REVOLUTION OF 1800
• Jefferson avoided the
sober, formal, and
ceremonial decorum of
Washington/Adams
years
– Walked to
inauguration
– “rule of pell-mell”
– Did not dress up
– Did not make much
of a physical
impression
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
• Believed that “government
which governs least,
governs best”
– Believed that federal
government should
conduct foreign policy
and oversee relations
between states
• But that was it
– Believed that the
individual states should
“have the principal care
of our persons, our
property, and our
reputation”
JEFFERSON IN ACTION
• Got rid of Federalist programs he
thought represented excessive
government interference into lives
of citizens
– Especially Alien and Sedition
Acts
• Reduced size of bureaucracy
– Fired tax collectors, federal
judges
– Cut army and navy by 50%
– Closed U.S. embassies
everywhere except England,
France, and Spain
• Repealed Hamilton’s taxes
– All the money necessary to run
government came from sale of
federal land in West and import
duties
THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY
• France took control of
Louisiana Territory in 1800
from Spain
• This bothered Americans
for two reasons
– French possession of
New Orleans gave them a
stranglehold on
American commerce on
the Mississippi River
– Many envisioned the U.S.
someday including the
entire continent
• Would never happen if
the French established
colonies in Louisiana
Territory
A SURPRISE IN FRANCE
• Jefferson sent
diplomats to France
to find out what
Napoleon planned
to do with Louisiana
Territory
– Napoleon offers
to sell territory to
U.S. for 15 million
dollars
– A fantastic deal
CONSTITUTIONAL ARGUMENT
• Jefferson had always been a
“strict constructionist”
– Argued that if a power
was not clearly spelled
out in the constitution,
then the government had
no right to claim that
power
• Jefferson uses “implied
powers” argument to justify
purchase
– Nothing in constitution
specifically authorized
government to buy
territory from another
nation
– Jefferson argued power
was “implied” in the
Constitution
THE WAR OF 1812
• Both France and
England tried to draw
us into their side in the
Napoleonic Wars
– Jefferson had to use
all his skill to keep
us out of the conflict
– But the U.S. was
drawn into the wars
anyway under
Jefferson’s
successor, James
Madison
NEUTRAL RIGHTS
• U.S. wanted to be
neutral in war but
England and France
frequently violated
our neutral rights
• In American eyes,
England was the
more serious and
dangerous violator
IMPRESSMENT
• Desertion was major problem in
British navy due to poor
conditions
– Many deserters joined
American merchant marine
• To stop this loss of manpower,
England claimed the right to stop
and search American merchant
ships and impress any deserters
they found back into British navy
– Also began to impress
American sailors who had not
deserted but who had been
born in England
– Between 1803 and 1812, over
10,000 naturalized American
citizens were impressed into
British navy
CHESAPEAKE INCIDENT
• U.S. government complained
about impressment but were
ignored by British
• British warship fired three
broadsides at the American
merchant ship, Chesapeake,
in 1807
– When it wouldn’t allow
British to board ship
– 24 American sailors were
killed or wounded
– British impressed four
sailors
EMBARGO
• Jefferson resisted public
clamor for war and imposed
embargo against both
England and France
– Refused to sell either
country American products
• Both England and France hurt
by embargo
– But not enough to stop
them from harassing
American shipping
– Also hurt American
business
• Especially in Northeast
• Strengthened
Federalists in region
JAMES MADISON
• James Madison
elected 4th
president in 1808
– Because
Jefferson refused
to run for third
term
• Tried to stick to
Jefferson’s policy of
avoiding war with
England
THE WAR HAWKS
• Young Republicans who advocated
war with England
– Gained control of Congress in
1810
– Included Henry Clay of Kentucky
and John C. Calhoun of South
Carolina
– Put pressure on Madison to fight
England and also take over
Canada and Florida
– Madison caves in to pressure
because he wanted to the
Republican nomination for
president again in 1812
Henry Clay
John C. Calhoun
WAR
• Madison asked Congress to
declare war against England
on June 1, 1812
– Because England
impressed American
citizens into its navy
– Because England interfered
with American trade
– Because England incited
Indians on the American
frontier
• Congress declared war two
weeks later
– But the vote was close
• 19-13 in Senate
• Madison was re-elected
president
ASPECTS OF THE WAR (1)
• Americans tried to
invade Canada twice
but failed
• Fort Dearborn attacked
by Indians friendly to
British and destroyed
– Site of modern
Chicago
• British attack and burn
down most of
Washington D.C.
ASPECTS OF THE WAR (2)
• British attack Fort
McHenry
– Near Baltimore
– Failed
• Inspired Francis
Scott Keys to write
“Star Spangled
Banner”
– About the attack
BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS
• British attack New Orleans
– Stopped by Andrew
Jackson
• Tennessee planter and
militia general
• With army made up of
Tennessee and
Kentucky
sharpshooters, French
pirates, slaves, and
Creoles
– British lost 700 dead, 1400
wounded, and 500
prisoners
• Jackson lost just 8
dead and 13 wounded
SIGNIFICANCE
• Up until Battle of New
Orleans, American military
operations had been badly
bungled and unsuccessful
– Morale was low
– Federalists launched effort
to pull out of war
• Jackson’s victory:
– Discredited Federalists
– Improved American spirit
and confidence
– Convinced British to agree
to a peace settlement
• Treaty of Ghent (1814)
THE WAR AND THE INDIANS
• Before war, Indians
who lived in MidWest could count on
aid from British in
Canada to resist
American settlement
• Indians in Southeast
received similar aid
from Spanish in
Florida
TECUMSEH
• Name means “Shooting
Star”
• From Shawnee tribe
• Attempted to unite all
the tribes in the
Mississippi Valley in
order to resist white
settlement and create a
vast Indian state
stretching westward
from the Ohio River
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON
• Governor of Indiana Territory
• Negotiated with individual tribes
within his territory
– Using every dirty trick in the book
of American Indian relations
– Made separate treaties which
resulted in tribes giving up huge
amounts of land to the United
States
• Same process going on in
Georgia, Tennessee,
Mississippi, and Alabama
• Resulted in much discontent
among dispossessed tribes
throughout the Mississippi
Valley
TECUMSEH’S PLAN
• Tecumseh argued that Harrison
did not legally have title to the
land he had gained
– Because he had negotiated
with individual tribes
– Land belonged to all tribes
together and none could
individually give parts of it
away without permission of the
others
• Determined to unite all tribes,
return them to their ancient ways
and customs, and create a vast
Indian nation
– Free from all white men and
white influences
INITIAL SUCCESS
The Prophet
• Aided by brother
– One-eyed medicine man named
“the Prophet”
• Tecumseh tramped from village to
village from headquarters at
junction of Tippecanoe Creek and
Wabash River (western Indiana)
– From Wisconsin to Florida
– Achieved great deal of success
• Due to charisma and
magnetism
• A sense of common purpose
and unity began to permeate
the various tribes of the
region
– He actually began to pull
them together
“BATTLE” OF TIPPECANOE
• Harrison attacked
Tecumseh’s headquarters at
Tippecanoe in November
1811
– While Tecumseh was gone
– Massacred most Indians or
drove them off (included
The Prophet)
– Burnt town to the ground
• Tecumseh fled to Canada
with remaining followers
– Killed fighting for the
British in 1813
AFTERMATH
• No other Indian leader had
Tecumseh’s charisma or vision
• America would gain Florida as
a result of the war
– Ending Spanish aid to
Indians
• British abandoned support of
Indians after war
• Tecumseh had been the
Indians’ last hope
– His death and defeat was, in
many ways, their own