Chapter 12

Foreign Affairs

Voca

bula

ry

Neutrality – a policy of not

choosing sides in a war or

dispute between other

countries

Isolationism – a policy of

avoiding political or military

agreements with other

countries

Embargo – a government

order that stops merchant

ships from leaving or

entering a country’s ports

Voca

bula

ry

Secretary of State – the head of the state

department who oversees matters relating to foreign countries

Doctrine – a statement

of official government

policy in foreign affairs

Wash

ingto

n C

reate

s Fo

reig

n P

olic

y The nation was surrounded by unfriendly powers

Britain (Canada) to the

north & Spain to the

south and west

Neutr

alit

y Though the US had signed an alliance with

France, Washington had to declare neutrality during the

French Revolution, as

the US was not prepared to go to war.

Isola

tionis

m Washington’s warning

of avoiding alliances

became known as isolationism – which would be the new US

foreign policy

The G

reat

Seal

Olive Branch Arrows

What

is F

ore

ign

Polic

y? Principles that guide

the US in future dealings with other nations”

Jay

Treaty

When Chief Justice John Jay went to settle

things with Britain, and in the meantime,

the French saw this as

betrayal and began to

attack American Ships

in retalliation.

XYZ

Aff

air

President Adams sent

representatives to France to end the attacks. They were refused by the French

Prime Minister saying

no peace talks would

take place unless they

paid money to France.

XYZ

Aff

air

(C

on’t

)

Congress voted to recruit and army of 10,000 and build ships. Americans captured over 80 French vessels in this

undeclared war on France. John Adams popularity soared, as

well as The Federalist

Party.

Federa

list

Part

y Succ

ess

Was

War

Good

for

the U

S? Though the Federalist

Party was gaining popularity, Adams wondered if unleashing the arrows

of war on France was

the best thing for the

country?

Mis

sion f

or

Peace Adams stated in 1799

that he was sending a

peace mission to France. The Federalist

Party was furious!

Napole

on

Bonapart

e

By the time the mission reached France, Napoleon Bonaparte was in charge of the French

government. He was

eager to make peace

with both the US and

Britain.

Ass

ignm

ent

Day 1

Complete Worksheet

Barg

ain

ing

Bonaparte agreed to

end the alliance with

France. In return, the

US would not ask France to pay for the

all the ships they had

seized. This burden lied on the government now, but

was a small price to pay for peace.

Losi

ng P

olit

ical

Popula

rity Choosing the olive

branch cost Adams political popularity, and disagreements within the Federalist

Party. Adams had no

regrets.

Peace

Ends

Quic

kly By 1803, France and

Britain were at war again. Both began seizing American ships. This time Jefferson had taken office.

What

to d

o? Jefferson wanted to

continue neutrality, however once Britain

began to kidnap American soldiers, it

became very difficult.

Pira

cy

Americans faced a bigger threat. Barbary

States were robbing ships at sea and then

holding crews for ransom. Both Washington and

Adams paid tribute to

the states for the safety of American ships on the Mediterranean Sea.

No M

ore

Tri

bute

s Jefferson decided that

it was not right to pay

money to the pirates

for safe travels, yet not pay for the XYZ tribute to have peace.

More

Tri

bute

The ruler of Tripoli demanded a higher tribute for the ship’s

safety. Jefferson refused and so Tripoli

declared war on the US. What was worse –

war or paying tribute?

The W

ar Jefferson decided he

hated paying tribute

more. In 1802, he sent

a small fleet of war ships to protect American shipping. It

worked until 1804.

War

Conti

nues

An American ship named the “Philadelphia” crashed

into a reef. The captain and crew were

held for ransom. A naval officer named Decatur raided a Tripoli harbor and set

it ablaze.

Peace

at

Last

! A year after the fire,

Tripoli signed a peace

treaty to stop asking

for tribute payments,

and in return, the US

paid them $60,000 for

the return of the Philadelphia crew.

France

and

Bri

tain

Jefferson tried to convince France and

Britain to leave American ships alone,

only to fail. Jefferson

then proposed an embargo act – a complete halt in trade

with other nations

Em

barg

o

Dis

ast

er

The Embargo Act hurt

Americans way worse

than anyone else. Seamen lost their jobs

with no trade, and ships rotted at deserted docks.

Congress repealed the

act in 1809, and the

attacks continued.

Ass

ignm

ent

#2

Write a persuasive essay saying whether

or not you would have

declared war over the

tribute payments? Do

you agree or disagree

with Jefferson? State

your reasoning.

Madis

on T

ake

s O

ffice

James Madison took office in 1809, and decided to try a new

approach to protecting

ships. He bribed both

France and Britain with a deal to stop trading with their enemies if they ceased their attacks.

Deal o

r N

o D

eal? France agreed, but

Britain refused. Madison wondered if

the country would support a war with Britain?

India

n

Inte

rfere

nce

Southerners and Westerners supported

war to expand lands

west of the Appalachian Mtns. This meant pushing Indians off their land

in the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys.

Nati

ve

Am

eri

cans

Unit

e

Two Indians, Tecumseh

and Prophet decided

they must ban together all Native Americans to stop the

settler’s westward march. They built an

Indian center called Prophetstown.

Will

iam

Henry

H

arr

ison

Harrison organized a

militia of troops to take on the Indians. At

dawn on Nov. 7, 1811,

Harrison’s troops were

shaken from their sleep by Indian war cries. At the end of the

day, many were dead

and Prophetstown was

in ruins.

Bri

tish

Help Among the ruins were

British guns. As suspected, the British

forces in Canada were

supplying the Native

Americans with weapons.

Get

Rid

of

Bri

tain

War Hawks in Congress argued that

we needed to drive Britain out of Canada.

This would eliminate

the Indian threats. Then, Canada could be

added to the US. Would Madison agree?

War

of

1812 Madison chose to

abandon isolationism,

and Congress declared

war on Britain on July

17, 1812. However,

the US was very unprepared for war.

War

of

1812

Though the Americans

did not capture Canada, they did make land west of the

Appalachians safe for

settlers. Tecumseh died in battle in 1813

in Canada. This eventually lead to Native Americans being driven out of the

Ohio Valley.

Bri

tish

Att

ack

s

In Aug. of 1814, Britain

invaded Washington, D.C.

and burned the city. From

there, they turned to

Baltimore. On Sept 13,

1814, British warships

shelled the Baltimore

harbor. An American

lawyer, Francis Scott Key,

watched the bombardment. His feelings

were captured in “The

Star-Spangled Banner”

Batt

le o

f N

ew

O

rleans

On Jan. 8, 1815 British

troops marched into

New Orleans and were

met with a deadly fire,

killing 2,000+ troops.

Gen. Andrew Jackson’s

rag tag militia had been successful and

Jackson was a hero.

Jam

es

Monro

e Monroe took office in

1817. Attention turned

from Europe to Mexico

as colonial people were revolting against

Spain. A priest named

Hildalgo started this

revolt.

Cry

of

Dolo

res

Hidalgo’s speech inspired a revolution

that lasted 10 years.

Simon Bolivar and de

San Martin led the revolution across the

north and south and

eventually won their

independence from Spain.

Support

Lati

n

Am

eri

ca Monroe asked former

presidents for advice

on New Latin Nations

and if the US should

support them.

The M

onro

e

Doct

rine In 1823, Monroe made

a speech to Congress

announcing a new policy against European efforts to control North and South America.

The M

onro

e

Doct

rine

Americans cheered Monroe’s message, but Europeans were outraged at America’s

audacity. This was created to protect both the current US and the likes of Latin

American from British

rule.

US F

ore

ign

Polic

ty

The Monroe Doctrine

made isolationism a key principle in US foreign affairs. America was clear it

would not accept interference from Europe. It showed the

world that the US was

bold, confident nation.