Unit Eight: The Jeffersonian Era

The Little Big Man

1808-1812

Election of 1808• As Jefferson left to return to civilian life he chose

his successor to be nominated by congressional caucus of the Democratic/Republican party James Madison the “Father of the Constitution”.

• James Madison ran against the Federalist candidate Charles C. Pinckney, and won the Election of 1808.

• Even though Madison won it was not a sound victory, due to the New England states voting in one block for Pinckney.

James Madison

Anti-British Sentiment

• As Madison took office there was a growing anti–British sentiment among Americans for three main reasons: Maritime rights, Indian conflicts, and war hawks in Congress.

• American maritime rights (right to sail the open ocean) had been disrupted by the issue of British (also French) impressnment of sailors and the hated Embargo of 1807.

• To deal with the embargo, Madison signed the Non-Intercourse Act which allowed foreign trade with all nations besides Britain and France.

Maritime Rights

• Due to the fact that the embargo on Britain and France was hard to enforce and the continued attacks, Congress passed Macon’s Bill Number Two (Nathaniel Macon) allowing American ships to trade with Britain and France, but not allowing British or French vessels to dock in American ports.

• A special provision that allowed the President to side with either combatant if they stopped attacking American vessels was quickly used by Napoleon to sway Madison to cut off trade with Britain.

Indian Conflicts

• As tensions began to develop between America and Britain, so did conflicts with the Native Americans.

• In 1795 the Old Northwest Indians signed the Treaty of Greenville agreeing to live on reservations and opening much of their ancestral lands to American settlement.

• The governors of the new territories created by the treaty wanted to open as much land to settlement as they could.

• The governor of the Indiana territory General William Henry Harrison used bribery and military force to move the Indians further west.

Indian Conflicts

• Other governors wanted to continue Jefferson’s policy of Americanization of Natives by forcing them to adopt the life styles and manners of the white man.

• Anger among the Natives developed over these issues, which led directly to another large Indian movement.

• In the Indiana Territory a leader named Tecumseh aided by his brother Tenshwatawa (the Prophet) led a movement to unite the Natives east of the Mississippi into one unit called the Red Stick Confederacy.

Tecumseh

The Prophet

Say No to the White Man

• The Prophet warned his brother that if the Americans were not killed and their ways abandoned all Indians would eventually be killed off.

• Tecumseh wanted the Indians to return to their heritage by rejecting assimilation, by not selling their lands (b/c they did not truly own it), and to end alcohol use among the tribes.

• In 1809 with the Treaty of Fort Wayne, General Harrison purchased three million acres of land for 10,000 dollars which deeply angered Tecumseh and the Shawnees.

This Means War

• Tecumseh and the Prophet founded Prophetstown along the Tippecanoe and Wabash river as a capital of the new Confederacy.

• In November of 1811 Harrison planned to end the uprising by killing Tecumseh and the Prophet at Prophetstown.

• Harrison attacked the Indians who fought at first with out fear because they were told by Prophet that they could not be killed and were invisible.

Just the Beginning

• At the Battle of Tippecanoe Harrison defeated the Indians and made himself a national hero.

• Tecumseh used this to rally more Indians to the cause and began negations with the British in Canada to aid them if war was declared.

• The Indian uprising in the Old Northwest only furthered American anger toward the British, blaming them for the attacks.

Battle of Tippecanoe

William Harrison

Kill an Indian

War Hawks

• The biggest push for war with Great Britain came from a group of congressmen known as the War Hawks (expansion through war) elected during the 1810 congressional elections.

• The two most vociferous (vocal) were Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina.

• The Hawks demanded action against the Indians, the taking of Canada and Florida, and retaliation for the impressnment of American sailors.

War !!!!

• In February of 1812 a British spy named John Henry for the Henry Papers was paid 50,000 for his information about a plot to unite the New England states against America. (it was all a lie)

• The push for war could not be held back any longer and on 19 June 1812 James Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war starting the War of 1812.

• The only problem was that the British Orders in Council that had started the whole problem were reseeded before war was declared. (Due to poor communication Congress found out to late)

Problems with the War of 1812 • At the start of the War of 1812 and throughout it

America had many problems:– 1.) America had both a small army and navy;

had to use state militias and private citizens to carry out missions.

– 2.) America received little to no help from outside nations.

– 3.) Native Americans mostly sided with the British and aided them.

– 4.) A lack of money due to tariffs hurt by the embargos and no central bank due to the expiration of the first Bank of the United States.

– 5.) Lack of unity over war effort; the New England states rejected the war outright.

Election of 1812

• In the 1812 Presidential election the Democratic/ Republicans where split into to two factions: war who ran James Madison (Demo/ Rep) and peace who ran De Witt Clinton along with the Federalists.

• Madison won the election by a decisive margin showing the general support of most Southerners and Westerners for the war.

Madison

Clinton

Vs..

Naval War • The first battles of the War of 1812 began on the

open ocean in naval engagements.• Even though the American navy was small in

number with its largest ships being seven frigates (three-masted ships usually 140 to 175 feet) they were well armed (usually 40 to 50 canons).

• These ships were also captained by young highly skilled and experienced officers.

• The British Atlantic fleet was large with seven ships of the line (usually 60 to 80 canons), 34 frigates, and many more smaller ships. (Even though the British had greater numbers they would not attack unless it was 2:1 odds.

Naval Engagements

• One of the early engagements was between the USS Constitution “Old Ironsides” and the HMS Guerriere.

• Captain Isaac Hull of the Constitution did a maneuver known as “crossing the T” allowing him to fire without return fire.

• After thirty minutes of fighting the British were defeated and the ship was burned.

Naval Engagements• The USS President captained by

Commodore John Rogers is given credit for firing the first shot of the war on the HMS Belvidera.

• The USS United States captained by Stephan Decatur defeated the HMS Macedonian off the coast of the Azores by firing one hundred holes at long range.

• The Macedonian was brought back as a prize of war and was sold for bounty.

• The USS Constitution also defeated the HMS Java.

Naval Engagements• The USS Hornet and USS

Wasp were used to harass shipping off the coasts of South America.

• The USS Essex was used in the Pacific to protect American whalers from harassment.

• The British because of these early loses chose to stop directly fighting American ships and created a general blockade of all American ports on the Atlantic.

Naval Engagements

• The most successful victories on the open sea did not come from the navy but a fleet of privateers (people given letters of marque to attack other nation’s vessels).

• American privateers averaged two ships a day capturing all total 1,300 ships and 40 million dollars worth of cargo.

• The most successful privateer ship was the True-Blooded Yankee who captured 27 British merchant ships in less than a month