Unit 4 Princeton Review Flashcards
(33 cards)
The “Revolution of 1800”
By 1800, Federalist Party was split, clearing the way to the presidency for the Democratic Republicans
Two men ran for the party nomination: Thomas Jeffersonand Aarnon Burr
They received an equal number of votes in the Electoral College, which meant that the Federalist-dominated House of Representatives was required to choose a president from between the two
It took 35 ballots, but Jefferson finally won
Alexander Hamilton swallowed hard and campaigned for Jefferson, with whom he disagreed on most issues and whom he personally dislikey, because he believed Burr to be an unfit and dangerous man
Election was noteworthy for two reasons
For the second time in as many elections, a president was saddled with a vice president he didn’t want
That problem was remedies in 1804 with the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, which allowed electors to vote for a party ticket
The other, more important reason the election was significant is that in America’s first transfer of power – from the federalists to the Democratic-Republicans – no violenced occurred, a feat practically unprecedented for the time
Jefferson referred to his victory and the subsequent change-over as “the bloodless revolution”
Jefferson’s First Term
Transition from Federalists to Democratic-Republicans was nonviolent but not friendly
Adams was so upset about the election that he left the capital before JEfferson took office in order to avoid attending the inaugutatin ceremony
Before he left town, however, he made a number of midnight appointments, filling as many government positions with federalists as he could
Jefferson’s response was to refuse to recognize those appointments
Then he set about replacing as many Federalist appointees as he could
He dismissed some, pressured others to retire and waited out the rest
By his second term, the majority of public appointees were Democratic-Republicans
Jefferson’s refusal to accept Adams’s midnight appointment resulted in a number of lawsuits against the government
Case of Marbury v. Madison, Significance
One, the case of MArbury v. Madison reached the Supreme Court in 1803
William Marbury, one of ADams’s last-minute appointees, had sued Secretary of State James Madison for refusing to certify his appointment to the federal bench
Chief Justice John Marshall was a Federalist, and his sympathies were with Marbury, but Marshall was not certain that the cout could force Jefferson to accept Marbury’s appointment
Marshall’s decision in the case established one of the most important principles of the Supreme Court: judicial review
The court ruled that Marbury did indeed have a rigtht to his judgeship but that the courtcould not enforce his right
This was because the Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the Supreme Court the authority to order federal appointees (such as Madison) to deliver appointment susch as William Marbury’s Marshall believed that this act gave too much power to the judicial branch at the expense of Congress and the Presidency, and thus it was unconstitutional
In one fll swoop, Marshall had handed JEfferson the victory he wanted while simultaneously claiming a major role for the Supreme Court: the responsibility for reviewing the constitutionality of congressional acts
Throughout the rest of the tenure, MArshall worked to strengthen that doctrine, and thus, the Court
major accomplishment of Jefferson’s first term was the Louisiana Purchase
When Spain gave New ORleans to the French in 1802, the government realized that a potentially troublesome situation was developing
The French, they knew, were more likely to take advantage of New Orleans’ strategic location at the mouth of the Mississippi, almost certainly meaning that American trade along the river would be restricted
In hopes of averting that situation, Jeffferson sent James Monroe to France
Monroe’s mandate was to buy New Orleans for $2 million
Monroe arrived at just the right time
Napoleon was gearing up for war in Europe, and a violent slave revolt in Haiti against the French further convinced him to abandon French interest in the New World
The French offered to sell Monroe the whole Louisiana territory for $15 million
Jefferson’s Dilemma
Thomas Jefferson was now faced with a dilemma
As secretary of state under Washington, he had argued for a strict interpretation of the constitution, thus limiting the power of the federal government to those powers specifically stated inthe Constittuion
Nowhere did teh Constitution authorize the president to purchase land, ye tclearly Jefferson could not pass up this opportunity to double the size of the US
Jefferson thought about trying to get a constitutional amendment added allowing him to buy land from other countries
Ultimately, Jefferson resolved the issue by claiming his presidential power to negotiate treaties with foreign nations
Expedition to Louisiana Purchase land
Jefferso sent explorer, among them Lewis and Clark, to investigate the western territories, including much of what was part of the Louisiana territory
This trip included Sacajawea as the Shoshoni guide who helped Lewis and Clark negotiate with other Native American tribes on the way up the Missouri River
All returned with favorable reports, causing many pioneers to turn their attentions westward in search of land, riches, an economic opportunities
Those early explorers also reported back to Jefferson on the presence of British and French forts that still dotted the territory, garrisoned with foreign troops that had been (deliberately?) slow to withdraw after the regime changes of the previous half-century
1804 Election
In 1804, Jefferson won reelection in a landslide victory
During the 1804 elections, Aaron Burr ran for governor NY
Again, Alexander Hamilton campaigned against Burr
When Burr lost, he accused Hamilton of sabotaging his political career and challenged him to a duel in which he killed Hamilton
Afterward, Burr fled to the Southewst, where he plotte dto start his own nation in aprts of the Louisana Territory
He was later captured and tried for treason but was acquitted because of a lack of evidence
Jefferson Pre War of 1812
Jeffferson’s second term did not go nearly as smoothly as his first
During these years, the US got caught in th emiddle of yet another French-English dispute
The situation eventually led to the War of 1812
In 1805, the British and French were at war and at a stalemate
In an effort to gain an advantage, each side began blockading the other’s trad eroutes
The US, dependent on both as trade partners, suffered greatly from he blockades
To add insult to injury, the British began stopping American ships and impressing sailors: that is, they declared, often with little or no proof, taht those sailors had deserted from the British nacy, and they forced them back into it
Unfortunately, the English were not as particular about whomethey “reenlisted” as the Ameriacns would have liked them to be
Tension mounted and then boiled over when a British frigate attacked an American ship in American waters
Jefferson was at a loss
He couldn’t go to war against the British beacuse the US Navy was no match for England’s forces
In response, Embargo Act
Embargo Act
So Jefferson responded with a boycott, biding his time while increasing military and naval appropriations
Because both British and French continued to harass American ships, Jefferson lobbied for and won passage of the Embargo Act of 1807
The law basically shut down America’s import and export business, with disastrous economic results
New England’s economy collapsed, and smuggling became widespread
The New England states strongly opposed the Embargo Act, as they were the ones most impacted by an end to international trade
Many continued to trade with British Canada regardless
The Embargo Act also led to the Democratic-Republicans losing with many congressional seats in the 1808 elections
Non-Intercourse Act of 1809
reopened trade with most nations after Embargo Act, but it still officially banned trade with the two most significant trade partners, Britain and France
End of Jefferson’s Presidency
In the end, Jefferson decided, as had Washington before him, that two terms as president were enough
He endorsed his secretary of state, James Madison, who handily defeated the ever-weakening Federalists
Madison Pre War of 1812
Madison sought a solution to America’s trade problems, and Congress responded with Macon’s Bill No. 2, a bill that reopened trade with both fRance and England
However, Madison promised that if either country renounced its interference with American trade, he would cut off trade with the other one
Napoleon made that promise, forcing the US to cut of ftrade with England, but France then continued to harass American ships
The British, angry at the new embargo, stepped up their attacks on American ships, making a bad situation even worse
These developments helped build pro-war sentiments in the US
Particularly anxious for a confrontation with the Britihsh were the southern and western War Hawks, who saw war as an opportunity to grab new territories to the west and southwest
There was also a strong desire among Western War Hawks to gain Canada from the British
Theri leaders were Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun
War of 1812
Madison held out as long as he could but finally relented and asked Congress to declare war in 1812
You should know several important points about the War of 1812
Once again, ative Americans aligned themselves with the British
The gret chief Tecumseh unified area tribes in an effort to stop American expansion into Indiana and illinois, both before and during the war
The British had been arming Native Americans in these Western territories against new American settlers
In an earlier battle against Tecumseh (the Battle of Tippecanoe), Gen. William Henry Harrison defeated Tecumseh’s coalition of different tribes, and saw that they had British weapons
Meanwhile, his brother Tenskwatawa, also known as the Prophet, led an extensive revival of traditional Native American culture and religion
Tecumseh’s coalition fell apart after he was killed in battle
American forces were ill-prepared for the war, and much of the fighting went badly
The British captured Washington, D.C., in 1814 and set the White House on fire
However, in most battles, American was able to fight to stalemate
When English-French hostilities ended (with Napoleon’s defeat), many of the issues that had caused the war evaporated, and the British soon negotiated peace
Unaware that the Treaty of Ghent had been signed in Belgium on Decemnber 24, 1814, and the war was over, General Andrew Jackson fought and won the Battle of New Orleans from January 8 until January 18, 1815, the only clear-cut US victory of the war
Fun fact: American national anthem, Francis Scott Key composed poem taht would becoem lyrics of Star Spangled Banne during battle at Fort McHenry
Decline of Federlists/Hartford Convention
The Federalists opposed to the war because it disrupted trade and unaware that its end end was coming, met in Hartford, Connecticut, to consider a massive overhaul of the Constitution or, failing that secession
When the war ended soon after, most people consiered the Federalists to be traitors, and thei r national party dissolved soon after the Hartford Convention (although the party continued to exert influence in some states through the next decade)
The Hartford Convention itself brought many grievances, including the notion that two-thirds majority of Congress should be required to pass any laws detailing with trade, that a two-thirds majority be required to admit new states, and that no president can serve more than one four year term and that two presidents in a row cannot come from the same states (all measures to retain some power for the Federalists)
Overall Madison Impacts
Throughout the rest of his tenure, Madison worked to promote national growth
At the same time, he remained true to his Democratic-Republican principles and so extended federal power only cautiously
Madison championed a combination of programs that included protective tariffs on imports, improvements to interstate roads (including expansion of NAtiona Road from MD to OH), and the rechartering of the National Bank after the first National Bank’s charter had expired
The National Bank was rechartered in 1816 and a new protective tariff was passed to protect the growing American industry
The programs were known collectively as the American System, sometimes referred to as the Nationalist Program
Speaker of the House Henry Clay lobbied for them so aggressively that many history books refer to “Henry clay’s American System”
Era of Good Feelings
The demise of the Federalists briefly lef the US with only one political party
Things period unity is referred to as the Era of Good Feelings, although the term belies the growing tension created by economic development and increased secitionalism
ended by Panic of 1819
McCulloch v. Maryland, Strenthening Supreme Court Power
During this period, Chief Justive John Marshall’s ruling continued to strengthen the federal government and its primacy ex. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) ruled that the states could not tax the National Bank, thus establishing the precedence of national law over state law
This case also reaffirmed the Supremacy Clause as the opposition was trying to challenge the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States
Panic of 1819, effects
The good feelings nearly came to an abrupt end in 1819 when a financial scare called the Panic of 1819 threw the American economy into turmoil
The panic followed a period of economic growth, inflation, and land speculation,a ll of which had destabilized the economy
When the National bank called in its loans, many borrowers couldn’t repay them
The consequences included numerous mortgage foreclosures and business failures
Many people were thrown into poverty
Nonetheless, on nationally organized political opposition resulted from the panic, and Monroe easily won releection in 1820
Post war westward expansion
This postwra period had also usher din a new wave of westward expansion
As secretary of state under Monroe, John Quincy ADams, son of former president John ADams, deftly negotiated a number of treaties that fixed U.S. borders and opened new territories
The US acquired Florida from the Spanish through the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819
International events/diplomacy
Adams also had to handle international tension caused by a series of revolutions in Central America and South America, as the inhabitants of those regions won their independence from Spain
The US was beginning to recognize the new South American nations largely to gain access to trade
Ultimately, events compelled Monroe and Adams to recognize thie new nations
At the same time, they decided that American should assert its authority over the Western Hemisphere
Monroe Doctrine
Monroe Doctrine
The result was the Monro Doctrine, a policy of mutual noninterference
You stay out of the Ameicas, Monroe told Europe, and we’ll stay our of yoursquabbles
The Monroe Doctrine also claimed America’s right to intervene anywhere in its own hemisphere, if it felt its security was threatened
No European country tried ot intercede in the Americas folllowing Monroe’s declaration, adn so the Monroe Doctrine appeared to work
Following the Napoleonic Wars, most European nations (particularly Spain) didn’t have the military power to challenge the Monroe Doctrine or take back their colonies
No one, however, was afraid o the american military: Spain ,, France, and others stayed out of the WEstern Hemispheree because the powerful British navy made sure they did
1823, Monro warned european nations that the WEstern hemisphere was closed to future colnization
This policy, together with the advice given in WAshignton’s Farewell ADdress, secured American neutrality all the way until WW1
Westward Expansion leading to Slavery debates
New period of expansion resulted in a national debate over slavery as would every period of expansion to follow until the Civil War resovled the slavery question
In 1820, the Union consisted of 22 states
Eleven states allowed slavery; 11 prohibited it
Missouri was first state to be carved out of Louisiana Purchase, adn its application for statehood threatened the balance, paritcularly in the u.S. Senate
Missouri Compromise
The compromise was the first in a series of measures forestalling the Civil War
It also splits the powerful Democratic Republica coalition, ending its 20-year control of national politics
Missouri Compromise
Henry Clay broken the Missouri Compromise, which admitted Missouri as a slave state, carved a piece out of MA – Maine – and admited Maine as a free states, drew a line along the 36°30’ parallel across the Louisiana Territory, and established the southern border of Missouri as te northernmost point at which slavery would then e allowed in the western territories of the United States, except of course for Missouri iself, which in a way violated the Missour Compromise since it was north of the line
