The Second War for Independence and the Upsurge of Nationalism
On to Canada over Land and Lakes
The Americans tried to invade Canada from Detroit, Niagara, and Lake Champlain. All were beaten back by the Canadians.
The Americans then attacked by sea and were more successful.
Oliver Hazard Perry- captured a British fleet in Lake Erie.
General Harrison's army overtook the British at Detroit and Fort Malden in the Battle of the Thames in October 1813.
Thomas Macdonough- naval officer who forced the invading British army near Plattsburgh to retreat on September 11, 1814; he saved the upper New York from conquest.
Washington Burned and New Orleans Defended
Andrew Jackson defended New Orleans.
Francis Scott Key- American prisoner aboard a British ship who watched the British fleet bombard Fort McHenry; wrote the "Star Spangled Banner."
Washington burned in 1814.
The Treaty of Ghent
Tsar Alexander I of Russia called the Americans and British to come to peace because he didn't want his British ally to lose strength in the Americas and let Napoleon take over Europe. The Treaty of Ghent, signed on December 24, 1814 in Ghent, Belgium, was an armistice. John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay went to Ghent for the signing. Both sides stopped fighting and conquered territory was restored.
Federalist Grievances and the Hartford Convention
Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island met in 1814 in Hartford, Connecticut for a secret meeting to discuss their disgust of the war and to redress their grievances. The Hartford Convention's final report demanded:
Financial assistance from Washington to compensate for lost trade from embargos.
Constitutional amendments requiring a 2/3 vote in Congress before an embargo could be imposed, new states admitted, or war declared.
The abolition of slavery.
That a President could only serve 1 term.
The abolition of the 3/5 clause.
The prohibition of the election of 2 successive Presidents from the same state.
The Hartford resolutions marked the death of the Federalist party. The party nominated their last presidential candidate in 1816.
The Second War for American Independence
The War of 1812 showed other nations around the world that America would defend its beliefs. The most impressive by-product of the War of 1812 was heightened nationalism.
The army and navy were expanded and the Bank of the United States was revived by Congress in 1816.
"The American System"
Congress instituted the 1st protective tariff, the Tariff of 1816, primarily for protection. British companies were trying to make American factories die off by selling their British goods for much less than the American factories. The tariff placed a 20-25% tax on the value of dutiable imports. Over time, the tax price continued to rise, creating problems of no competition between companies.
Due to nationalism, Henry Clay developed a plan for a profitable home market. It was called the American System. It had 3 main parts:
A strong banking system, to provide easy and abundant credit.
A protective tariff, behind which eastern manufacturing would flourish.
A network of roads and canals.
President Madison vetoed the bill to give states aid for infrastructure, deeming it unconstitutional. The Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans were strongly opposed to building federally-funded roads because they felt that such outlets would further drain away population and create competing states beyond the mountains.
The So-Called Era of Good Feelings
The Federalists ran a candidate for the presidential for the last time in 1816. James Monroe won the election.
The time during the administrations of President Monroe was known as the "Era of Good Feelings" because the 2 political parties were getting along.
The Panic of 1819 and the Curse of Hard Times
The Panic of 1819 was the first financial panic since President Washington took office. The main cause was the over-speculation in frontier lands.
The Bank of the United States became a financial devil to western farmers because it foreclosed many farms.
Growing Pains of the West
Between 1791 and 1819, 9 states from the West had joined the United States. People moved out west because of cheap land.
The Land Act of 1820 authorized a buyer to purchase 80 virgin acres at a minimum of $1.25 an acre. The West also demanded cheap transportation and cheap money.
Slavery and the Sectional Balance
The House of Representatives slowed the plans of the Missourians of becoming a state by passing the Tallmadge Amendment. It called for no more slaves to be brought into Missouri and called for the gradual emancipation of children born to slave parents already there. The amendment was later defeated by the slave states in Congress.
The Uneasy Missouri Compromise
Henry Clay introduced the compromise that decided whether or not Missouri would be admitted as a slave state. Congress decided to admit Missouri as a slave state in 1820. But, Maine, which was apart of Massachusetts, was to be admitted as a separate, free state. Therefore, there were 12 slave states and 12 free states.
The Missouri Compromise by Congress forbade slavery in the remaining territories in the Louisiana Territory north of the line of 36° 30', except for Missouri.
James Monroe was elected again as President in 1820.
John Marshall and Judicial Nationalism
McCulloch vs. Maryland (1819) involved an attempt by the state of Maryland to destroy a branch of the Bank of the United States by imposing a tax on the Bank's notes. John Marshall declared the U.S. Bank constitutional by invoking the Hamiltonian doctrine of implied powers. He strengthened federal authority and slapped at state infringements when he denied the right of Maryland to tax the Bank.
Cohens vs. Virginia (1821) involved the Cohens appealing to the Supreme Court for being found guilty of illegally selling lottery tickets by the state of Virginia. Virginia won and the conviction was withheld.
Gibbons vs. Ogden (1824) grew out of an attempt by the state of New York to grant to a private concern a monopoly of waterborne commerce between New York and New Jersey. (Meaning that no other company could use the waterway.) New York lost.
Judicial Dikes Against Democratic Excesses
Fletcher vs. Peck (1810) Georgia legislature granted 35 million acres to private speculators; the next legislature cancelled the bribery-induced transaction. John Marshall let the state give the acres to the private speculators calling it a contract and constitutional. The decision protected property rights against popular pressures.
Dartmouth College vs. Woodward (1819) Dartmouth College was given a charter by King George III but New Hampshire wanted to take it away. John Marshall ruled in favor of the college.
Daniel Webster- "Expounding Father"; served in both the House and Senate.
Sharing Oregon and Acquiring Florida
John Quincy Adams- Secretary of State to James Monroe.
The Treaty of 1818 permitted the Americans to share the Newfoundland fisheries with the Canadians and provided for a 10-year joint occupation of the Oregon Country without a surrender of the rights or claims of either America or Britain.
With the many revolutions taking place in South America, Spain was forced to take many of its troops out of Florida. General Andrew Jackson went into Florida saying he would punish the Indians and recapture the runaways who were hiding away in Spanish Florida. He did this, but captured St. Marks and Pensacola, the 2 most important Spanish posts in the area.
The Florida Purchase Treaty of 1819, Spain ceded Florida, as well as Spanish claims to Oregon in exchange for America's abandonment of claims to Texas.
The Menace of Monarchy in America
After Napoleon's fall from power in 1815, the Europeans wanted to completely eliminate democracy.
George Canning- British foreign secretary; asked the American minister in London if the United States would band together with the British in a joint declaration renouncing any interest in acquiring Latin American territory, and specifically warning the European dictators to keep their harsh hands off the Latin American republics.
Monroe and His Doctrine
Secretary Adams thought the British feared that the Americans would one day seize Spanish territory in the Americas; jeopardizing Britain's possessions in the Caribbean.
Monroe Doctrine (1823) - President Monroe, in his annual address to Congress, stated a stern warning to the European powers. Its two basic features were non-colonization and nonintervention.
Monroe stated that the era of colonization in the Americas was over.
Monroe also warned against foreign intervention. He warned Britain to stay out of the Western Hemisphere, and stated that the United States would not intervene in foreign wars.
Monroe's Doctrine Appraised
The Europeans powers were offended by the Monroe Doctrine; in a big part because of America's soft military strength.
President Monroe was more concerned with the security of America when he issued the Monroe Doctrine. He had basically warned the Old World power to stay away. The Doctrine thrived off nationalism.