13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

1. 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy • Purpose: to gain an understanding of development of the United States under the leadership of the Democratic-Republican Party, specifically: • The Jefferson administration and the Louisiana Purchase • Indian resistance in the Northwest territory • The problems of US neutrality in the Napoleonic Wars • The War of 1812 • The demise of the Federalist party • James Monroe and the “Era of Good Feeling” • Timeframe: 1800-1820 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

2. 1.1 The Jefferson Presidency • Jefferson believed that the federal government should be limited, unobtrusive, and thrifty, and that the United States should be an egalitarian, agrarian, educated republic. • Jefferson and his treasurer Albert Gallatin worked to reduce the federal debt, taxes, and expenditures. • Along with Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican majority took Congress. • Jefferson was reelected in 1804 with a clear majority, although his first term had many ups and downs. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826),3rd president of the US (1801-1809) 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

3. 1.2 The Louisiana Purchase • In 1801, Spain lost the Louisiana territory to Napoleonic France. France was a much greater threat to US expansion. • Napoleon planned a Caribbean plantation empire, but this plan collapsed. • Jefferson sent James Monroe to France in order to buy New Orleans. Instead, Napoleon offered all of Louisiana. • Jefferson took the offer, doubling the US territory for 15 million dollars. • The Louisiana Purchase is Jefferson’s most spectacular foreign policy success. 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

4. 1.3 The Lewis and Clark Expedition • The US quickly seized New Orleans, but much of the Louisiana territory was unexplored. • In 1804, Jefferson sent an expedition led by the soldier-explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the West along the Missouri and Columbia rivers. • With the help of Indian guides the expedition made it to the Pacific. • Their descriptions of western geography, flora, and fauna were avidly read. • In 1805 and 1806 an expedition led by Zebulon Pike explored the southwestern part of Louisiana. 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

5. 1.4 Aaron Burr • While in office, vice president Aaron Burr intrigued with various Federalists to form a pro-British “Northern Confederacy.” • In 1804, Burr (still vice president!) ran for governor of NY on a Federalist ticket. • Hamilton blocked him and criticized him in the press. Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel in 1804 and killed him. • On the run, Burr conspired with Louisiana governor James Wilkinson to create a separate Western state. Aaron Burr (1756-1836) 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

6. 1.5 Neutral Rights • In 1803, war between Napoleonic France and England erupted again. US declared neutrality. • However, in 1806 the British “Orders in Council” and France’s “Continental System” forbade trade with the enemy even to neutrals. • British warships patrolled the American coast and searched US trade ships, seizing those who did not comply with the British “Orders in Council”. • Jefferson protested the infringement of American neutral rights. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821) 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

7. 2.1 Conflicts with the British and Madison Presidency • To fight Napoleon, the British Royal Navy needed sailors. It resorted to impressment, not recognizing American naturalization of former British colonials. • In 1807 the British frigate Leopard fired on the US frigate Chesapeake inside US territorial waters, boarded, and impressed three naturalized American sailors. • This was effectively an act of war, but US was militarily weak. • Jefferson hoped to avoid war and win British concessions through economic coercion. • 1807 Embargo Act prohibited all trade between US and Europe. The Embargo ended in 1810, because it affected US economy even worse than British. • 1808: James Madison elected president. Sailor being singled out for impressment 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

8. 2.2 Tecumseh and the Prophet Tenskwatawa • In the Northwest territory, the Shawnee chief Tecumseh and his half-brother Tenskwatawa organized resistance against repeated treaty violations. • Tecumseh tried to organize a pan-Indian confederation, the Prophet called for a rejection of non-Indian life and products. • Governor William Harrison of Indiana argued (falsely) that they were British agents and led an army against a Shawnee encampment in 1811. • Harrison defeated the Shawnee at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Tecumseh now allied himself with the British. Tecumseh (1768-1813)Tenskwatawa (1775-1834) 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

9. 2.3 Congress Votes for War in 1812 • By 1812, economic coercion against England was clearly ineffective. Some southern and western congressmen (“war hawks”) advocated war with England. • President Madison asked Congress for a war declaration and received it in June 1812. • Federalist strongholds were largely opposed, the Democratic -Republican bastion in the South and West were in favor of war. • Almost at the same time, the English Parliament repealed limitations on US trade. James Madison (1751-1836). 4th US president (1809-1817), Jefferson’s handpicked successor 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

10. 2.4 The War of 1812 • US hopes to win easily while Britain was also waging war in Europe proved false. • US Navy was but too small, the Army inexperienced. The British made a naval blockade. • A British counteroffensive was stopped when US ships won control over Lake Erie and Lake Champlain and US troops killed Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames in 1813. • In summer 1814, British troops occupied Washington and burned public buildings. • British troops besieged Baltimore, which held out, inspiring Francis Scott Key’s poem “The Star-Spangled Banner.” • The end of war in Europe in 1814 made most conflicts between the US and England moot. Major engagements in the War of 1812 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

11. 2.5 The War of 1812 and the Hartford Convention • The Treaty of Ghent in 1814 restored the status quo ante bellum and formed a joint commission to determine a clear US-Canadian border. • In early 1815, US troops under Andrew Jackson defeated a British attempt to take New Orleans. Most decisive US victory - two weeks after the end of the war (!). • Federalists were opposed to the war. Delegates from New England met at the 1814 Hartford Convention. It called for constitutional change. • With Treaty of Ghent, Federalists were discredited as a wave of nationalism gripped the United States. Afterwards Federalists vanished as a political party. • The War of 1812 is often interpreted as “Second War of Independence.” Caricature on the Hartford Convention: A radical Federalist politician tries to get the New England states to jump into the arms of the king of England. 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

12. 2.6 The Postwar Nationalist Program • After the war, the Democratic-Republican party adopted some key nationalist, almost Hamiltonian policies. • President Madison proposed a protective tariff, a new national bank, and federal support for internal improvements. • Congressman Henry Clay of Kentucky called for an even more elaborate version of this program, calling it the “American System.” • Congress passed a moderate protective tariff and chartered the Second Bank of the United States. • The nationalist program would remain at the center of domestic politics for more than a generation. Henry Clay (1777-1852) 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

13. 3.1 James Monroe and the Era of Good Feelings • In 1816, James Monroe, a Democratic-Republican from Virginia, was the last “Founding Father” to be elected president. • While traveling formerly Federalist New England, Monroe received a warm welcome, giving his presidency the name “The Era of Good feelings.” • Monroe essentially continued Madison’s policy of approving a protective tariff while vetoing federal support for internal improvements. • Also, internal divisions in the Democratic-Republican party were quickly evolving. James Monroe (1758-1831), 5th president of the United States (1817-1825) 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy

14. Battle of New Orleans January 1815. US troops under the command of Andrew Jackson defeated British forces at New Orleans, Louisiana. This was the last, and for the US most successful engagement of the War of 1812. Because of a communications lag, it actually took place two weeks after treaty of Ghent had officially ended the war. The victory made Jackson a national hero. Sample Keyword 13. The Democratic-Republican Ascendancy