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At a Glance continued ◗ James Monroe articulated the Monroe Doctrine to warn European nations not to interfere with American affairs in the Western Hemisphere. ◗ The election of Andrew Jackson, the first president from west of the Appalachians, signified the ascendancy of “the common man” in politics. ◗ Andrew Jackson, and many other Americans, supported the removal of Native Americans from the southeast.

What Teachers Need to Know Cabinet and Administration “[The president] may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices . . . .” This is the only reference in the U.S. Constitution to the group of advisors to the president who are known as the cabinet. The first Congress established the first three executive departments, treasury, state, and war. The Judiciary Act of 1789 set up the office of attorney general. The heads of these departments met regularly with , and thus established the precedent of holding regular cabinet meetings to provide information and advice to the president. The department names and responsibilities have changed over the years. Today, there are 15 executive departments whose heads meet with the president as the cabinet. These are the departments of agriculture, commerce, defense, educa- tion, energy, health and human services, housing and urban development, interi- or, justice, labor, state, transportation, treasury, veterans affairs, and the newest department, homeland security, which was established in 2002. The term administration refers to the officials in the executive branch of gov- ernment and their policies and principles. It also refers to their time in office. For example, a headline might read “Current administration favors change in tax law,” meaning that the person currently occupying the presidency, and his advi- sors, advocate a change in the tax law. The second meaning is illustrated by the clause “the boom years of the 1990s coincided with the Clinton administration.” President Washington and Vice President Adams After the Constitution was ratified by the ninth state, it became the official law of the land. The electors met in their state capitals in January and February 1789 to choose the first president. There were 69 electors in this first presidential election, each of whom was allowed to cast two votes, one of which had to be for a candidate who was not from the elector’s home state. Remarkably, all 69 elec- tors voted for George Washington, who was therefore unanimously chosen to be

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the first president. was runner-up, with 34 votes, so he became the first vice president. Teaching Idea Help students memorize the famous The voting procedure used in this first election was different from the proce- characterization of George dures used today. The Constitution, in Article II, Section 1, allowed state legisla- Washington from his eulogy: “First tures to appoint electors in whatever manner they chose. The electors then voted in war, first in peace, and first in the for the president. After the tied election of 1800 between and hearts of his countrymen.” Aaron Burr, the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1804, pro- viding for the Electoral College as it now functions. Under the Articles of Confederation, the government faced many problems. There was no executive branch to enforce the laws of Congress or to force states Cross-curricular to comply with its acts. One of the reasons that the delegates to the Constitutional Teaching Idea Convention agreed to the creation of an executive department and the position of You may wish to teach Washington president was because they believed that Washington would be the first president. Irving’s story “Rip Van Winkle,” dis- Having won the war, Washington was very popular with both veterans and the cussed in the Language Arts section general populace. It was expected that his honesty, quiet determination, personal (see pp. 50–51), during your discus- dignity, sense of responsibility, good judgment, and his basically cautious sion of Washington’s presidency. In approach would serve the nation well as it created itself. the story, Rip goes to sleep before the During his term in office, Washington set certain precedents that remain in Revolutionary War and wakes up dur- effect today as to how the presidency and the government should function. ing Washington’s presidency. The Among them are that the president new, independent nation is one of • be addressed as “Mr. President,” not “Your Highness” or some similar title several things that he finds very con- that would make him seem like a monarch. fusing after he wakes up. • serve a maximum of two terms in office, which held true until Franklin Roosevelt’s terms of office in the 1930s and 1940s. • be advised by a group of experienced counselors (the cabinet). Teaching Idea • have a place in formulating and urging the passage of legislation, even Ask students to write a pyramid poem though Congress is responsible for making the laws. about George Washington’s life and Born into a well-to-do family in Virginia, George Washington became a land character. The basic idea is to write a surveyor by profession. He served as an officer on the western frontier during the poem in the shape of a pyramid, but if early days of the French and Indian War and was commander-in-chief of the students need more guidance, you can Virginia militia from 1755 to 1758. From 1759 to 1774, he was a member of the offer the following as a suggestion: Virginia House of Burgesses. His fellow Virginians selected him as a delegate to Line 1: a noun, the topic of the poem the First Continental Congress, and the second Congress chose him to command Line 2: 2 adjectives describing the the Continental army. Washington had to turn an untrained, or poorly trained, topic corps of volunteers and militia into an army capable of fighting the professional Line 3: 3 verbs ending in ing soldiers of the British army. One of his major problems was getting funds from the Line 4: 2 short statements or a cash-strapped new government for food, guns, and supplies such as blankets and sentence or question shoes for his soldiers. Washington eventually guided the army to victory. (See Section I, “The ,” on pp. 169–190.) National Capital at Washington, D.C. The new government took office in New York City in 1789, but moved to Philadelphia in 1790, and remained there until 1800. During this time, work was begun on a new capital city for the new , which was named and located in its own jurisdiction, District of Columbia. After George Washington’s death in 1799, the city was renamed Washington, District of Columbia.

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The location of the new capital was part of the controversy that arose Teaching Idea between conflicting visions of how the United States should develop. After the Columbia is derived from Christopher Revolutionary War, the Confederation government and the states found them- Columbus’s surname and is the name of selves deeply in debt. But by 1789, some of the states, mostly in the south, had a female personification of the United repaid their debts. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton believed that the States. Have students find out where first order of business for the new nation was to build up its credit rating with for- local names came from. For example, eign nations and with its own populace. A nation that did not honor its debts where did the school name, the town would not be able to borrow in the future. He also hoped to encourage the wealth- name, or the state name come from? iest Americans to have a stake in the survival of a strong government. Hamilton therefore proposed that the federal government assume the debts of the states, which would mean some form of taxation to pay the debts. Southern states balked (since they had already paid most of their debts and saw the plan as Teaching Idea subsidizing northern debt reduction), but Hamilton and James Madison, a mem- Teaching about Washington, D.C., pres- ber of Congress from Virginia, were able to work out a compromise. The south- ents an opportunity to help students ern members of Congress would agree to assume the unpaid debts in exchange learn the difference between capital, a for moving the national government from New York to Philadelphia and then to city, and capitol, a building. Have stu- a new national capital in the south. A site was chosen along the Potomac River in dents think up sentences or mnemonic Maryland. Southern members of Congress believed that if the capital was moved devices to help them remember the dif- away from the northeast, where there was a growing emphasis on commerce, ference in meaning and spelling. southern states would be better able to influence the government’s policies in favor of farmers. Pierre-Charles L’Enfant, a French architect and a veteran of the Revolutionary Teaching Idea War, laid out the city. One of the members of the commission who worked on the city plan was Benjamin Banneker, a free African American from Baltimore whom Have students prepare a tour of Thomas Jefferson had recommended. Banneker was a mathematician and scientist Washington, D.C., using online and who worked with L’Enfant and Major George Ellicott in laying out the city. L’Enfant print sources. The tour might take the designed the Capitol, the White House, the treasury building, and other govern- form of illustrated guidebooks or large ment buildings, and Ellicott and Banneker surveyed the area and sited the buildings maps with illustrations and call-outs “under the orders of General Washington, then president of the United States.” describing sites. Have students work in small groups. If any students in your Growth of Political Parties class have visited Washington, D.C., on vacation, ask them to bring in The different visions of how the United States should evolve were apparent photos or souvenirs they may have. before the Constitution was even ratified. The Federalists, led by Alexander If you have visited D.C., bring in your Hamilton and James Madison, desired a strong central government. The Anti- own souvenirs. Federalists, led by Patrick Henry, opposed ratification because they feared a cen- tralized power that resembled the government of Great Britain. These competing visions turned the ratification process into a bitter battle in some states, as Anti- Federalists, who opposed ratification, and Federalists, who advocated ratification, vied for delegates to the state conventions. Once the Constitution had been ratified and the new government took office, Washington found himself with two cabinet members who had strongly oppos- ing views—Hamilton, who was secretary of the treasury, and Jefferson, who was secretary of state. Hamilton believed that the nation needed to be on sound eco- nomic footing. That meant repaying the national and state debts that remained from the Revolutionary War. It also meant imposing an import duty on goods being brought into the nation for sale, not only as a way to raise money for the government, but also as a way to protect the nation’s emerging industry. Hamilton The original Capitol building saw the future of the nation as being built on a strong, centralized government and focusing increasingly on industry and commerce. The Federalists also felt 214 Grade 4 Handbook CK_4_TH_HG_P087_242.QXD 10/6/05 9:02 AM Page 215

that the United States should remain neutral in foreign policy affairs in order to take time to develop and strengthen as a country. The opposing view held by Teaching Idea Thomas Jefferson and the Anti-Federalists was that the United States should con- Have the class use two-column note- tinue as a nation of small farmers, with a weaker central government that favored taking skills to complete a main states’ rights. Jefferson and many Anti-Federalists also sympathized with the rev- idea/details chart on your lessons olutionists in France. about the growth of political parties. The chart might look like this: The argument resonated in how the two men and their supporters viewed the Constitution. Hamiltonians believed that the Constitution provided only a sketch Topic: Growth of Political Parties of how the government was to operate. Under Clause 18 (necessary and proper Main Idea Details clause) of Article I, Section 8, it was left to those who actually ran the government Alexander Leader of the to determine how it might meet the needs of an expanding nation. Those who Hamilton ; held this view were known as “loose constructionists.” Jefferson and his follow- supported a strong ers believed that the Constitution should be interpreted strictly as written, and centralized govern- were known as “strict constructionists.” They based their thinking on the Tenth ment; felt the Amendment, which reserved any unenumerated rights to the states or to the peo- nation’s economy ple. Those who supported this view believed in strong states’ rights as a check should be based against the power of the federal government. on industry The two opposing views became the basis for political parties. Hamilton’s Federalist Party also included such leaders as John Adams and John Jay. Jefferson and James Madison (who had been an ally of Hamilton’s in the battle for ratifica- tion of the Constitution) were leaders of the opposition, who were first known as the Anti-Federalists, then as the Republican Party, and next as the Democratic- Republican Party. (This is the source of some confusion. The Jeffersonian Republican party eventually evolved into today’s Democratic Party, but issues and ideas changed so much over the years that a modern Democrat and a Democrat of 1800 would not have much in common. The Democratic-Republican Party divided over the election of 1824, and the supporters of became known as the National Republicans. Andrew Jackson won the 1832 and 1836 presidential elections, but his opponents joined members of the former National Republican Party to form the Whig Party. Today’s Republican Party was born in the crisis over slavery in 1854.) Modern Political Parties The two-party system was firmly in effect by the time Washington left office. You can use the development of parties under Washington as a way to introduce the subject of political parties today. Students should be introduced to the Republican and Democratic Parties, and to some of the ideas and current politi- cal figures associated with those parties. This should be done in an even-handed, nonpartisan way. Also be careful to explain that, although the names of today’s parties resemble the names of earlier parties, the Democrats of today cannot be simply identified with the Democrats of the early republic. Although the Republican and Democratic Parties have been the most promi- nent parties since the Civil War, there have been other political parties in the United States—Whig, Know-Nothing, Free Soil, Progressive (Bull Moose), Dixiecrats, American Independent, Independent, Communist, and Libertarian, among others. While the Whig Party was a major political player for about 20 years in the 1830s and 1840s, electing as president William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor, most of the others were small parties with limited popular appeal.

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However, the Bull Moose Party of Theodore Roosevelt, the American Independent Teaching Idea Party of George Wallace, and the Independent Party of H. Ross Perot affected the The word politics is defined as “the outcome of presidential races in 1912, 1968, and 1992, respectively, by taking conducting of or participation in politi- votes from the major party candidates. cal affairs, often as a profession.” As you teach about the presidents, note John Adams, Second President the number who devoted their lives to John Adams was vice president for both Washington’s first and second terms the service of the nation. as president. When Washington declined to run in 1796, he supported Adams as Discuss with students how people his successor. The election of 1796 was the first to have established political par- can participate in the political process ties. Adams ran as a Federalist, and received the most votes, so he became presi- (by running for office, by campaigning dent. Thomas Jefferson, the head of the Democratic-Republicans, received the for candidates, but also simply by being next highest number of votes after Adams, and so became vice president under informed citizens who take their right Adams. Thus, it happened that the president and vice president were not from the to vote seriously). same party. Today this does not happen because voters vote for a “ticket,” which Invite a member of your community’s includes a presidential and a vice presidential candidate, and the Electoral College government to speak to the voters are expected to cast their vote for the slate that won in their state. The class/school about the importance of founders had not anticipated the problem of a divided administration. political participation. If you have stu- dent representatives on school commit- Adams had had a long and distinguished career in the service of the United tees, or a form of student government, States before becoming vice president. He was a leading opponent of the British this can be a natural connection. If not, policies in his native Massachusetts and was selected to serve in both the First perhaps consider starting a student and Second Continental Congresses. He was a member of the committee that advisory group on school issues related drafted the Declaration of Independence. During the Revolutionary War, Adams to students. was part of a mission sent to France to gain its support. After the war, Adams helped negotiate the peace treaty with Great Britain and became the U.S. minis- ter to Great Britain. A notable accomplishment during Adams’s single term in office was his safely navigating the nation through a crisis and avoiding war with its former ally, France. It should also be noted that Adams was one of two presidents that Grade 4 students study who did not own slaves. Abigail Adams was the wife of one president, John Adams, and the mother of another, John Quincy Adams. Because of John Adams’s lengthy absences from home during the First and Second Continental Congresses and then his stay in Europe during the war, the two wrote many letters back and forth. Abigail John Adams Adams’s letters have been collected in several volumes and provide an excellent picture not only of their life, but of the times in which they lived. Among her most famous lines are those written to her husband when the Continental Congress was considering independence. She wrote, Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands . . . . If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.

Abigail Adams

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Thomas Jefferson, Third President Cross-curricular Adams lost his reelection bid in 1800 to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson served Teaching Idea for two terms. He had begun his career as a lawyer and had served in the Virginia You may wish to discuss Monticello, House of Burgesses. Selected as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, from the Visual Arts section “The Art he had been the major author of the Declaration of Independence. of a New Nation,” on pp. 287–295, During the war, he was governor of Virginia, and after the war, he was elect- while discussing Thomas Jefferson’s ed to Congress from Virginia. He succeeded Benjamin Franklin as minister to presidency. France and served as vice president under John Adams. Jefferson, who had an interest in architecture, became involved in the design and laying out of the new capital city and was the first president to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C. Teaching Idea Jefferson had lifelong interests in science, philosophy, and the arts, as well as in Make an overhead of Instructional architecture. He designed his own home, Monticello, one of the earliest examples Master 33, The Louisiana Purchase, to of neoclassical architecture in the United States. Jefferson’s reading in philosophy review the size of the United States is evident in the arguments from John Locke and other Enlightenment philoso- prior to 1803, and after the purchase. phers that he drew on in writing the Declaration of Independence. Point out the site of New Orleans, and review the importance of this The Louisiana Purchase port to people living upstream on the During Jefferson’s term in office, the nation more than doubled its size Mississippi and its tributaries. through the Louisiana Purchase. In 1800, France, under Napoleon Bonaparte, To help prepare students for the had acquired the Louisiana Territory from Spain. Napoleon was interested in Grade 5 requirement that they know rebuilding France’s holdings in North America. In 1802, Americans were banned all 50 states and their capitals, have from using the port of New Orleans on the Mississippi River. Closing New students name the states that were Orleans to Americans meant closing the major route by which settlers in the mid- created from the Louisiana Territory west and south shipped their goods to market. (Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, part President Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to France with of Michigan, Minnesota, part of North an offer to buy New Orleans. Although his political opponents argued for war, Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Jefferson preferred to avoid a fight. Kansas, Oklahoma, and parts of By 1803, Napoleon had abandoned his dream of an empire in North America. Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, and He had lost the colony of Santo Domingo, and Spain had been unwilling to cede Montana). Florida to France. Napoleon worried that the United States might someday try to take Louisiana by force. In that event, he would not be able to deploy troops to America to defend the territory. Most of all, Napoleon was about to go to war with Name Date The Louisiana Purchase much of Europe and needed money. Not only did Napoleon agree to sell New Study the map. Then use it to answer the questions below. Orleans, but he offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory for $15 million. CANADACANADA ((BritiBritishh))

. R G e MaineMaine N r c e n a t e (part(part ooff E OregonOregon L r N.N. DDak.ak. a w CountryCountry k a MaMassss..)) Mont.Mont. e L W s t. Vt.Vt. S Although President Jefferson had initiated the offer to buy New Orleans, he Minn.Minn. N.H.N.H. S M Mass. is si N.Y.N.Y. S. DDak.ak. ss ip Wyo.Wyo. p R.I. i R Conn. . Pa.Pa. IowaIowa N.J. Nebr.Nebr. IndianaIndiana OhioOhio TerritoryTerritory Del. was not sure that the U.S. Constitution allowed him to acquire new territory for LouiLouisianaiana PurchaPurchase ATLANTIC Md. Va.Va. Colo.Colo. Ky.Ky. OCEAN KanKansas Mo.Mo. UNITEDUNITED STTATEATES MexicoMexico N.C.N.C. (Sppanianishh)) Tenn.Tenn. United States by 1803 Okla.Okla. Ark.Ark. S..C.C. the nation or to grant citizenship to the 50,000 or more inhabitants of Louisiana. N.M.N.M. Oregon Country MiMissssissssippiippi Ga.Ga. Louisiana Purchase TerritoryTerritory TexaTexas 0 250 500 miles NewNew OOrleansrleans FloridaFlorida PACIFIC Jefferson was a strict constructionist and believed that an amendment to the U.S. (Sppanianishh)) 0 250 500 kilometers OCEAN Louisiana Constitution would be needed to give him the power to purchase the land. His Gulf of Mexico 1. Why was the Louisiana Purchase so important? advisors, however, warned him that Napoleon could change his mind if he had to It more than doubled the size of the country.

2. How many of our current states include territory that was part of the Louisiana Purchase? wait for three-fourths of the states to ratify a constitutional amendment. In the 15

3. The Louisiana Purchase cost the United States $15 million. Based on the states included in end, Jefferson decided to do what he believed the majority of Americans wanted. the Louisiana Purchase territory today, what is the approximate “unit cost” per state? He sent the treaty approving the purchase of the Louisiana Territory to the Senate $1 million Extension What happened to make Louisiana such a small state compared to the to ratify. Thus, the United States acquired land that more than doubled the original size of the purchase? Research and write a short report to explain. e Knowledge Foundation

Purpose: To read and interpret a map featuring the Louisiana Purchase Copyright ©Cor nation’s size. The Louisiana Territory stretched from the Mississippi River to the Master 33 Grade 4: History & Geography Rocky Mountains and from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico. Control of this area meant that control of the Mississippi River and most of its tributaries Use Instructional Master 33.

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was in the hands of the United States. In 1803, Jefferson sent an expedition com- manded by Meriwether Lewis, his personal secretary, and Captain William Clark to explore the Louisiana Territory. Jefferson and Banneker While Jefferson was still Washington’s secretary of state, he had an interest- Teaching Idea ing exchange of letters with Benjamin Banneker. Banneker had published an Read Banneker’s letter to Jefferson and almanac that not only included typical information, such as tables on crops, tides, Jefferson’s reply aloud to students. the moon, and the sun, but it also contained antislavery essays. In August 1791, (Both letters are available online, for he sent Jefferson a copy of the almanac along with a letter arguing for the equal- example, through the University of ity of all men before God, and urging Jefferson to work for the abolition of slav- Virginia’s Electronic Text Center [see ery. Banneker began his letter by noting that, among whites, black people have More Resources].) This exchange of “long been considered rather as brutish than human, and scarcely capable of men- letters provides an interesting way of tal endowments.” However, Banneker believed Jefferson to be more open-minded introducing students to an inconsisten- than many whites: cy in the thinking of the founders. Sir, I hope I may safely admit, in consequence of that report Although the founders expounded ideas which hath reached me, that you are a man far less inflexible in of universal rights, in fact many of them sentiments of this nature, than many others; that you are meas- continued to own slaves throughout urably friendly, and well disposed towards us; and that you are their lives. willing and ready to lend your aid and assistance to our relief, from those many distresses, and numerous calamities, to which we are reduced. Now Sir, if this is founded in truth, I apprehend you will embrace every opportunity, to eradicate that train of Cross-curricular absurd and false ideas and opinions, which so generally prevails Teaching Idea with respect to us; and that your sentiments are concurrent with You may wish to teach the biography of mine, which are, that one universal Father hath given being to Benjamin Banneker, from “Science us all; and that he hath not only made us all of one flesh, but Biographies,” pp. 518–519, in conjunc- that he hath also, without partiality, afforded us all the same sen- tion with this subsection of American sations and endowed us all with the same faculties; and that history. however variable we may be in society or religion, however diversified in situation or color, we are all of the same family, and stand in the same relation to him. Banneker commended Jefferson for his noble words in the Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal . . . and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights,” but Banneker noted that Jefferson himself was not entirely consistent in this regard, for he continued to own many slaves: How pitiable is it to reflect, that although you were so fully con- vinced of the benevolence of the Father of Mankind, and of his equal and impartial distribution of these rights and privileges, which he hath conferred upon them, that you should at the same time counteract his mercies, in detaining by fraud and vio- lence so numerous a part of my brethren, under groaning cap- tivity and cruel oppression . . . . Jefferson wrote back: I thank you, sincerely, for your letter of the 19th instant, and for the Almanac it contained. No body wishes more than I do, to see such proofs as you exhibit, that nature has given to our black

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brethren talents equal to those of the other colors of men; and that the appearance of the want of them, is owing merely to the degraded condition of their existence, both in Africa and America. I can add with truth, that no body wishes more ardent- ly to see a good system commenced, for raising the condition, both of their body and mind, to what it ought to be, as far as the imbecility of their present existence, and other circumstances, which cannot be neglected, will admit. I have taken the liberty of sending your Almanac to Monsieur de Condozett, Secretary of the Academy of Sciences at Paris . . . because I considered it as a document, to which your whole color had a right for their justification, against the doubts which have been entertained of them. I am with great esteem, Sir, Your most obedient Humble Servant, Thomas Jefferson And yet, in spite of the generous letter, Jefferson remained a slaveowner until his death. President James Madison, and the War of 1812 Like Jefferson, James Madison was a Virginian. He had helped write the Virginia state constitution and had served in the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War and in the Virginia state legislature afterward. An advocate of a strong central government, Madison pushed for the Constitutional Convention and was instrumental in shaping the final document. His notes are the only record we have of the convention’s proceedings. From 1789 to 1797, Madison represent- ed Virginia in the new Congress. From 1801 to 1808, he served as secretary of state under President Jefferson. When Jefferson declined to run again in 1808, he selected Madison as his successor. Madison ran as a Democratic-Republican and was reelected in 1812. The War of 1812 The War of 1812 was the culmination of a long period of tension between the United States and Great Britain. Britain and France were at war, and the British navy began seizing U.S. ships in the Caribbean to stop the Americans from trad- ing with French colonies there. In seizing the ships, the British also seized sailors James Madison suspected of being deserters from the British navy. Sometimes they took sailors simply because a ship’s captain needed men. The process of taking a person and forcing them to work for your country is called impressment. It is estimated that the British impressed as many as 5,000 American sailors between 1803 and 1812. Some 3,800 were found to be either naturalized American citizens or American- born. The French also seized U.S. cargo and ships. President Jefferson had tried to address the seizing of U.S. ships and the impressment problem by supporting the Embargo Act of 1807. Under this act, U.S. ports were closed to foreign ships, and U.S. ships were confined to coastal waters. The thinking was that Great Britain and France would capitulate and agree to end the seizure of U.S. ships and the impressment of sailors in return for the resumption of trade. However, the embargo did not have the desired effect.

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American markets suffered greatly under the embargo, while the lack of American Teaching Idea trade goods barely affected European nations. In the end, the U.S. government If students have been taught Core repealed the law and opened its ports to ships from all nations except France and Knowledge in prior grades, review with Great Britain. The next year, trade with France was resumed, but anti-British sen- them what they learned about the War timent was increasing. of 1812 in Grade 2: the burning of In the meantime, the states along the U.S. frontier were agitating for war Washington, D.C., by the British; how against the British. They believed that the British were aiding, arming, and stir- Dolley Madison saved valuable items ring up the Native Americans, who were attacking frontier settlements. In from the White House, including the Congress, these advocates for war were known as War Hawks. In addition to the Gilbert Stuart painting of George satisfaction of beating the British, they saw Canada as a vast territory that should Washington; and Francis Scott Key’s be added to the United States. They also wanted to be able to move into Native writing of the “Star-Spangled Banner” American territory in the west without being thwarted by British-supported while watching and waiting to see if Native Americans, and they hoped to acquire Florida. Fort McHenry would fall to the British. The Battle of Tippecanoe in Indiana Territory in 1811 was one of the factors that tipped the scale to war. The commanding general of the U.S. forces, General William Henry Harrison, allegedly found British weapons in the Native American camp. On hearing this, Congress passed a war resolution, and the War of 1812 began. The Native American resistance to U.S. expansion into their territory was led by Tecumseh, a member of the Shawnee tribe. Tecumseh tried to organize all of the Native American tribes to agree not to cede any land to the United States unless all tribes consented. With the help of the British, he also tried to create an alliance of tribes to fight against the United States in the war. The resistance suf- fered when Tecumseh’s brother was defeated in the Battle of Tippecanoe, and then Tecumseh himself died in the Battle of Thames in 1813. The war ended in 1815 with neither side able to claim victory. Native American resistance to expansion in the Old Northwest (Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan) had been stopped, but the war did not change the boundaries between U.S. and British territories in North America. Impressment was no longer a prob- lem. The major outcome of the war, however, was a newfound confidence of Americans, along with a sense of unity and nationalism. They had fought the most powerful nation in the world to a standstill. Teaching Idea James Monroe, Fifth President If students have already studied the Like three of the previous four presidents, James Monroe was a Virginian. dynasties of China, introduce the Monroe had fought in the Revolutionary War and had studied law with Thomas expression “Virginia dynasty.” The Jefferson. Elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, Monroe had later served in expression alludes to the fact that four the Confederation Congress in the period after the Revolutionary War and before of the first five presidents of the United the U.S. Constitution was written and adopted. He was then elected to the States were from Virginia. U.S. Senate. Monroe served as governor of Virginia twice and was secretary of state, as well as secretary of war, under President Madison during the latter’s sec- ond term. Earlier in his career, Monroe had been one of the two representatives who had negotiated the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France. Monroe’s two terms in office (1817–1825) are known as the Era of Good Feelings. The nation was at peace, times were prosperous, and the nation was expanding westward with the admission of several new states and the addition of new territory.

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The Monroe Doctrine However, European politics again threatened to intervene in the Americas. During the early 1800s, European nations had been engaged in two costly wars against France and its emperor, Napoleon. While Spain was distracted by these conflicts, some of its colonies in Central and South America had declared their independence. Weakened by the wars, Spain was unable to retake them. However, seeing an advantage for themselves, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and France offered assistance. Great Britain objected because a strong Spain was not in its best interest. The British approached the United States about issuing a joint declaration against European interference in the affairs of the Americas. Monroe decided against the joint statement. He was concerned that Great Britain would be seen as wielding power and influence in the Americas, which would diminish the stature of the United States. As a result, in 1823, Monroe issued what is known as the Monroe Doctrine. Under its terms, the United States would not interfere in James Monroe European affairs, and European nations were warned against interfering in the Americas. The main section reads: We [the United States] owe it to fairness and to the friendly relations Teaching Idea existing between the United States and the European powers to declare Students will be used to the idea that that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system the United States is one of the most to any part of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. . . . powerful nations in the world, as it [W]ith governments who have declared their independence and kept it, has been for many years. Part of your and whose independence we have acknowledged, we view any interfer- challenge in teaching this unit on ence by a European power as an unfriendly act toward the United States. early America is to help students The United States did not have the force to back up its threat, but other understand that, in these early years, nations knew that Great Britain stood behind the document, even though it was the United States was a new nation, not a signatory to it. Even without the force of arms, the Monroe Doctrine was only recently independent, with an important because it established a role for the United States in world affairs. unusual form of government and much less military might than the John Quincy Adams, Sixth President major powers of Europe. Its continued John Quincy Adams was President Monroe’s secretary of state and had a role existence was far from certain. in developing the Monroe Doctrine. The son of John and Abigail Adams, he was Discuss with students the impor- a lawyer by profession. However, he spent much of his adult life in public serv- tance of the Monroe Doctrine in terms ice, including assignments abroad during the administrations of Presidents of how the world viewed the United Washington, Adams, and Monroe. He is one of only two presidents that Grade 4 States at the time and how the nation students study who did not own slaves. viewed itself. The younger Adams’s single term in office was marred by the controversy sur- rounding the election of 1824. The Federalist Party had all but disappeared by 1824 because of its opposition to the War of 1812. However, the surviving Democratic-Republican Party was split into several factions. The divisions were caused by different views on the nature of government—whether there should be a strong central government or strong state governments. In all, four candidates representing different factions of the Democratic-Republican Party ran for presi- dent. Andrew Jackson, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans, won the popular vote. However, he did not have a majority of electoral votes. As a result, the House of Representatives, following the guidelines in the Twelfth Amendment, decided the presidency.

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Adams, the favorite in New England and New York, had the next highest num- ber of electoral votes. A third candidate, Henry Clay of Kentucky, gave his backing to Adams, and so secured his election. Adams appointed Clay as his secretary of state, which was then viewed as the stepping-stone to the presidency. The two shared the same philosophy about government, and Adams maintained that Clay was the best person for the job, but Jackson cried foul. He used the term “corrupt bargain” to describe and criticize the outcome of the election and the “deal” allegedly struck between Adams and Clay. It became a rallying cry for the election of 1828, which again pitted Adams against Jackson. This time Jackson won. A by-product of the election of 1828 was a change in political parties. The Federalist Party had already ceased to exist and the Democratic-Republicans had splintered. In 1828, the supporters of Jackson took the name Democrats, and the supporters of Adams became the National Republicans. (The latter should not be confused with the current Republican Party, which was established in 1854.) The National Republicans lasted only until the 1836 election, when they merged with other opponents of Andrew Jackson to form a new party known as the Whigs. Andrew Jackson, Seventh President Unlike the first six presidents of the United States, Andrew Jackson lived west of the Appalachians. He was the first “western” president. Although born into a poor family in South Carolina, Jackson became a lawyer, a military hero, a politi- cian, and a wealthy landowner and slaveholder in Tennessee. In 1797, Jackson served in the Tennessee constitutional convention. He was then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and to the Senate from Tennessee. From 1798 to 1804, he was a member of the Tennessee judiciary. Battle of New Orleans In the War of 1812, Jackson commanded the Tennessee state militia and became a hero in the west with his decisive victory against the Creek at Horseshoe Bend in March 1814. He also won a major victory at the Battle of New Orleans. Andrew Jackson The fighting actually took place two weeks after Great Britain and the United States had agreed to end the war. The commissioners signed the draft peace treaty on Christmas Eve, 1814, but communications across the ocean were slow. Word did not reach either Andrew Jackson, who commanded the American forces, or the British forces under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham, until after the bat- Teaching Idea tle on January 8, 1815. Even though the war had officially ended, if the British had won the battle, For a fun review, teach students “The they might not have willingly surrendered New Orleans. Great Britain maintained Battle of New Orleans,” written by that Napoleon had no claim to the Louisiana Territory and, therefore, could not Jimmy Driftwood and popularly per- sell it to the United States. The British intended to use the War of 1812 to estab- formed by Johnny Horton, to help them lish a toehold in the Louisiana Territory, but Jackson and his soldiers, including recall the vocabulary and events of the African Americans, pirates, frontiersmen from Tennessee and Kentucky, Creoles, War of 1812. and Frenchmen, defeated the British. Presidency of “the Common Man” The 1820s and 1830s are sometimes known as the Age of Democracy because the right to vote was extended to more American men. During the early days of the nation, the vote was limited generally to male property owners and, depend- ing on the state, to male members of certain religions. Catholics, Jews, and 222 Grade 4 Handbook CK_4_TH_HG_P087_242.QXD 10/6/05 9:02 AM Page 223

Quakers might be excluded. As the nation expanded westward, there was pres- sure on the territorial legislatures to eliminate property and religious require- Teaching Idea ments for voting. Observing what was happening in the new states admitted to Create a Hall of Presidents in your the Union, men in the original states along the eastern seaboard agitated for classroom or hallway. Students may broader voting rights. By the 1820s, free white men in most states and free black choose one of the presidents and men in some northern states could vote. In no state could women or enslaved make a mobile with the following African Americans vote. information: picture, date of birth, place of birth, date of death, political Even the process of selecting the electors for president changed. Originally, party, and at least three other the electors who made up the Electoral College were chosen by the state legisla- noteworthy facts. tures, shielding the presidential election process from the people, but by 1836, most states’ voters chose the electors directly when they voted for president. Only Delaware and South Carolina still had selection by their state legislatures. One of the outcomes of this shift in voting was the election of a man like Andrew Jackson. In the election of 1828, Jackson painted John Quincy Adams as a man of privilege and the moneyed class. Jackson’s nickname was “Old Hickory,” and he projected himself as a plainspoken man of the people, an image that was consistent with his roots, but not with his standing as one of the largest landhold- ers in Tennessee. After his inauguration, he invited everybody—thousands of sup- porters—to the White House for a party. The result was a near riot in which people were shoved and pushed, and parts of the executive mansion were left in shambles. The election of 1828 marked a change in electoral politics. In previous elections— indeed throughout much of recorded history—leaders, often symbols of wealth and privilege, “stood for office,” meaning that they would agree to be elected by elec- tors. Some of the early presidents were perceived as being aristocratic and removed from the rest of American society. In democratic America henceforth, candidates learned to minimize their wealth and privilege and emphasize their common roots with the people. 44 Indian Removal Policies The Native American nations of the southeastern United States—the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole—had adopted European- American ways, becoming farmers and converting to Christianity. In particular, the Cherokee became farmers, ranchers, grew cotton, and even owned slaves. However, as the frontier moved south and west, their lands in the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida were coveted by settlers. Before his election to the presidency, Jackson had a long record of fighting the Native Americans of the southeast. For example, at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Jackson’s forces defeated the Creek, who were forced to cede 22 million acres to the United States. In the First Seminole War, Jackson invaded Spanish Florida in an effort to end Seminole raids into the United States. Weakened by war and in need of money, Spain sold Florida to the United States, and the Seminole people were forced south to live in the Everglades, an area of swamps. According to esti- mates, Jackson acquired for the United States and white settlement “nearly three- fourths of Alabama and Florida, a third of Tennessee, and a fifth of Georgia and Mississippi.” In 1830, as president, Jackson supported passage of the Indian Removal Act. This act gave him the power to force the Native Americans of the southeast to

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move to what was then known as the Indian Territory (located in roughly what is now Oklahoma). The first to leave were the Choctaw in 1831, then the Creek in 1836, and the Chickasaw in 1837. The last to leave were the Seminole after the Second Seminole War, which lasted from 1835 to 1842. The Cherokee chose legal means rather than warfare to resist removal. In two lawsuits, one in 1831 and one in 1832, which went all the way to the Supreme Court, Cherokee rights to their lands were upheld, but President Jackson and the state of Georgia ignored both decisions. By 1835, some 2,000 Cherokee, seeing the inevitable, agreed to move. But by 1838, some 14,000 still remained in the southeast. Jackson was no longer president, but his successor, Martin Van Buren, decided to enforce the law. The Cherokee’s march to the Indian Territory became known as the Trail of Tears. The four-month trek took place in winter, and some 4,000 men, women, and children died on the way. The Cherokee and the other nations removed to Indian Territory were prom- ised that this land would remain theirs forever. “Forever” lasted a generation. First, they lost part of their land to other Native American peoples whom the fed- eral government resettled in the Territory in 1866. As the west became more pop- ulated, there was pressure on the government to open Native American lands. In 1889, the Creek and the Seminole sold 50,000 acres to the United States for white settlement. By 1907, there were more whites than Native Americans in the Territory, and in that year, it was made part of the new state of Oklahoma.

The Big Idea Review in Review Below are some ideas for ongoing assessment and review activities. These are Early developments in not meant to constitute a comprehensive list. Teachers may also refer to the U.S. history were the Pearson Learning/Core Knowledge History & Geography series for additional infor- two-party system, the mation and teaching ideas. president’s cabinet, and • Divide the class into seven cooperative groups, and assign one president to the Louisiana Purchase. each group for research. Students should find four important facts apiece about each president and write each fact on the front of a white index card. Have them write the initials of the president in small print on the back of the card. When stu- dents have completed their research and their cards, collect the cards. Shuffle them and have students take turns drawing a card. If the student correctly iden- tifies the president, they get to keep the card. The student (or team) with the most cards at the end of the game wins. • This section provides an opportunity for students to complete short research reports on the early presidents, the first ladies, or other important figures from this era. Provide the class with topics for short reports to write in formal style. Each day of the week, use the Language Arts section to provide a mini-lesson on different aspects of the report, such as correct paragraph form or bibliographies. Share these reports when completed. • Bring a variety of newspapers and magazines to the classroom or ask students to bring them in from home. Then divide students into small groups and pass out the newspapers and magazines. Ask the groups to cut out articles about the president from the newspapers or magazines. Ask each student to read one of the articles and

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