Unit Eight: The Jeffersonian
Era
The Little Big Man
1808-1812
Election of 1808
• As Jefferson left to return to civilian life he chose
his successor to be nominated by congressional
caucus of the Democratic/Republican party
James Madison the “Father of the Constitution”.
• James Madison ran against the
Federalist candidate
Charles C. Pinckney, and won
the Election of 1808.
James Madison
• Even though Madison won it was
not a sound victory, due to the New England
states voting in one block for Pinckney.
Anti-British Sentiment
• As Madison took office there was a growing
anti–British sentiment among Americans for
three main reasons: Maritime rights, Indian
conflicts, and war hawks in Congress.
• American maritime rights (right to sail the open
ocean) had been disrupted by the issue of
British (also French) impressnment of sailors
and the hated Embargo of 1807.
• To deal with the embargo, Madison signed the
Non-Intercourse Act which allowed foreign trade
with all nations besides Britain and France.
Maritime Rights
• Due to the fact that the embargo on Britain and
France was hard to enforce and the continued
attacks, Congress passed Macon’s Bill Number
Two (Nathaniel Macon) allowing American ships
to trade with Britain and France, but not allowing
British or French vessels to dock in American
ports.
• A special provision that allowed the President to
side with either combatant if they stopped
attacking American vessels was quickly used by
Napoleon to sway Madison to cut off trade with
Britain.
Indian Conflicts
• As tensions began to develop between America
and Britain, so did conflicts with the Native
Americans.
• In 1795 the Old Northwest Indians signed the
Treaty of Greenville agreeing to live on
reservations and opening much of their
ancestral lands to American settlement.
• The governors of the new territories created by
the treaty wanted to open as much land to
settlement as they could.
• The governor of the Indiana territory General
William Henry Harrison used bribery and military
force to move the Indians further west.
Indian Conflicts
• Other governors wanted to continue Jefferson’s
policy of Americanization of Natives by forcing
them to adopt the life styles and manners of the
white man.
• Anger among the Natives developed
over these issues, which led directly
to another large Indian movement.
• In the Indiana Territory a leader
Tecumseh
named Tecumseh aided by his
brother Tenshwatawa (the Prophet)
led a movement to unite the Natives
east of the Mississippi into one unit
called the Red Stick Confederacy.
The Prophet
Say No to the White Man
• The Prophet warned his brother that if the
Americans were not killed and their ways
abandoned all Indians would eventually be killed
off.
• Tecumseh wanted the Indians to return to their
heritage by rejecting assimilation, by not selling
their lands (b/c they did not truly own it), and to
end alcohol use among the tribes.
• In 1809 with the Treaty of Fort Wayne, General
Harrison purchased three million acres of land
for 10,000 dollars which deeply angered
Tecumseh and the Shawnees.
This Means War
• Tecumseh and the Prophet founded
Prophetstown along the Tippecanoe and
Wabash river as a capital of the new
Confederacy.
• In November of 1811 Harrison planned to
end the uprising by killing Tecumseh and
the Prophet at Prophetstown.
• Harrison attacked the Indians who fought
at first with out fear because they were
told by Prophet that they could not be
killed and were invisible.
Just the Beginning
• At the Battle of Tippecanoe Harrison
defeated the Indians and made himself a
national hero.
• Tecumseh used this to rally more Indians
to the cause and began negations with the
British in Canada to aid them if war was
declared.
• The Indian uprising in the Old Northwest
only furthered American anger toward the
British, blaming them for the attacks.
Battle of Tippecanoe
William Harrison
Kill an Indian
War Hawks
• The biggest push for war with Great Britain
came from a group of congressmen known as
the War Hawks (expansion through war) elected
during the 1810 congressional elections.
• The two most vociferous (vocal) were Henry
Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South
Carolina.
• The Hawks demanded action against the
Indians, the taking of Canada and Florida, and
retaliation for the impressnment of American
sailors.
War !!!!
• In February of 1812 a British spy named John
Henry for the Henry Papers was paid 50,000 for
his information about a plot to unite the New
England states against America. (it was all a lie)
• The push for war could not be held back any
longer and on 19 June 1812 James Madison
asked Congress for a declaration of war starting
the War of 1812.
• The only problem was that the British Orders in
Council that had started the whole problem were
reseeded before war was declared. (Due to poor
communication Congress found out to late)
Problems with the War of 1812
• At the start of the War of 1812 and throughout it
America had many problems:
– 1.) America had both a small army and navy;
had to use state militias and private citizens to
carry out missions.
– 2.) America received little to no help from
outside nations.
– 3.) Native Americans mostly sided with the
British and aided them.
– 4.) A lack of money due to tariffs hurt by the
embargos and no central bank due to the
expiration of the first Bank of the United States.
– 5.) Lack of unity over war effort; the New
England states rejected the war outright.
Election of 1812
• In the 1812 Presidential
election the Democratic/
Madison
Republicans where split
into to two factions: war who
Vs..
ran James Madison (Demo/
Rep) and peace who ran De
Clinton
Witt Clinton along with the
Federalists.
• Madison won the election by a decisive
margin showing the general support of most
Southerners and Westerners for the war.
Naval War
• The first battles of the War of 1812 began on the
open ocean in naval engagements.
• Even though the American navy was small in
number with its largest ships being seven
frigates (three-masted ships usually 140 to 175
feet) they were well armed (usually 40 to 50
canons).
• These ships were also captained by young
highly skilled and experienced officers.
• The British Atlantic fleet was large with seven
ships of the line (usually 60 to 80 canons), 34
frigates, and many more smaller ships. (Even
though the British had greater numbers they
would not attack unless it was 2:1 odds.
Naval Engagements
• One of the early engagements was between the
USS Constitution “Old Ironsides” and the HMS
Guerriere.
• Captain Isaac Hull of the Constitution did a
maneuver known as “crossing the T” allowing
him to fire without return fire.
• After thirty minutes of fighting the British were
defeated and the ship was burned.
Naval Engagements
• The USS President captained by
Commodore John Rogers is given credit for
firing the first shot of the war on the HMS
Belvidera.
• The USS United States captained by
Stephan Decatur defeated the HMS
Macedonian off the coast of the Azores by
firing one hundred holes at long range.
• The Macedonian was brought back as a prize
of war and was sold for bounty.
• The USS Constitution also defeated the HMS
Java.
Naval Engagements
• The USS Hornet and
USS Wasp were used
to harass shipping off
the coasts of South
America.
• The USS Essex was used in the Pacific to
protect American whalers from harassment.
• The British because of these early loses
chose to stop directly fighting American ships
and created a general blockade of all
American ports on the Atlantic.
Naval Engagements
• The most successful victories on the open sea
did not come from the navy but a fleet of
privateers (people given letters of marque to
attack other nation’s vessels).
• American privateers averaged two ships a day
capturing all total 1,300 ships and 40 million
dollars worth of cargo.
• The most successful privateer ship was the
True-Blooded Yankee who captured 27 British
merchant ships in less than a month