The Nation Expands Jefferson to Monroe American expansion

The Nation Expands Jefferson to Monroe American expansion and defense of the national identity

Jefferson Thomas Jefferson was much like Benjamin Franklin in that he was highly intelligent, an inventor, writer, philosopher, and politician. But he was also a very private man - few knew him well, or could guess what he was thinking and what he really believed. He claimed to hate slavery, but owned slaves his entire life. He also claimed to be a “servant of the citizenry” but once as president advocated starving entire towns to make the inhabitants submit to his policies.

Scandal The evidence that Jefferson had a relationship with Sally Hemings, one of his slaves, is very strong. Even during his presidency, rumors about this circulated among his friends, and enemies, as seen from this late 1790 s cartoon of Jefferson as a rooster, Sally as a hen.

Westward Expansion Charles Wilson Peale’s painting of the exhumation of the mammoth is a tribute to American ingenuity and the Enlightenment values esteemed by Jefferson. The centerpiece of the portrait is not the fossils, but a machine designed to remove water from the dig.

Buying Louisiana Although Jefferson had spoken for limited Federal powers, he greatly enlarged the president’s authority when he purchased the Louisiana region from France and sent Lewis and Clark west to explore the land “show the flag. ”

Doubling the Nation’s Size Jefferson acquired approximately 827, 000 square miles of Western territory, doubling the size of the United States. One of the primary goals of the Lewis and Clark expedition was to map this region.

Defense in the midst of a world war This cartoon depicts President Jefferson being threatened by King George (left) while Napoleon of France picks Jefferson’s pocket. The ongoing war between France and Britain divided the nation and embarrassed Americans who realized that the U. S. lacked the power to defend itself.

Reliance on militia units The nation had a very small standing army and relied on state militia units for its main defenses against Indians. As this cartoon suggests, the officers of militia units were often dressed in elaborate and even expensive uniforms, but were not skilled in the handling of military units. This officer is puzzled while trying to understand a basic map. While presidents wanted more money for defense, representatives of the states refused to vote more funds for fear that a large Federal army could threaten the rights of the people.

Division in the capitol This cartoon suggests that Federalists and Republican disagreements over the Franco-British war came close to open violence in the capitol building. There were in fact some fistfights and duels – but outside the capitol.

Charges of Treason In 1804, the Republican followers of Jefferson suggested that the Federalists were disloyal to America and simply followed the directions of the British government.

The “Burr Conspiracy” Fears of the abuse of power seemed real in 1806 when former vicepresident Aaron Burr was accused of plotting to lead a coup that would turn the western territories into a separate nation. Burr was arrested and tried for treason in 1807, but was acquitted when the evidence proved to be too flimsy – the main witness against Burr was in fact an army officer who was secretly spying for Spain.

Embargo As British ships continued to blockade trade with France, Jefferson countered by having Congress embargo trade to England, hoping that this would lead to a treaty proclaiming “freedom of the seas. ” Towns in New England ignored the embargo and smuggled goods to Canada. An angry Jefferson then considered “starving the towns” into submission to the law.

Clamors for war As the fourth president, James Madison continued Jefferson’s policy of a trade embargo, which had no real effect on Britain. Meanwhile “war hawks” led by a younger generation of westerners, like Henry Clay of Kentucky (right) wanted the U. S. to go to war and seize Canada. In 1812, Madison finally agreed to support a declaration of war against Great Britain.

A second war for independence The U. S. was almost completely unprepared for a war. An attempt to invade Canada failed quickly. The British, aided by various Indian allies, attacked Detroit and other western settlements. Along the Raisin River, near Detroit, American prisoners were massacred by followers of the Shawnee leader Tecumseh.

Deadlock America’s effort to seize Canada failed, but some of the fiercest fighting occurred along this northern frontier

Tecumseh’s “First Nation” Tecumseh and his half-brother Tenskwatawa ("The Prophet") fashioned a “First Nation” movement among several tribes and allied with the British to stop further American settlements in the west. At its height, the First Nation movement fielded thousands of warriors against American militia. But the unity of the tribes was only temporary.

Defeat of Tecumseh’s alliance American militia under the command of William Henry Harrison and Richard Johnson defeated Tecumseh’s warriors (depicted in this 1813 drawing as little black men) in several battles. Johnson, later credited with killing Tecumseh, was later Vice-President and Harrison was briefly President in 1841.

Victory on Lake Erie In September 1813, small flotilla of American warships destroyed a British-Canadian fleet on Lake Erie, which prevented a full-scale invasion of the Ohio River Valley.

Destruction of the capital The lowest point of the war came in 1814, when British forces landed in Virginia, seized Washington City and burned the capitol building and president’s mansion. Madison and the government fled, but the British attempt to capture Baltimore failed.

Shock of defeat After Washington was rebuilt following the war, stronger fortifications were added around the capital. The president’s mansion, rebuilt and painted with several coats of white paint, came to be known as the “white house. ”

Treason at Hartford? Defeat in Washington and elsewhere led to calls for ending the war. A large group of Federalists called for a meeting at Hartford Connecticut to “discuss peace terms. ” But the Jeffersonian Republicans charged that the convention really planned to discuss the secession of the New England states from the U. S.

Western hero In the southwest (eventually parts of Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi), Andrew Jackson a western lawyer and planter in the emerging cotton industry, led militia troops in several victories against Creek and Cherokee warriors, who had been fighting American expansion for over twenty years. Jackson’s victories made him a national celebrity. He was sent to New Orleans to stop a British attack on that vital port.

Securing the west On January 8, 1815, Jackson’s forces repulsed the British attack, killing over 2000 British troops and the British commander. Ironically, the British and Americans had agreed to a peace treaty in Europe two weeks earlier. The Battle of New Orleans made Jackson an instant contender for the presidency.

Legacy of the war The War of 1812 was hardly a great American victory, but it secured the western lands. In order to keep the British out of the fur trading areas of the Great Lakes, the U. S. moved to build forts along the upper Mississippi River and at such places as Grand Portage (above) in the “minnesota” country.

New states Defeat of the confederation of Tecumseh opened the way for greater settlement and the creation of several new states. The representatives and senators from these states would change the political balance in Washington. From 1789 to 1824, 4 of the 5 presidents were from Virginia. From 1824 to 1868, over half of the presidents were from western states.

Missouri Compromise When Missouri and Maine became states in 1820, the Congress engineered an arrangement that limited slavery only to states established south of the southern border of Missouri. This “Missouri Compromise” would collapse within 25 years.

Monroe Doctrine As Madison’s successor, President James Monroe sought to limit European influence in Latin America, by announcing a policy to “intervene” in any attempts to secure colonies in central and South America. Monroe was able to enforce his doctrine because the British navy backed up his words.

Factories The earliest factories were not imposing structures belching forth smoke, but small water-powered mill factories. Slater’s first water-powered mill (in RI) resembled the clapboard rural structures that had been used to grind grain or saw logs and that easily blended into their rural settings.

An “Era of Good Feelings” • The end of the war opened a new era in American • • development. The Federalist Party, tainted by the Hartford Convention, collapsed. Now secure in power, the Republican Party, led by Monroe, adopted some of the ideas of the Federalists – including a a new Bank of the United States in 1816, and a higher tariff to protect manufactures. Others proposals were made to spend public tax monies on roads and canals to expand western settlement and the economy. A financial “panic” beginning in 1817, led to divisions.

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise established a new policy for dealing with slavery in Western territories. The compromise drew an imaginary line across the map of the United States. Land south of this line would be open to slavery, while territory north of the line would be free.