American YAWP Chapter 7

The Early Republic

Introduction

• Jefferson beat Adams, which was a large victory of the Democratic-Republicans over federalists, and one of the many changes in the early republic

• Some victories were accomplishes peacefully, like Jeffersons, but others were accomplished violently

• Minorities demanded a voice in the new nation

Free and Enslaved Black Americans and the Challenge to Slavery

• Close to one thousand enslaved men led by Gabriel planned to end slavery in Virginia by attacking Richmond in late August 1800

  • Some conspirators set diversionary fires in the city's warehouse district

  • Virginia governor James Monroe was captured

  • Attacked white residents and seized weapons

  • August 30, two enslaved men told their enslaver the plan; authorities were notified

  • Conspirators were captured

  • Gabriel briefly escaped but was then hung along with 25 other

  • Virginia government increased restrictions on free people of color

• Efforts to suppress other slave revolts had failed, like the Haitian rebellion in 1791 - Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) inspired free and enslaved Black Americans

  • In 1829 David Walker wrote an Appeal that called for resistance to slavery and racism

  • In 1826 the third college graduate of color in the United States, John Russwurm, have a commencement address at Bowdoin College

  • White publications mocked Black Americans as buffoons

  • Henry Moss, enslaved man in Virginia, had white spots starting to appear on his body in 1792, turning him visibly white within three years

• Enlightenment thinking fostered beliefs in common humanity

  • Connections between race and place were made

  • Environments changed physical parts of body causing different races, which showed a commonality between races

• Jefferson published Notes on the State of Virginia which faced backlash from Black communities

• Black population was whitening, a result of sexual violence

Jefferson Republicanism

• Jefferson’s election to the presidency in 1800 represented a victory for non-elite white Americans in their bid to assume more direct control over the government

• Many of the nation's founders argued that pure democracy would lead to anarchy

• Many believed Jefferson embraced the politics of the majority

• Jefferson wanted to convince everyone that a government that answered directly to the people would lead to a long lasting union, not anarchy

• Jefferson made a point to differentiate his administration from the Federalists

• Jefferson defined American union by the voluntary bond of fellow citizens toward one another and toward the government - Federalists defined union by expansive state power and public and public submission to the rule of the aristocratic elites

• Democratic-Republican celebrations credit Jefferson with saving the nation's republican foundations

  • Used the image of Washington, who died in 1799, linking the republican virtue Washington epitomized to the democratic liberty Jefferson championed

• Celebration of Jefferson's presidency showed the people’s desire to have greater control of the government

• Since the revolution women had repeatedly called for a place in the conversation

  • Term Republican Motherhood was used to describe the belief that women are essential in nurturing the principles of liberty in the citizens

  • Women became more politicised

  • Some described women's choice of sexual partner as crucial to the health and well--being of both the party and the nation - only republicans deserve them

Jefferson as President

• Jefferson wanted to implement policies that reflected his own political beliefs

  • Reduce taxes

  • Cut government’s budget

  • Restricted regular army to three thousand men

• Jefferson reduced America's national debt while also getting rid of all internal taxes during his first term

• Jefferson authorized the acquisition of Louisiana from France in 1803

• Jefferson’s Embargo Act of 1807 (foreign policy) caused a lot of outrage from Federalist critics

  • Many people called for war after ships were attacked, but Jefferson remained adamant on having peace

  • American ports were closed to all foreign trades in hope to avoid war - force Europe to respect America's neutrality

  • People started smuggling goods and Jefferson expanded his governmental power in an attempt to enforce their compliance - many labelled him as a tyrant

• Federalists attacked the American Philosophical Society and the study of natural history, believing it to be too saturated with Democratic-Republicans

• James Callender published accusations, that were later proven correct from DNA evidence, that Jefferson was having sexual relations with Sally Hemings, one of his enslaved laborers

  • Claimed that having sex with an enslaved person compromised Jefferson's racial integrity

• South Carolinian William Loughton Smith published pamphlet in 1796 that described Jefferson’s democracy as the beginning of a slippery slope that will lead to racial equality

• Federalists attacked Jefferson by claiming he was acting against the interests of the public he claimed to serve

• Democratic-Republican party rose to power on the promise of expanding voting and promote a more direct access to political power - Jefferson, Madison, Monroe

  • Under their power seven more states entered the Union

  • By 1824 only three states still had rules about how much property someone had to own before he could vote

  • Last Federalist to run for president, Rufus King, lost to Monroe in 1816

Native American Power and the United States