Note
Studied by 4 peopleAPUSH Period 4 Unit C
Period 4-Unit C. Age of Jefferson
The Election of 1800 is sometimes referred to as the Revolution of 1800 because a new political party with contrasting views took over the Executive and Legislative branches of government. The Federalists left office peacefully, indicating the acceptance of the constitutional system.
Compared to Adams’ presidency, Jefferson’s first four years in office were practically trouble-free. The Louisiana Purchase was the single most important achievement of Jefferson’s first administration.
Originally, Louisiana was part of the French Empire in the North American continent. As a condition of the Treaty of Paris, 1763, the French and Indian War was ended with Britain.
France ceded the Trans-Mississippi Territory to Spain meet the conditions of the treaty. France did not want the territory to fall into the hands of Britain.
In 1795, Pinckney’s Treaty was signed between Spain and the United States, allowing the United States to navigate the Mississippi River and have a right of deposit at New Orleans.
In 1800, under the leadership of Napoleon, the French forced Spain to return the Louisiana Territory to France. At first Napoleon wanted to restore the French empire in the Americas, but he changed his mind due to:
The need to concentrate on fighting the British.
The success of the Toussaint L’Ouverture Rebellion against the French on Santo Domingo.
When the Louisiana Territory was transferred back to France, the Pinckney Treaty was nullified and the port of New Orleans was closed to the Americas.
Jefferson felt the need to purchase New Orleans because as long as a foreign power controlled it, the U.S. would be entangled in European affairs. He sent ministers to France (James Monroe and Robert Livingston) to negotiate. They were authorized to offer no more than $10 million dollars for the port.
To the surprise of the negotiators, Napoleon offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory for a mere $15 million. The American negotiators were not given the power to accept.
Almost all of the American populace strongly approved of the purchase of the Louisiana Territory…even Jefferson. But as a strict constructionist, he had to reject that certain powers in the Constitution were implied. Nothing in the Constitution said that a president could purchase land. To do so would make Jefferson switch from a strict constructionist to a loose constructionist. As the Federalists criticized him, he switched his philosophy and purchased Louisiana and its territory.
The purchase of Louisiana was the most crowning achievement of Jefferson’s presidency. Significance:
It doubled the size of the U.S.
It guaranteed the navigation of the Mississippi River to western farmers.
It gave the U.S. control of New Orleans.
Since later states would become Democratic Republican from the Louisiana Territory, the purchase put the Federalists at risk.
It removed a foreign power from the continent. (The French)
Jefferson commissioned his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, and an army officer, William Clark, to explore the vast trans-Mississippi area. A young Shoshoni Indian named Sacajawea guided them through the treacherous terrain.
Know the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase.
Understand how future states from the territory would affect domestic politics.
John Marshall and the Supreme Court
After the Democratic Republican victory of 1800, the Federalists were swept out of the Executive Branch and they lost control of the Legislative Branch of government. The Federal court system was the last bit of Federalist power that existed in the Federal Government at that time.
John Marshall, who was Secretary of State, was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court during the last months of John Adams’ Presidency.
John Marshall’s Profile:
1755-1835
Sec. of State under Adams 1800-1801
Chief Justice 1801-1835
He said that his revolutionary war experience “transformed him from a Virginian to an American”.
Marshall’s decisions strengthened the Federal Government at the expense of the states.
Marbury vs. Madison (1803)
This was the first major case to be decided by the Marshall court. During the last hours of his administration, John Adams appointed numerous loyal Federalists to judgeships. Adams diligently focused his lame-duck session on filling the courts with loyal Federalists in hopes of affecting the policies of the incoming Democratic-Republicans.
The last minute scurry to commission these Federalists demoted them as Midnight Judges.
The signed and sealed commission of one of the Midnight Judges, William Marbury, was not delivered before President Thomas Jefferson took office. Jefferson ordered his Secretary of State, James Madison, to withhold the commission.
The creation of the court system was mandated by Article III, Section I of the Constitution. To enact the constitutional mandate, Congress passed the Federal Judiciary Act of 1789 to create the Federal court system. In the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress used the “elastic clause”. (Article I, Section 8, last paragraph.)
“To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the forgoing powers.” One of the minute laws that was created by the voluminous Judiciary Act was an avenue by which William Marbury could get his commission from Jefferson. The Supreme Court could issue an order (called a Writ of Mandamus) to force the Secretary of State, James Madison, to deliver the document.
This small fraction law was passed along with the number of courts, the relationship between courts, officers of the courts, etc.
William Marbury took advantage of the Judiciary Act of 1789 and sued Madison in the Supreme Court to force the deliverance of the commission.
Constitutional question(s):
Is Marbury entitled to his commission?
Decision: Yes
Reasoning: By signing Mr. Marbury’s commission and affixing the seal for the United States to it, the legitimacy of the appointment was complete.
Since the commission had not been delivered to Marbury, did the laws of the United States provide him a remedy?
Decision: Yes
Reasoning: In all cases where there is a legal right, there is also a legal remedy by suit or action of law.
Is this remedy a mandamus issued from the Supreme Court of the United States?
Decision: No
Reasoning: The power to issue a Writ of Mandamus by the Supreme Court was unconstitutional because Congress did not have the right to give the Supreme Court more power than was prescribed by the Constitution. The Constitution says that the Supreme Court will have appellate jurisdiction except in cases in which it has original jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court has no power to issue a mandamus to the Secretary of State even though Congress gave it the power to do so through the Judiciary Act of 1789. That part of the Judiciary Act was null and void according to the Marshall Court.
Significance:
Jefferson won the battle over the appointment of Marbury; he did not get his commission.
The case was the first in which an act of Congress was declared unconstitutional.
Marshall ruled that Congress could not give the power to the court that superseded the Constitution. Since the president and the Democratic Republicans agree to this interpretation of events, the precedent was established to allow the Supreme Court the authority to assume power that was not delegated to anyone by the Constitution, the Doctrine of Judicial Review.
Fletcher vs. Peck (1810):
Georgia sold 35 million acres of land around the Yazoo River (in most present-day northwest Mississippi). Soon it was revealed that most of the legislators of the infamous land sale were bribed. A newly elected legislature rescinded the sale. Before the new legislature was empowered, John Peck acquired some of the Yazoo land and sold it to Robert Fletcher. Because of the action of the new legislature, Fletcher lost his land and sued Peck to get his money back. Peck claimed his contract was valid.
Question: Can a contract in the form of legislative grant of land be later rescinded by the state?
Decision: No.
Reasoning: If an act is done under law, a succeeding legislature cannot undo it. (Was it legal for the first legislature to sell the land?) When a law is by nature a contract, then a new law cannot repeal the nature of the contract.
Significance: This was the first case in which the court held a state law to be unconstitutional.
Dartmouth College vs. Woodward (1819):
(As a result of the nationalist mood of the country, resulting from the War of 1812, the country, led by the Democratic-Republicans, moved into the Era of Good Feelings. Dartmouth College (of New Hampshire) became a college of prestige and for the “sons of the well-to-do”. It was dominated by old school Federalists. The school was first created in 1769 by a royal charter. The New Hampshire legislature, controlled by Democratic-Republicans, attempted to bring the private college under state control by changing laws that governed the college. The old trustees brought suit against William Woodward, who joined the state movement to control the college. Woodward, who was the secretary and treasurer of the college, possessed the seals, records, and account books of the school.
Question: Is the contract established in 1769 between the crown and the original trustees of the college protected by the Constitution, even though the Constitution was not in place at that time?
Decision: Yes
Reasoning: The restructured charter changed the intent of the original charter.
McCulloch vs. Maryland (1819):
The first Bank of the United States was chartered from 1791 to 1811. The second bank chartered in 1816. Maryland attempted to destroy the second bank of the United States.
Congress incorporated the Bank of the United States. A branch of the bank was established in Baltimore. The state of Maryland required all non-Maryland banks to pay a tax on the issuance of non-Maryland bank notes. The cashier of the Bank of the United States, James McCulloch, issued bank notes to customers without complying to the Maryland law. Maryland sued to collect their tax.
Question: Does Congress have the power to incorporate a bank?
Decision: Yes
Reasoning: Elastic Clause (“necessary and proper”)
Question: Can the state of Maryland tax a branch of the United States’ bank located in Maryland?
Decision: No.
Reasoning: Laws made in pursuance to those made by the Constitution are supreme and cannot be controlled by the various states. “The power to tax involves the power to destroy.” Such power could destroy an institution that is necessary to carry out the functions of government.
Significance: This case confirmed the constitutional doctrine of implied powers.
Gibbons vs. Ogden (1824):
The state of New York gave exclusive navigation rights to all waterways within the state of New York to Robert Livingston and Robert Fulton. The state assigned the right to operate (steamship ferries) to Aaron Ogden. Livingston and Fulton operated a monopoly. Thomas Gibbons had a federal license to operate a steamship in New York waters but he did not hold a New York issued license from the monopoly. Gibbons was sued by Ogden.
Question: Can a state grant exclusive rights to navigate its waters?
Decision: No.
Reasoning: The Constitution gives the power to regulate commerce to Congress. Article I, Section 8: The “commerce clause” is not limited to mere buying and selling; it includes transportation and navigation. Since the Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate commerce, all state laws are subject to federal laws of regulation. Thus, any matter that affects interstate commerce is within the power of Congress.
The Election of 1804
-Democratic-Republican candidate: Thomas Jefferson.
-Federalist candidate: Charles Pinckney (brother to Thomas Pinckney, who was responsible for Pinckney’s Treaty).
**Jefferson won the election 176 to 14.
Aaron Burr-The Democratic Republicans chose not to re-nominate Burr as Jefferson’s vice president. After Burr challenged Jefferson for the office of president due to the “tied” 1800 election, Jefferson lost trust for Burr. Burr ran for governor of New York while he was still vice president since he lost the national office nomination. Again Hamilton sealed his fate by challenging Burr’s character during the race for governor. Burr was defeated and challenged Hamilton to a duel. On July 11th, 1804 Burr fatally wounded Hamilton, killing the brains of the Federalist Party. With his political career in shambles, Burr schemed to create his own country with Louisiana Territory. He sailed down the Mississippi River recruiting 60 men along the way. His scheme to establish a breakaway nation from the Louisiana Purchase and a later conquered Mexico was exposed. Jefferson ordered his arrest as a traitor. Burr was tried by John Marshall. Marshall’s court held no amiable feelings for Jefferson so Burr was acquitted. The court said that there was not enough evidence to charge Burr with treason. On this issue, Marshall was a strict interpreter of the Constitution. Burr died at age 80 in poverty.
Jefferson and United States Foreign Policy
Jefferson was a pacifist and adhered to Washington’s philosophy of neutrality and held no permanent alliances. He attempted to stay out of European affairs because they were “belligerent” due to the Napoleonic Wars. His first foreign crisis did not come from Europe but from the Barbary pirates, who operated along the Barbary Coast of the Mediterranean. In order for the U.S. to operate in their area, they wanted tribute (payment of gratitude and admiration). If not, they threatened to attack U.S. merchant ships. Jefferson decided to send a small navy fleet to the Mediterranean. The wars lasted from 1801-1805. A war highlight was the capture of the U.S.S. Philadelphia by the pirates. American naval hero Stephen Decatur led a daring raid into Tripoli harbor and burned the ship without losing any men. (During the latter part of the War of 1812, the Barbary Pirates again began to prey on U.S. ships. In 1815, Commander Decatur sailed into the Mediterranean and forced the Barbary Pirates to sign a peace treaty.
Meanwhile, the Napoleonic Wars continued to dominate Europe and the United States continued to remain neutral. The two major belligerents, Britain and France, began to impress sailors and ships of the U.S. as they were before the signing of Jay’s Treaty (1794). Jefferson, who was pro-French, viewed Britain as the major offender.
One impressment incident almost led to open war between Britain and the United States. A few miles off the coast of Virginia the British warship, the Leopard, fired on the U.S.S. Chesapeake. British soldiers boarded the Chesapeake, killing three American sailors. Others on the ship were impressed. Jefferson yielded to diplomacy (communication between nations) to solve the crisis, even though many Americans called for war.
The captain of the Chesapeake was court-marshaled for “giving up his ship.” He was later allowed to return to the Navy because the U.S. needed ship captains to serve in the War of 1812. After the war, Decatur challenged Captain Barron to a duel over dishonoring the U.S. Navy. Barron fatally wounded Decatur in 1820.
Europe was challenging the neutrality of the United States with events such as the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair. Jefferson made a bold attempt to persuade Europe, especially Britain, to stop interfering with the United States’ trade and neutrality. He had Congress pass the Embargo Act of 1807. The Embargo Act of 1807 prohibited American merchant ships from sailing into any foreign port. Jefferson hoped that Europe, especially Britain, would not risk losing American trade. The British and its budding empire had substitutes for the loss of American goods. Therefore, the United States itself suffered the most from the embargo.
The Northeast’s shipping industry was destroyed, causing depression. The agricultural South and West saw their crops rot at the port. Because of the failed embargo act, Congress passed the Non-Intercourse Act of 1809. This allowed the U.S. to trade with all nations except Britain and France. This act still did not help the economy.
The Election of 1808
-The Democratic-Republican candidate: James Madison
-The Federalist candidate: Charles Pinckney
James Madison won even though the issue of the embargo took its toll on the economy, especially in the Northeast. To relieve the country of its economic hardships, Congress passed Macon’s Bill No. 2 (1810). The bill restored U.S. trade with Britain and France with the stipulation that they would respect the rights of the U.S. to be neutral at sea. The British blatantly pushed the United States towards war by continuing to practice impressment.
The United States was also faced with Indian problems on the frontier. The British were blamed for instigating an Indian rebellion. Tecumseh, a Shawnee warrior, and his brother, The Prophet, the tribe’s religious leader, attempted to unite all the Indian tribes east of the Mississippi River.
General William Henry Harrison took action against the Indians attempt to prevent further encroachment and defeated the Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 (Indian Territory). Harrison became a hero by putting an end to Tecumseh’s attempt to form an Indian confederacy. **Tecumseh and Harrison would meet again….
The Congressional election of 1810 (mid-term elections), brought a new group of Republicans to Congress called the War Hawks. They were from the newly created frontier states such as Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. Their leaders included; Henry Clay from Kentucky and John c. Calhoun from South Carolina.
They were called War Hawks because they wanted war with Britain. Reasons:
They were extremely nationalistic and expansionary.
They dreamed of a United States that contained British Canada and Florida. (Florida was owned by Spain.)
They wanted to destroy Indian resistance in the frontier.
Reasons that the United States declared war on Britain in 1812
Britain violated U.S. neutrality and their right to freedom of the seas through impressment.
The Chesapeake-Leopard Affair
The Indian rebellions instigated by the British.
Economic pressure caused by the continuing effects of embargoes and tariffs.
The election of the War Hawks and their nationalistic expansionary ideals.
“Mr. Madison’s War”-for the most part, the Federalists who dominated the Northeast opposed war. The Democratic Republicans who dominated the South and West supported the war.
The Election of 1812
-The Democratic-Republican candidate: James Madison
-The Federalist candidate: DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York.
The Federalist opposed the war because the Northeast trade was creating profits from Europe, who were at war with Napoleon. An American-British war would hurt northeast trade and profits.
Highlights of the War of 1812
The Americans held to their claim and invaded Canada. The poorly equipped American forces and the lack of support from the New England states made this a failed proposition from the start, but some events on the American-British Canada border are to be noted:
Captain Oliver Perry defeated the British navy at the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. Perry is quoted as saying, “we have met the enemy and they are ours.”
William Henry Harrison again met Tecumseh and a new Indian confederation at the Battle of Thames (Detroit) in 1813. This time Tecumseh was killed and the Indian confederation was forever broken.
The British tried to invade New York but were defeated by the young U.S. Navy at the Battle of Lake Champlain in 1814.
Andrew Jackson led a campaign against the Red Stick Warriors (A faction of the Creek Indians in Mississippi Territory-modern day Alabama that were attacking forts on the frontier. Many battles took place between the United States Army, local militiamen and the Red Sticks, known as the Creek War 1812-1814. Andrew Jackson made a name for himself in the Creek War.
The attempt to sail down the river to take New York was part of a three-prong naval strategy made possible by the “first defeat of Napoleon.” The British were able to send more forces to the American problem.
U.S. morale was lifted by the successes of the U.S.S. Constitution, “Old Ironsides”. The Navy frigate possessed 44 heavy guns, speed and thick timber that turned away the heavy fire of the British cannons. Old Ironsides survived duty during the Barbary Wars and was successful from 1812 to 1815 fighting from the Middle-Atlantic to Brazil during the War of 1812.
The second prong of the British military strategy involved sailing up the Potomac River towards the nation’s capital, Washington D.C. Approximately 4,000 British troops advanced rapidly towards the 6,000 common militia protecting the capital. The regulars fled; Madison and the remnants of government watched the British burn every flammable item in the capital.
Dolly Madison, the president’s wife and one of the nation’s most celebrated hostesses ordered the portrait of George Washington to be removed before it could be burned.
After the burning of Washington, the British fleet sailed up the Chesapeake toward Fort McHenry. Fort McHenry protected Baltimore and was considered a hot bed of American privateers. Privateers captured approximately 1,300 British ships during the war, causing the British to have to blockade their coastlines.
American lawyer Francis Scott Key was on one of the British ships trying to negotiate the release of a prisoner taken from Washington. He was held on board during the naval assault of Fort McHenry. During this, Key jotted down the words of the poem The Star Spangled Banner that would later become the national anthem.
The British failed to take Fort McHenry and Baltimore.
The War of 1812 is often called America’s Second War of Independence. The main causes of the war were British impressment, the disrespect of America’s freedom of the seas, and the aggravation of the Indians.
The U.S. sent peace envoys to negotiate with the British at Ghent, Belgium. The British began dictating the peace terms until news came about the defeat of the British at Lake Champlain and their failure to take Fort McHenry.
It was decided by the Treaty of Ghent 1815, that each belligerent would restore each other’s territory to the status quo. “Restoration of the status quo” was the terminology of the peace treaty. Many historians refer to it as “status quo-antebellum”-meaning status quo before the war. The treaty made no mention of impressment!
On Christmas Eve, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed and was sent to the U.S. on the fastest cutter ship. Two events happened that affected the war outcome while the treaty streamed across the Atlantic.
The Hartford Convention December, 1814
The Federalists opposed the war from the very beginning. In December of 1814, the New England Federalists called a convention at Hartford, Connecticut. Their purpose was to discuss their opposition to the war. There were even calls for secession.
In lieu of secession, they passed a number of proposals to oppose the war. The proposals were also passed to try to limit Republican power that was growing in the West and South.
Two proposals asserted the Minority Veto Concept and recommended changes to the Constitution. The changes—
*It would require a two-thirds vote of Congress to declare war.
*It would require a two-thirds vote of Congress to admit new states.
The minority veto concept would allow one-third of the states’ power to influence declaring war and admitting new states. The Federalists knew that future states would be agriculturally centered because the Northeast was the center of industrialization and because the new states would be Democratic-Republican. The Hartford Convention offered other proposals that weakened federal power, thus giving more power to the states. Coupled with the minority veto concept, the convention appointed “ambassadors” to deliver the proposals to Congress.
The Treaty of Ghent was still on its way to America to declare the end of the war. The Hartford Convention proposals were also on their way to Washington to declare their opposition to the war (that was no longer going on.)
The third prong of the British war strategy was to take New Orleans. To take New Orleans would be a strong bargaining chip against the Americans. The ability to take New Orleans was already weakened when General Andrew Jackson defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814. This shattered Indian power in the South, thus removing vital British allies.
Without the support of the crushed Creek Indians, the British pushed ahead to New Orleans. They were unaware that the third prong of their military strategy was a moot point—the peace treaty had already been signed.
Without this knowledge, the British troops headed to New Orleans. In the “Battle of New Orleans”, they met the “Tennessee frontiersmen,” who were led by Old Hickory (Andrew Jackson). The mud-soaked British regulars met the sharpshooters. The British lost 2,000 men while the Americans only lost 70.
The news of the startling victory arrived in Washington at the same time the Treaty of Ghent arrived. The ambassadors from the Hartford Convention also arrived to deliver their protest. They were met by parades celebrating Jackson’s victory. It looked as if his victory caused the treaty. The embarrassed ambassadors laid down their demands and got out of town.
Significance of the War of 1812
Having “beaten” Britain in two wars, the U.S. won the respect of other nations.
Canada was now considered a neighbor and also part of the British Empire.
The Federalist Party went into a downward spiral from which it would never recover.
New England secession sentiments would shift to the South—(states’ rights and slavery).
Without British support, the American Indians gave up large amounts of land.
Without the support of European products, young American companies (industries) met the challenge and the country took a big step towards self-sufficiency.
A new group of political leaders came from the war effort, such as Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison.
The country embraced a new spirit of nationalism. The U.S. turned away from Europe and faced west…it would become her destiny.
The Election of 1816
-The Democratic Republican candidate: James Monroe
-The Federalist candidate: Rufus King
The issues of the election were nationalism, the war, and the Federalists who now looked like traitors. Many Federalists joined the nationalistic Republicans. Monroe won 183 to 34 electoral votes.
James Monroe began a nationalistic period in a time that was dubbed as “The Era of Good Feelings”. The Era of Good Feelings marked the period in which the United States had practically one political party.
The nationalistic mood was not lost in Congress. After the war, Britain began to export without conscience. To protect young American industries, Congress passed the protective Tariff of 1816. Even though the Northeast was the center of America’s industrial power, the South and West also understood the need to pass the nation’s first protective tariff.
After the war, War Hawk turned political and congressional leader Henry Clay proposed an economic plan to comprehensively jump-start the nation’s economic growth. Clay’s American System had three parts:
A protective tariff to protect the infant American industry. It would also raise revenue to build a national transportation system of roads and canals.
A national bank to keep the economy running smoothly and issue national currency.
Internal improvements of roads and canals. Roads and canals were supposed to connect the West and South to the Northeast. The constitutionality of spending federal tariff money on state projects became an issue, though. Because the Northwest geographically lent itself to the Northeast. connecting them was very practical. An elaborate system of roads and canals married the Northwest to the Northeast.
During the first years of the Era of Good Feelings, conditions between the U.S. and Britain continued to improve. The two countries signed two treaties that improved their relations:
*The Rush-Bagot Agreement 1817-The two countries agreed to demilitarize the Great Lakes. This was the first step in making the border between the U.S. and British Canada the longest unfortified border in the world.
*The Treaty of 1818-Established the northern boundary of the Louisiana Territory as the 49th parallel. The two countries agreed to joint occupation of the disputed Oregon territory.
These two treaties secured the northern border of the U.S. The southern border became an issue that needed attention
Spain owned Florida but managed to lose western Florida to the Mississippi River during the War of 1812. Spain allied with Britain. Spain was now having trouble policing its colony because so many of their troops were removed to fight revolts in South America.
Spain’s lack of governing their peninsula led to border problems between the Florida U.S. border.
*Florida became a haven for runaway slaves.
*Florida became a haven for pirates and smugglers.
*Florida was home base for the Seminole Indians, whose continuing attacks across the border begged for action from the United States.
In 1818, President Monroe ordered Andrew Jackson to clean up the border problem. Jackson went beyond his orders and invaded Florida, destroying Seminole villages. He hanged two chiefs and drove out the Spanish governor while capturing two Spanish forts.
Secretary of State John Quincy Adams persuaded Monroe to use the unauthorized invasion to the advantage of the United States. He warned Spain that if they could not control Florida, Spain could possibly lose it.
The Purchase of Florida 1819
Spain worried that the United States would seize Florida by force, so they decided to negotiate. To solve the problem, the Spanish minister Luis de Onis was sent to Washington. He and John Q. Adams signed the Adams-Onis Transcontinental Treaty of 1819 conditions:
The U.S. assumed five million dollars of debt that it had against Spain.
The border between the Spanish province of Texas and the Louisiana Territory was defined. The U.S. gave up all claims to Texas.
On the much larger stage of World History, the liberalism that swept through Europe in response to the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars spread into South America. Several of Spain’s South American colonies revolted. After the reestablishment of the European monarchies by the Congress of Vienna, the “powers” considered helping Spain get its colonies back. It looked as if South America was going to become a target of European aggression.
In response, President Monroe’s annual message to Congress in 1823 became a declaration of U.S. foreign policy. It was called the Monroe Doctrine.
The policy said that the American continents were free and independent and were not considered subjects for future colonization by any European powers. The U.S. would also oppose any attempts by a European power to interfere in the affairs of a Western Hemisphere Republic.
Since the British were enjoying free trade with the former Spanish controlled Latin colonies, their navy supported the Monroe Doctrine to prevent a Spanish comeback in South America.
The Monroe Doctrine was not respected by the powers of Europe, but the British navy was. The Monroe Doctrine would later be coupled with Washington’s Farewell Address to become the cornerstone of American foreign policy.
Debate over Statehood in the West
As the country expanded, it was only a matter of time before states would be formed from the Louisiana Territory. The first to make the request was Missouri. From the 3/5 Compromise, the country knew that equality in the Senate between the slave states and Free states would be the point on which the country maintained its balance.
The balance in 1820 was 11 slave states and 11 Free states. As long as the balance was even, neither side of the slavery issue could change the present state of conditions.
Missouri’s request for statehood alarmed the North because Missouri wanted to enter the Union as a slave state. This would upset the balance. A proposal was presented to address the problem.
*The Tallmadge Amendment-this required the children of slaves to be emancipated at age 25. This would slowly eliminate slavery. The South rejected the proposal.
However, The Missouri Compromise, proposed by Henry Clay was finally accepted. Henry Clay would go on to become the “Great Compromiser” due to his hand in multiple compromises of similar issues. The Missouri Compromise had 3 major parts:
Missouri was admitted as a slave state
Maine was admitted as a free state (carved from Massachusetts)
Except for Missouri, slavery was to be excluded from the Louisiana Purchase lands north of latitude 36’ 30’