Chapter 8

1. Chapter 8 Jeffersonianism and the Era of Good Feelings, 1801-1824

2. Introduction • On March 4, 1801, Thomas Jefferson walked to the Capitol and took the oath of office as president. • His actions reflected his belief that the “pomp and circumstance” in which Washington and Adams had engaged ill-fitted republican govt. • Despite the partisan bitterness of the election of 1800, Jefferson, in his inaugural address, attempted to conciliate Federalists by emphasizing the principles on which most Americans agreed: federalism and republicanism

3. Introduction (cont.) • The period of 1801 to 1823 would see major changes: • 1.) The Federalist Party would slowly die out • 2.) the Republicans would be rent by factionalism • 3.) United States would double in size • 4.) sectional strife over statehood for MO would nearly tear that expanded nation apart

4. Introduction (cont.) • 1.) How did Jefferson’s philosophy shape policy toward public expenditures, the judiciary, and LA? • 2.) What led James Madison to go to war with Britain in 1812? • 3.) How did the War of 1812 influence American domestic politics? • 4.) To what extent did Jefferson’s legacy persist into the Era of Good Feelings?

5. The Age of Jefferson, 1801-1805 • Jefferson and Jeffersonianism • Thomas Jefferson; intellectual, scientist, architect, inventor, and statesman, was a complex, contradictory, and gifted individual • Author of the DOI’s bold statement about the equality of all men, he, nevertheless, doubted that blacks and whites could live side by side on terms of equality • Despite his opposition to racially mixing black and white blood, his political enemies charged that he himself had fathered the children of his slave Sally Hemings. • Recent DNA evidence from Sally’s male heir appears to support the story

6. Jefferson and Jeffersonianism (cont.) • Jefferson distrusted power concentrated in the federal govt. • a danger to republican liberty • preferring that state govts. • he saw as closer and more responsive to the people • Republican liberty could best be retained by a virtuous and vigilant citizenry that put the public good ahead of selfish private interests • Educated small farmers • Cities and their landless inhabitants were a potential menace to the republic

7. Jefferson’s “Revolution” • Jefferson attempted to repeal Federalist measures that he felt were a danger to the simple republic • Parts of Alexander Hamilton’s economic program • The Alien and Sedition Acts • He reduced taxes and the national debt • Primarily by slashing expenditures for the army and for the diplomatic establishment • In these ways he felt that he was lifting an economic burden form hardworking farmers

8. Jefferson and the Judiciary • Jefferson demanded that Congress repeal the Federalist-sponsored Judiciary Act of 1801 and remove the partisan Federalist judges that President Adams had appointed in his last hours as president • Jefferson had little success with impeachment of Federalist judges • Only one conviction and removal from the bench • The majority in Congress viewed impeachment process as an inappropriate way to solve the problem of partisan judges

9. Jefferson and the Judiciary (cont.) • Jefferson’s drive to keep additional Federalists out of the judiciary led to the Marbury v. Madison (1803) • http://www.landmarkcases.org/marbury/majority.html • The Supreme Court said presidents could appoint federal judges

10. Jefferson and the Judiciary (cont.) • Marshall used the case to significantly strengthen the power of the judicial branch • He claimed that federal courts had the right to review laws passed by Congress • Judicial review • For the 1st time, the Supreme Court declared a portion of a law passed by Congress unconstitutional • Jefferson did not oppose the concept of judicial review, but he believed that judges should not use it for partisan purposes

11. The Louisiana Purchase • Napoleon Bonaparte forced Spain to cede the Louisiana Territory to France • The French action alarmed Jefferson • it placed a major European power on the U.S. border • It blocked the gradual expansion of the U.S.A.

12. The Louisiana Purchase (cont.) • The problem became especially pressing in 1802, when Spanish authorities (just before the territory’s transfer to France) denied western farmers use of the port of New Orleans • Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston to France with a request to buy the city • Napoleon countered with an offer to sell the entire Louisiana Territory for $15 million • He was frustrated with uprisings in French Caribbean colonies

13. The Louisiana Purchase (cont.) • Since the Constitution did not explicitly give the federal govt. the power to acquire new territories and since Jefferson was wedded to strict interpretation, he briefly thought of first seeking an enabling amendment to the Constitution

14. The Louisiana Purchase (cont.) • His political acumen and desire to make land available to small farmers, the “backbone of the nation”, won out • He submitted the purchase treaty to the Senate • It was quickly ratified • April 30, 1803 officially U.S.A. territory

16. The Election of 1804 • Republicans • renominated Jefferson for president and dropped Aaron Burr in favor of George Clinton for VP • The Federalist • Charles C. Pickney and Rufus King

17. The Election of 1804 (cont.) • The successes of Jefferson’s first term • Doubling the size of U.S.A., maintaining peace, reducing taxes, reducing national debt • Won over many former Federalist voters • Overwhelming Republican victory • 162 to 14 electoral votes

18. The Election of 1804 (cont.)

19. The Lewis and Clark Expedition • Lewis Meriwether • William Clark • Jefferson requested funding from Congress for an expedition across the continent to explore the new Louisiana Purchase

20. The Lewis and Clark Expedition (cont.) • They were charged with the difficult task of opening trade relations with unknown numbers of Indian tribes across the plains and northwest • Brought Americans into contact for the first time with the Mandan, Hidatsas, Arikaras, and Sioux tribes • Left St. Louis in 1804

22. The Lewis and Clark Expedition (cont.) • Followed the Missouri, Snake, and Columbia rivers • Crossed the Rockies • Reached the Pacific in 1805 • They would not have returned safely if not for the priceless guidance and comfort offered by numerous Indian nations along the trail

23. The Lewis and Clark Expedition (cont.) • The Corps of Discovery returned with a wealth of scientific information (and some misinformation), descriptions, and maps that stimulated interest in the West

24. The Gathering Storm, 1805-1812 • Introduction • Jefferson’s second term as president was beset by problems caused by the breakdown of Republican Party unity and the renewal of the Napoleonic Wars

25. Challenges on the Home Front • Aaron Burr, Jefferson’s first-term VP, stirred up factionalism within the Republican party

26. Challenges on the Home Front (cont.) • Jefferson believed that Burr was the chief plotter in a conspiracy to separate the western states from the Union • The president had Burr arrested and tried for treason • At the trial, over which John Marshall presided, the jury found the charges “not proved”

27. Challenges on the Home Front (cont.) • Jefferson also was attacked by another faction of Republicans known as the Quids and led by John Randolph • They criticized the president’s handling of the Yazoo (present-day AL and MS) land scandal (GA legislature had sold the land at a fraction of its worth to land companies. The land companies bribed the GA legislatures.) and other actions that they saw as compromising “republican virtue”

28. The Suppression of American Trade and Impressment • The British and French, at war with each other, forbade American ships from entering each other’s ports and trading with the other side. • Both powers seized U.S. ships • Actions of the British caused greater harm because they had the larger navy and their warships often hovered just off the U.S. coast • The British also removed sailors on American ships and forced (or pressed) them into service in the Royal Navy

29. The Suppression of American Trade and Impressment (cont.) • When the British warship HMS Leopard attacked the American frigate USS Chesapeake near the VA coast and impressed 4 of its crewman • the country was outraged • Jefferson still sought to avoid war

30. The Embargo Act of 1807 • Jefferson persuaded Congress to pass an embargo as a means of “peaceable coercion” • He hoped that U.S. refusal to export any goods or to buy any products from abroad would put sufficient economic pressure on GB and France to make them respect U.S. neutral rights

31. The Embargo Act of 1807 (cont.) • Unfortunately, the cutoff of trade did not hurt them enough to change their actions • It proved disastrous to the U.S. economy • Seamen were unemployed; merchants and farmers who depended on foreign sales were ruined • The impact was hardest on New England

32. The Embargo Act of 1807 (cont.) • An unintended consequence of the embargo was to encourage the transfer of capital into domestic manufacturing, a development Jefferson had initially opposed

33. James Madison and the Failure of “Peaceable Coercion” • The unpopularity of the embargo revived the Federalist Party • 1808 election • Federalist=Charles C. Pinckney • Republican=James Madison

34. James Madison and the Failure of “Peaceable Coercion” (cont.) • Federalist carried much of New England • Madison carried most of other sections of the country

35. James Madison and the Failure of “Peaceable Coercion” (cont.) • Just before Jefferson left office, Congress repealed the embargo and replaced it with the weaker Non-Intercourse Act • This law worked no better then the previous one • For the next year and half, President Madison tried variations on the them of peaceable coercion (Macon’s Bill No. 2) • all failed to change British and French behavior

36. James Madison and the Failure of “Peaceable Coercion” (cont.) • By 1810, Madison faced increasing pressure from Republican congressional representatives from the South and West • Demanded a more aggressive policy toward Britain and France • “war hawks” • resented the insults to American honor • Blamed the interference in trade for the economic recession hitting their home states

37. Tecumseh and the Prophet • The war hawks wanted the British to get out of Canada • They believed that the British were arming and inciting the Indians on the American frontier

38. Tecumseh and the Prophet (cont.) • Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa (the Prophet) were 2 Shawnees attempting to unite the tribes of Ohio and Indiana against white settlers • Initially they had no connections with the British • William Henry Harrison attacked the Prophet’s town and won the battle at Tippecanoe, Tecumseh did join forces with England

39. Congress Votes for War • June 1, 1812, Madison asked Congress to declare war on England • The vote reflected party and sectional splits • Most of the “no” votes came from New England Federalists • The majority of Republicans passed the declaration

40. Congress Votes for War (cont.) • Reasons U.S.A. declared war in 1812 • Britain’s incitement of the Indians • The belief that continuing British restrictions on U.S. shipping was causing the recession in the South and West • Madison’s view that England intended to ruin America as a commercial rival

41. The War of 1812

42. The War of 1812 (cont.) • On to Canada • In 1812, American attempts to conquer Canada failed • The British took Detroit • American victories: • Oliver H. Perry’s victory on Lake Erie • William Henry Harrison’s at the Battle of the Thames

43. The British Offensive • In 1814, the British landed on the shores of Chesapeake Bay and marched to Washington • Captured Washington and burned it • After they failed to take Baltimore, they broke off the campaign

44. The Treaty of Ghent • U.S. and British commissioners met at Ghent, Belgium • Dec. 1814 • The British demanded territory from the U.S.A. • The U.S.A. refused • British backed down

45. The Treaty of Ghent (cont.) • Dec. 24, 1814, they signed the treaty • The U.S.A. was restored to prewar status quo • Battle of New Orleans • Fought 2 weeks after the Treaty was signed • U.S. had a resounding victory • Had no bearing on the terms of the Treaty of Ghent • Provided an uplifting ending for Americans

46. Treaty of Ghent (cont.)

47. Battle of New Orleans

48. The Hartford Convention • The unpopularity of the war in the Northwest contributed to the revival of the Federalists • In the election of 1812, antiwar Republicans and Federalists supported DeWitt Clinton for president against Madison • Madison won reelection (128 to 89) • Clinton carried most of the Northeast

49. The Hartford Convention (cont.) • American military losses intensified Federalist discontent • Fall of 1814 • Group of Federalists convened at Hartford, CT • Passed resolutions aimed at strengthening their region’s power within the Union • http://civilwar.bluegrass.net/secessioncrisis/hartfordconvention.html

50. The Hartford Convention (cont.) • Their timing could not have been worse • Coincided with the end of the war and news of Jackson’s victory in New Orleans • Silenced Federalist criticism • Public disapproval of the Hartford Convention led to the rapid demise of the Federalist Party