Politics and Society in the New Republic 1787–1820

Chapter 7 Politics and Society in the New Republic 1787–1820

Teaching Resources sisted that only the president could re- move them. Chapter Instructional Objectives 3. The Judiciary Act of 1789 created a hierar- chical federal court system with a federal After you have taught this chapter, your students district court in each state as well as three should be able to answer the following questions: circuit courts to hear appeals. 4. The Judiciary Act permitted constitutional 1. What were the differences between Hamilton’s and matters to be appealed to the Supreme Jefferson’s visions of the operation and the role of Court, which had the final say. government? 5. The Federalists added the Bill of Rights to 2. What effects did the French Revolution have on the Constitution, which safeguarded cer- American policy and decision making? tain fundamental rights and mandated certain legal procedures to protect the in- 3. How and why did public policy and economic in- dividual. centives inspire settlers and speculators to migrate B. Hamilton’s Financial Program westward? What were the consequences of this mi- 1. The Federalists divided into two irrecon- gration for Native Americans? cilable factions over financial policy, with 4. What was Jefferson’s vision for the future of Amer- Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jeffer- ican government and society? How did he imple- son defining contrasting views of the ment his beliefs during his presidency? American future. 2. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the 5. What were the policies of the Republican presi- Treasury, devised bold and controversial dents between 1801 and 1820? How did they con- policies to enhance the authority of the trast with the Federalist programs of the 1790s? national government and to favor finan- 6. How and why was the War of 1812 fought? What ciers and seaport merchants. was the significance of its outcome? 3. Hamilton’s Report on the Public Credit asked Congress to redeem millions of dol- Chapter Annotated Outline lars in securities issued by the Confedera- tion, providing windfall profits to specula- I. The Political Crisis of the 1790s tors and creating a permanent national A. The Federalists Implement the Constitution debt owned mostly by wealthy families. 1. Federalists swept the election of 1788; 4. The House rejected James Madison’s pro- members of the Electoral College chose posal for helping the shopkeepers, farm- George Washington as president, and John ers, and soldiers who were the original Adams became vice president. owners of the Confederation securities. 2. The Constitution gave the president the 5. Congress approved Hamilton’s second power to appoint major officials with the proposal that the national government as- consent of the Senate, but Washington in- sume the war debts of the states (which

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unleashed a flurry of speculation and 4. The ideological conflicts sharpened the some government corruption) after debate over Hamilton’s economic policies Hamilton agreed to reimburse those states and brought on disruptions such as the that had already paid off much of their Whiskey Rebellion, a protest against new war debt and supported locating the per- excise taxes on spirits. manent national capital along the banks 5. In 1793 the Royal Navy began to prey on of the Potomac. American ships bound for France from 6. Hamilton asked Congress to charter the the West Indies. Bank of the United States, to be jointly 6. To avoid war, John Jay was sent to Britain owned by private stockholders and the na- and returned with a treaty that Republi- tional government. cans denounced as too conciliatory. 7. Washington signed the legislation creating 7. As long as the Federalists were in power, the bank, although Jefferson and Madison the United States would have a pro-British charged that a national bank was uncon- foreign policy. stitutional because the Constitution did E. The Rise of Political Parties not specifically provide for one. 1. State and national constitutions made no 8. At Hamilton’s insistence, Congress im- provisions for political parties because posed a variety of domestic excise taxes they were considered unnecessary and and modestly increased tariffs on foreign dangerous. imports. Hamilton did not support a high 2. Merchants, creditors, and urban artisans protective tariff that would exclude com- favored Federalist policies, while the Re- peting foreign productions. Instead, he fa- publican coalition included support from vored revenue tariffs that would pay the farmers and planters. interest on the debt and defray the ex- 3. During the election of 1796, the Federalists penses of the national government. celebrated Washington’s achievements, and 9. Increased trade and customs revenue al- Republicans invoked the egalitarian princi- lowed the treasury to pay for Hamilton’s ples of the Declaration of Independence. redemption and assumption programs. 4. Federalists elected John Adams as presi- C. Jefferson’s Agrarian Vision dent, and he continued Hamilton’s pro- 1. By 1793 most northern Federalists ad- British foreign policy. hered to the political alliance led by 5. Responding to the XYZ Affair, the Feder- Hamilton and most southerners to a rival alist-controlled Congress cut off trade group headed by Madison and Jefferson, with France and authorized American pri- the Republicans. vateers to seize French ships, which ex- 2. Jefferson pictured a West settled by farm tended party conflict begun over Hamil- families whose grain and meat would feed ton’s economic policies to foreign affairs. Europeans in exchange for clothing and F. Constitutional Crisis, 1798–1800 other comforts. 1. To silence their critics, Federalists enacted 3. During the 1790s, Jefferson’s vision was a series of coercive measures—the Natu- fulfilled as warfare disrupted European ralization Act, the Alien Act, and the Sedi- farming. tion Act—which created a constitutional 4. Simultaneously, a boom in the export of crisis. raw cotton boosted the economy of the 2. Republicans charged that the Sedition Act lower South. violated the First Amendment’s prohibi- D. The French Revolution Divides Americans tion against abridging the freedom of 1. American merchants profited from the speech or of the press. European war because a Proclamation of 3. At Republicans’ urging, the Kentucky and Neutrality allowed American citizens to Virginia legislatures declared the Alien trade with both sides. and Sedition Acts to be void, resolutions 2. The American merchant fleet increased that set forth a states’ rights interpreta- dramatically, commercial earnings rose, tion of the Constitution. and work was available to thousands of 4. Republicans strongly supported Jefferson’s Americans. bid for the presidency in 1800. 3. Even as they prospered from the European 5. Adams rejected the advice of Federalists to struggle, Americans argued passionately declare war on France and instead negoti- over its ideologies and events. ated an end to the fighting. Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic, 1787–1820 103

6. Jefferson won a narrow 73 to 65 victory in depleted soils and planter elite of the the Electoral College, but Republicans also Chesapeake region. gave 73 votes to Aaron Burr, sending the 3. Though poor migrants to Kentucky and election to the House of Representatives. Tennessee believed they had a customary 7. Federalists in the House blocked Jeffer- right to occupy “waste vacant lands,” the son’s election until Hamilton, declaring Virginia government allowed them to pur- Burr “unfit” for the presidency, persuaded chase up to 1,400 acres of land at reduced key Federalists to vote for Jefferson. prices but sold or granted estates of 8. The bloodless transfer of power demon- 20,000 to 200,000 acres to wealthy indi- strated that governments elected by the viduals and partnerships. people could be changed in an orderly 4. A second stream of migrants, dominated way, even amidst bitter partisan conflict by slave-owning planters and their en- and foreign crisis. It was therefore termed slaved workers, moved along the coastal by Jefferson the “Revolution of 1800.” plain of the Gulf of Mexico into the future II. The Westward Movement and the Jeffersonian states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Revolution Louisiana. A. The Expanding Republic and Native Ameri- 5. Cotton financed the rapid settlement of can Resistance this region as well as the expansion of 1. Invoking the Treaty of Paris and viewing slavery into the Old Southwest as techno- Britain’s Indian allies as conquered peoples, logical breakthroughs increased the de- the United States government asserted its mand for raw wool and cotton. ownership of the trans-Appalachian west; 6. Seeking land for their children, a third Native Americans rejected this claim and stream of migrants flowed out of the over- pointed out that they had not signed the crowded communities of New England treaty and had never been conquered. into New York, Indiana, and Ohio. 2. In 1784 the United States used military 7. In New York, speculators snapped up threat to force the pro-British Iroquois much of the best land and attracted ten- peoples to sign the Treaty of Fort Stanwix ants to work it by offering farms rent-free and relinquish much of their land in New for seven years, after which they charged York and Pennsylvania. rents. Many New England yeomen pre- 3. Farther to the west, the United States in- ferred the Holland Land Company, which duced Indian peoples to give up most of allowed settlers to buy the land as they the future state of Ohio. worked it, but high interest rates and the 4. The Indians formed a Western Confeder- lack of markets initially mired thousands acy to defend themselves against aggres- of these freeholders in debt. sive settlers and forced a compromise 8. Unable to compete against low-priced peace in the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. western grains, eastern farmers changed 5. In practice, this agreement eventually their agriculture methods—rotating crops, brought the transfer of millions of acres of diversifying production, and planting year Indian land to the U.S. government and round—which helped increased their pro- sparked a wave of American migration ductivity and boosted the entire American into the region, resulting in new conflicts economy. with native peoples over land and hunting C. The Jeffersonian Presidency rights. 1. Thomas Jefferson was the first chief exec- 6. Most Native Americans resisted attempts utive to hold office in the District of Co- to assimilate them into white society and lumbia, the new national capitol. rejected European farming practices. 2. Before John Adams left office, the B. Migration and the Changing Farm Economy Federalist-controlled Congress had passed 1. The migratory upsurge of white farmers the Judiciary Act, which created sixteen and planters brought financial rewards to new judgeships and six new circuit courts. many settlers and transformed the Ameri- Just before leaving office, Adams filled the can farm economy. judgeships and courts with “midnight ap- 2. Most migrants who flocked through the pointments.” Cumberland Gap were white tenant farm- 3. James Madison’s refusal to deliver the ers and yeomen families fleeing the commission appointing William Marbury, 104 Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic, 1787–1820

one of Adams’s midnight appointees, as a 4. In April 1803, Bonaparte, Livingston, and justice of the peace in the District of James Monroe concluded what came to be Columbia caused Marbury to petition the known as the Louisiana Purchase for $15 Supreme Court to compel delivery under million ($450 million in today’s dollars). the terms of the Judiciary Act of 1789. In 5. Since the Constitution did not provide for Marbury v. Madison,Chief Justice John adding new territory, Jefferson pragmati- Marshall asserted the Court’s power of cally reconsidered his strict interpretation judicial review. of it. 4. Despite this setback, Jefferson mobilized 6. In 1804, Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis Republicans to shrink back the national and William Clark on an expedition; they government’s size and power, which they returned two years later with maps of the believed was grossly overexpanded new territory (and regions beyond). through Federalist policies. 7. Fearing that western expansion would di- 5. Republicans refused to reenact the Alien minish their power, New England Federal- and Sedition Acts when they expired, ists talked openly of leaving the Union. amended the Naturalization Act to permit 8. Refusing to support the secessionists, resident aliens to become citizens after five Alexander Hamilton accused their chosen years, and secured repeal of the Judiciary leader, Aaron Burr, of participating in a Act, thereby ousting forty of Adams’s conspiracy to destroy the Union. Burr “midnight appointees,” though Jefferson challenged Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton allowed competent Federalist bureaucrats accepted and was shot to death. to retain their jobs. 9. As evidenced by Burr’s probable plan to 6. In foreign affairs, Jefferson met the crisis either capture territory in New Spain or to of the Barbary “pirates” by initially refus- foment a rebellion to establish Louisiana ing to pay an annual bribe (“tribute”) to as a separate nation headed by himself, the protect American vessels in the Mediter- Republicans’ policy of western expansion ranean; to avoid war, however, he negoti- increased party conflict and generated se- ated a diplomatic settlement that reduced cessionist schemes in both New England the tribute payment. and the West. 7. In domestic matters, Jefferson set a clearly III. The War of 1812 and the Transformation of Republican course: he abolished internal Politics taxes, reduced the size of the army, and A. Conflict in the Atlantic and the West tolerated the Bank of the United States. 1. As the Napoleonic Wars ravaged Europe, 8. With Thomas Jefferson and Albert Gal- Great Britain and France refused to re- latin at the helm, the national debt was respect the neutrality of American merchant duced and the nation was no longer run vessels. in the interests of northeastern creditors 2. Napoleon imposed the “Continental Sys- and merchants. tem,” which required customs officials to D. Jefferson and the West seize neutral American ships that had 1. As president, Jefferson seized the oppor- stopped in Britain. tunity to increase the flow of settlers to 3. The British naval blockade stopped the West; Republicans passed laws reduc- American ships carrying goods to Europe ing the minimum acreage available for and also searched them for British desert- purchase. ers, who were then impressed (forced) 2. In 1801, Napoleon Bonaparte coerced back into service in the Royal Navy. Spain into returning Louisiana to France; 4. Americans were outraged in 1807 when a then he directed Spanish officials to re- British warship attacked the Chesapeake, strict American access to New Orleans. killing or wounding twenty-one men and 3. To avoid hostilities with France, Jefferson seizing four. instructed Robert R. Livingston, an Amer- 5. Jefferson devised the Embargo Act of ican minister in Paris, to negotiate the 1807, which prohibited American ships purchase of New Orleans; simultaneously, from leaving their home ports until he also sent James Monroe to Britain to Britain and France repealed restrictions seek its assistance in case of war with on U.S. trade. France. 6. The act caused American exports to Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic, 1787–1820 105

plunge, prompting Federalists to demand British-supported Creek Indians in the its repeal. Battle of Little Horseshoe Bend and forced 7. Despite discontent over the embargo, vot- the Indians to cede 23 million acres of ers elected Republican James Madison to land. the presidency in 1808. As president, 5. Federalists met in Hartford, Connecticut, James Madison replaced the embargo with to discuss strategy “for a radical reform in new economic restrictions, none of which the National Compact”; though some pro- persuaded Britain and France to respect posed succession, the majority wanted an America’s neutrality rights. amendment to the Constitution that 8. Republican congressmen from the West would limit presidents to a single four- thought Britain was the major offender, as year term and rotate the presidency evidenced by its assistance to the Indians among citizens of different states, and also in the Ohio River Valley. suggested amendments restricting com- 9. Republican expansionists in Congress con- mercial embargoes and requiring a two- demned British support of Tecumseh and thirds majority in Congress to declare war, his brother Tenskwatawa, who had revived prohibit trade, or admit a new state to the the Western Confederacy, and threatened Union. to invade Canada in retaliation. 6. The war continued to go badly; an Ameri- 10. In 1811, following a series of clashes be- can naval victory on Lake Champlain nar- tween settlers and the Western Confeder- rowly averted a British invasion of the acy, William Henry Harrison, the gover- Hudson River Valley, and British troops nor of the Indiana Territory, led an army landed outside New Orleans and threat- against Tenskwatawa’s village of Prophets- ened to cut American trade down the Mis- town, fended off the confederacy’s war- sissippi river. riors at the Battle of Tippecanoe, and 7. American military setbacks strengthened burned the village to the ground. opposition to the war, but, fortunately, 11. Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, hoping Britain, sapped from its twenty-year war to gain new territory and discredit the with France, wanted peace. Federalists, pushed Madison toward war 8. The Treaty of Ghent, signed December 24, with Britain. 1814, restored the prewar borders of the 12. With elections approaching, Madison de- United States. manded British respect for American sov- 9. Andrew Jackson’s victory against the ereignty in the West and neutral rights on British at New Orleans not only made the Atlantic, but when the British did not Jackson a national hero but redeemed the respond quickly, asked Congress for a dec- nation’s pride, and, together with the laration of war. In June 1812 a sharply di- coming of peace, undercut the Hartford vided Senate voted 19 to 13 for war, and convention’s demands for a significant re- the House of Representatives concurred, vision of the Constitution. 79 to 49. 10. As a result of John Quincy Adams’s diplo- B. The War of 1812 macy, the United States gained undisputed 1. The War of 1812 was a near disaster for possession of nearly all the land south of the United States, both militarily and po- the forty-ninth parallel and between the litically. Mississippi River and the Rocky Moun- 2. Political divisions in the United States pre- tains. vented a major invasion of Canada in the 11. It was also at Adams’s urging that Monroe East; New Englanders opposed the war announced a new American foreign policy and Boston merchants declined to lend (the Monroe Policy) in which it was de- money to the government. clared that the American continents were 3. After two years of sporadic warfare, the not “subject for further colonization,” in United States had made little progress return for which the United States agreed along the Canadian frontier and was on “not to interfere in the internal concerns” the defensive along the Atlantic; moreover, of European nations. the new capital city was in ruins. C. The Federalist Legacy 4. In the Southwest, Andrew Jackson led an 1. The War of 1812 ushered in a new phase army of militiamen to victory over of the Republican political revolution. 106 Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic, 1787–1820

Before the conflict, Federalists had 11. The career of John Quincy Adams is a case strongly supported Alexander Hamilton’s in point. The son of President John program of national mercantilism. After Adams, a Federalist, John Quincy Adams the war, the Republicans split into two joined the Republican Party before the factions, National Republicans and Jeffer- War of 1812. He served two terms as sec- sonian Republicans. retary of state under President James 2. Henry Clay led the National Republicans. Monroe, and played a role in several In 1816 Republican Henry Clay of Ken- major treaties signed with foreign govern- tucky won legislation creating the Second ments ceding land to the young United Bank of the United States and persuaded States. President Madison to sign it. 12. Although the decline of the Federalists 3. Meanwhile, the Federalist Party was in se- and of party politics prompted observers vere decline. Nationalist Republicans had to dub James Monroe’s two terms as presi- won the allegiance of many Federalist vot- dent (1817–1825) as the “Era of Good ers in the East, and the profarmer policies Feeling,” the Republican Party divided of Jeffersonian Republicans maintained into a “national” faction and a “Jeffer- their party’s dominance in the South and sonian,” or state-oriented, faction. West. 13. This division in the ranks of the Republi- 4. The election of 1818 demonstrated Re- can Party would produce a second party publican power: Republicans outnum- system in which national-minded Whigs bered Federalists 37 to 7 in the Senate and faced off against state-focused Democrats. 156 to 27 in the House. 5. Despite the Federalists’ demise, their policies remained very much in evidence be- Key Terms cause of John Marshall’s long tenure on national debt The financial obligations of the U.S. the Supreme Court. government for money borrowed from its citizens 6. Marshall was a committed Federalist who and foreign investors. Alexander Hamilton wanted shaped the evolution of the Constitution wealthy Americans to invest in the national debt through three principles that formed the so that they would support the new national gov- basis of his jurisprudence: a commitment ernment. In recent decades, that same thinking to judicial authority, the supremacy of na- has led the United States to encourage individuals tional over state legislation, and a tradi- and institutions in crucial foreign nations—Saudi tional, static view of property rights. Arabia and Japan, for example—to invest billions 7. After Marshall proclaimed the power of of dollars in the American national debt. (206) judicial review in Marbury v. Madison, the doctrine evolved slowly; the Supreme and protective tariff A tax on imports levied to protect state courts used it sparingly and only to domestic products from foreign competition. A overturn state laws that conflicted with hot political issue throughout much of American constitutional principles. history, protective tariffs became particularly con- 8. Marshall adopted a loose construction of troversial in the 1830s and again between 1880 the Constitution and asserted the domi- and 1914, when Republicans (for protectionism) nance of national statutes over state legis- and Democrats (for free trade) centered their po- lation (McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819, and litical campaigns on the issue. (207) Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824). revenue tariff A tax on imports levied to raise money 9. Under Marshall, the Supreme Court con- for the government. See protective tariff. (207) strued the Constitution so that it extended protection to the property rights of indi- states’ rights An interpretation of the Constitution viduals purchasing state-owned lands that exalts the sovereignty of the states and cir- (Fletcher v. Peck, 1810 and Dartmouth Col- cumscribes the authority of the national govern- lege v. Woodward, 1819). ment. Expressed first by Antifederalists in the de- 10. Nationalist-minded Republicans won the bate over the Constitution, and then in the allegiance of many Federalists in the East, Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of 1798, the while Jeffersonian Republicans won the ideology of states’ rights became especially impor- support of western farmers and southern tant in the South. It informed white southerners’ planters. resistance to the high tariffs of the 1820s and Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic, 1787–1820 107

1830s, to legislation to limit the spread of slavery, Britain in 1812. Explain the many forces that com- and to attempts by the national government in the pelled Madison and Congress to place the young mid-twentieth century to end Jim Crow practices. nation in such jeopardy. Describe the political and (211) sectional division over the decision to go to war. Be sure to comment on the impact of the war on Lecture Strategies the economy and society of the United States. 5. Examine Chief Justice Marshall’s view of con- 1. Write a lecture on the impact on American society stitutional nationalism. Explain how his court and politics of the war between France and Britain strengthened federal authority at the expense of from 1793 to 1798, and why and how the United the states, providing a favorable climate for busi- States tried to avoid becoming openly allied to ei- ness that led to the development of a capitalist ther nation. It is often difficult to impress on stu- commonwealth. dents the diplomatic predicament of the United States during the conflict. Formulate an analysis by imagining American policy toward the two bel- Reviewing the Text ligerents, both of whom had past ties with the United States. As American sympathies were ex- These questions are from the textbook and follow each pressed, the other belligerent responded, altering main section of the narrative. They are provided in the the popularity of each party’s position and chang- Computerized Test Bank with suggested responses, for ing the context of the dispute. The Ghent Affair your convenience. weakened the pro-French forces; British retaliation and Jay’s Treaty weakened support for Britain; The Political Crisis of the 1790s (pp. 204–212) and the XYZ Affair pushed the United States back 1. What was Hamilton’s vision of the future? What toward Britain and into a near war with France. As policies did he advocate to achieve it? How was Jef- the United States moved back and forth, the ad- ferson’s vision different? vantage shifted from one party to the other. Ulti- mately, in their effort to support a pro-British and •Strongly conservative and wealthy, Hamilton anti-French policy, the Federalists overstepped the condemned the violence and democratic spirit rights of free speech, damaging their image and of the newly enfranchised, white male American leading to a Republican victory. electorate. •Hamilton called for an authoritarian govern- 2. Write a lecture that explains the major factors that ment, and as treasury secretary he enhanced na- fostered the development of a capitalist economy tional authority in favor of wealthy financiers in the United States during the late eighteenth and and merchants through a program of national early nineteenth centuries. Describe the forces be- mercantilism, a system of state-assisted eco- hind the enactment of the Embargo Act of 1807. nomic development. Elucidate the economic hardships and divisiveness •Speaking for southern planter Federalists, Jeffer- it caused, and explain why it was replaced by less son embraced the Enlightenment spirit of opti- stringent legislation. Then describe the outwork, mism and expressed a democratic vision of an or putting-out, system. Explore its origins and the agricultural nation based on small, independent effects it had on farm families, agriculture, and the farmers. market economy. Explain how those changes con- tributed to the Industrial Revolution in the United 2. What were the consequences of the French Revo- States. lution in America? How did it affect the develop- 3. Write a lecture that discusses the trans- ment of American politics? Appalachian migration in the context of major •The French Revolution produced ideological economic and social changes impacting the United conflict over religion and politics, and created States during the early nineteenth century. Exam- economic prosperity for merchants, slaveown- ine the complex forces that encouraged settlers to ers, and farmers as a result of high food prices in move west, the migrants’ origins and social back- Europe. grounds, the many difficulties they encountered, •Ideological conflicts increased political divisions and the effects of migration on the eastern states within American society, particularly the do- and the Native American population of the region. mestic debate over Hamilton’s economic poli- 4. Write a lecture that examines the causes of the U.S. cies, which helped create a domestic insurrec- war against the more powerful nation of Great tion in western Pennsylvania (the Whiskey 108 Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic, 1787–1820

rebellion of 1794). Party identity of Federalists • Easterners moved westward to speculate on lands and Republicans crystallized as well. for a profit, to purchase independent farms for their growing families, to pay debts, to avoid overcrowding, to leave areas dominated by slave 3. Do you agree with Jefferson that the election of labor, and to establish new cotton plantations. 1800 was a revolution? Explain your answer.

•The election of 1800 was a revolution because of The War of 1812 and the Transformation the new importance of political parties in shap- of Politics (pp. 222–234) ing national elections, the new attitude of political candidates who now actively ran for office 1. What were the causes of the War of 1812? Where and placed party loyalty ahead of national con- did Republicans and Federalists stand on declar- cerns, and the “bloodless” transfer of power to ing and then fighting the war? What regional ten- those who believed in a different vision of gov- sions did the war expose? ernment. •Napoleonic wars enabled the United States to claim neutrality and trade with France and The Westward Movement and the Jeffersonian England through Jefferson’s policy of coercion, Revolution (pp. 212–222) but alienated Britain in the process. The British practice of impressment of American sailors an- 1. Why did the Western Indian Confederacy fail to gered the U.S. public. The British also supported limit white settlement west of the Appalachians? Indian land claims against the United States in •Settlement was not limited because there was a the trans-Mississippi West. large population of white settlers in eastern •Republican war hawks from the South and West states; the expansion of the farming economy wanted war in order to acquire territory in during the late eighteenth century increased British Canada and Spanish Florida. New white immigration on to Indian lands; the white England Federalists opposed the war because of settlers had a genocidal attitude toward Indian the raising of taxes and tariffs and the national people; it was the U.S. government’s policy to ac- conscription of state militiamen. quire Indian lands through treaty, trickery, and •The war exposed regional tensions between (1) warfare; and Indians lacked enough guns and the South and West where voters wanted more troops and suffered from disease and food loss. lands for slavery expansion, and (2) the northeastern states, which favored industry and the 2. How did Jeffersonian policy encourage expansion interests of free labor, urban workers, shippers, westward? Why did Jefferson and other expan- and merchants. Boston merchants and banks re- sionists believe the West was crucial to the well- fused to lend money to the federal government, being of the republic? making the war difficult to finance.

•Jefferson believed that the West provided a great 2. How did the decisions of the Supreme Court be- source of land for farm families. He was con- tween 1801 and 1820 affect the nation’s under- cerned about urbanization and its inability to standing of the Constitution? How did they create contented urban workers who would act change American society? in the spirit of republicanism. A nation of yeoman farmers would provide the independence •The court was dominated by John Marshall, a from capitalists necessary for a republic to sus- committed Federalist. Three principles domi- tain itself over time. nated his polices and shaped the nation’s under- •Jefferson’s policies encouraged expansion west- standing of the Constitution: judicial authority ward by making it easier for farm families to ac- (judicial review), the supremacy of national quire land, by exporting crops through Spanish laws, and traditional property rights. He was a New Orleans, by opening new lands through the loose constructionist. purchase of Louisiana territory from the French •Courts now routinely overturn state laws that in 1803, and by dispatching Lewis and Clark on infringe on the U.S. Constitution; they uphold their expedition the following year. property rights more strongly; and limit mo- nopolies held by private industry. The decisions 3. Why did easterners leave their communities and of that era shaped the U.S. banking system move to the trans-Appalachian west? through judicial regulation. Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic, 1787–1820 109

Chapter Writing Assignments •Napoleon’s desire to rid France of the Louisiana territory in 1799 led to the Louisiana Purchase These questions appear at the end of Chapter 7 in the and an increase of westward expansion. textbook. They are provided in the Computerized Test •U.S. declarations of neutrality in carrying goods Bank with suggested responses, for your convenience. to both France and Britain alienated the British, 1. Explain the rise and fall of the First Party System. who sided with Indians in attacking westward How did the policies pursued by Republican presi- migrants and reducing westward migration, dents between 1801 and 1825 differ from those im- leading to the War of 1812. plemented by Hamilton and the Federalists during the 1790s? Why did the Federalist agenda fall out of Class Discussion Starters favor? What legacy did the Federalists leave? 1. Why did Jefferson and Madison oppose Hamil- •Republican polices advocated more westward ton’s programs? migration, and low taxes and tariffs for farmers and merchants. They championed the yeoman Possible answers farmer and an agricultural-based economy over a. The powers Hamilton invested in the central urban development, and favored state’s rights government were not stated in the Constitution over a strong centralized government. as powers of the government. •Federalist policies favored a strong executive branch, urban development, national improve- b. The centralization of capital would encourage ments, a strong central banking system, high tar- manufacturing, which would create a class of iffs and taxes, and national mercantilism, and exploited wage earners and undermine a re- did not see westward expansion as a primary na- publican government supported by a free and tional goal. independent people. •The Federalist agenda fell out of favor due in c. A central bank would enlarge the national debt, part to the War of 1812, which enabled the Na- create indebtedness, force the government to tionalist Republicans to win the allegiance of increase taxes, and gradually impoverish inde- many Federalist voters. Jefferson’s pro-farmer pendent yeoman farmers. policies congealed voter sympathy in the South and West. d. Hamilton, they argued, wanted to reimpose an •The Federalist legacy continued with the judicial English-style mixed government in America policies of Supreme Court Justice John Mar- and was beginning by empowering the mon- shall, who remained on the court until 1822, es- eyed elite. tablishing the primacy of judicial authority, the 2. How did the United States acquire Native Ameri- supremacy of national laws, and traditional can lands with such ease? property rights. Possible answers 2. What impact did the two great developments of a. The government forced treaties on the Indians this period—the French Revolution and war in under the threat of military force. Europe, and westward expansion in the United States—have on each other? b. The United States bribed Indians, using Ameri- can goods to compel them to relinquish the •The French Revolution increased party politics right to their lands. and ideological divisions in United States, which accelerated polices of westward expansion to c. The government allowed settlers to intrude on achieve ideological ends. Indian land and thus force the issue of owner- •Turmoil in Europe increased agricultural prices, ship. which accelerated westward expansion in the d. It was the government’s policy to deal with the United States as farmers took advantage of new Native Americans one tribe at a time, thus lands. keeping them divided. •Jefferson’s Embargo of 1807 in response to Eu- ropean warfare ruined urban and farm families, 3. Why did Jefferson take such a conciliatory atti- motivating many to migrate west to escape debt. tude toward the Federalists? 110 Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic, 1787–1820

Possible answers the class that relates to the lecture you are present- ing. Make sure that the document is short and eas- a. Jefferson wanted to unite the nation politically. ily understood. After the students have read the b. Jefferson was a moderate, practical politician. document, ask them a series of questions. Try to connect the document to the larger historical con- c. Jefferson disliked vigorous controversy and text framing the textbook chapter and your lec- criticism. ture. You may also wish to ask the students about d. With the Federalists out of power, Jefferson saw the limitations and insights of the document as a little danger of the political system being used tool for understanding the past. as a tool of corruption. e. Jefferson saw ways in which Federalist policies Oral History Exercise could be revised to benefit more people. •At the start of your lecture, tell the class that they 4. Did the Americans achieve their goals in the War will be visited by a person from the era of the of 1812? early Republic. Save an extra fifteen minutes at the end of your lecture, then tell your students Possible answers that you are now a person from that time period. a. Yes. They successfully severed the alliance be- The class must determine your identity through a tween the Native Americans in the West and the series of oral questions. You should answer the British. The British grudgingly recognized questions with as few words as possible. In trying American sovereignty in the West. to understand the character and time period, the students should also come to realize the limita- b. Yes. American neutrality was recognized, and tions of oral communication as a form of histor- the Americans gained the respect of the British, ical analysis. You may wish to emphasize in a later ending a long period of diplomatic sub- discussion that the students had only you as their servience to Britain. primary source, and no documents or other writ- c. Yes. They sustained and enhanced national ten material to utilize for understanding the past. honor. d. No. The United States did not prevail over the Working with Documents British militarily; indeed, it was almost a mili- COMPARING AMERICAN VOICES tary disaster. e. No. Prewar boundaries were maintained, and Factional Politics and the War of 1812 unresolved issues were referred to future nego- (p. 226) tiations. 1. According to Washington, what is the ultimate Classroom Activities cause of political factionalism? Why might he believe that factionalism is most dangerous in “pop- 1. Make a list of the major social groups within the ular”—that is, republican—governments? early American Republic and distribute it to the •Political parties are based on geographical con- students. Even better, have the students come up siderations and interests created by the desires of with the list during an in-class brainstorming ex- human nature to dominate and seek revenge. ercise. The list might include African American •Factionalism in republican governments may slaves, Native Americans, the British government, lead to rapid takeovers of power by one selfish the American government, American farmers and interest group inflaming the “mob” during an planters, American urban workers, and U.S. mer- election, whereas monarchies resist political chants. Then ask the students (individually or in change from outside more strongly. groups) to select a particular social group and create a list that explains that group’s perspective on 2. What specific dangers did Josiah Quincy and the the major issues impacting the nation during the Federalists foresee with regard to Republican war early nineteenth century. Then come together as a policies? Read the section on the War of 1812 in class and list the major issues for each group on the text, and then discuss the accuracy of their pre- the board. dictions. Why might New England Federalists op- 2. Distribute a document (such as a historical treaty, pose an imperialistic war that would add western a newspaper article or image, or a diary entry) to states to the Union? Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic, 1787–1820 111

•According to the Federalists the dangers of the States; and recent attacks against the character of War of 1812 included the disruption of com- George Washington resembled the French merce, the loss of innocent lives to assuage threats against the king. honor, and a quick defeat at the hands of a large British Navy They believed the war would cause 2. By 1796, Americans had a long tradition of popu- panic along the eastern seaboard and incite a lar protests. Which of those protests gave credence British invasion of the United States. to Cobbett’s warning that a bloodbath might “take •New Englanders opposed the War of 1812 be- place among us”? cause of the reduction of jobs in trade and ship- •The tradition of street protests, burnings in ef- ping, resulting from disruptions caused by a war figy, the Boston massacre, tarring and feather- that would not improve the economy of New ing, mob actions, lynching, regulator move- England. New England would also lose power in ments, and Shays’s rebellion could serve as Congress if new western states were created. warnings. 3. According to Hezekiah Niles, what were the war 3. Why do you think Americans generally were able goals of the Republican administration by 1815? to resolve their political disputes peacefully, while How had those goals changed since the start of the the French took up arms to do so? war? Niles charged the Federalists and their sup- porters with impeding the American war effort. •Compared to France, the United States had a re- What were his specific charges? Did they have any publican form of government that responded to merit? lower-class demands more quickly. The United States also had less poverty, abundant land taken • Goals: The Republicans wanted to create a de- from Indians, and more possibilities for success- fensive policy based on protection of American ful white migration to stifle violent class resis- property and not aggression toward Britain; to tance against financial stagnation. provide money for troops and supplies; and to •France possessed an entrenched monarchy and foster political unity rather than partisan dis- aristocracy that resisted working-class peasant agreements. Changes: The British invasion demands for social improvement. Urban centers prompted an increase in troop deployment. were crowded and the lack of available land pre- • Charges: Niles claimed the Federalists were di- vented an exodus to countryside, concentrating viding the nation based on partisan political in- angry poor peasants in Paris. terests, and harassing and thwarting the government through votes against financing the U.S. war effort. Merit: Niles’s claims have some merit Reading American Pictures since the actions of the Federalists, who opposed certain war measures, succeeded in depressing the national credit with their financial actions Creating a National Political Tradition (p. 205) V OICES FROM ABROAD 1. George Washington had a lot to do with creating America’s sense of nationhood. How is Washing- William Cobbett: Peter Porcupine ton portrayed in the image on the left, which de- picts his journey from Virginia to New York in Attacks Pro-French Americans (p. 210) 1789 to assume the presidency? Pay attention to 1. What horrors does Cobbett describe? Why does he the symbols in the engraving—the laurel wreaths, believe a similar fate could befall the United the American flags, the eagle—and to the fact that States? Washington is riding a horse, long a symbol of authority and royal power. What do these symbols •Cobbett describes the murder of innocent civil- suggest about Washington? About the presidency? ians in France during the Revolution, the lack of How might those interpretations conflict with religion and morals, and the loss of national America’s republican self-image? wealth, manufacturing, and the sciences. •Cobbett believed the United States was a differ- •Washington is depicted as a triumphant hero re- ent land than in its colonial past: foreign and turning from battle, with women fawning and secular radicals fomenting rebellion had immi- men assisting him. grated; some members of Congress had called •These symbols suggest that Washington is the for the use of the French guillotine in the United embodiment of America and the ideals of free- 112 Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic, 1787–1820

dom, independence, democracy, and republican near-monarchical figures, celebrated within the values that lay at the heart of the new United government system and society as flawless. States. •The symbols also suggest a spirit of domination Electronic Media and almost regal or monarchical power and masculine control, which contrasted with the re- Web Sites publican values of equality that formed the basis of America’s republican self-image. •Thomas Jefferson www.pbs.org/jefferson/ 2. In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln speaks rever- This site offers further documents and ently of “our fathers.”The banner in the engraving scholarly information on Jefferson’s complex life of Washington, which was created in 1845, reads: and political career to supplement the PBS doc- “the defender of the mothers will be the protector umentary. of the daughters.” What is the significance of the •The Marshall Cases use of family imagery by Lincoln and the en- odur.let.rug.nl/usa/D/1801-1825/ graver? How does this imagery personalize the ab- marshallcases/marxx.htm stract concept of the nation? A collection of the major cases presided •The use of family imagery suggests that Ameri- over by the chief justice. cans were trying to understand the meaning and •George Washington identity of a new nationality that was undergoing www.virginia.edu/gwpapers major political changes during the early Republi- The letters and other political and personal can era. They were trying to explain to later gen- correspondence of the first president of the erations the novel concept of the U.S. experiment United States, on a site sponsored by the Univer- in federalism and a republican government. sity of Virginia. •Family imagery makes personal the abstract concept of the nation by linking national iden- • Library of Congress tity with a founding family and patriarch. Later memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html generations can then look back and see history This government Web site contains the pri- unfolding in a linear and progressive manner mary text of congressional documents, debates, based on the designs and models established by and other congressional discussions published the “founding fathers.” during the era.

3. The engraving in the text, from 1839, supports the Films incumbent president, Martin Van Buren (see Chapter 10). He firmly clasps the hand of Andrew • The Duel (2000, PBS documentary, 60 minutes) Jackson, his predecessor, political ally, and the au- Directed by Carl Byker and produced by thor of the famous toast “The Union Must Be Pre- PBS in the American Experience series, this doc- served.” What use does the engraver make of umentary re-creates the context of and actual Washington and the presidents who followed him? duel between Burr and Hamilton. How do you think this imagery might have helped • Washington (1992, PBS documentary, 60 min- create a national political tradition? utes) •The engraver clearly elevates the importance of Directed by David Sutherland, this Ameri- Washington and the next several presidents by can Experience documentary chronicles the life enlarging their size and placing them near an and times of George Washington. eagle and Roman statues, symbols of American • The First Invasion: The War of 1812 (2004, Native republicanism. He also links Van Buren and Sun Productions, 120 minutes) Jackson to the presidential greatness of Wash- Directed by Gary Foreman, this romanti- ington by depicting them as the same size and in cized docudrama traces the causes and impact of the same posture. the war on the American people. •Imagery helped to create a national political tradition by establishing Washington and early • A Midwife’s Tale (1995, PBS documentary, 120 presidents as “founding fathers,” thereby occu- minutes) pying an elevated and more progressive role This film is a compelling historical re-enact- among U.S. presidents. This established a politi- ment of Ulrich’s Pulitzer-prize–winning portrait cal and historical tradition of U.S. presidents as of the life of a midwife in Maine. Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic, 1787–1820 113

Literature Using the Bedford Series with America’s History,Sixth Edition •Gore Vidal, Burr: A Novel (New York: Random House, 1973) Available online at bedfordstmartins.com/usingseries, A historical-fictional account based on the this guide offers practical suggestions for incorporat- relationship between Hamilton and Burr. ing volumes from the Bedford Series in History and Culture into the U.S. History Survey. Relevant titles for Additional Bedford/St. Martin’s Chapter 7 include Resources for Chapter 7 • The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Selections from the Journals, Arranged by Topic, Edited with an In- FOR INSTRUCTORS troduction by Gunther Barth, University of Cali- fornia, Berkeley Transparencies • Jefferson vs. Hamilton: Confrontations that Shaped a Nation,by Noble E. Cunningham Jr., University The following maps and images from Chapter 7 are of Missouri-Columbia available as full-color acetates: • THE FEDERALIST by Alexander Hamilton, James •American Commerce, c. 1800 Madison, and John Jay: The Essential Essays, •Washington’s Journey from Mount Vernon Edited with an Introduction by Jack N. Rakove, •“Independence Declared 1776. The Union Must Stanford University Be Preserved.” • Welfare Reform in the Early Republic: A Brief His- •Map 7.1 The Presidential Elections of 1796 and tory with Documents,by Seth Rockman, Brown 1800 University •Map 7.2 Indian Cessions and State Formation, • Judith Sargent Murray: A Brief Biography with 1776–1840 Documents,by Sheila L. Skemp, University of Mis- •Map 7.3 Regional Cultures Move West, 1790– sissippi. 1820 •Map 7.4 U.S. Population Density in 1803 and the Louisiana Purchase FOR STUDENTS •Map 7.5 The War of 1812 •Map 7.6 Defining the National Boundaries, 1800– Documents to Accompany America’s History 1820 The following documents and illustrations are available in Chapter 7 of the companion reader by Melvin Instructor’s Resource CD-ROM Yazawa, University of New Mexico: The following maps, figures, and images from Chapter 1. Alexander Hamilton, Report on Public Credit 7, as well as a chapter outline, are available on disc in (1790) both PowerPoint and jpeg formats: 2. George Washington, Farewell Address (1796) •Map 7.1 The Presidential Elections of 1796 and 3. Alexander Lawson, David Edwin, George Wash- 1800 ington as a Symbol for America (1799, 1800) •Map 7.2 Indian Cessions and State Formations, 4. The Sedition Act (1798) 1776-1840 5. Thomas Jefferson, The Kentucky Resolutions •Map 7.3 Regional Cultures Move West, 1790– (1798) 1820 6. Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address (1801) •Map 7.4 U.S. Population Density in 1803 and the 7. Congressional Resolution on Western Lands Louisiana Purchase (1800) •Map 7.5 The War of 1812 8. Henry Knox, Proposed Indian Policy for the New •Map 7.6 Defining the National Boundaries, 1800– Republic (1789) 1820 9. Thomas Jefferson, Message to Congress (January • Figure 7.1 Hamilton’s Fiscal Structure, 1792 18, 1803) •American Commerce, c. 1800 10. Jane Stevenson, A Pioneer Woman in Post-Revolu- •Washington’s Journey from Mount Vernon tionary Kentucky (1840s) •“Independence Declared 1776. The Union Must 11. John Marshall, Decision in Marbury v. Madison Be Preserved.” (1803) 114 Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic, 1787–1820

12. Meriwether Lewis, The Journals of the Lewis and Visual Activity Clark Expeditions (1804–1806) •Reading American Pictures: Creating a National 13. George Cruikshank, Peter Pencil, Jefferson and the Political Tradition Embargo (1808, 1809) 14. William Henry Harrison, Speech to Tecumseh and the Prophet (1811) and Report to the Secretary of Reading Historical Documents Activities War (1814) 15. Hartford Convention Resolutions (1814) •Comparing American Voices: Factional Politics and the War of 1812 Online Study Guide at •Voices from Abroad: William Cobbett: Peter Por- bedfordstmartins.com/henretta cupine Attacks Pro-French Americans The Online Study Guide helps students synthesize the material from the text as well as practice the skills his- Critical Thinking Modules at torians use to make sense of the past. The following bedfordstmartins.com/historymodules map, visual, and documents activities are available for These online modules invite students to interpret Chapter 7: maps, audio, visual, and textual sources centered on events covered in the U.S. history survey. Relevant Map Activity modules for Chapter 7 include •Map 7.6 Defining the National Boundaries, 1800– •Meriwether Lewis Observes the Shoshone Indi- 1820 ans, 1805