Ch 11: Triumphs and Travails of Jeffersonian Republic (1800-1812) Republicans' struggle to revive the Spirit of '76 at home and uphold national dignity abroad
A) Election of 1800: Adams v. Jefferson
1. Federalist handicaps
B) Jefferson in Office
1. Jefferson’s inaugural addressClassic statement of democratic principles
C) Jefferson & the Judicial Branch
1. Responses to Judiciary Act of 1801 & Adam’s “Midnight judges”
D) Jefferson, the Reluctant Warrior
-Hwvr, by 1783, now that Am independent country, N Afr pirates seize Am ships
-Fed admins forced to buy protection & pay ransom, totaling 20% govt revenue
-In accord w. long-held beliefs, TJeff declined to pay
-Pasha declared war on US by cutting flagpole in front of US Consulate
-4 yrs of intermittent fighting; Ams blockaded & raided
-Tripoli pirates stop seizing Am merchant ships
Result:
-Am military strength tested: Ams could execute war far from home & stay united
E) The Louisiana Purchase 1803
1. Background
F) A Precarious Neutrality
1. In 1804, TJeff reelected 162 to 14
2. Brit=supremacy on sea; Fr=supremacy on land
G) Madison & the War Hawks
1. Madison took office in March 1809
2. Cong dismantled embargo completely w. Macon’s Bill No. 2
H) The Start of the War of 1812 & the Divisions of an Infant Republic
1. Origins of the War
3. JMad & Reps came to believe that only a vigorous assertion of Am rights could demonstrate the viability of Am nationhood—and of democracy as a form of govt. If Am could not fight to protect itself, its experiment in republicanism would be discredited in the eyes of a scoffing war.
4. JMad asked for declaration of war; close votesàdeep divisions over wisdom of fighting
5. Support for war came from South & West, but also from Reps in populous middle states
6. Federalists (esp in New Eng) were anti-war b/c
1. Federalist handicaps
- Alien & Sedition Acts
- Divided: Hamilton criticized Adams for not declaring war against France
- Increased public debt due to war preparations (but no war)
- Thus, the Feds run negative campaign against Jefferson
- Jefferson won by majority of 73 to 65
- However, he won the same as Burr, his VP running mate, so the election was thrown to House of Reps, who decided that Jefferson should be President
- Adams = last Federalist pres of US; Fed party disappears
- TJeff saw his ascension to presidency as a return of the spirit of the Revolution
- He strove to restore republican experiment, limit govt power, and halt decay of virtue.
- Peaceful & orderly transfer of power: remarkable achievement for young nation!
- First party overturn in Am history
B) Jefferson in Office
1. Jefferson’s inaugural addressClassic statement of democratic principles
- Allayed Federalist fears that he might turn around entire govt
- “Honest friendship w. all nations, entangling alliances w. none”
- Set precedent of seating w/o regard to rank at official dinners
- Would receive callers in sloppy attire
- Brokered deals in informal setting of dinner parties
- Pardoned martyrs of expired Alien + Sedition Acts & enacted new naturalization law
- Repealed excise tax (bore heavily on farmers)
- However, did not tamper with Hamiltonian framework.
C) Jefferson & the Judicial Branch
1. Responses to Judiciary Act of 1801 & Adam’s “Midnight judges”
- Judiciary Act: passed by expiring Fed congress; created 16 new judicial offices
- New D-Rep Congress quickly repealed act & removed 16 judges
- However, they kept Chief Justice John Marshall, Fed judge who served for 34 yrs
- William Marbury had been commissioned justice of the peace in the District of Columbia by President John Adams in the “midnight appointments” at the very end of his administration.
- W/o commission delivered, one cannot assume an appointed office.
- When new administration did not deliver commission, Marbury sued Madison, Sec of State (in charge of delivery).
- Marshall held that although Marbury was entitled to commission, the statute (Judiciary Act of 1789) that was the basis of the particular remedy sought was unconst b/c it gave Sup Ct authority that was implicitly denied it by Article 3 of the US Const. (Const over Cong)
- The decision was the 1st by Sup Ct to declare unconst & void an act passed by Cong that the Ct considered in violation of the Const. The decision established the doctrine of judicial review, which recognizes the authority of courts to declare statutes unconstitutional.
- In retaliation for the enlargement of Sup Ct powers, TJeff urged impeachment of arrogant & tart-tongued federalist Sup Ct justice, Samuel Chase
- Indicted by House based on “high crimes and misdemeanors”, but the senate couldn’t muster enough votes to convict & remove him
- Precedent: since then, no attempt has been made to reshape Sup Ct via impeachment
D) Jefferson, the Reluctant Warrior
- Pursuant to republican beliefs, he reduced military force to 2,500
- Hoped that Am could transcend bloody wars & win friends through “peaceful coercion”
- First Barbary/Tripolitan War breaks out (1801-1805)
- Background:
-Hwvr, by 1783, now that Am independent country, N Afr pirates seize Am ships
-Fed admins forced to buy protection & pay ransom, totaling 20% govt revenue
- Now that TJeff is in office…
-In accord w. long-held beliefs, TJeff declined to pay
-Pasha declared war on US by cutting flagpole in front of US Consulate
-4 yrs of intermittent fighting; Ams blockaded & raided
- The treaty (1805)
-Tripoli pirates stop seizing Am merchant ships
Result:
-Am military strength tested: Ams could execute war far from home & stay united
E) The Louisiana Purchase 1803
1. Background
- Napoleon induced Sp to cede trans-MS region to France in 1800
- In 1795, Sp guaranteed Ams “right of deposit” in New Orleans, meaning they could store goods for export there (New Orleans controlled mouth of MS River)
- In 1802, Sp revoked Am’s right of deposit, infuriating Ams
- Louisiana in the grip of Sp was no real threat, but possession by Fr foreshadowed war
- US had to fight to dislodge Fr, but as it was not strong enough to defeat Napoleon, it would be forced into an alliance, contrary to the deepening anti-alliance policy
- In 1803, he sent Monroe to Paris to join envoy Robert Livingston to buy New Orleans & as much land to its east as they could get for a maximum of $10 mn.
- If these proposals failed, TJeff would make alliance w. old foe, Brit, against old friend, Fr
- Napoleon suddenly decided to sell all LA & abandon dream of New World empire, b/c
- -He failed to capture Santo Domingo, for which LA would serve as food supplier
- -Rather than drive Am into arms of Brit by attempting to hold the area, he decided to sell it to Am & pocket money for his schemes nearer home
- Tho TJeff considered the LA Purchase unconst, it was most epochal action in his presidency
- TJeff avoided possible rupture w. Fr & consequent entangling alliance w. Eng
- By acquiring LA, Am secured bloodlessly, a rich river valley & laid foundatn of future power
- Proved the viability of GWash’s isolationist policies (last threatening Eur power removed)
- Established precedents for future expansion: incorporation of new peoples into the Union not as vassal states but on a basis of equal membership
- Expanded fortunes of US & power of fed govt
- Rich harvest of scientific observations, maps, knowledge of Indians in region
- Demonstrated viability of overland trail to Pacific
- Settlers would push west, justifying Am’s claims for OR Country
- LA purchase in short term: fed govt couldn’t controlà threat of secession & foreign intrigue
- Burr, dropped from cabinet in TJeff’s 2nd term, joined group of Fed extremists, who plotted the secession of New Eng & N; AHam exposed conspiracyà killed in duel w. Burr
- Joined corrupt gvoernor of LA Territory, Gen. James Wilkinson, to separate western part of US from east; TJeff got wind of scheme so Wilkinson betrayed Burr & fled to New Orleans
- These conspiracies showed that it was one thing for the US to purchase large expanses of western territory but quite another for it to govern them effectively.
F) A Precarious Neutrality
1. In 1804, TJeff reelected 162 to 14
2. Brit=supremacy on sea; Fr=supremacy on land
- Unable to hurt each other directly, they were forced to strike indirect blows
- London govt, beginning in 1806, issued Orders in Council, closing Eur ports under Fr control to foreign shipping (including US), unless the vessels first stopped at Brit port
- Napoleon ordered seizure of all merchant ships that entered Brit ports (US included)
- There was no way to trade w. either nation w/o facing the other’s guns.
- Brit further irritated US by seizing ships & impressing Am seamen
- The ~ occurred when commander of Brit Leopold demanded surrender of 4 alleged deserters of Royal Navy.
- When the Am captain refused, Brit opened fire, killing 3 & wounding 18 Ams.
- Ams surrendered, but Brit refused surrender, sending instead a boarding party to search for deserters.
- The 4 deserters were dragged off ship & the bloody Chesapeake limped back to port
- The Am public was outraged w this incident, but at the same time shocked that the Chesapeake had put up so little resistance & surrendered so quickly --> could the US Navy protect the country should Brit choose to invade???
- Nat’l honor would not permit a slavish submission to Brit & Fr mistreatment.
- Yet, a foreign war would be futile as the Am military was weak, so TJeff reasoned that if Am (which Fr & Brit depended heavily on for raw materials & foodstuffs) cut off exports, the offending powers would be forced to agree to respect its rights.
- Hwvr, TJeff overestimated dependence of 2 nation on Am trade; Brit could trade w. S Am, and Fr had enough land on Eur to manage; Embargo hurt Ams more than Fr & Brit
- Cong, responding to public anger, repealed embargo in 1809, replacing it w. the Non-Intercourse Act, formally reopening trade w. all nations except Br & Fr
- Showed that TJeff’s idea of “peaceful coercion” wouldn’t work against determined nations
G) Madison & the War Hawks
1. Madison took office in March 1809
2. Cong dismantled embargo completely w. Macon’s Bill No. 2
- While reopening Am trade, it stipulated that if either Br or Fr repealed its commercial restrictions, Am would restore its embargo against the non-repealing nation
- It practically admitted that US couldn’t survive w/o one of the belligerents as commercial ally
- Napoleon convinced JMad to give Br 3 mo to lift its Orders in Council. JMad did, but Br didn’t lift O-in-C, and JMad had to reenact US’s trade embargo, but this time just agnst Br.
- This decision marked the end of neutrality & the final step toward war.
- The 12th Congress met in 1811, consisting mostly of hotheaded warhawks who wanted to wipe out a renewed Indian threat to the pioneer settlers
- Tecumseh along w. his brother (Shawnees) united many Indian tribes into confed, inspiring vibrant mvt of Ind unity & cultural renewal; urged to never cede land unless all Inds agreed.
- In fall of 1811, William Henry Harrison, governor of Indiana Territory, gathered army & advanced on Tecumseh’s headquarter.
- The Prophet attacked Harrison’s army & the Shawnees were routed, and their settlement burned; Harrison becomes a national hero
- This event discredited the Prophet & drove Tecumseh into an alliance with Brit, whom he fought for until his death at the Battle of the Thames, also the death of the Ind confederacy.
H) The Start of the War of 1812 & the Divisions of an Infant Republic
1. Origins of the War
- Chesapeake-Leopold Affair
- Orders in Council (1807)
- Embargo Act of 1807
- Non-Intercourse Act
- Macon’s Bill No. 2
- Tecumseh’s War
- War Hawks
3. JMad & Reps came to believe that only a vigorous assertion of Am rights could demonstrate the viability of Am nationhood—and of democracy as a form of govt. If Am could not fight to protect itself, its experiment in republicanism would be discredited in the eyes of a scoffing war.
4. JMad asked for declaration of war; close votesàdeep divisions over wisdom of fighting
5. Support for war came from South & West, but also from Reps in populous middle states
6. Federalists (esp in New Eng) were anti-war b/c
- Pro-Brit & Anti-Fr sentiments
- Feds opposed acquisition of Canada, which would add more agrarian states from wild NWàincrease voting strength of Jeffersonian Reps
- As a result, New Eng creditors lent more money to Brit Exchequer than to fed Treasury, Fed farmers sent huge quantities of supplies & foodstuffs to Canada, enabling Brit armies to invade NY, and New Eng governors refused to permit their militia to serve outside their own states.
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