Jefferson and the Era of Good Feelings

(1800-1824)

Jefferson and Burr

“Revolution of 1800”

• First peaceful transfer of power• “When brought together in society, all are

perfectly equal.”• Wanted a smaller gov’t role

Jefferson’s Agenda

• Switch to an agrarian republic• Increase the size of the country• Decrease the power of the national gov’t

Slave Uprising

• Gabriel Prosser’s rebellion (1800), Richmond VA

• About 1000 slaves• Postponed 1 night, 2 different slaves told their

masters• 25 slaves hanged, 65 tried total• James Monroe is Governor of VA

Gabriel Prosser

Domestic Changes

• Eliminate taxes (esp. Whiskey Tax)• Decrease the national debt• Reversed the Judiciary Act of 1801 (Adams

appointments)

Marbury v Madison

• 1803 Supreme Court case• John Marshall (Federalist) presides• John Marbury appointed by Adams, James

Madison will NOT respect the appointment• Judge Marshall declared Adams’ Judiciary Act

“unconstitutional” (federal law)• Established “judicial review”

Louisiana Purchase

• Asks Napoleon to sell the city of New Orleans• Napoleon sells all of the Louisiana territory

(remember Revolution and Haiti!)• Jefferson paid $15 million (285 million today)• Was he allowed to do????

Map of Louisiana Purchase

Current states gained

Unconstitutional???

• Jefferson was a strict constitutionalist• He had approved buying New Orleans for 10

million• Federalists worried about further Southern

and Western support for Republicans• Congress full of Republicans

Lewis and Clark Expedition

• Merriwether Lewis selected to head the “Corps of Discovery”, one of Jefferson’s aides

• William Clark asked to join Lewis, former militia captain, no formal education, had been Lewis’ commander previously

• “An intelligent officer, with ten or twelve chosen men ... might explore the whole line, even to the Western Ocean...”

Aaron Burr’s Woes

• First loses to Jefferson• Tries for governorship of NY, Hamilton

campaigns against Burr, Burr loses• Burr challenges Hamilton to a duel!!

July 11, 1804

Boom!

• Hamilton fires and misses (did he intend to?)• Burr did NOT miss• Hamilton is mortally wounded, he died the next

day

• “I have resolved, if our interview [duel] is conducted in the usual manner, and it pleases God to give me the opportunity, to reserve and throw away my first fire, and I have thoughts even of reserving my second fire.”

Second Time isn’t as nice

• Jefferson wins re-election easily in 1804, carrying 15 states (of 17)

• Trouble is brewing internationally

Impressments and War

• British and French fighting again, Napoleon wants to control the world

• US ships carry cargo, and are often caught in the middle

• British often impress the sailors (force them to serve in the British navy)

Chesapeake Incident

• Brit ship (Leopard) orders a search of US ship (Chesapeake)

• US said no, Brits opened fire and killed 3 Americans

• How will Jefferson respond?? (most Americans want revenge)

Embargo you say?

• Jefferson persuades the Congress to pass Embargo Act of 1807

• No US ships can sail to foreign ports• Who is US’s biggest trading partner???• It backfired and left the US with a weak

economy• Jefferson repeals the act during his final days

in 1809

Madison and Clinton

Madison’s bio

• Jefferson’s Sec. of State• Wife, Dolly, was famous for White House

parties and saving Washington’s picture

Agenda for Madison

• Try to stay out of the Napoleonic Wars• Fix the economy (remember Embargo Act )

“Saving ourselves for other countries”

• Nonintercourse Act in 1809– Can trade with all countries EXCEPT Br and Fra

• Macon’s Bill No. 2 (1810)• War is on the horizon

Reasons for the War of 1812

• Continued problems at the seas • neutrality not respected

• “British violations” on the Western frontier

Indian War!!

• Tecumseh tries to unite all NA east of Miss.

…and the fighting begins

• William Henry Harrison (future President) defeats Tecumseh and followers at the Battle of Tippecanoe

War Hawks

• New, young Republicans from frontier states (KY, TN, OH)

• Henry Clay of KY• John C. Calhoun of SC

Election of 1812

• Much closer election, because of “Mr. Madison’s War”

• **No president has ever been ousted during war**

Map

War of 1812 begins

• US tries to attack Canada 3 TIMES, all fail– In the process the US burns the city of York

• First major victory is at Lake Erie (1813)• Commodore Perry “We have met the enemy

and they are ours.”– This allows control of the lake and helps to defeat

Tecumseh and his confederation at the Battle of Thames

Commodore Perry

Revenge is a b….. (1814)

• British attack Washington DC and burn the President’s mansion (it was repainted white)

Andrew Jackson, Horseshoe Bend• Aided by Cherokee warriors in defeating Creek

Indians• Remember Jackson’s name!

Did Junaluska save Jackson?

• According to the Cherokee people Chief Junaluska saved Jackson’s life by stopping a Creek warrior from stabbing him

• After the battle Jackson is said to have uttered “As long as the sun shines and the grass grows, there shall be friendship between us, and the feet of the Cherokee shall be toward the east.”

Chief Junaluska

Turning his back??

• Years later, after being forced west, Junaluska said “If I had known that Jackson would drive us from our homes, I would have killed him that day at the Horseshoe.”

“Era of Good Feelings”

• Party politics dies for a while (Federalists gone)

• Nationalism booming, new generation of Americans

Treaty of Ghent• Ended the war• Returned things to status quo ante bellum

Battle of New Orleans

• Jackson again, fights the British AFTER the Treaty has been signed

• This makes him a war hero

Second Bank of US (1816)

• Pushed through Congress by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun

• Patterned after 1st Bank• Known for corruption and fraud

James Monroe (1817-1825)

First recession is never the worse

• Panic of 1819– Banks being too conservative, called in loans– $ Value fell, unemployment rose

Marshall’s Court

• Lone Federalist in power• McCullough v Maryland (1819)– Fed could create bank (implied powers), fed>state

Missouri, we have a problem…

• Missouri Compromise (1820)– Missouri wants to become a state (former part of

LA purchase)– There is a balance of 11 slave and 11 free states

(Miss. has lots of slaves)– To keep Senate balanced they propose:– Miss. enters as slave state, Maine enters as free – Everything above 36° parallel is free

Miss. Compromise Map

Ready to Review?

Monroe’s big deal

• Monroe Doctrine (1823)– The Americas “are henceforth not to be

considered as subjects for future colonization by any European power.”

– The Western Hemisphere is off limits for Europe– What does this say about America’s level of

confidence??

Elections, once again

• By 1824 the Era of Good Feelings between factions had faded

• The next election featured some famous names in one of the most bizarre US elections of all time…..

4 men enter, 1 man emerges

• Andrew Jackson Henry Clay• John Quincy Adams William Crawford

Adams and Jackson left standing

• In the run-off election Jackson and Adams are tied

• The vote goes to the House of Rep. • Henry Clay uses his “influence” to get Adams

elected (Jackson was Clay’s rival for votes in the West)

What’s up with that??

• Mysteriously when Adams wins he names Clay as his Sec. of State (this is normally a stepping stone to the presidency)

• Jackson and his supporters call foul, naming the situation the “Corrupt Bargain”