Adams (federalist party) lost a lot of support because of Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) and taxes. Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr both received the same number of votes. Decided in House of Representatives. Jefferson won, even though the majority of the house was part of the federalist party
Election of 1804
Jefferson was reelected by an overwhelming margin - all but 14 of the 176 electoral votes
Election of 1808
Madison won over two other Republican Party candidates and the Federalist candidate, Charles Pinckney. The Federalists gained seats in congress due unhappiness with the Embargo Act of 1807.
Election of 1812
Republican strength in South and West overcame Federalist and Anti-war Republicans in the North. Madison won reelection against De Witt Clinton of New Clinton.
Election of 1816 & 1820
1816 Monroe defeats Federalist opponent Rufus King, and in 1820, with virtually no organized political opposition standing in his way, achieves an easy victory ( All but one electoral vote).
General:
Jeffersonian Foreign Policy
Kept with neutrality policies of Adams and Washington
Jeffersonian Domestic Policies
Maintained national bank and debt-repayment plan of Hamilton, idea of limited central government
Reduced size of military
Repealed excise taxes
James Madison
Brilliant thinker and Statesman
Worked w/ Jefferson to create Democratic-Republican Party
Weak public speaker, stubborn temperament, lackluster political skills
Specific events during the period:
The Louisiana Purchase:
* * * Previously claimed by Spain. In 1800 Napoleon Bonaparte forced Spain to give the Louisiana Territory back to France. By 1803, he had lost interest because if problems in France. In 1802 the Spanish officials (who were still in charge) closed the Port of New Orleans to all Americans, Revoking the right of deposit granted in the Pinckney Treaty of 1795. Frontiersmen who depended on being able to use the port demanded government action. Jefferson feared that, so long as a foreign power controlled the river at New Orleans, the US risked entanglement in European affairs
* * * Jefferson sent offer of $10 million to France for port and surrounding areas. France, desperate for money, offered the whole Louisiana Territory for $15 million
* * * Jefferson was held to strict interpretation of the Constitution, and it said nothing about buying foreign land, but in this instance he submitted the purchase agreement to the Senate, who quickly ratified the purchase despite Federalist objections.
* * * Consequences:
Doubled size of U.S.
Removed a foreign presence from border
Strengthened Jefferson's hopes of an agrarian society in the future
Increased Jefferson's popularity
Revealed the Federalists to be weak and sectionalist (New England-based)
* * * Lewis & Clark expedition (1804-1806): Scientific exploration led by Capt. Meriwether Lewis and Lt. William Clark. Improved relations with Native American tribes, developed maps and land routes, strengthened U.S. claims on the Oregon Territory.
The Court:
John Marshall - (Jefferson's cousin from Virginia) was appointed Chief Justice of Supreme Court by Adams. Made many landmark decisions, often at the expense of state rights. Served in this position 34 years
Marbury v. Madison (1803) - Jefferson tried to block the Federalist appointments of John Adams. He ordered Sec. of State James Madison not to deliver the commissions to those Federalist judges whom Adams had appointed in his last days as president. One, William Marbury, sued for his commission. Ruled that Marbury had a right to his commission according to the Judiciary Act passed in congress in 1789. However, Marshall also ruled that the Judiciary Act was unconstitutional.
By ruling a law in congress to be unconstitutional, they established the doctrine of judicial review. The Supreme Court could now overrule actions of the other two branches of the federal government.
Fletcher v. Peck (1810) - Involved land fraud in Virginia. Said a state could not pass legislation invalidating a contract. First time the Supreme Court declared a state law to be unconstitutional.
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) - Stated that a contract for a contract for a private corporation could not be altered by the state
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) - There was questions on the constitutionality of Maryland trying to collect a tax from the Second Bank of the United States. Ruled that the Federal Government had the implied power to create the bank., Also decided that a state could not tax a federal institution.
Cohens v. Virginia (1821) - Established the principle that the Supreme Court could review a state court's decision involving any of the powers of the federal government.
Gibbons v. Ogden (1821) - In a ruling that a New York monopoly was unconstitutional, established the federal governments broad control of interstate commerce.
Aaron Burr
* At an 1804 Republican caucus it was decided that Aaron Burr would no longer be the Jefferson's Vice President
* Later, Burr conspired to win governorship of New York, unite with the other New England States, and secede from the union, he was defeated, and his plan disintegrated.
* Duel with Hamilton over an insulting remark made by Hamilton to Burr (supposedly) --> Hamilton fatally wounded and died in 1804, which deprived the Federalists of their last great leader
* 1806 - Burr planning on taking Mexico from Spain. Jefferson finds out and ordered Burrs arrest and trial for treason. He was acquitted.
Foreign Affairs:
Barbary pirates - U.S. merchant ships were being seized by pirates from the Barabry states of the North African coast. Instead of paying the tribute to the governments that was being demanded, Jefferson sent a small fleet of U.S. naval vessels to the Mediterranean. Sporadic fighting lasted four years (1801-1805). No definite victory, but we gained some respect and protection of U.S. vessels trading in the Mediterranean.
Challenges to U.S. neutrality - Because of the Napoleonic Wars, France and Britain were attempting naval blockades on the enemy ports. This led to the regular seizure and confiscation of U.S. goods and cargo. The British would often capture U.S. soldiers and force them to serve in the British navy.
Chesapeake-Leopard affair - In 1807 the British warship Leopard fired on the U.S. warship Chesapeake just a few miles off the coast of Virginia. Three Americans killed, four captured. Anti-British feelings ran high and many Americans were calling for war. Jefferson responded instead with diplomacy and economic pressure.
Embargo Act (1807) - Prohibited American merchant ships from trading in any foreign port. Jefferson hoped that the British would stop violating the rights of neutral nations rather than lose U.S. trade. Brought more economic hardship on U.S. than Britain. Jefferson, seeing that the act had failed, called for its repeal in 1809.
Nonintercourse Act of 1809 - Provided that Americans could trade with all nations except Britain and France.
Macon's Bill No. 2 (1810) - Provided that if either Britain or France formally agreed to respect U.S. neutral rights at sea, then the United States would prohibit trade with that nations foe. Napoleon announced his intention of revoking the decrees that had violated our neutral rights. Madison carried out Macon's Bill No. 2 and embargoed trade with Britain in 1811. However, the French continued to seize American merchant ships.
The War of 1812
Causes:
* Violations U.S. neutral rights at sea - Americans had long favored the French above the British because of the French Revolution, and also because of our own. Also, Britain violations seemed much more blatant because of the impressment of American seamen.
* Troubles with British on the western frontier - Americans wanted British Canada and Spanish Florida, but the British and their allies, the Spanish and Native Americans, were standing in the way. Shawnee twin brothers tried to unite all the tribes east of the Mississippi. Gov. of the Indiana Territory, General William Henry Harrison took aggressive action. In the battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 Harrison destroyed the Shawnee headquarters. Even though the British had supplied only limited support, Americans on the frontier blamed the British for instigating the rebellion.
* Warhawks - The congressional elections of 1810 brought new, young Republicans from the frontier states, all eager for war with Britain. They quickly gained influence in the House of Representatives. Led by Henry Clay (Kentucky) and John C. Calhoun (S. Carolina). Argued that war with Britain was the only way to defend American honor, gain Canada, and destroy Native American resistance on the frontier.
Declaration of War:
British delays in meeting U.S. demands and political pressure caused Madison to seek a declaration of war against Britain in June 1812. Ironically, by this time the British had made a decision to suspend its naval blockade, but the information did not reach Congress until after it had declared war.
Opponents of "Mr. Madison's War":
* New England Merchants, because after the repeal of the Embargo Act, they were making sizable profits from the European war. Viewed impressment as only a minor inconvenience.
* Protestants were more sympathetic to the Protestant British than to the Catholic French.
* Federalist Politicians viewed the war as a Republican scheme aimed at conquering Florida and Canada, and ultimately increasing Republican voting strength
* "Quid's" or Old Republicans criticized war for violating traditional Republican policy to limited federal power and maintenance of peace
The War:
Invasion of Canada: American army invaded Canada in 1812 but was easily repulsed by British Army. American raid and burning of government buildings in York in 1813 served to encourage retaliation by the British.
Naval Battles:
1812--> U.S. warship Constitution defeated and sunk a British ship off the coast of Nova Scotia. American privateers captured many British merchant ships. British navy established a blockade of the U.S. coast, crippling trading and fishing.
1813 on Lake Erie--> Capt. Oliver Hazard Perry defeated British after three hours of grueling fighting.
Paved way for Gen. William H. Harrison's victory at the battle of Thames River
1814--> Thomas Macdonough defeat a British fleet on Lake Champlain. Result - British forced to retreat and abandon plan to invade New York and New England
* In the Spring of 1814 Napoleon's defeat in Europe enabled the British to concentrate more of their energy in the U.S. In summer of 1814, British marched into Washington D.C. and set fire to the White House. Their plans to take Baltimore failed when Fort McHenry held out after a night's bombardment.
Southern Campaign
Troops led by Andrew Jackson. March 1814 - Battle of Horseshoe bend - Jackson ended the power of the Creek nation, an important British ally, and also opened the land to U.S. settlers.
A British effort to control the Mississippi was stopped in an impressive battle led by Jackson, but due to slow communication, they did not realize that the war had ended to weeks previously.
The Treaty of Ghent
In Ghent, Belgium, American peace commissioners and British diplomats reached an agreement on Dec. 24, 1814.
Terms:
Halt to fighting
Return of all conquered territory to prewar claimant
Recognition of the prewar boundary between Canada and the U.S.
Ratified by Senate in 1815
Hartford Convention:
Convention to discuss seceding held in Dec. 1814. Delegates rejected calls for secession, but adopted many proposals, one being a 2/3 vote in both houses foe a declaration of war. When news came of Jackson's victory at New Orleans, the Federalists were stamped as unpatriotic, further weakening the party.
Consequences of the war:
* U.S. gained respect of other nations
* U.S. came to accept Canada as Britain's
* Federalist Party came to an end
* Talk of nullification and secession in New England set a precedent that would later be used in the South
* Native Americans forced to give up huge areas of land
* More U.S. factories built, sending us on the road to self-sufficiency
* Strong American nationalism
Era of Good Feelings:
A time of a seemingly united America, politically, because South, North, and West were all Republicans
Art of the period:
Painters:
Gilbert Stuart, Charles Wilson Peale, and John Trumbal. Enshrined heroes of the Revolution in their paintings
Authors:
Parson Mason Weems. - Wrote a fictionalized bio of G. Washington telling of all his virtues
Noah Webster - wrote a speller that was widely read in schools promoting patriotism.
Tariff of 1816
Instated to protect the new factories and markets developed during the war. Supported by South and West.
Henry Clay
A leader in the House of Representatives, proposed a method for the advancement of the U.S. economic system, called the American System.
Called for:
(1) protective tariffs
(2) a national bank
(3) internal improvement.
Two parts already in effect - the tariff, and the Second Bank of the United States (1816), however, both Madison and Monroe objected to using federal funds for the building of canals and roads.
The Panic of 1819
Fractured Era of Good Feelings
First major financial panic since the Constitution had been ratified.
Caused by the attempts of the Second Bank of the United States' attempt to stop inflation a little too late - Many state banks closed, value of money fell, large increases in unemployment, bankruptcies, and imprisonment for debt. Hit hardest in West.
* Political/Social effects: Many landowners in the West were calling for land reform and expressing strong opposition to the national bank
The Disappearance of the Federalist Party
Failed to adapt to changing times. They opposed the War of 1812, presided over a secessionist convention (Hartford), etc. After the crushing defeat of 1916, they ceased to be a political party
The Republican Party
Experienced a great amount of internal turmoil. Many members did an about face in their political ideology.
Examples:
Daniel Webster opposed the Tariffs of 1816 & 1824, but supported even higher tariffs in 1828
John C. Calhoun was a war hawk and nationalist in 1812, but by 1828 he had become a leading champion of states rights.
Some Republicans kept the old views of limited government and strict interpretation of the constitution, while the majority adopted what had once been the Federalist program.
Factors contributing to population growth in the west during the presidencies of Madison and Monroe:
* Acquisition of Native American Land
* Economic Pressure: Economic difficulties in the Northeast caused by the Embargo and tobacco farmers looking for fresh land moved west in great numbers
* Improved transportation: Roads, canals, steamboats, and railroads
* Immigrants from Europe attracted by the offer of land
