March HIS Notes

The War of 1812- Ch 10

Napolean

Vows to respect our trading rights

The “war hawks” (pro-war Democratic republicans) in the US were pushing for war with Great Britain.

The leader of the hawks was Henry Clay of Kentucky.

June 14th- the US declares war on Great Britain.

On June 12th, the British had voted to respect American neutrality. (stop stealing cargo and seizing ships)

1812- a bad year for the Americans and the first year of the war

We invade Canada and get whipped

1813- The situation improves for the Americans.

The Battle of Put-in-Bay, September 1813, was an American naval victory.

Sept 1814- the battle of Plattsburgh in New York- ended the war of 1812

Baltimore (Fort McHenry)

Francis Scott Key, a poet, wrote the national anthem

Ghent, Belgium- Negotiations to end the war are ongoing

The Treaty of Ghent ends (kind of) the War of 1812

3-5-26 War of 1812

Christmas Eve, 1814

The British begin to arrive in the New Orleans area. Americans were aware that there might be an attack coming from that area.

Andrew Jackson was a general and sent the troops to New Orleans and set up in the bayou.

Jan 8, 1815- The battle of new Orleans

General Pakenham led the British

There were A few dozen American casualties, while the British had 2000 die

The federalists were meeting in Hartford, Connecticut- the Hartford Convention.

They talked about constitutional amendments and secession.

Madison doesn't run in 1816

Election of 1816

Dem-rep.- James Monroe

Federalists- Rufus King

Monroe served 1817-1825

“Era of good feelings”

1819- the panic of 1819

It was the first major financial crisis in the US

The government just let it play out, letting businesses and banks fail.

The American system developed during this time

More government involvement in people's lives

Henry Clay was the leader of this movement.

He pushed for “internal improvements” like canals, roads, bridges, etc., paid for with federal tax money.

1819- Missouri applies for statehood as a slave state

If they are admitted, there would be 12 slave and 11 free states

James Tallmadge proposes the Tallmadge Amendment, which would allow Missouri to enter as a slave state, but it would become a free state after 20 years

Henry Clay proposes what becomes known as the Missouri Compromise.

Missouri enters and stays a slave state, and Maine is admitted as a free state.

The line is 36 degrees and 30 minutes north.

Florida

Owned by Spain

Adams-Onis treaty

Or the Transcontinental Treaty- it deals with Florida all the way to the Oregon Territory. The US wanted it and made a deal that Spain would give up its claim to Oregon, and we would take it. We get Florida, also, and get rid of the Spanish in Florida.

3/10-3/12- “era of good feelings.”

The Monroe Doctrine went into effect in 1823

written by his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams.

By 1820, the Federalist Party was dead

William Crawford, Georgia

, Henry Clay, Kentucky

, with Clay’s support, john q Adams is chosen as president. Then, Adams names Clay as his sec of State.

Jackson’s supporters called it a corrupt bargain.

Pro-Jackson and anti-Jackson newspapers- newspapers were biased

The “coffin Handbill” tried to portray Jackson as an evil killer.

Another poster was made by pro-Jackson supporters by saying yeah, he did kill British soldiers (2000+ after the Battle of New Orleans)

jacksonian democrats- the idea came from Martin Van Buren of New York

Jacksonian Democracy

The Election of 1828 & Jackson’s Rise

• A "Dirty" Election: Known for intense smear campaigns. Jackson was accused of murder (Coffin Handbill) and his wife, Rachel, of bigamy. Adams was accused of being a "pimp" for the Tsar.

• Rachel Jackson: Died of a heart attack before the inauguration; Jackson blamed his political enemies (specifically Henry Clay) for her death.

• The First Popular Election: 22 of 24 states used popular votes to pick electors. Jackson won a clear popular mandate.

• Martin Van Buren: The "first political bureaucrat" who built the Jacksonian Democratic Party.

Jacksonian Principles & Presidency

• Democracy: Believed in rule by the majority; advocated for abolishing the Electoral College and electing senators/judges directly.

• The Union: Fiercely Unionist. He countered South Carolina's Nullification attempt (over the "Tariff of Abominations") with a Force Bill and military threats against John C. Calhoun.

• Spoils System: Promoted "rotation in office," giving government jobs to supporters ("To the victors belong the spoils").

• The "Kitchen Cabinet": An informal group of advisors who bypassed the official cabinet.

Economic Battles & The Bank War

• National Debt: Successfully eliminated the national debt in 1835-1836—the only time in modern history.

• Bank of the United States (BUS): Jackson hated the Bank, viewing it as a corrupt tool for the elite and a political threat under Nicholas Biddle.

• The Veto: Jackson vetoed the Bank's recharter in 1832, claiming the President has equal power to the Supreme Court to judge constitutionality.

• Pet Banks: Jackson withdrew federal funds and placed them in state banks run by supporters.

• Specie Circular (1836): Required land to be purchased with "hard money" (gold/silver) to stop land speculation.

Indian Removal

• Trail of Tears: Relentless effort to move Indians west of the Mississippi.

• Perspective: The text notes that while viewed as a "black mark," Jackson believed it was the only way to avoid their total annihilation by white settlers.

Succession & The Whigs

• Martin Van Buren: Handpicked successor; faced the Panic of 1837 immediately upon taking office.

• The Whig Party: Formed out of a shared hatred for Jackson (whom they called "King Andrew I").

• Election of 1840: William Henry Harrison ("Old Tippecanoe") won using the "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign.

• Shortest Presidency: Harrison died one month after his inauguration; VP John Tyler (an ex-Democrat) took over and became a "thorn" in the side of the Whigs by vetoing their legislation.

                                                            3/31/26-4/2/26

Industrial revolution

Western land

• People were moving from farms to cities, and more people were working in factories.

• shifted from water power to steam power.

• Agricultural production went up.

• moving from the East Coast to the West

• Prairies are in the western lands and were perfect since they were ready to plant, and the soil was nutrient-rich

• John Deere invented the steel plow (and they weren’t green lmaooo)

• Cyrus McCormick invented the mechanical reaper that bundled wheat.

Land Policy

• Get land from the government for cheap.

Manufacturing

• 80% of the US is rural

• American System- Samuel Colt is one of the fathers of the system. Hire separate people to build interchangeable parts really fast, for unskilled people to put them together, because it is cheaper.

• factories are in New England, and they send it out domestically to other places because they’re more focused on agriculture

• To promote more homegrown, American-made buying, they imposed tariffs on imported goods.

Railroad

• 1850-1860, the railroads exploded and were everywhere  

• trains feed the coal industry since they use steam, and it fuels the iron industry because it’s needed to make engines and the train tracks

• Railroads propel the growth of other industries, like communication.

• Telegraph: Samuel Morse invented the telegraph and are being sent through power line like things.

• Telegraph wires are being put alongside the already cleared-out railroad tracks.

• By 1861, we had 50,000 wires crossing the country.

Economics

• white males benefited the most from the big boom

• Free labor is an opportunity for the white man, and is being taught that you just need to work really hard for it.

• 60% of white men had no land

• Most immigrants come from Germany or Ireland.

• Germans fit into the free labor mentality, but the Irish come at the bottom of the free labor ladder and are not treated well by the Americans.

Go west

Manifest Destiny

• Most Americans believed that they believed in their white skin and their sophistication was above all, and they needed to spread their morals and lives. They thought native Americans needed to be exterminated and pushed out. They had national pride and racial arrogance.

Oregon

• The 1818 treaty says we have joint occupation in Oregon, but America is itching to take Oregon, and people start going to Oregon, hence the Oregon Trail.

• By 1869, 30,000 people had made it to Oregon.

• the whites did not like that the native Americans traveled where the buffalo went.

• The whites set up forts to “protect” the wagon people on their journey, and made the native Americans live outside the forts.

• We are paying the native Americans in alcohol.

• Women see Oregon as primitive with nonstop hard work, while men love it.

• In the 1820s, Joseph Smith, from upstate New York, said he was visited by an angel to translate tablets into the Book of Mormon.

• Joseph Smith was arrested and killed, and a new leader surfaced, named Brigham Young. He led his people to Salt Lake City, Utah, and it continues to grow.

• The Mexican government sells cheap land to Stephen Austin, and Austin turns around and sells it to Americans from the South.

• Mexico tells Americans to stay out, but Texans rebel against Mexico.

• Some Texans took over an old Spanish site (the Alamo) led by William Travis, who was from Alabama.

• Santa Anna is the Mexican general, and he brings his army and bombards the alamo and the Mexicans kill 187 of the Americans.

• A Goliad, another disaster where Mexicans killed Texas

• Sam Houston

• In California, people began to revolt against Mexico and became the Bear Flag Republic