The Early Republic, 1789–1815

1. The Early Republic, 1789–1815 Significance of Jefferson’s presidency Expansion into the trans-Appalachian West; American Indian resistance Growth of slavery and free Black communities The War of 1812 and its consequences

2. Significance of Jefferson’s presidency • The Election of 1800 (Revolution of 1800) is among the most momentous elections of all time for a number of reasons. As in 1796, the Federalists and Republicans waged no-holds-barred political warfare in the effort to control the executive branch. In a very close election, Jefferson took the presidency, marking the first time power changed hands between the political parties- hence the “revolution.” • Jefferson’s presidency was a mix of glorious achievement and miserable failure. Heated political animosities continued unabated through Jefferson’s administration, as Federalists used any and every opportunity to debase Jefferson and his policies. • One undisputedly important and beneficial high point was the Louisiana Purchase- a land deal with France that nearly doubled the size of the US and allowed for intense westward growth throughout the 1800s. Jefferson sent a “Corps of Discovery” (Lewis and Clark) to explore and catalog the vast wilderness in 1804-5. • While the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expeditions were remarkable triumphs, Jefferson’s legacy was somewhat tarnished by his policies of non-intervention and neutrality in European affairs. The Napoleonic wars were then at full roar, and to avoid the thorny issues of alliances with one or the other, Jefferson formulated and administered an embargo of American exports to try and force the issue. The gamble backfired horribly- Britain and France were not as dependent on American commodities as Jefferson had surmised- and the policy was ultimately a complete failure, devastating the national economy and actually moving the US closer to war.

3. Expansion into the trans-Appalachian West; American Indian resistance • Beginning during the revolution, expansion of the American frontier sped considerably, quickly overrunning the Appalachians and beyond. From New England to the Deep South the edge of American settlement spread rapidly westward into the fertile reaches of the Ohio, Tennessee, and Mississippi River valleys. • With this flood of settlement, clashes arose with the Native American populations all along the frontier. After years of intermittent skirmish and occasional bloodshed, a few substantial Indian resistance movements developed through the 1810s. • In the Indiana territory, a Shawnee leader, Tecumseh, was able to ally with several neighboring Indian groups in a nascent confederacy that showed promise to do what was never before possible in American history- a unified Indian front against the Americans. Tecumseh was ultimately forced to side with the British in the War of 1812, was killed in battle, and his movement died. • Another major Indian campaign during the War of 1812 occurred in the Mississippi Territory- when General Andrew Jackson led American and Cherokee forces in a total rout of the Red Stick Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Like their northern counterparts, the loosely confederated Creeks were growing more unified in their resistance to white encroachment. And like Tecumseh’s Indian resistance movement, the Creeks failed to halt the rush of settlers, who quickly enveloped their traditional domains.

4. Growth of slavery and free Black communities • In no small way, the land rushes in the southern states and territories were accelerated by a new and soon-to-be all pervasive monoculture- cotton. Prior to the invention of the cotton “engine” (gin for short) in 1793, the labor of cleaning cotton rendered it virtually unprofitable in a plantation setting. But this simple machine changed all that, and soon cotton plantations and smaller farms were springing up at alarming pace across the southern states. • The cotton boom served to entrench even further the institution of slavery. The cotton economy that developed through the South was utterly dependent on slavery, and what seemed like a dying facet of American life in the Revolutionary era was revived with a vengeance in the first half of the 1800s. • The resurgence of slavery also affected the growing free Black communities in the Chesapeake and northern states. Increasingly, any freedoms enjoyed by this class of Americans were being infringed upon- disenfranchisement became the norm, property ownership was banned in some areas, and little was done about frequent kidnappings and enslavement of free Blacks nationwide.

5. The War of 1812 and its consequences • The War of 1812 (U.S. vs. Britain) was the culmination of years of rising tensions between Britain and its former colonies. • At the heart of that tension was trade diplomacy, as the United States tried to remain neutral in the Napoleonic Wars between France and Britain. There were also issues of naval impressment (forced service), and the continued British involvement (some argued instigation) with Native Americans in the Great Lakes region. • A contingent of Congress, the “War Hawks,” mostly representing southern and western farmers, led the move toward war, citing the British trade restrictions and accusing British Canada of fomenting rebellion among the Native Americans on the frontier

6. The War of 1812 and its consequences • The fighting during the War of 1812 consisted of three failed invasions of Canada, a series of Naval engagements in and around the Great Lakes, a British assault on Washington D.C. (Capitol and White House burned), and an unsuccessful siege at Baltimore. The latter battle inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner, (to the melody of a British drinking ballad), as he awoke to see the U.S. flag still flying over Ft. McHenry. • Two decisive American victories, Lake Champlain, and the Battle of New Orleans convinced the British to back down, leading to the Treaty of Ghent (1815) which restored the pre-war status quo- no territory changed hands. • One of the most important social developments to emerge from the War of 1812 was a major upwelling of national pride and unity. The Americans defended their territory and hegemony, and began to be recognized as an emerging world power. This strong nationalism would influence the growth of the United States in the coming decades, as it continued to spread American culture and power westward across the continent. • The War of 1812 also had an important political impact, in that it represented the unraveling of the Federalist party. Federalist support was overwhelmingly centered in New England, where commerce with Britain was most vital to local economies, and opposition to the War of 1812 highest. As the war drug on, disaffected delegates from New England met in early 1815 (Hartford Convention) to discuss their common plight, some suggesting secession from the US as an option if the war did not resolve itself. • In the context of the extraordinary outpouring of nationalist sentiment at the war’s conclusion, these New England dissenters were seen by some as traitorous. Support for the Federalist Party fell off a cliff in the aftermath. The election of 1816 marked the last time Federalists put forth any candidates for office, and they had a pitiful showing at that. The demise of the Federalist opposition left a political vacuum for nearly a decade- a period historians call the Era of Good Feelings, because of the general socio-political unity that lasted until the election of 1824.