government tightened control over black people 

  • Couldn’t go to church on Sundays without white supervision 

  • Restricted masters from releasing/freeing their slaves

Jefferson in Power

• Jefferson hoped to dismantle as much of the Federalists population as possible

  • he abolished all taxes except the tariff & paid off parts of the national debt

  • he aimed to minimize federal power & eliminated government oversight of the economy 

  • He ensured US wouldn’t become a centralized state

Judicial Review 

• John Marshall: headed the supreme court & believed in national supremacy (federalist)

• Marbury v. Madison (1803): was significant because it established the principle of judicial review, giving the supreme court the power to declare laws unconstitutional 

  • In Fletcher v. Peck, the court expanded judicial review to state laws

    • GA bribed its people w/ land & got in trouble 

The Louisiana Purchase

• US purchased 828,000 sq. miles of land for $15 million & it doubled the US size 

• Thomas Jefferson purchased it to secure control of the Mississippi River & the port of New Orleans, which were vital for trade & western expansion 

• Purchase ended French presence in North America

• People didn’t agree at first because it was costly & America already had lots of land 

  • Madison said it would allow for self-govt & Jefferson said it would make them “virtuous” 

Lewis & Clark

• Lewis & Clark expedition: Jefferson hoped it would establish trading relations w/ western Indians & locate a water route to the pacific ocean 

• Lewis & Clarks “corps of discovery” set out from St. Louis, they spent a winter in the area of North Dakota & then resumed their journey 

  • Accompanied by a shoshone Indian woman 

  • Reported about geography, plant, animal life, & indian culture

  • Didn’t find a commercial route to Asia 

Incorporating Louisiana 

• America was more strict with slaves freedom than other nations 

  • Louisiana had a lot of non-whites, making it kind of hard to incorporate them into the US 

  • The treaty that gave US power over Louisiana promised that all free inhabitants would enjoy freedom

    • The local legislature adopted a code that forbade blacks from ever considering themselves equal to whites

    • Louisiana slaves had more freedom when under Spain’s tyranny compared to the US

The Barbary Wars

• Jefferson tried to avoid foreign conflict but since britain was America's biggest commerce trade partner, the US was getting dragged into conflict

  • He sought to limit national government power but foreign relations made him expand it → the 1st war fought in the US was to protect American commerce

• Barbary States on the northern coast of Africa had long preyed on shipping in the Mediterranean & Atlantic → they held American sailors as “slaves” 

  • America agreed an annual payment for peace until they started increasing the price → America & Tripoli fought

    • America won and it concluded in a peace treaty of reduced annual ransom

• The Barbary wars: were the US’s first encounter w/ the Islamic world 

  • Viewed muslims as "exotic" ppl who didn’t adhere to Western Standard

The Embargo

• Warfare between Britain & France started again 

• Trying to deny trade w/ America w/ its rival, blockades were implemented which meant America couldn’t trade w/ Britain → hurt them economically 

  • Jefferson believed economic health of the US required freedom of trade without foreign interference → the passing of the Embargo Act: a ban on all American vessels sailing for foreign ports

    • He hoped the act would stop European interference w/ their trade and stop impressments

    • American exports dropped by 80%.

    • American Economy went South 

      • Before Jefferson left office, he wrote that America couldn’t trade w/ Britain and france until they get rid of the blockades

Madison & Pressure for War

• Jefferson left office at the lowest point of his career & Madison stepped up

• Madison adopted a new policy, with the trade → Macon's Bill No. 2, which allowed trade to resume, but if France/Britain interfered w/ American trade, an embargo would be set in place 

  • Britain kept interfering & embargo got reimposed wl them

• A group of congressmen were thinking about war w/ Britain to defend America's national honor

  • They also talked about the necessity of upholding the principle of trade

The “Second War of Independence”

• The Louisiana purchase made the removal of Indian tribes beyond Mississippi River easier 

• The government continued to promoted settled farmers among the Indians 

  • A.A slavery was promoted to the tribes as a first step of civilization 

The Indian Response

• American settler in Appalachian Mountains outnumbered Natives & caused them to rethink assimilation

  • Indian-white ancestry endorsed civilizations

    • Natives were infuriated because they didn't want be influenced by Europeans

• Movements for the revitalization of Indian life arose among the creeks, Cherokes, Shaune’s Iroquois, & other tribes

  • EX: Handsome Lake of seneca overcame an alcohol problem 

Tecumseh’s Vision

• Tecumseh & Tenskwatawa: they both didn’t want to be near whites & resisted → Tecumseh called for attacks on American frontier settlements

  • American forces destroyed Prophetstown in battle of Tippecanoe

The War of 1812

• Reports that British were encouraging Techumseh’s efforts contributed to the War of 1812

  • In addition to that, British kept assaulting American shippery 

• States that were concentrated w/ mercantile (NJ) voted against the war; the south & West supported the declaration of war

• First time US declared war on another country

• America's military was weak so going to war was dumb → commerce completely destroyed

• They had some victories

  • In the following year of 1813 a British assault of Baltimore was repulsed when Fort McHenry withstood British bombardment at the entrance of the harbor

    • "The Star Spangled Banner” was composed by Francis Scott Key because of the revents

• The War of 1812 was a two front struggle for America against the British & Indians

  • the war had significant victories over western Indians that sided with British

    • EX: in 1814 an army of Americans & pro-assimilation Indians under the demand of Andrew Jackson defeated hostile creeks killing more than 800 of them

• US and Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent, ending the war in Dec 1814

  • ships w/ the news didn't reach America until after the Battle of New Orleans: saying to capture New Orleans & gain control over the Mississippi River, a vital trading route

• Slaves find freedom by escaping to Britain during the war but they were meant to be sent back

  • Britain refused → International input said slaves should go back → Britain sent them back → most slaves settled m Novascotia, canada

    • SIMILAR TO WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

The War Aftermath

• The War of 1812 was also called the second War of Independence

• Jackson's victory in New Orleans made him a national hero

• The war confined the Republican government's ability to conduct war without surrendering its institutions

• the war completed conquest of the Area east of Mississippi River, which had began during the Revolution

The War of 1812 & the Canadian Borderland

• The war of 1812 solidified the divide between Canada & the US 

  • when war broke out, canadians saw American traders as spies

  • unsuccessful attacks on canada strengthened anti-americanism amongst canadians

  • Many ppl had family ties on both sides & trade continued, but America now turned toward the western frontier rather than canada

• For both Americans & Canadians, the war reaffirmed their national identities

• Each side developed stereotypes of the other:

  • Americans saw canadians as monarchical, European, & lacking in an understanding of liberty

  • Canada saw americans as people prone to violence

The End of the Federalist Party

• Jefferson and Madison's Success: One key political achievement of Jefferson and Madison was the elimination of the Federalist Party as a powerful national force.

• War of 1812 and Federalist Revival: The Federalist Party briefly revived due to anti-war sentiment, leading to a closer re-election for Madison in 1812 (128-89 electoral votes over DeWitt Clinton).

• Hartford Convention (1814):

  • Held by New England Federalists to voice grievances against Virginia presidents and the declining influence of the Northeast as western states joined.

  • Proposed constitutional amendments:

    • Removal of the three-fifths clause (diminishing Southern power).

    • Two-thirds congressional vote for admitting new states, declaring war, and restricting trade.

  • Contrary to myth, the convention did not call for secession, but asserted states' rights to interpose if the Constitution was violated.

• Aftermath of Jackson’s Victory at New Orleans:

  • Jackson’s win sparked patriotic fervor, casting Federalists as unpatriotic.

  • This perception, combined with their elitist and anti-populist image, led to the party’s rapid decline.

• Legacy of Federalist Concerns:

  • Southern dominance of the federal government, raised by Federalists, remained a long-lasting issue.

  • Ironically, the economic and social transformations strengthening commercial development (an original Federalist goal) began to shape the nation, despite Republican concerns