Chapter 7: The Jeffersonian Era
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Chapter 7: The Jeffersonian Era I. The Rise of Culture Nationalism - Opportunities for education increased; the nation’s literacy and artistic life began to free itself from European influence - American religion confronted the spread of Enlightenment rationalism A. Patterns of Education - Republican vision of America was a virtuous and enlightened citizenry - Jefferson called for “crusade against ignorance” - Believed in creation of nationwide public schools to create an educated electorate - All male citizens should receive free public education - Unable to realize that dream, but later years produced more substantial results - Some states endorsed the principle of public education for early years of the republic, but none actually created a working system of free schools - By 1815, there were 30 private secondary schools in MA, 37 in NY, and several dozen more scattered throughout the country - Aristocratic in outlook; trained members to become part of the nation’s elite - Private secondary schools only accepted males - In 18th century, women received little education and female illiteracy was at least 50% - “Republican Motherhood” - ignorant mothers couldn’t raise children to be enlightened - Led to creation of female academies throughout the nation - In 1789, MA required that its public schools serve females as well as males - Men assumed female education should serve to make women better wives & mothers - Reformers believed education would redeem ignorant and backward people - Spurred growing interest in Indian education - Hoped schooling the Indians in white culture would tame and uplift the tribes - Whites believed there was no need to educate African Americans - Slaveowners feared knowledge would make them unhappy with their condition - Number of colleges/universities grew from nine at the start of the revolution to 22 by 1800 - William & Mary, Penn and Columbia all created law schools before 1800 B. Medicine and Science - University of PA created first American medical school in 18th century - Benjamin Rush advocated bleeding and purging, and many of his patients died - Washington’s death was probably a result of bleeding and purging - In early 19th century, physicians began to handle deliveries and restricted midwife roles - Ideal of equal education opportunity would become vital force behind universal public education C. Cultural Aspiration in the New Nation - Americans believed they were destined to become the “seat of the empire” and the “final stage” of civilization with “glorious works of high invention and of wond’rous art” - Noah Webster > students should be educated as patriots filled w/ nationalistic thoughts - Created American Spelling Book in 1783 which sold over 100 million copies & became best selling book (except the Bible) in history - “An American Dictionary of the English Language” est. standard of words and usages - Washington Irving was leader of American literary life - Mercy Otis Warren was influential playwright and agitator during the 1770’s - Wrote a three-volume History of the Revolution published in 1805 D. Religious Skepticism - American Revolution weakened traditional forms of religious practice - Detached churches from govt. by elevating ideas of individual liberty and reason - By 1790’s, only 10% were members of formal churches - Ministers complained about the decay of vital piety - Some Americans including Jefferson and Franklin embraced deism - Originated among enlightenment philosophers in France - Deists accepted God, but believed he’d withdrawn from direct involvement w/ human race - Thomas Paine wrote, The Age of Reason - Unitarians rejected belief in predestination, arguing salvation was available to all - Some Americans believed rationalism marked the end of traditional evangelistic religion - In 1801, traditional religion staged a comeback in form of revivalism E. The Second Great Awakening - Conservative theologians of 1790s fought the spread of religious rationalism to revitalize their organizations - Conservatives in the church became militant in response to so called New Light dissenters - Methodism became the fastest growing denomination in America - Baptists found fervent following in the South - Cane Ridge, KY held nation’s first camp meeting > revival lasted several days for 25,000 - Message was clear >Individuals must readmit to God & Christ into their daily lives, embrace a fervent, active piety and reject the skeptical rationalism that threatened traditional beliefs - Second Awakening accelerated growth of different denominations - Created a popular acceptance that men and women could belong to different Protestant churches and still be committed to same Christian faith - Women flocked to revivals in response to their changing economic roles - Played important roles in charitable societies, ministering to orphans and the poor, and missionary orgs - In some areas, revivals were open to all races & many blacks embraced new religious fervor - Black preachers became important figures w/in the slave community - Gabriel Prosser planned slave rebellion and an attack on Richmond, VA - Plan discovered and rebellion forestalled by whites, but revivalism stirred racial unrest - Neolin sparked revival in Old NW combining Christian and Indian imagery w/ vision of a personal God - Called for Indians to rise up in defense of their lands and denounced trade w/ whites - Most important revivalism came from great prophet, Handsome Lake - Seneca whose miraculous “rebirth” after years of alcoholism gave him special stature - Called for a revival of traditional Indian ways - Inspired many to give up whiskey, gambling & destructive customs derived from whites - “Freethinkers” skeptical philosophies were victims of new religious fervor II. Stirrings of Industrialism A. Technology in America - Immigrants arrived in US w/ advanced knowledge of English technologies - Samuel Slater used knowledge from England to build a spinning mill for Moses Brown - Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1790 was the first modern factory in America -Eli Whitney revolutionized both cotton production and weapons manufacturing - Growth of textile industry in England created enormous demand for cotton - Whitney invented cotton gin and it transformed life in the South - Slavery regained importance, expanded and became firmly fixed in the South - Not only changed economy of the South, it also helped transform the North - Provided large supply of domestically produced fiber which was a strong incentive to entrepreneurs in NE and elsewhere to develop an American textile industry - Drove a wedge between the industrial North and agricultural South - Ultimately contributed to the coming of the Civil War and helped ensure Union victory - Whitney contributed to development of modern warfare by inventing interchangeable parts - Crucial in making eventual transformation to a true manufacturing economy possible B. Transportation Innovations - Prereq for industrialization was eff. system of transporting raw materials to factories & goods to market - Several ways to solve the problem of the small American market - Look for customers overseas - Congress passed tariff bills giving preference to American ships in American ports - War in Europe allowed Yankee merchant vessels to control trade between Europe and WH - US had merchant marine and foreign trade larger than any country except England - Looked to develop new markets at home - River transportation began w/ development of steamboat -Oliver Evans developed higher pressure engine, which was lighter and more efficient - Robert Fulton perfected the steamboat, Clermont, and sailed up the Hudson River in 1807 - “Turnpike Era” began in 1792 w/ construction of toll road running 60 miles from Philadelphia to Lancaster, with a hard packed surface of crushed rocks. C. The Rising Cities - Philadelphia (70,000) and NY (60,000) became major centers of commerce & learning - Urban life produced affluent people who sought increasing elegance in their homes and dress - People looked for diversions > music, theater, dancing and the most popular, horse racing III. Jefferson the President - Assumed office attempting to reduce the differences between the two parties - “We are all republicans, we are all federalists,” he said in his inaugural address A. The Federal City and the “People’s President” - Pierre L’Enfant designed the capital in Washington to become the Paris of the US - Jefferson was a brilliant conversationalist, gifted writer & one of nation’s most intelligent and creative men - Active architect, educator, inventor, scientific farmer and philosopher-scientist - Jefferson was above all a shrewd and practical politician - Used power of appointments to ensure Republicans were in control of govt. jobs - He was re-elected in 1804, overwhelmingly defeated Charles Pinckney - Republican majorities in both houses of congress increased B. Dollars and Ships - In 1802 Jefferson persuaded Congress to abolish all internal taxes - Customs duties & sale of western lands only source of revenue for the govt. - Sec. of Treasury Gallatin drastically reduced govt. spending - Jefferson cut the national debt in half during his presidency - Jefferson scaled down armed forces > army from 4,000 to 2,500 & navy from 25 ships to 7 - Wanted to protect civil liberties and civilian control of govt. - Helped establish US Military Academy at West Point, founded in 1802 - Jefferson said, “Tribute or war is the usual alternative of these Barbary pirates…why not build a navy and decide on war?” - Ransom of $60,000 paid for release of American prisoners seized by Barbary pirates C. Conflicts with the Courts - Republican Congress repealed Judiciary Act of 1801 > eliminated Adams “midnight appts.” - Debate over the courts led to one of the most important judicial decisions in nation’s history - Judicial Review > Supreme Court had authority to nullify acts of Congress (checks & balances) - Court exercised this power in 1796 when it upheld validity of law passed by legislature - Court’s authority wouldn’t be secure until it declared a congressional act unconstitutional - In 1803, in the case of Marbury V. Madison the Court exercised judicial review - William Marbury, a “midnight appointment,” named a justice of the peace in DC - New Sec. of State James Madison refused to hand over the commission - Greatest importance was the Court’s reasoning in the decision - Court ruled that Congress had exceeded its authority in creating statute - Constitution defined powers of judiciary and the legislature had no right to expand them - Seeming to deny its own authority, the Court was in fact radically enlarging it - Justices repudiated a minor power by asserting a vastly greater one (power to nullify an act of Congress) - Chief justice was John Marshall, towering figure in the history of the American law - He established judiciary as branch of govt. coequal with executive and legislature - Jefferson urged Congress to impeach obstructive judges, the last Federalist stronghold - Republicans targeted Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase for being injudicious - The House impeached Justice Chase and sent him to trial before the Senate - Unable to get necessary 2/3 vote for conviction in the Senate - Established that impeachment would not become routine political weapon - Marshall remained secure in his position as chief justice - Judiciary survived as a powerful force w/in the govt. - Ruled on behalf of centralizing, expansionary policies that Republicans tried to reserve IV. Doubling the National Domain A. Jefferson and Napoleon - After failing to seize India Napoleon wanted to restore power in New World - Napoleon wanted to regain land west of Mississippi, which now belonged to Spain - Treaty of San Ildefonso of 1800 > France gained title to Louisiana - French empire held sugar-rich WI islands Guadeloupe, Martinique and Santo Domingo (SD) - Africans in SD revolted & created their own republic led by Toussaint L’Ouverture - Napoleon’s army crushed insurrection & restored French authority - Jefferson unaware of Napoleon’s imperial agenda, pursued pro-French foreign policy - Apptd. pro-French Robert Livingston minister, secured Franco-American settlement of 1800 - Jefferson assured French that Americans disapproved of black revolutionary > set bad example - Reconsidered position toward France when heard of secret transfer of Louisiana - Spanish intendant at New Orleans forbade transfer of American cargo to ocean vessels - Guaranteed in Pinckney Treaty of 1795 > this closed lower Miss. to US shippers - Westerners demanded govt. reopen river - Jefferson instructed Livingston negotiate purchase of New Orleans - Expanded army and constructed river fleet to give impression of New Orleans attack - Napoleon accepted proposal and offered the US the entire Louisiana Territory - Plans for American empire went awry - Army decimated by yellow fever and reinforcements frozen in Dutch harbor in 1802-03 B. The Louisiana Purchase - Livingston and Monroe sent to Paris & decided to proceed w/ purchase of entire territory - Not authorized by govt. to do so > treaty signed April 30, 1803 - US paid $15 million to France and had to incorporate New Orleans residents into Union - Jefferson uncertain US had authority to accept offer - Power not specifically granted in Constitution - Ultimately agreed his treaty-making power under the Constitution would justify purchase - In late 1803, territory handed over from Spain to France, then to US - Govt. organized Louisiana Territory like NW Territory - Territories would eventually become states w/ Louisiana first, admitted in 1812 C. Lewis and Clark Explore the West - Jefferson planned expedition across continent to Pacific Ocean in 1803 to gather geographical facts and investigate trade w/ Indians - Lewis and Clark set out in 1804 from Missouri River in St Louis w/ Sacajawea as guide - Reached Pacific Ocean in autumn of 1805, returned in 1806 w/ elaborate records & diary - Jefferson dispatched other explorers to other parts of Louisiana Territory - Lieutenant Zebulon Pike led two expeditions > Mississippi Valley & Rocky Mts. in CO D. The Burr Conspiracy - Reelection of 1804 suggested nation approved of Jefferson’s acquisitions - Some NE Federalists realized expansion weakened power of Federalists and their region - Essex Junto concluded only recourse for NE was to secede and form “Northern Confederacy” - Plan required support of NY and NJ as well - Leading NY Federalist Alexander Hamilton refused to support seccession - Turned to Vice President Aaron Burr to be Federalist candidate for NY governor in 1804 - Hamilton accused Burr of treason and made negative remarks about his “despicable” character - When Burr lost election, he blamed defeat on Hamilton’s malevolence - Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel; Hamilton mortally wounded and died the next day - Burr was now a political outcast and fled NY for new outlets in the West - Burr planned capture of Mexico from Spanish and desired to make a western empire - In 1806 he was tried for treason and acquitted - “Conspiracy” was symbol of perils w/ a central govt. that remained deliberately weak, w/ vast tracts of land nominally controlled by US; legitimacy of federal govt. not fully established V. Expansion and War A. Conflict on the Seas - US shipping expanded and controlled large portion of trade between Europe and W. Indies - Napoleon’s Continental System designed to close European continent to British trade - Barred British ships from landing at any European port controlled by France or their allies - British govt. replied w/ “orders in council,” a blockade of the European coast - Required shipped goods be carried in British vessels or neutral ships stop at British ports - American ships caught between two countries - Americans considered British, w/ greater sea power, the worse offender - British vessels stopped US ships and seized sailors, making them victims of impressment B. Impressment - British Navy had terrible conditions, most had to be impressed (forced) into the service - Many deserted when possible and joined Americans - To stop loss British claimed right to stop and search American ships & reimpress deserters - 1807 Chesapeake-Leopard incident: British fired on US ship that refused search - US Minister James Monroe protested, but British refused to renounce impressments C. “Peaceable Coercion” - To prevent war Jefferson enacted drastic measure known as the Embargo (1807) - Prohibited US ships from leaving for any foreign port anywhere in the world - Congress passed a “force act” to give govt. power to enforce the Embargo - Created depression throughout nation, ship-owners & NE merchants (Federalists) hardest hit - James Madison won election of 1808 but fierce opposition - Led Jefferson to end Embargo, replaced with Non-Intercourse Act - Reopened trade w/ all nations except Great Britain and France - In 1810, Macon’s Bill No. 2 re-opened trade w/ Great Britain & France - President could prohibit commerce w/ belligerent nation if one violated neutral shipping - Napoleon announced France would no longer interfere w/ American shipping - Madison announced embargo against GB unless it renounced restrictions of US shipping - Embargo hurt economy of England enough that govt. repealed blockade of Europe - Naval policies were only part of the tensions between Britain and the US D. The Indian Problem and the British - After dislodgement by Americans, Native Americans looked to England for protection - William Henry Harrison had been an advocate of Western expansion - Harrison Land Law of 1800 – enabled farmers to acquire farms from public domain - In 1801, Jefferson appt. Harrison governor of Indiana Territory to solve “Indian problem” - Offered natives a choice: become farmers & assimilate or migrate west of the Mississippi - By 1807 the US had extracted treaty rights to E. Michigan, S. Indiana & most of Illinois - After Chesapeake incident, Brits renewed friendships w/ Indians & provided supplies E. Tecumseh and the Prophet - Prophet inspired religious revival and mobilized Indians behind political & military objectives - Attracted thousands of Indians from throughout the Midwest - Prophet’s brother Tecumseh led joint effort to oppose white civilization - Starting in 1809, set out to unite tribes of Mississippi Valley - In 1811, traveled down the Mississippi to add tribes of the South to alliance - Battle of Tippecanoe, Harrison defeated Prophet’s followers and destroyed tribal confederacy - Warriors attacked white settlers, British agents in Canada encouraged & supplied uprising - To make the West safe for Americans, they must drive British out of Canada & annex to US F. Florida and War Fever - “Frontiersman” in North wanted Canada & those in South wanted to acquire Spanish Florida - Stop Indian attacks and gain access to rivers w/ port access - In 1810, setters in W. Florida captured Spanish fort at Baton Rouge - President Madison agreed to annex territory > desire for Florida motivated war w/ Britain - “War Hawks” elected during congressional elections of 1810 were eager for war - Ardent nationalists sought territorial expansion, others defended Republican values - Speaker Henry Clay (KY) & John Calhoun (SC) agitated for conquest of Canada - Madison approved declaration of war against Britain on June 18, 1812 VI. The War of 1812 A. Battles with the Tribes - Americans surrendered fort at Detroit and Fort Dearborn (Chicago) in first months - On seas American frigates and privateers were successful - By 1813, British navy counterattacked effectively and imposed a blockade on the US - US achieved early military success on the Great Lakes - Americans took command of Lake Ontario, then raided & burned capital at York - William Henry Harrison victorious at Battle of the Thames - Notable for the death of Tecumseh - Weakened & disheartened Natives of NW & diminished ability to defend their claims - Andrew Jackson defeated Creeks at Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814 - Slaughtered women, children and warriors & broke resistance of Creeks - Creeks ceded most of its land to the US and retreated westward - Continued farther south to Florida and captured Pensacola in Nov. 1814 B. Battles with the British - After Napoleon surrendered in 1814, England prepared to invade US - Landed armada in Chesapeake region - In August 1814, British captured and burned Washington, including the White House - Americans at Fort McHenry in Baltimore repelled British attack in Sept. 1814 - Francis Scott Key witnessed the battle and wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” - US forces repelled British at Battle of Plattsburgh > secured northern border of the US - In January 1815, Andrew Jackson wildly successful at Battle of New Orleans - After treaty was signed C. The Revolt of New England - US failures from 1812-1815 led to increased govt. opposition. - In NE, opposition to war and Republican govt. was extreme - Daniel Webster, congressman from NH, led the Federalists opposition - Federalists in NE wanted separate nation to escape tyranny of slaveholders & backwoodsmen - Hartford Convention and Federalists seemed futile after Jackson’s victory at NO - Failure of secession effort was a death blow to Federalist Party - Two days later news of peace treaty arrived D. The Peace Settlement - John Q. Adams, Henry Clay and Albert Gallatin met in Ghent, Belgium w/ British diplomats - Final treaty did little but end the fighting - US dropped call to end impressments, Britain dropped call for Indian buffer in NW - Britain accepted because exhausted & indebted after Napoleonic conflict - US believed w/ end of European conflict less commercial interference would occur - Treaty of Ghent signed Dec. 1814 - Rush-Bagot Agreement of 1817 led to disarmament on Great Lakes - War disastrous to Natives resisting white expansion - Lands captured in fighting never restored, most important allies now gone from NW
