APUSH Test 3 - Textbook Notes

CHAPTER 6 (Continued)

Maintaining Neutrality: 

• UK did not send minister to the U.S until 1791, after Madison and Republicans threatened special restrictions on British ships

• 1793 Crisis: new French government (from revolution of 1789) went to war with UK and allies; president and Congress quickly established neutrality that was put to the test

  • Edmond Genet: landed in Charleston instead of Philadelphia, engaged with civilians in support of French war effort in direct violation of Neutrality Act, inspired the anger of Federalists and greatly embarrassed the French-revolution supporting Republicans

    • Washington ordered Gent to be recalled but by that point his party was out of power; settled under asylum with his wife in LI

• 1794: Royal navy began seizing hundreds of U.S ships engaged in trade in French West Indies, this alongside a warlike speech by the governor general of Canada contributed to rise in Anti-British sentiment in U.S 

  • Greatly concerned Hamilton as much of the revenue for his financial system came from duties on British imports 

Jay’s Treaty and Pinckney's Treaty: 

• Hamilton did not trust State department to manage diplomacy with Britain: Jefferson had resigned and was replaced by Edmund Randolph, who was ardently pro-France 

  • Hamilton persuaded Washington to name John Jay as special commissioner to England, with instructions to demand compensation for the seized ships, secure the removal of troops from the frontier and negotiate a new commercial treaty 

• The treaty Jay negotiated was complex and seen as not strong enough by much of the public, but did prevent another war with Britain (which had seem imminent), established undisputed sovereignty over the Northwest, and created a relatively satisfactory commercial relationship

• Despite opposition from nearly all Republicans and even some Federalists, along with objections from James Monroe (minister to France) and Edmund Randolph, Jay’s Treaty ratified by Senate 

• Jay’s Treaty allowed U.S to negotiate extremely favorable treaty with Spain, which became known as Pinckney's Treaty, that opened Mississippi to U.S ships, fixed the border between Florida and the U.S, and required Spain to prevent Native American raids into the U.S from Florida 

The Downfall of the Federalists: 

• Most American in 1790s believed there was no place for organized opposition; Republicans were seen as a grave danger by the Federalists 

• Federalists used international perils to move forcibly against opposition, which ended up backfiring spectacularly; they would never win an election after 1796

• Although the Federalists vanished as a political force, the respect for institutions of the federal government that they stood for remained 

The Election of 1796: 

• Washington declined to run for a 3rd term - 1797 Farewell Address sharply criticized Republicans and set many important precedents 

• Jefferson uncontested candidate of Republicans in 1796

• Hamilton, although the leading Federalist figure, had created too many enemies to be a credible candidate; Vice President John Adams, who had no direct association to the controversial policies, was selected instead 

• Little doubt Federalists would win election, but fracture within party between Adams and his running mate, Pickney, led to Adams only winning by three electoral votes over Jefferson 

• Jefferson became Vice President as he received the second most electoral votes, as the awkward selection situation was not rectified until the 12th Amendment in 1804

• Adams presided over a divided party in which he was still no longer even the leading figure, and faced a strong and organized Republican opposition

• Adams was one of the most accomplished diplomats in the country but had few political skills and struggled greatly

The Quasi War with France: 

• Relations with revolutionary France deteriorated quickly after the normalization of relations with the UK and Spain 

  • France began capturing American vessels and sometimes imprisoned crews; refused to recognize Charles Pickney as the representative of the U.S when sent to Paris 

  • Advisors, including Sec. of State Thomas Pickering, urged war with France, but Adams followed Hamilton’s advice for reconciliation, created bipartisan commission to stabilize relations 

    • When the commission arrived in France, three agents of the French foreign minister, Prince Talleyrand, demanded a loan for France and bribes before any negotiations could begin - branded the XYZ affair due to the redacted report on the incident sent to Congress 

• Popular outrage over the affair ushered in widespread popular support for the federalist response and the ensuing two year undeclared war 

• Congress cut all trade with France, Department of the Navy created in 1798 - new navy won many duels and captured 85 ships while allying with UK against France 

• New government under Napoleon (at the time “first consul”) negotiated with new commission sent to Paris in 1800, treaty canceled agreement of 1778 and established new commercial arrangements

Repression and Protest: 

•  Federalist majorities in Congress increased in 1798, with buoyed support from the conflict with France; majority began to actively silence the Republican opposition 

• Alien and Sedition Acts - most controversial legislation in American history:

  • Alien Act: New obstacles for foreigners to gain citizenship, increased presidential authority in dealing with aliens 

  • Sedition Act: Allowed the government to prosecute those who engaged in “sedition” - in theory only treason and libel were prosecutable but widely varying definitions allowed the government to stifle basically any opposition

  • Adams signed both laws but was cautious about implementing them: he did not deport any aliens and prevented a major crusade against Republicans 

  • Effects nevertheless - immigration discouraged and some foreigners left, arrest of 10 Republicans newspaper editors that criticized the government

• Republicans hoped for a reversal of the Acts in state legislatures (many leaders believed states had the power to nullify congressional legislation; Supreme Court had yet to assert its sole authority to do so)

• Anonymous resolutions by Jefferson and Madison passed in the VA and Kentucky legislatures, respectively, in 1798-99, used arguments of John Locke 

  • Claimed that if the federal government violated its “compact,” states had the right to nullify overreaching laws 

• Republicans failed to gain wide support for nullification, and only VA and Kentucky declared the laws as such, but the resolutions raised the debate to level of national crisis: state legislatures resembled battlegrounds, and Matthew Lyon and Roger Griswold brawled on the floors of Congress 

The “Revolution” of 1800:

• Adams and Jefferson once again faced off in 1800, in what would become known as one of the ugliest elections in U.S history 

  • Jefferson and Adams themselves displayed dignity, their supporters did not: Jefferson was accused of being a radical that would bring a reign of terror, Adams was portrayed as a tyrannical wanna-be king 

  • Tammany Society, mobilized by Burr, carried NY for the Republicans and seemingly handed the election to Jefferson -- Burr and Jefferson tied at 73 votes, however, when a plan for one elector to abstain from voting for Burr went awry 

  • Federalist Congress was tasked with electing the president from the two leading candidates (as new Republican congress was not sworn in), took 36 ballots to elect Jefferson after much internal negotiations and deal-making 

• After 1800 only judicial branch was controlled by the Federalists; Adams administration spent its final months strengthening Federalist control over the courts 

  • Judiciary Act of 1801: reduced # of SCOTUS justices by one but greatly increased # of federal judges, “midnight appointments” to fill new positions 

• Republicans viewed victory as near-complete, believing to have saved the nation from tyranny and ushering in a new era based on the “true” principles of the revolution - Jefferson branded the election as the “Revolution of 1800”

The American Identity and the Arts: 

• Dissolution of political and economic dependence on UK created cultural unity in the colonies, by 1750 the country had complex national identities and the idea of shared  history began to emerge

Architecture, Art, and Literature:

• Founding Fathers were explicit in their belief of their inheritance from the classical world; modeled Greek and Roman architectural styles, federal style of neoclassical architecture flourished, especially under Jefferson (University of VA)

• Great challenges faced by American artists: no art schools in the US, few patrons of the arts, lack of interest in the arts by the Church

• John Singleton Copley and Gilbert Stuart captured the American ideal through the revolution 

• Charles Brockden Brown: one of the first important authors to develop a unique American voice, explored tensions during the First Great Awakening 

CHAPTER 7

Cultural life in early 19th century America closely reflected the Republican vision for the nation, as opportunities for education increased, literary and artistic life began to separate from European influence, and religion began to confront and adapt to rationalism. This is not to say Republicans did not face cultural challenges, however. 

Patterns of Education: 

• Central to Republican vision was concept of enlightened citizenry; Jefferson called for “crusade against ignorance;” establishment of nationwide public schools to create an educated electorate (all white male citizens should receive free education) 

• 1789 - Mass implemented law that required each town to support a school (poorly enforced); by 1815 no state had a public school system - became the responsibility of private institutions: South/Mid-Atlantic - ran by religious groups, NE - secular 

• Education trained students to be aristocrats; little education for women in the 1700s (idea of Republican mother began to change the narrative and open education to women)

• 1789 - Mass also required public schools to serve women, albeit with the purpose of making them better wives/mothers (no need for college)

• Judith Sagent Murray - 1784 - published essay defending women’s rights to education on basis that men and women are equal in intellect 

• Jefferson saw natives as noble savages - not inferior to whites but needed to be educated - did not get education from the U.S but missioners tended to teach them religion

• Zero effort to educate slaves - in the north some free black children could attend segregated schools, however 

• College expensive and primarily for clergy tutoring - some law schools began to appear 

Medicine and Science: 

• UPenn - first American medical school in 1700s

• 1800s - most doctors studied by shadowing established doctors 

• Many doctors had little knowledge and often causes more harm than good (despite their power being expanded through the scientific method) - patients were more afraid of doctors than disease itself 

• Physicians took over for midwives, narrowing opportunities for women → restriction of access to childbirth care for poor mothers 

• Medical education strengthened elites (anti-Jefferson)

Cultural Aspirations in the New Nation: 

• Americans desired cultural independence - wanted great American literature and art 

• Noah Webster -- Conn schoolmaster and lawyer who argued that students should be educated as patriots (published American spelling book [honour → honor]) in 1783 (blue-back speller) and School Dictionary in 1806 → An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828)

• Large U.S reading public due to newspapers

• U.S authors couldn’t publishers because publishers preferred English authors (no royalties)

• 1807 Harford Wits published poem, the Columbiad, to inspire writers; Charles Brokden Brown of Philadelphia produced unsuccessful scary novels 

• Washington Irving - from NY, successful and wrote satirically of early American life (folktales) that carried through generations 

• Mercy Otis Warren - wrote history of the Revolution in 1805 to emphasize the heroism of American struggle 

• Mason Weems - Anglican clergyman, wrote Life of Washington in 1806, portrayed aristocrats as homespun man and made up Washington’s cherry tree story 

• Works of history that glorified the past were most successful (nationalism)

Religious Skepticism: 

• Revolution weakened religious practice by separating church and state, elevating ideas of individual liberty and reason 

• 1790’s - only 10% of white Americans belonged to formal churches: Diest - accepted God but thought he withdrew from world after creating it 

• Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason

• Religious Skepticism produced philosophies of universalism and unitarianism - rejected Calvinist ideas of predestination and the Trinity (Jesus was religious leader, not son of God) - separated from NE Congregational Church 

• 1776 - James Murraey founded the Universalist Church; 1779 - Unitarian Church founded in Boston 

• Most Americans remained religious but did not stay with churches and denominations 

The Second Great Awakening: 

• Conservative theologians of the 1790s wanted to fight religious rationalism and encourage churches 

• Presbyterians tried to arouse faithful on wester fringe - church conservatives denounced new light dissenters (people who altered views for new age of rationalism)

• Methodists came to America in 1784 and became fastest growing denomination - Baptists also emerged and soon gained popularity in the south 

• 1800’s - new surge of religion - started by Presbyterians in eastern colleges and became most successful in west 

• Summer 1801 - Cane Ridge, Kentucky, evangelical ministers held nation’s first camp meeting -- became popular method to rally support (Peter Cartwright)

• Predestination now an unpopular idea -- united different denominations 

• Sense of social stability 

• Women lost activities as industry moved from homes to factory - revival gave them purpose - women played important roles in church 

• Revivals were open to people of all races - popular among African Americans (gave ideas of freedom)

• Black preachers - Gabriel Prosser (brother of black preacher) devised plan in VA to rebel and attack Richmond → discovered and out down by whites - revival led to religious tensions 

• Revival popular with natives - drawing on past tribal experiences - 1760’s → Delaware prophet Neolin sparked revival in Northwest by combined Christian and native religions to create message of personal God involved in affairs of men 

• Neolin also wanted natives to defend their land, denounced trade with whites - stimulated native military efforts in 1763, turned to religion for help after suffering defeats (1790s)

• Presbyterian and Baptist missionaries converted natives in the south

• Prophet Handsome Lake of Senace - reborn after alcoholism, called for revival of traditional native ways (claimed to have met Jesus who told him not to follow white men) - ideas spread through Iriqious who gave up whiskey, gambling, etc but encouraged missionaries and had natives move from hunting to farming and women from farming to households  

Technology in America:

• England tried to protect manufacturing monopoly by preventing export of textile machinery or emigration of mechanics - immigrants came anyway and the U.S got some technology from England 

• 1790 Samiel Slater brought a spinning mill from England for quaker merchant Moses Brown in RI → first modern factory

• Oliver Evans of Del created automated flour miller, card-making machine, improvements on steam engine, first textbook on mechanical engineering 

• Eli Whitney of Mass invited cotton gin in 1793 to remove seeds from cotton  - growth of textile industry in NE created large demanded for cotton; cotton gin spread cotton growth and slavery throughout the south

• 1820-30s - North used coton to build industry through textile manufacturing - industry v agriculture divide

• Eli Whitheny made machine to make each part of cotton gin - sped up production

Transportation Innovations: 

• System needed to transport raw materials to factories and finished goods to markers 

• U.S took over much of trade in Europe in 1790s due to war on the continent 

• River steamboats improved interstate commerce - invented by Robert Fulton and perfected by Robert R. Livingston (1807 Clermont on the Hudson)

• Turnpike Era - 1792-onward: corporations constructed toll roads running from cities and towns 

• State governments had to finance long roads to remote areas - expensive and no return on investment 

The Rising Cities: 

• U.S was mostly rural in 1800s (97%)

• Urban populations affluent, sought luxuries 

Jefferson the President: 

• Although Jefferson may have believed his 1800 victory to be a “revolution,” publicly he was restrained and conciliatory, attempting to calm the divisions of the campaign 

  • No rejection of Federalist policies, in fact he seemed to outdo the Federalists at their own work at times, most notably in overseeing the nation’s expansion

The Federal City and the “People’s President:”

• French Architect Pierre L’Enfant designed Washington, DC. on a grand scale; many in the U.S believed it would become the Paris of the United States 

  • In reality, the city remained a small village, and was viewed as a place to visit during legislative sessions and quickly leave - members of Congress often resigned to accept posts in state legislatures 

• Jefferson presented himself as an ordinary citizen despite his background of wealth and had a great disdain for pretension; he did not follow typical rules of etiquette at the White House and drew the ire of the British ambassador for his casual dress 

• Jefferson nevertheless impressed nearly everyone he met and was perhaps the most diversely accomplished man in America 

• Despite his efforts to eliminate the aura of majesty surrounding the presidency, Jefferson also strengthened his influence as head of the party, exerted power (often in questionable fashion) over Republicans in Congress, and leveraged powers of appointment to install a nearly-entirely Republican government (despite criticizing Federalists for doing the same)

• Jefferson cruised to reelection in 1804 and Republican majorities in Congress grew

Dollars and Ships: 

• Republicans believed government spending was far too high under Washington and Adams and railed against the system of taxation and debt created by Hamilton

• Jefferson convinced Congress to abolish all internal taxes in 1802, leaving only external duties and the sale of Western lands as government income sources; executive staffing was cut to miniscule levels and the national debt was nearly halved 

• Military was also scaled down: 4,000→2,500 soldiers, 25→7 ships, with officers and sailors cut accordingly; Jefferson believed a standing military was a threat to liberty 

• Founded Military Academy at West Point in 1802; Jefferson was not a pacifist 

• Jefferson soon built up the navy, however, in response to continued Barbary state demands for tributes Jefferson did not want to pay (seen as appeasement); reached an agreement in 1805 that ended tribute payments but required $60k ransom 

Conflict with the Courts:

• Republicans looked to take control of the judiciary after gaining control of the White House and Congress; first act was to repeal the Judiciary Act of 1801

• Federalists maintained SCOTUS had authority to nullify acts of Congress - in 1796 the court exercised judicial review by upholding the validity of a law, but authority to nullify would not be absolute until the court had actually nullified a law

• Marbury vs. Madison:

  • William Marbury, a midnight appointment, appealed to SCOTUS because James Madison, the new Sec. of State, refused to deliver the commission (which has been signed and sealed by Adams) that would formally make Marbury a federal judge 

  • Court ruled that Marbury had right to appointment but the Court had no authority to force Madison to deliver the commission 

  • Original Judiciary Act of 1789 had given the Court the authority to compel executive officials to act in such matters as delivery of commissions, but the court ruled Congress had exceeded its authority in creating that statute: Congress had no right to expand the powers of the judiciary behind the Constitution

  • Thus, in denying its own authority (to compel the delivery of commissions), the Court massively expanded it, assertings its ability to nullify an act of Congress)

• John Marshall, a last-minute Adams appointee and former Sec. of State, presided over the SCOTUS through a succession of Republican administrations and raised the judiciary to its status of a coequal branch to the Executive and Legislative, which was never clearly intended by the founding fathers

• Even before the ruling in Marbury, Jefferson looked to renew his attack on the Federalist judiciary, urging Congress to impeach obstructive justices 

  • Successfully removed John Pickering of NH, a district judge, on grounds of insanity, but failed to remove SCOTUS Justice Samuel Chase, a highly partisan Federalist who articulated those views from the bench but committed no crime 

  • Republicans argued impeachment was not merely for criminal matters and sent him to trial before the Senate in 1805, but failed to convict him on a ⅔ majority - established precedent that impeachment would not be an effective political weapon

• Marshall’s position as Chief Justice was never threatened and the judiciary grew to be a powerful force in government 

Doubling the National Domain:

Jefferson and Napoleon had little in common except for their career timelines, but would become unlikely allies in international politics, until Napoleon's ambitions shifted from Europe  to America, that is 

Jefferson and Napoleon:

• After failing to seize India from the UK, Napoleon shifted to restoring French power in the new world, signing the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso with Spain in 1800 that regained the title to Louisiana (including virtually all of the Mississippi Valley and New Orleans)

• Slave revolt in present-day Haiti led by Toussaint L’Ouverture - early sign of problems facing France in the new world despite control of wealthy islands in the West Indies 

• Jefferson appointed the ardently pro-France Robert R. Livingston as Minister to France, secured the ratification of the settlement of 1800, and assured the French that the American people did not support the revolt in Haiti (despite statements to the contrary from the Adams administration)

• Fall of 1802: American ships could no longer deposit their cargo in New Orleans for transfer, effectively closing the Mississippi to American shipping 

  • Jefferson faced pressure to react but did not want a war with France, instead sending Livingston to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans (he soon took it upon himself to seek the entirety of the western Louisiana territory)

  • Also expanded the army and secured funds for the construction of a river fleet to give the impression the U.S was ready to ally with the UK and descend on NO

• Napoleon realized that France did not have the resources to revive its American empire and shifted his focus to Europe, offering the entire Louisiana territory to the U

The Lousiania Purchase: 

• Living and James Monroe (who was assisting with negotiations) were hesitant to make a treaty for the entire territory as they were not authorized to do so, but feared Napoleon could withdraw the offer and signed an agreement on April 30, 1803

  • U.S was to pay $15 million USD, grant exclusive commercial privileges to France in port of New Orleans, and grant citizens of the territory the same rights as other citizens; boundaries of the territory were not clearly defined 

• Jefferson was pleased with the terms of the treaty but was concerned that he lacked the authority to accept it; his advisers convinced him that the treaty-making power of the Constitution applied to this purchase, Jefferson reluctantly agreed

• The new territory was organized in much the same fashion as the Northwest Territory, with the first new state -- Louisiana -- admitted in 1812

Lewis and Clark Explore the West: 

• Jefferson’s private secretary Merriweather Lewis, and skilled frontiersman and Indian fighter William Clark were tasked by Jefferson in 1803 to explore the West up to the Pacific 

• Worked with Natives - Sacajawea 

• Left in 1804 - returned in 1806 

• Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike led an expedition from St. Louis into upper Miss Valley, followed Arkansas river valley to Colorado in 1806

  • Stories that endured were inaccurate 

The Burr Conspiracy: 

• NE Federalists angered by expansion of the US as it diluted their power 

• Essex Junto: radical Federalists in Mass who felt NE should secede from the union (needed support of NY and NJ); were not supported by Hamilton

• Burr: candidate for governor in NY in 1804, rumored to support the Essex Junto - Hamilton’s campaign against Burr on this fact caused him to lose the election; Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel 

• July 1804 - duel in NJ, Hamilton shot dead, Burr flees west on charges of murder 

• Burr was close with the governor of the Louisiana Territory, James Williamson - both men wanted to capture Mexico from the Spanish and were rumored to be planning an effort to secede the Southwestern states

• 1806: Burr leads group of armed supporters down Ohio River, Williamson turns on Burr and notifies Jefferson of his pending attack on New Orleans 

• Burr tried for treason, was acquitted, in large part due to the influence of Chief Justice John Marshall by limiting evidence presented by the government and manipulating the presentation of the charges  

Expansion and War: 

• Thomas Jefferson faced two conflicts in the later years of his presidency: the Napoleonic Wars in Europe (which again drew the U.S into tensions and economic conflict with UK/France) and conflict between settlers and natives in the vast new territories, which became intertwined with the European conflicts 

Conflict on the Seas: 

• Early 19th century: massive expansion of American shipping in the Atlantic; Britain remained naval superiority but was focused on Asia and Europe, allowing the U.S to develop one of the most important merchant marines in the world 

• 1805 Battle of Trafalgar: Britain essentially destroys the French navy - Napoleon shifts to economic means to pressure England - “Continental System” - Britain responds with Blockade of all European trade 

• American ships were caught between the competing decrease of Napoleon and UK - most viewed the UK as the bigger threat, however 

Impressment: 

• British navy known as “floating hell” for its terrible conditions - few volunteered for the service 

• To combat high rates of desertion, Britain claimed the right to stop and search American ships and reimpress deserters, although distinctions of who could be impressed soon fell away

• Summer 1807: Chesapeake-Leopard incident, British navy opens fire on American warship after it refused to be stopped and boarded; Jefferson and Madison work to maintain peace 

  • British government disavowed the actions of the officer responsible and recalled him, offered compensation for those killed/wounded and returned 3 captured sailors, but refused to renounce impressment 

“Peaceable Coercion:” 

• In effort to prevent future incident thats might provoke war, Congress enacts “the Embargo,” prohibiting American ships from leaving the U.S for any foreign port - was widely dodged but effective enough to create a serious depression 

• Election of 1808 was held in the middle of the Embargo - Madison won the presidency but Jefferson approved a bill ending the Embargo - it had clearly become a political liability 

• Embargo was replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act, reopening trade with all nations except UK and France - allowed it to expire in 1810 and it was replaced with Macon’s Bill No. 2, conditionally opening free trade with both nations 

  • France announced it would end interference with U.S shipping; Madison announced an embargo would go into effect on the UK if it did not renounce its restrictions by 1811; Britain complied but too late to avoid war 

The “Indian Problem” and the British: 

• Chesapeake-Leopard incident renewed conflict between Native Americans and white settlers, led by Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison, respectively

  • Harrison: VA born, became congressional delegate from the NW territory in 1799; responsible for passage of so-called Harrison Land Law, which made it much easier for white settlers to acquire farms

• 1801: Jefferson appoints Harrison governor of the Indiana Territory, tasked with administering his solution to the “Indian problem:” force assimilation or migrate west of the Mississippi - Harrison soon turned what was intended as a “benign” option into a scarily effective eviction program, turning tribes against each other and concluding treaties

• By 1807 the U.S had extracted huge concessions of land from natives in the North and Southwest; British began fearing an invasion of Canada and renewed friendship with natives in the West 

Tecumseh and the Prophet: 

• Tenskwatawa - “the Prophet” - experienced an awakening after recovering from alcoholism and began to speak of the evils of white culture and the superiority of native civilization - helped to inspire and unite native tribes in the west 

• Tecumseh: chief of the Shawnees, warned that Shawnees would be exterminated if action against the white Americans were not taken; understood that tribes needed to be united in order to fight back, sets out to unite all natives in the Mississippi Valley and promises to halt white expansion, recover the whole Northwest, and make the Ohio River the boundary between the US and the Native Americans

• Battle of Tippecanoe:

  • 1811 → Tecumseh leaves Prophetstown to go south hoping to persuade more Native American nations to join the alliance

  • General Harrison camps near Prophetstown with 1,000 soldiers and provokes a battle on November 7

  • White forces suffer some losses but drive off Native Americans and burn the town

  • Results in many of the Prophet’s followers being disillusioned since they believed his magic would protect them

  • Tecumseh returns to find the confederacy in disarray

• Since British agents in Canada offered some support to natives, Harrison and white residents believe the British must be driven out of Canada and the province should be annexe to the United States in order to make the West safe for Americans

Florida and War Fever:

• Northern whites wanted the conquest of Canada while those in the South wanted to acquire Spanish Florida (present day Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana)

• Reasons why Spanish Florida is desirable: 

  • Seen as a threat since enslaved people escape through the Florida border

  • Natives frequently launch raids from Florida

  • Rivers allow Southerners to have access to valuable ports on the Gulf of Mexico

• 1810 → American settlers in West Florida seize the Spanish fort Baton Rouge and ask the federal govt to annex the captured territory, Madison agrees

• War with Britain would give more reason to take Spanish territory since Spain and Britain were allies

• In elections of 1810 voters from northern and southern borders of the US vote for representatives eager for war with Britain, known as “war hawks”

• Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina - Clay becomes Speaker of the House and appoints Calhoun to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, both men advocate for the conquest of Canada

• June 18, 1812 → Madison still wants peace but gives in to pressure and approves a declaration of war against Britain

The War of 1812:

• British ignored America’s declaration of war for a while since they were preoccupied with Napoleon and France

• When it was clear that the French Empire was on its way to final defeat, Britain turns its military attention to America

Battles with the Tribes:

• Americans entered the war with great enthusiasm, enthusiasm which quickly faded as battlefield realities set in - invaded Canada for the first time through Detroit in summer of 1812, soon forced to retreat (several subsequent invasions were also repelled); Fort Dearborn (Chicago) fell in native attack 

• At first the U.S Navy recorded some shocking successes against British warships, but tables quickly turned once the British Navy became more involved in the conflict at the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars - imposed blockade on the US

• Early Great Lakes successes: controlled Lake Ontario, burned York (now Toronto), seized Lake Erie (thanks to Oliver Hazard Perry who defeated a British fleet at Put-In Bay), allowing another invasion through Detroit 

• William Henry Harrison pushed up the Thames River into upper Canada and killed Tecumesh (who was serving as a general in the British army) in Oct. 1813 - defeat weakened and disheartened natives

• Andrew Jackson led revenge attack on the Creeks, who had been attacking white settlers with Spanish weapons, slaughtering women and children at Horseshoe Bend - Jackson later seized the Spanish fort of Pensacola in 1814 

Battles with the British:

• After surrender of Napoleon in 1814, UK prepared to properly invade the US - armada sailed up Patuxent River, landed invasion force that burned several government buildings, including the White House, in DC after dispersing a small militia force 

• British forces advanced north to Boston, which was protected by Fort McHenry and sunken ships that clogged the harbor - resistance inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that would become the Star Spangled Banner 

• Battle of Plattsburgh - repeal of large British land and naval invasion from Canada; Andrew Jackson’s massive victory at the Battle of New Orleans (after the war had already formally ended)

The Revolt of New England:

• With a few exceptions, the military operations from 1812-1815 were mostly humiliating failures and the US government faced increasing popular resistance as the war continued - in NE opposition was so extreme to the war and Republicans that some Federalists celebrated UK victories 

• Congressional opposition led by Daniel Webster - NH Federalists 

• Federalists minority in the nation but majority in NE - began to dream of creating a separate nation - secession talk reached climax in winter of 1814-1815 

• Dec. 15, 1814 - delegates met in Hartford to discuss grievances - succession supporters were outnumbered and eventual report only hinted at secession - reasserted right of nullification and proposed seven Constitutional amendments that would protect power of NE from growing influence of the south and west 

• Given the unpopularity of the war, Federalists felt the Republicans would be more or less forced to accept the demands - news of Jackon’s victory in New Orleans and the negotiated peace made the effort seem futile and even treasonous → the Hartford convention would prove to be the death blow to the Federalist Party  

The Peace Settlement:

• Peace talks began before war even broke out, US delegation led by John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and Albert Gallatin 

• Americans gave up demands for end of impressment and cession of Canada, UK gave up demand for creation of a Native American buffer state in Northwest, other matters referred to arbitration → Signed Christmas Eve in 1814, named Treaty of Ghent after Belgian city in which it was negotiated 

• Commercial treaty in 1815 gave Americans right to trade freely with England and most of empire; Rush-Bagot agreement (1817) provided for mutual disarmament of Great Lakes → US-Canada border would became largest unguarded frontier in world 

• Treaty of Ghent required US to restore land seized from natives but these provisions were never enforced → war was devastating blow for natives: Tecumseh was killed, British removed from Northwest, native alliance collapsed, and the war only further accelerated white settlement deeper into the west 

Purple Pages Supplemental Section:

Consider the Source: Religious Revivals (200-201)

• Camp (revival) meetings popular among some Evangelical Christains as early as 1800 → by 1820 around 1,000 meetings/year, mostly in the south and west -  largest meetings had upwards of 25,000 in attendance

• Many “megachurches” in US today 

  • 2000+ in attendance

  • Charismatic, authoritative leader (senior minister)

  • Very active seven-day-a-week community 

  • Social and outreach ministries 

  • Complex organizational structure

The Global Industrial Revolution (206):

• Industrial revolution - vast movement that transformed the globe, well underway by end of 18th century; transformed UK, Europe, U.S and Japan by 20th century 

• American industrial revolution largely result of rapid changes occurring in UK → factory system, weaving improvements, emergence of steam power, growth of textile industry, etc 

• Despite efforts to prevent the spread of technology from the UK, it quickly traveled around the world, including to the US, which recieved more immigrants from the UK than any other nation - also contributed greatly to Meiji Restoration

• Industrialization ushered in tremendous social changes as well -- mass migrations to urban centers (psychological impacts, worker-employee conflicts)

• Population increases, pollution, crime, disease, life expectancy increase, middle class comes to dominate economy (most impactful economic change since agricultural revolution)

Horse Racing in Early America (210):

• Horse racing came to NA almost as soon as English colonization began (first racetrack - New Market outside of present-day Garden City on LI)

• Popular in every colony by the Revolution and was moving into new western territories - Andrew Jackson created the first track in Tenn in early 18th century 

• Reflected class and wealth divisions - white aristocrats controlled racing but young African American men (some enslaved, some free) were often used as jockeys - lower class Americans often staged informal races 

• Growing North-South rivalry - $24,000 race between famous horses from north and south in 1824 at Union Race Course - this and similar races drew huge crowds and publicity - continued up to civil war 

• Horse racing remained in popular after Civil War but African Americans - who traditionally dominated the sport, were pushed out as segregation took hold 

• Formalized sports betting expanded the audience to mostly lower class white men looking for quick riches while horse breeding was centralized in the hands of enormously wealthy families 

CHAPTER 8

The end of the War of 1812 allowed the resumption of America’s economic growth and territorial expansion; the postwar boom soon turned to bust in 1819, laying bare the nation’s lack of basic institutions required to sustain growth. In the following years, stabilizing the economy became an ongoing and strenuous undertaking. 

Banking, Currency, and Protection:

• War of 1812 stimulated economic growth by cutting off imports but produced chaos in shipping and banking and proved existing transportation and financial systems inadequate 

• First Bank of the US (BUS) charter expired in 1811, replaced by numerous state banks that issued large quantities of banknotes but often did not have the gold and silver to back them → many types of notes circulating at once, value depended on reputation of the issuing bank 

• Second BUS chartered in 1816, essentially the same as Hamilton’s but with more capital → could not prevent state banks from issuing currency but used its influence to ensure only sound notes were issued 

• Textile industry exploded from 1807-1815 (8,000 to 130,000 cotton spindles); Francis Cabot Lowell developed an improved power loom, created the Boston Manufacturing Company, and founded the first mill in America that housed spinning and weaving under one roof 

• After the war British ships swarmed US ports with manufactured goods, often priced below cost, to undersell US manufactured goods and attempt to recapture the lost market → in 1816 Congress passed protective tariffs that limited competition from abroad for many goods, most importantly cotton despite objections from agricultural interests 

Transportation: 

• Most pressing need after war was a better transportation system → access to raw materials and domestic markets; debate ensued on whether the federal government should finance such improvements 

• When OH joined union in 1803, federal government agreed that part of proceeds from sale of public lands should finance road construction; Jefferson’s Sec.of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin proposed use of these proceeds to fund National Road as well

• Construction of Natl. Road finally began in 1811 and by 1818 reached Wheeling VA on OH River; Penn. gave $100,000 to private company to extend Lancaster Pike to Pittsburgh 

  • Made travel across the mountains more affordable than ever despite high tolls 

• End of War resumed the expansion of the steamboat network, pioneered by Robert Fulton; by 1816 river steamers traveled up and down both Miss. and OH Rivers → carried more cargo than all other forms of river transportation combined 

• Despite progress, the war laid bare the shortcomings and gaps in America’s transportation infrastructure → Madison called for passage of the Amendment that would guarantee Congressional authority to fund needed improvements. 

  • John C. Calhoun introduced bill to used funds owed to the government by BUS to fund roads and canals, Madison vetoed the bill on his last day in office over constitutional authority concerns despite supporting its premise 

Expanding Westward: 

• Growing interest in internal improvements driven by dramatic surge in westward expansion; by 1820 1 in 4 Americans lived west of the Appalachians, and population of the Western regions was increasing more rapidly than the nation as a whole 

The Great Migration: 

• Between 1800-1830 the population nearly doubled, pushing White Americans in the east toward western lands as agricultural land in the east was largely occupied and some of it exhausted, problems especially apparent in the Plantation South

• War of 1812 greatly diminished the threat of Natives in the West, as the federal government pushed tribes further and further west, constructed forts along the frontier, and instituted the “factor” system in which gov’t agent supplied native tribes with manufactured goods at cost, driving Canadian traders out

• Migrant flowed from the East to the (newly-accurate) Midwest along the OH and Monongahela Rivers, then on to Cincinnati and further west overland in wagons 

The Plantation System in the Southwest: 

• Principle attraction in the southwest was cotton, as lands in the Old South succumbed to overplanting and erosion as demand for cotton only continued to increase → movement to Black Belt of central AL and Miss to large tracts of fertile soil

• Wealthier planters followed behind the original settlers (who had made rough clearings in the forest) and bought up cleared or partially cleared land to form plantations, and the original settlers continued the cycle of moving even further west 

• Western planters had assumed an air of long-standing aristocracy by the Civil War despite few being established for more than one or two generations 

• Four new states admitted after War: IN (1816), MS (1817), IL (1818), AL (1819)

Trade and Trapping in the Far West: 

• Significant trade developed between far western regions and the US in early 19th century 

• Mexico (which controlled TX, CA, and much of the southwest at this time) won independence from Spain in 1821 and opened its northern territories to trade with the US and American traders soon poured into the region, quickly displacing both Native and Mexican traders that had dominated trade → commercial wagon traffic on Sante Fe Trail

• John Jacob Astor had established Astoria as a trading post at mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon before the War of 1812, once war broke out Astor sold his operations to the British Northwestern Fur Company and moved back to the Great Lakes 

• Fur trading business shifted from purchasing pelts from Native Americans to white settlers increasingly hunting beaver on their own → Andrew Henry and William Ashley founded Rocky Mountain Fur Company and recruited white trappers to move permanently to the Rockies 

• Trappers were bound to the merchants through either employment or dependency on credit; many of these trappers lived peacefully with the Native Americans and Mexicans and ⅔ married women of Native or Spanish backgrounds 

  • Not always friendly or peaceful: Jedediah S. Smith led series of expeditions deep into Mexican territory that ended in battles with Mojave Natives; Smith killed in 1827 by Comanches 

Eastern Images of the West: 

• Americans in the East had little knowledge of the west that was being reshaped, most information came from dramatic and exaggerated popular stories from figures like Smith

• Explorers: 1819-20 - Stephen H. Long led 19 soldiers up Platte and South Platte Rivers through NE, and CO, returned on Arkansas River through KS and wrote an influential report that labeled the Great Plains the “Great American Desert”

The “Era of Good Feelings:”

• Expansion of economy, westward growth, and creation of new states reflected rising spirit of nationalism that was reflected in national politics

The End of the First Party System: 

• VA Dynasty: Jefferson, Madison (his Sec. of State), Monroe (his Sec. of State)

• Monroe won overwhelming 183-34 electoral vote victory in 1816 over Rufus King and took office with no major opposition party, no major international threats, and seemed to be on the cusp of achieving the dream of ending partisan divisions for good 

  • John Quincy Adams, of NE, selected as Sec. of State, putting him in line for the presidency and seemingly preparing the end of the VA dynasty; John C. Calhoun named Sec. of War, in other appointments Monroe included Northerners and Southerners, Easterners and Westerners, Federalists and Republicans

• Monroe embarked on unprecedented goodwill tour, was met with enthusiastic support even in NE and Boston, with the Federalists Columbian Sentinel remarking that an “era of good feelings” was upon the nation; he was reelected without opposition as the Federalists ceased to exist

John Quincy Adams and Florida: 

• JQA was one of the great diplomats in American history and was firmly committed to nationalism and the nation’s expansion 

• First priority was Florida -- used Jackson’s invasion (Seminole War - multiple Spanish forts seized with the ostensible justification of preventing further native attacks) as leverage in negotiations that led to Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819

  •  Spain ceded all of florida and territory north of 42nd parallel in NW, US gave up claims toTX

The Panic of 1819: 

• High foreign demand for American farm goods led to high prices for farmers and stimulated a land boom (land pieces soared as well); easy credit availability to settlers and speculators fueled this boom

• New management at the BUS in 1819 led to tightening of credit, calling loans, and foreclosing mortgages, precipitating a series of failures by state banks which led to six years of financial panic that most Westerners blamed on the national bank

Sectionalism and Nationalism: 

• Brief alarm in 1819-20 over north-south differences was narrowly avoided by the Missouri compromise 

The Missouri Compromise: 

• MI applied for statehood in 1819 with slavery well established → Rep. James Tammadge Jr. of NY introduced an amendment that would prohibit further introduction of enslaved people to MI and provide for gradual emancipation

• New states had entered in pairs -- one north and one south to maintain balance between slave and free states -- adding MI would upset the balance but ME was also applying for statehood 

  • Speaker Henry Clay made it clear that if MI was blocked by Northern members ME would be blocked by Southern Members 

  • ME and MI statehood proposals combined to single bill → Senator Jesse B. Thomas of IL proposed and had passed an amendment that prohibited slavery in the LA purchase territory north of the southern border of MI (36°30❜ parallel) 

• Both north and south celebrated the compromise and danger was averted -- but the sectional divides would later rear its ugly head in the runup to the Civil War

Marshall and the Court: 

• John Marshall: Chief Justice from 1801-1835 - dominated the court more fully than anyone in US history and molded the development of the constitution almost as much as the framers themselves 

  • Strengthening judicial branch at expense of the other branches, the federal government over the states, and advanced interests of propertied and commercial classes 

• Fletcher v. Peck (1810): Inviolability of contracts; land grant was a valid contract and could not be repealed even if corruption is involved

• Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819): Placed important restrictions on ability of state governments to control corporations; NH could not modify the charter of Dartmouth granted by George III (Daniel Webster’s famous oral arguments)

• Cohens v. Virginia (1821): Explicitly affirmed federal review of state court decisions in response to challenges from states’ rights advocates, primarily from the south 

• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): Confirmed implied powers by upholding constitutionality of the BUS in face of efforts of states to drive branches out through taxes or prohibition; also argued by Daniel Webster 

• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824): Strengthened power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce by holding that a Congressional license for ferry travel between NY and NJ superseded a similar NY license 

• Marshall Court decisions were highly nationalistic and promoted a strong, unified, and economically developed US with a strong federal government role over the states and economic affairs 

The Court and Native Americans:

• Nationalist sentiment of Marshall Court also visible in ruling on Native Americans, not only establishing US supremacy but carving out a distinctive position for Native Americans under Constitutional Structure 

• Johnson v Mcintosh (1823): Tribes had basic right to tribal lands that preceded other American laws; individuals could not buy or take land, only the federal government could 

• Worcester v Georgia (1832): Invalidated Georgia laws that regulated access by US citizens to Cherokee lands; established that tribes were sovereign entities and could not be regulated by state governments 

• Rulings defined place of Native Americans in the US political system and established federal authority over tribal affairs that was theoretically limited by an obligation to protect their welfare; did little to defend Native Americans from white settlement but formed basis for a few legal protections 

The Latin American Revolution and the Monroe Doctrine

• US had developed profitable trade with Latin America and was rivaling the UK and the principal player in the region, most believed that the success of anti-Spanish revolutions throughout the continent would strengthen America’s position 

• 1815: US proclaims neutrality in war between Spain and rebelling colonies, implying recognition of their status as nations; later sold ships and supplies to rebels, betraying the appearance of neutrality 

• 1882: Monroe established diplomatic relations with newly independent La Plata, Chile, Peru, Columbia, and Mexico, making the US the first nation to do so

• 1823: Monroe issues what would become known as the Monroe Doctrine, despite it largely being the work of JQA; “consider any foreign challenge to the sovereignty of an existing American nation an unfriendly act”

  • Born out of fear France would assist Spain to retake lost empire, UK’s desires for Cuba - had little immediate effect but expressed growing nationalism 

The Revival of Opposition: 

• 1816: Federalist Party offered no candidate and ceased to exist as national political force → Republican Party only national organized party  

• Late 1820’s: partisan divisions were emerging again, controversy over not whether but how the nation should expand 

“The Corrupt Bargain:”

• Until 1820 (Monroe ran unopposed), presidential candidates were nominated by caucuses of the two parties in Congress → in 1824 Republican caucus nominated William H. Crawford but other candidates won nominations from state legislatures

• Sec. of State JQA, Henry Clay (Speaker of House, “American System”), Andrew Jackson (War of 1812 hero) rounded out the four major candidates 

• Jackson received most popular and electoral votes but not a majority, he and JQA went to the House where Henry Clay had great influence despite being out of the running → Clay supported JQA as she was a likely supporter of the American system and secured him the presidency

• Jackson’s supporters felt the process was corrupt and only grew angrier when Clay was named Sec. of State, seemingly completing the “corrupt bargain” that would haunt JQA’s term 

The Second President Adams: 

• The corrupt bargain proved a major roadblock to Adams -- an ambitious expansion of Clay’s American system was blocked by Jacksonians in Congress 

• Diplomatic failure as US Delegation arrived too late to participate in an international conference called by Bolivar over Southerners in Congress objecting to the US working with black delegates from Hati 

• Adams lost a contest with GA over Cherokee Native Affairs, as the governor extracted a new treaty that stripped the Cherokee of lands guaranteed by a 1791 federal treaty; Adams found no way to prevent the implementation of the new treaty 

• Adams attempted to introduce new tariffs but in an effort to satisfy the north and south pleased neither and enacted what became known as the “tariff of abominations”

Jackson Triumphant: 

• By 1828 election, new two-party system emerged: JQA supporters that called themselves National Republicans and supported economic nationalism; Andrew Jackson supporters that called themselves Democratic Republicans and supported an assault on privilege and widening of opportunity 

• Campaign largely devolved to personal insults, however, as Jackson supporters accused Adams of gross waste and corruption and Adams supporters branded Jackson a murderer and his wife a bigamist (she died a few weeks later; Jackson blamed the allegations)

• Jackson won decisive 178-83 electoral vote victory with 56% of the popular vote, but Adams swept NE and showed strength in the mid-Atlantic -- considered the victory as important as Jefferson’s as forces of privilege had been driven from DC and an “age of the common man” could begin 

 CHAPTER 9 

The Emergence of Andrew Jackson:

• Only had some primary education

• Became lawyer

• Delegate for Tennessee in Constitutional Convention in 1796

• 1796 → Became Tennessee congressman

• 1797→ Became senator but resigned within the year

• 1798 → Became judge of Tennessee Supreme Court until 1804

• Got wealth as planter (slaves) and merchant

• 1802→ Became major general of Tennessee militia, and was very good at his job

• So earned the nickname “Old Hickory”

Expandiary Democracy:

• Jackson’s presidency did not advance economic equality

• Extended to new groups the right to vote

• Before 1820s → only white men who owned property and paid taxed could vote

• First western states, such as Ohio, made constitutions that gave all white men the right to vote before Jackson was elected

• Also gave all voters the right to hold public office

• Old states reduced property ownership and taxpaying requirements so people would not move west and so they would not lose power

• 1820 Mass. Constitutional Convention → Members of state senate represented property, not people, so reformers tried to change the system but conservatives, mostly Daniel Webster, argued that power naturally follows property → rules for representation that allowed rich to be represented over poor were reformed in state senate and property requirement for voting was eliminated

• New constitution required that every voter pay taxes and that the governor owns a lot of real estate

• 1821 NY Constitutional Convention → Conservatives led by James Kent wanted to add property requirement to tax requirement but reformers said that Jefferson left “property” out of declaration so they won

• The Rhode Island Constitution didn’t let ½ of males vote so in 1840, Thomas W. Dorr created the People’s Party and drafted a new constitution that was approved but the existing legislature also submitted a new constitution that was narrowly rejected

• Dornites set up a new government with Dorr as governor but in 1842, both governments claimed legitimacy, and the old government imprisoned Dorrites as rebels. Dorrites tried to capture state arsenal but Dorr Rebellion failed

• Old legislature did draft a new constitution expanding suffrage 

• In the South, planters and politicians in old, coastal counties held power

• Spoken votes caused bribery and intimidation

• Early 1800s → dramatic increase in political participation

Tocqueville and Democracy in America:

• Alexis de Tocqueville spent 2 years in US in 1830s watching changes under Jackson and wrote Democracy in America- daily lives of Americans

• Tocqueville understood that democracy was only for white men in the US

• As he was French, book first spread in France and Europe and then the US

The Legitimization of Party:

• High voter participation was result of strengthening of party organization and party loyalty

• 1820s → nation changed view from parties are anti-democratic to parties are good for democracy

• Martin van Buren led Bucktails/Albany Regency Faction against aristocratic governor, De Witt Clinton, after War of 1812 in NY

• Van Buren argued that party loyalty was more important than ideology and that competition would force politicians to remain to the will of the people, and they would check and balance one another

• 1830s → New two-party system

• Anti-Jackson forces: Whigs

• Jackson’s followers: Democrats

President of the Common Man:

• Jackson thought democracy should offer “equal protection and equal benefits” to all white male citizens and favor no region or class

• Wanted to attack eastern aristocracy and extend opportunities to classes in West and South

• Wanted to keep “dangerous” Natives, blacks, and women from politics

• Jackson thought offices belonged to the people so he tried to get rid of entrenched office holders

• However he did use the spoils system- allowed elected officials to appoint their own followers to public office

• 1832 → Jackson ran his renomination through national party convention (like the anti-Masons in 1831) to avoid congressional caucus because it favored elites

• Both the spoils system and national party convention took power from elites but didn’t really give them to the people

• Appointments to office usually went to prominent political allies of Jackson

Calhoun and Nullification:

• Supported the tariff in 1816 

• Changed his mind in 1820s

The Webster- Hayne Debate:

• January 1830- debate in senate

• Senator from Connecticut asked that all land sales in West be temporarily stopped to slow the growth of slavery

• Robert Y. Hayne, senator from South Carolina, argued that slowing growth of west was a way for northeast to stay in power and that it was bad for the south and west (He actually didn’t care but wanted support from western senators to lower tariff)

• Daniel Webster, senator from Mass. and a whig, attacked Mayne and Calhoun the next day for challenging the integrity of the union, challenging Mayne to a debate on states’ rights vs. national power

• Mayne was coached by Calhoun and responded by defending nullification

• Webster responded with a 2 day speech known as the “Second Reply to Mayne” where he defended the Union

• At the Democratic Party banquet, Jackson gave a speech defending the union but Calhoun responded by putting liberty before the union

The Nullification Crisis:

• 1832 → Congressional tariff bill was passed that didn’t remove 1828 tariff of abominations from South Carolina

• Legislature summoned a state convention and voted to nullify tariffs of 1828 and 1832 and forbid the collection of duties within the state

• Mayne was elected as governor and Calhoun, who resigned as vice president, replaced Hayne as a senator

• Jackson thought that nullification was treason

• Strengthened the federal forts in South Carolina and ordered a warship and revenue ships to Charlestown

• 1833 → Jackson proposed a force bill at Congress authorizing the president to use the military to see that acts of Congress were obeyed

• In the senate no other state would side with South Carolina 

• Henry Clay was elected to the Senate and devised a compromise by which the tariff would be lowered gradually so that, by 1842, it would reach the same level as in 1816

• Compromise and the force bill were both passed on March 1, 1833 → Jackson signed them both

• South Carolina convention repealed its nullification of the tariffs

• Calhoun got victory for nullification because it forced the revision of the tariff

White Attitudes Towards Native Americans:

• Views of natives as noble savages turned to just savages

• Not just uncivilized but uncivilizable 

• Whites wanted to remove natives

The Black Hawk War:

• 1831-1832 → Last battle in long process of expelling Woodland Indians from Old Northwest, between whites in Illinois and alliance of Saule and fox Indians under warrior black hawk 

• Earlier treaty had ceded the tribal lands to the US but Indians did not recognize its legality because a rival tribal faction signed it

• Indians crossed river and reoccupied vacant land while whites feared invasion and assembled the Illinois state militia and federal troops to repel the invaders

• Whites attacked even when Black Hawk tried to surrender

• Defeated natives retreated to Iowa but whites followed and slaughtered them

• Black Hawk captured and sent on a tour of the east where he met Jackson

• Lincoln served as a captain of the militia but saw no action

Native American Nations of the South:

• Five civilized tribes: Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole

• Established agricultural societies with successful economies

• Cherokees had a written constitution in 1827 - Cherokee Nation

• Whites argued that Cherokees should be allowed to retain their eastern lands because they were civilized and adopted white social roles for the sexes

• Negotiations to move natives west was not fast enough for whites

• Georgia tried to evict Creeks over objection of President Adams 

• Legislatures in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi began passing laws to regulate Natives living in their states under Jackson

• 1830 → Congress helped by passing the Removal Act (with Jackson’s approval) to appropriate money to finance federal negotiations with the souther groups to relocate them west

• Natives faced combination of pressures from both state and federal governments

• Groups too weak to resist (most of them) ceded land in return for token payments

• Cherokees appealed to the Supreme Court to stop white encroachments

• Cherokee Nation v Georgia and Worcester v Georgia in 1831 and 1832 → ruled in favor of natives but Jackson was not happy

• Jackson made it so the the decision in Worcester v Georgia was not enforced

• 1835 → federal government got treaty from minority faction of Cherokees that ceded tribe’s land in Georgia for $5 million and a reservation west of Mississippi

• Majority of Cherokees did not see treaty as legitimate but Jackson sent 7,000 troops under General Winfield Scott to force them west

Trails of Tears:

• 1,000 Cherokees fled to North Carolina where the federal government gave them a small reservation in the Smoky Mountains

• Most went to Oklahoma in winter of 1838

• Thousands died on the way

• Jackson said that the removal was to protect natives

• 1834 → Congress created Indian Intercourse Act to create new Indian territory

• All native nations in the south were forced to go there between 1830 and 1838

• Land was chosen because it was farm from whites and on the undesirable eastern edge of the “Great American Desert”

• Seminole natives of Florida signed 1832 - 1833 treaties of Payne’s Landing to cede land to Indian Territory

• Most did but large minority didn’t under Chieftain Osceola and staged an uprising in 1833 with escaped slaves to defend land

• Seminole War took years because of use of guerilla warfare

• 1842 → US government gave up but Osceda had died and many Seminoles had died or been forced west anyways

Biddle’s Institution:

• Bank of US very powerful by 1830s

• Only place federal government could deposit its on funds

• Government owned ⅕ of bank’s stock

• Nicholas Biddle - became president of bank in 1823

• Jackson wanted to destroy bank as he thought federal regulation of the economy was an overreach

• Opposition to bank came from soft money faction and hard money faction

• Advocates of soft money - people who wanted more money in circulation and thought that issuing bank notes unsupported by gold and silver was the best way to circulate more currency (mostly state bankers and their allies), objected to Bank of US because it restricted state banks from issuing notes freely

• Advocates of hard money - thought that gold and silver were the only basis for money and condemned banks that issued notes, including BUS

• Jackson supported hard money

• Soft money people believed in rapid economic growth and speculation

• Hard money people believed in public virtue

• Jackson was sensitive to complaints of soft money people in west and south

• Jackson would not favor renewing the charter for BUS when it expired in 1836 

• Biddle started granting financial favors to influential men who he thought would help him preserve the bank

• Named Daniel Webster the bank’s legal counsel and director of its Boston branch

• Webster helped win the support of other important people like Henry Clay

• Clay and Webster had Biddle apply to Congress in 1832 for a bill to renew the Bank’s charter

• By doing it 4 years early, the bank would become a major issue in the 1832 elections

• Congress passed the bill but Jackson vetoed it and Congress failed to override the veto

• Clay ran as Whig but Bank War didn’t give him a winning issue

• Jackson won with Van Buren as vice president

• Bank didn’t have enough resources

• Wanted to cause a short recession to persuade Congress to recharter the Bank over winter of 19833-1834

• Eventually Biddle contracted credit so far that it hurt the interests of his allies in the business community

• To appease NY and Boston merchants, Biddle began to grant credit in abundance and on reasonable terms

• Ended his chances of getting the bank rechartered

• 1836 → Bank died and US was left with unstable banking system

The Taney Court:

• After the Bank War, Jackson moved against the Supreme Court

• John Marshall died in 1835 and Jackson appointed his ally, Koger B. Taney, as chief justice

• Charles River Bridge v Warren Bridge 1837-9 dispute between 2 Massachusetts companies over right to build bridge over Charles River between Boston and Cmbridge

• One company had old charter from state to operate a toll bridge and said the charter gave them a monopoly of the bridge traffic

• Other company applied to the legislature tor authorization to construction a competing bridge with no toll, reducing value of first company’s charter

• First company said that by granting second charter, legislature was breaking a contract (ruled as bad on other cases)

• Taney, now part of democratic majority, said state could offer second charter because the government has to promote general happiness with is more important than contracts so states could amend contracts toa advance well-being of community

• Key to democracy was expansion of economic opportunities that could not occurred if monopolies were in place

Democrats and Whigs:

• Democrats wanted a small role of government but it should expand economic opportunities for white men by keeping the union together and attacking aristocracy

• Whigs wanted to expand the power of the federal government, encourage industrial and commercial development, and bring the country together in a consolidated economic system (cautious about westward expansion)

• Whigs popular among merchants and manufacturers in northeast and rich planters in south and commercial class in west

• Democrats popular among smaller merchants and workingment in northeast, anti-industrial planters in south, and farmers in west

• Whig and Democratic politicians move focus on winning elections than philosophy

• Whigs in Ny gvt popular by supporting Anti Masonry - emerged in 1820s in response to widespread resentment against Secret Society of Freemasons, resentment increased in 1826 when a former Mason, William Morgan, disappeared before he was supposed to publish a book expressing freemasonry, Whigs used backlash to launch attacks on Jackson and Van Buren (both freemasons), saying that Democrats were in an anti-democratic conspiracy

• Attacked Democrats with Democrats’ own issues

• Irish/German Catholics and immigrants supported Democrats who were entrepreneurial and held family values

• Evangelical Protestants supported Whigs because they liked constant development and improvement

• Great Triumvirate - Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John Calhoun - lead figures of Whig Party

• Democrats united behind Jackson

• Election of 1836 - Democrats united behind Martin Van Buren for nominee but Whigs could not agree on a candidate

• Ran several, hoped to capitalize off regional strength of each

• Webster of New England, Hugh Lawson White of Tennessee for South, and war hero from War of 1812, William Henry Harrison for Ohio, for West

• Whigs wanted candidates to draw enough votes from Van Buren that he would not get majority and vote would be taken to the House where Whigs would vote for a Whig

• Van Buren won anyway

Van Buren and the Panic of 1832:

• Van Buren was not as popular as Jackson and his presidency had much economic trouble

• Economic boom in 1836 helped Van Buren win election

• Land business was booming and tariff of a835 → created federal budget surpluses that reduced the national debt

• 1835-1837 → first/only time the government was out of debt

• 1836 → Congress passed Distribution Act requiring the federal government to pay its surplus funds to the states each year in four quarterly installments as interest-free, unsecured loans

• States spent loans, helping economy more

• Congressmen engaged in speculative deals for land 

• Jackson was angry that government was selling land for state bank notes only worth credit

• 1836 → Jackson ordered the Specie Circular - in payments for public land the government would accept any gold and silver or currency backed by gold and silver

• Produced panic of 1837

• Hundreds of banks and businesses failed, unemployment grew, prices failed, infrastructure projects failed, state governments failed to pay interest on their bonds, some temporarily repudiated their debts

• Europe also faced panic and English investors withdrew funds from US

• Crop failures caused a need to import food, sending money out of the country

• Van Buren opposed government intervention in economy and didn’t try to fight depression

• Van Buren succeeded in establishing a ten-hour workday on federal projects

• Replaced BUS with Independent Treasury/Sub Treasury system - government placed funds in an independent treasury at Washington and in sub treasuries in other cities (no private banks used)

• 1837 → proposal failed in the House

• 1840 → proposal succeeded

The Log Cabin Campaign:

• Whigs held their first ever national nominating convention in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania December 1839

• Chose William Henry Harrison as nominee and John Tyler of Virginia as vice president

• Democrats nominated Van Buren with no vice president, leaving it to the electors

• Penny press - carried news of candidates to a large audience of workers and trades people and highlighted winning over philosophy

• Both parties presented themselves as for the common man despite Whigs being for the affluent

• Whigs made Harrison, an aristocrat, seem like he was from a log cabin while they made Van Buren seem like a stupid aristocrat

• Harrison won the election

The Frustration of the Whigs:

• Harrison died of Pneumonia one month after taking office

• Tyler succeeded him but the Whig party had weak ties to Tyler

• Tyler was a former Democrat and more Democratic than Harrison

• Agreed to bills abolishing Van Buren’s independent treasury system and raised tariff routes (Whig)

• Refused to support Clay’s attempts to recharter BUS and vetoed several internal improvement bills (Democratic)

• Conference of congressional Whigs read Tyler out of the party and all cabinet members but Webster resigned and were replaced by Democrats, then Webster left and was replaced by Calhoun who rejoined the Democratic Party 

• Tyler’s group was aristocratic, thought government should protect and expand slavery, and believed in states’ rights (new political alignment of Whigs moving into Democrats) 

Whig Diplomacy:

• 1837 → residents of eastern Canada launched a rebellion against British government

• Rebels chartered US steamship, the Caroline, to ship supplies across the Niagara River from NY

• British government refused to disavow act or give compensation for it

• Called the Caroline Affair

• Authorities in NY arrested a Canadian named Alexander McLeod and charged him with murder for the American who died

• British government argued that he could not be charged because he acted under official orders

• Foreign secretary of Britain, Lord Palmerston, demanded McLeod’s release and said if he was executed, Britain would declare war

• Webster, secretary of state, wanted to release McLeod but he was under NY jurisdiction (British didn’t understand this)

• NY jury acquitted McLeod

• Canada/Maine border had been a dispute since treaty of 1783

• 1838 → lumberjacks from Maine and Canada moved to disputed Aroostook River region and fought, known as Aroostook War

• 1841 → American ship, the Creole, was sailing from Virginia to New Orleans with 100 slaves

• Slaves mutinied and took ship to Bahamas

• British in Bahamas declared slaves free

• Southerners got mad

• New British government came into power that wanted to ease tensions with US

• Spring of 1842 → it sent Lord Ashburton (pro-US) to negotiate Maine boundary and other things

• Webster Ashburton Treaty of 1842 - established a firm northern boundary between US and Canada along Maine - New Brunswick border

• Also eased memory of Caroline and Creole affairs by expressing regret and promising no future interference with US ships

• 1842 → Britain forced China to open up ports to foreign trade

• Congress sent commissioner, Caleb Cushing, to China

• Treaty of Wang Hya in 1844 → gave a US same trade privileges as English in China, and right of extraterritoriality - Americans accused of crimes in China could be tried by US officials

• Trade with China increased over next 10 years

• Whigs lost election of 1844