CHAPTER EIGHT
THE JEFFERSON ERA
Section THREE
THE COMING OF WAR
VIOLATIONS OF
NEUTRALITY
-American merchant ships
trading all over the world by
the late 1700s and early
1800s.
-Trade was profitable, but
also very risky.
-They dealt with long
journeys and violent stormsbut also with pirates from
Africa’s Barbary Coast.
-They would steal the ships
cargo and hold the crew for
ransom.
-This continued until the
United States sent a large
warship called the USS
Constitution and a few other
ships to end the attacks.
 By 1803, the British and French were at
war again.
Both sides passed laws to stop Americans
from trading with the other.
In an effort to gain an advantage, each
side began blockading the other’s trade
routes.
This caused our economy to suffer.
The British began stopping American
ships-looking for runaway British sailors.
Sometimes they took American
merchants or sailors by accident.
Forcing people to serve is Impressment.
-Between 1803 - 1812,
Britain impressed about
6,000 American sailors.
-In June 1807, the USS Chesapeake was sent to protect US
merchant ships about 10 miles off the coast of Virginia.
-The Leopard a British ship ordered the Chesapeake to stop, but
it refused.
-The British fired three shots at the Chesapeake before it
surrendered.
-Three Americans were killed, 18 wounded and four sailors were
impressed.
Regarding the Chesapeake
Affair, the Washington
Federalist reported,
“We have never, on any
occasion, witnessed the spirit of
the people excited to so great a
degree of indignation, or such a
thirst for revenge, as on
hearing of the late unexampled
outrage on the Chesapeake. All
parties, ranks and professions
were unanimous in their
detestation of the dastardly
deed, and all cried aloud for
vengeance.”
-America was shocked and angered at this attack and had Congress
been in session, a war could easily have begun.
-Public opinion was to go to war with the British.
-Jefferson who had won re-election in 1804 decided against war and
went another way.
The British ship – The Leopard.
The U.S. Navy had only 22
seagoing vessels in various
states of repair and service
following the Leopard’s attack.
-There were two main
theories about how to deal
with Britain following their
violations of neutrality.
-Some people wanted an
embargo, or to ban trade
with Britain.
-The other option was going
to war.
-Jefferson knew we couldn’t
go to war against the British,
because the U.S. Navy would
be no match for England’s
forces.
-If you were Jefferson, what
would you do?
-Jefferson wanted to boycott or ban trade with all foreign
countries.
-He convinced Congress to pass the Embargo Act of 1807.
-It cut off trade with all foreign nations.
-By cutting off trade with them, he hoped that it would
force them to respect U.S. neutrality (economic coercion)
-American ships could not sail into foreign ports and
American ports were closed to British ships.
-During the boycott, Jefferson decided to increase military &
naval expenditures.
-The Embargo Act hurt US merchants and our economy
because it basically shut down America’s import and export
business, causing disastrous economic results.
-New England’s economy collapsed (talks of secession
started), and smuggling became widespread.
-Some said the embargo was like, “cutting one’s throat to stop
the nosebleed.”
-Jefferson thus repealed the unsuccessful Embargo Act in
1809 and chose not run again for president.
•American people became angry
with Jefferson
•The embargo had little effect on
Britain and France.
•The Embargo Act was replaced
by the Non-Intercourse Act in
1809 by the newly elected
Congress during the last days of
Jefferson’s presidency.
President Jefferson being held
up by King George and
Napoleon, 1809.
• It allowed U.S. exports and trade
with other nations, but not with
France or Great Britain and their
colonies.
-The act also stated the U.S. would
begin trading with the first side
that stopped violating U.S.
neutrality.
-It was no more successful than
the Embargo Act had been.
CONFLICT IN THE WEST
-The British and Native
Americans fought against the
United States in the early 1800s.
THE CONFLICT OVER LAND
-Native Americans were losing
land as American settlers moved
into the Northwest Territory.
-The U.S. had acquired the land
in the Treaty of Greenville, but
not all Native American tribes
agreed with it.
-Britain saw opportunity and
began helping the Native
Americans giving them weapons
to help stop the American
westward growth.
-This angered Americans settlers.
-Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief took
control and decided to stop the extreme
loss of land.
-He had fought at the Battle of Fallen
Timbers in 1794, but refused to
participate in the Treaty of Greenville.
-Tecumseh, a gifted speaker, explained
about the dangers of the new settlers.
-He said that the Native Americans had
to unite to have a chance to defeat the
Americans.
-He wanted to unite Native Americans
from the Northwest, eastern Mississippi
Valley and the South.
-His brother, Tenskwatawa or Prophet
also helped Tecumseh.
-They began Prophetstown on the
Wabash and Tippecanoe Rivers.
-William Henry Harrison, the
governor of the Indiana Territory
was worried about Tecumseh.
-He believed that that the British
were backing him.
-With British backing Tecumseh
could be a serious threat to
American power in the West.
-In an 1810, face to face meeting
Harrison told Tecumseh to follow
the Treaty of Greenville of 1795.
-Tecumseh told him, “The white
people have no right to take the
land from the Indians, because the
Indians had it first.”
-He said that the land belonged to
all tribes so a treaty didn’t matter.
● Prophetstown
Louisville ●
-Harrison warned Tecumseh
that he should not resist the
power of the United States.
-Tecumseh went south to try
and get the Creek to join him.
-Harrison raised an army and
decided to attack while
Tecumseh was away.
-He took his men towards
Prophetstown where Prophet
ordered an attack on
Harrison’s camp on November
7, 1811.
-During an all-day battle,
Harrison was able to drive back
the Indian forces and destroy
Tecumseh’s village.
-The Battle of Tippecanoe
ended Tecumseh’s dream of a
great Indian Confederation and
he fled to Canada.
-Americans were very upset that Britain
was helping the Native Americans.
-Young members of Congress led by
John C. Calhoun of South Carolina and
Henry Clay of Kentucky called for war
against Britain.
-These young congressman from the
West and South were called “War
Hawks”.
-They felt our independence would be
threatened without war.
-They wanted to stop the British from
helping the Native Americans
-They also wanted to attack Canada and
gain more land
-Others were upset about the trade that
had hurt western farmers and southern
planters.
John C. Calhoun
Henry Clay
-New England Federalists were
against war.
-They wanted a peaceful resolution,
because they wanted to get their
trade and economy back to normal.
-Some congressman said that
another war with Britain would be
foolish, because we were not ready
to fight.
-Our army and navy was very
small and poorly-equipped due to
the Democratic-Republican cuts
under Jefferson.
-American’s also could not produce
the supplies and weapons that
Britain could.
-President James Madison had
been elected in 1808 when
Jefferson chose not to run.
-He got a lot of pressure from the
War Hawks
-Madison went to Congress and
told them they needed to vote on
war.
-After much discussion the War
Hawks won the vote a couple of
days later and America was headed
to war.
-It was the first time that
America’s young Congress had
declared war.
-Madison won re-election in 1812
and he would serve as commander
in chief during the War of 1812.