Unit 4 Period 1800-1848

Topic 4.1 - Contextualization

Learning Objective: Explain the context in which the republic developed

from 1800 to 1848.

In the first half of the 19th century, the young nation expanded economically,

politically, and culturally. Economically this meant taking advantage of new

lands, new forms of transportation, and new industries. Politically it meant

allowing more people to participate directly in their democracy. Culturally it

meant developing distinctively American expressions of literature and art. In

1826, in the midst of the years covered in this period, the young nation of the

United States celebrated its 50th birthday with great optimism. The founders of

the country were passing on, and a new generation was taking over leadership.

In this period, the leaders dealt with the challenges that accompanied the

development of the young nation.

Independence had been declared, a Revolutionary War won, a Constitution

written and ratified, and a new government established. Between 1800 and

1848, the United States went through rapid demographic, economic, and

territorial growth as the new republic worked to define itself. In 1800, the

country extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. By 1848, it

controlled territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Reforms, Revivals, and Identity In response to this growth, the country

reformed several institutions and practices. It expanded participation in political

parties. By dropping property ownership as a requirement to vote, nearly all

adult White males could cast ballots. By using nominating conventions, more

people could help choose party candidates. More public school laws were

enacted to educate the children. Reforms were made to prisons and asylums

to make them more humane. A religious revival, an awakening, spread across

the country. Much of this development of rights and reforms still excluded

American Indians, African Americans, and all women.

The country developed its own art, literature, and philosophy to reflect a

sense of itself as independent from Europe. In this sense, the country developed

a national culture. However, different sections of the country also continued to

grow more distinctive. Slavery shaped a distinctively southern way of life, while

the northeastern states became more focused on commerce and the Midwest

region on agriculture. Markets, Farming, and Manufacturing These changes took place as a

market economy emerged. People became less dependent on what they raised

or made for themselves and more involved in buying and selling goods. The

country benefited from the addition of fertile land farther west and advances in

industry and transportation everywhere. Agriculture and manufacturing grew

together, with the help of local, state, and federal governments to build roads,

canals, and harbors. New technology made both farming and manufacturing

more productive. The greater reliance on markets meant that more men worked

away from home and women had greater control over homelife.

National Strength and Signs of Division In this period, the country grew

stronger and larger. Politically, President Andrew Jackson, elected in 1828 and

1832, led efforts to solidify the power of the federal government over states.

In general, the United States promoted foreign trade (particularly the export

of cotton) but avoided entanglement in European diplomatic affairs and wars.

Efforts to improve life succeeded for many but not those enslaved. Landmarks

in the institution of slavery came earlier, with the development of the cotton

gin in 1793 and the end of the importation of enslaved Africans in 1808. With

the territorial and economic growth, conflict with American Indians continued

while rising concerns over slavery focused on whether it should be allowed in

the newly acquired lands.

As this period ended, most people had a positive view of a prosperous

country. However, some recognized that the growing regional differences

and the question of whether to allow slavery to expand into new states and

territories needed to be resolved.

Topic 4.2 - The Rise of Political Parties and the Era of Jefferson

Learning Objective: Explain the causes and effects of policy debates in

the early republic.

Despite President Washington’s warning against forming political parties,

two groups quickly emerged in the new republic. The Federalists, following the

visions of Alexander Hamilton, and the Democratic-Republicans, espousing

Thomas Jefferson’s views, competed for public approval and control of the

government.

The Election of 1800

During Adams’s presidency, the Federalists rapidly lost popularity. People

disliked the Alien and Sedition Acts. Further, they complained about the new

taxes imposed to pay for a possible war against France. Though Adams avoided

war, he had persuaded Congress that building up the U.S. Navy was necessary

for the nation’s defense.

Establishment of Political Parties The presidential election of 1800

provided the first election with a clear choice between political parties.

The Federalist Party stood for a stronger national government and leaned

toward Great Britain in European affairs. The Democratic-Republican Party

emphasized the powers reserved to states and leaned toward the French.

Both parties supported tariffs on imports as a way to raise revenue.

Throughout the 19th century, tariffs would be the largest single source of

revenue for the federal government. The debate on tariffs broke down on

regional lines. Northern industrialists wanted higher tariffs to protect their

companies from foreign competition. Southerners relied on exports of cotton

and other crops. They pushed for lower tariffs in order to encourage trade.

Election Results Determining the winner of the 1800 presidential election

was complicated. According to the original Constitution, each member of the

Electoral College cast two votes for president. The winner became president,

and the second-place finisher became vice president. In 1800, a majority of

the presidential electors cast their ballots for two Democratic-Republicans: one

for Thomas Jefferson and one for Aaron Burr. The two tied for the presidency.

As the Constitution required, the House of Representatives voted to choose

the winner, with each state allowed one vote. They debated and voted for days

before they finally gave a majority to Jefferson. (Alexander Hamilton had urged

his followers to support Jefferson, whom he considered less dangerous and of

higher character than Burr.)

Democratic-Republican lawmakers elected in 1800 also took control of

both the House and the Senate in the elections. So the Federalists had been

swept from power in both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S.

government.

A Peaceful Revolution The passing of power in 1801 from one political

party to another was accomplished without violence. This was a rare event for

the times and a major indication that the U.S. constitutional system would

endure the various strains that were placed upon it. The Federalists quietly

accepted their defeat in the election of 1800 and peacefully relinquished control

of the federal government to Jefferson’s party, the Democratic-Republicans.

The change from Federalist to Democratic-Republican control is known as the

Revolution of 1800.

Jefferson’s Presidency

During his first term, Jefferson attempted to win the allegiance and trust of

Federalist opponents by maintaining the national bank and debt-repayment

plan of Hamilton. In foreign policy, he carried on the neutrality policies of

Washington and Adams. At the same time, Jefferson retained the loyalty of

Democratic-Republican supporters by adhering to his party’s guiding principle

of limited central government. He reduced the size of the military, eliminated a

number of federal jobs, repealed the excise taxes—including those on whiskey—

and lowered the national debt. However, hoping to avoid internal divisions

that distracted Washington, he appointed only Democratic-Republicans to his

cabinet. Compared to Adams’s troubled administration, Jefferson’s first four

years in office were relatively free of discord.

The Louisiana Purchase

The single most important achievement of Jefferson’s first administration was

the acquisition by purchase of vast western lands known as the Louisiana

Territory. This region encompassed a large tract of western land through which

the Mississippi and Missouri rivers flowed, land little explored by Europeans.

At the mouth of the Mississippi lay the territory’s most valuable property in

terms of commerce—the port of New Orleans.

The Louisiana Territory had once been claimed by France, which then

lost its claim to Spain. But in 1800, the French military and political leader

Napoleon Bonaparte secretly forced Spain to give the Louisiana Territory back

to France. Napoleon hoped to restore the French empire in the Americas. By

1803, however, Napoleon had lost interest in this plan for two reasons:

•

He wanted to concentrate French resources on fighting Great Britain

•

A rebellion led by Toussaint Louverture against French rule on the

island of Santo Domingo had resulted in heavy French losses.

U.S. Interest in the Mississippi River During Jefferson’s presidency,

the western frontier extended beyond Ohio and Kentucky into the Indiana

Territory. Settlers in this region depended for their economic existence on

transporting goods on rivers that flowed westward into the Mississippi and

southward as far as New Orleans. They were greatly alarmed therefore when,

in 1802, Spanish officials, who were still in charge of New Orleans, closed the

port to Americans. They revoked the right of deposit granted in the Pinckney

Treaty of 1795, which had allowed American farmers tax-free use of the port.

People on the frontier clamored for government action. In addition to being

concerned about the economic impact of the closing of New Orleans, President

Jefferson was troubled by its consequences on foreign policy. He feared that so

long as a foreign power controlled the river at New Orleans, the United States

risked entanglement in European affairs.

Negotiations Jefferson sent ministers to France with instructions to offer

up to $10 million for both New Orleans and a strip of land extending from that

port eastward to Florida. If the American ministers failed in their negotiations

with the French, they were instructed to begin discussions with Britain for

a U.S.-Britain alliance. Napoleon’s ministers, seeking funds for a war against

Britain, offered to sell not only New Orleans but also the entire Louisiana

Territory for $15 million. The opportunity to purchase so much land surprised

American ministers. They quickly went beyond their instructions and accepted

the French offer.

Constitutional Predicament Jefferson and most Americans strongly

approved of the Louisiana Purchase. Nevertheless, a constitutional problem

troubled the president. Jefferson was committed to a strict interpretation of

the Constitution and rejected Hamilton’s argument that certain powers were

implied. No clause in the Constitution explicitly stated that a president could

purchase foreign land.

In this case, Jefferson determined to set aside his idealism for the country’s

good. He submitted the purchase agreement to the Senate, arguing that lands

could be added to the United States as an application of the president’s power

to make treaties. Federalist senators criticized the treaty. However, casting

aside the Federalist attacks, the Democratic-Republican majority in the Senate

quickly ratified the purchase.

Consequences The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the

United States, removed a European presence from the nation’s borders, and

extended the western frontier to lands beyond the Mississippi. Furthermore,

the acquisition of millions of acres of land strengthened Jefferson’s hopes that

his country’s future would be based on an agrarian society of independent

farmers rather than Hamilton’s vision of an urban and industrial society.

In political terms, the Louisiana Purchase increased Jefferson’s popularity

and showed the Federalists to be a weak, sectionalist (New England-based)

party that could do little more than complain about Democratic-Republican

policies.

Lewis and Clark Expedition Even before Louisiana was purchased,

Jefferson had persuaded Congress to fund a scientific exploration of the

trans-Mississippi West to be led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant

William Clark. The Louisiana Purchase greatly increased the importance of

the expedition. Lewis and Clark set out from St. Louis in 1804, crossed the

Rockies, reached the Oregon coast on the Pacific Ocean, and then turned back

and completed the return journey in 1806. The benefits of the expedition were

many: greater geographic and scientific knowledge of the region, stronger U.S.

claims to the Oregon Territory, better relations with American Indians, and

more accurate maps and land routes for fur trappers and future settlers.

Judicial Impeachments

Jefferson tried various methods for overturning past Federalist measures and

appointments. Soon after entering office, he suspended the Alien and Sedition

Acts and released those jailed under them. The Federalist appointments to the

courts previously made by Washington and Adams were not subject to recall

or removal except by impeachment. Federalist judges therefore continued

in office, much to the annoyance of the Democratic-Republican president,

Jefferson. Hoping to remove partisan Federalist judges, Jefferson supported a

campaign of impeachment. The judge of one federal district was found to be

mentally unbalanced. The House voted for his impeachment, and the Senate

then voted to remove him. The House also impeached a Supreme Court justice,

Samuel Chase, but the Senate acquitted him after finding no evidence of “high

crimes.”

Except for these two cases, the impeachment campaign was largely a

failure, as almost all the Federalist judges remained in office. Even so, the threat

of impeachment caused the judges to be more cautious and less partisan in

their decisions.

Jefferson’s Reelection

In 1804, Jefferson won reelection by an overwhelming margin, receiving all

but 14 of the 176 electoral votes. His second term was marked by growing

difficulties. He faced a plot by his former vice president, Aaron Burr. The

Democratic-Republican Party split, with a faction (the “Quids”) accusing

him of abandoning the party’s principles. Foreign troubles came from the

Napoleonic wars in Europe.

Aaron Burr

A Democratic-Republican caucus (a closed meeting) in 1804 decided not to

nominate Aaron Burr for a second term as vice president. Burr then embarked

on a series of ventures, one of which threatened to break up the Union and

another of which resulted in the death of Alexander Hamilton.

Federalist Conspiracy Secretly forming a political pact with some radical

New England Federalists, Burr planned to win the governorship of New York

in 1804, unite that state with the New England states, and then lead this group

of states to secede from the nation. Most Federalists followed Alexander

Hamilton in opposing Burr, who was defeated in the New York election. The

conspiracy then disintegrated.

Duel with Hamilton Angered by an insulting remark attributed to

Hamilton, Burr challenged the Federalist leader to a duel and fatally shot him.

Hamilton’s death in 1804 deprived the Federalists of their last great leader and

earned Burr the enmity of many.

Trial for Treason By 1806, Burr’s intrigues had turned westward with a

plan to take Mexico from Spain and possibly unite it with Louisiana under

his rule. Learning of the conspiracy, Jefferson ordered Burr’s arrest and trial

for treason. Presiding at the trial was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John

Marshall, a long-time adversary of Jefferson. A jury acquitted Burr, basing its

decision on Marshall’s narrow definition of treason and the lack of witnesses to

any “overt act” by Burr.

John Marshall’s Supreme Court and Federal Power

One Federalist official continued to have major influence throughout the

years of Democratic-Republican ascendancy: John Marshall. His decisions

consistently favored the central government and the rights of property against

the advocates of states’ rights.

John Marshall

Ironically, the Federalist judge who caused Jefferson the most grief was one of

his own cousins from Virginia, John Marshall. Marshall had been appointed

chief justice of the Supreme Court during the final months of the presidency

of John Adams. He held his post for 34 years, during which time he exerted

as strong an influence on the Supreme Court as Washington had exerted on

the presidency. Even when justices appointed by Democratic-Republican

presidents formed a majority on the Court, they often sided with Marshall

because they were persuaded that the U.S. Constitution had created a federal

government with strong and flexible powers.