Important Info from Chapter 9-The Jefferson Era

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IMPORTANT INFO FROM CHAPTER 9-THE JEFFERSON ERA

Jefferson’s Presidency

 As a Republican, Jefferson represented the working-class. At his inauguration, he dressed in everyday clothes (he did not dress up). He also stated that he believed in the French idea known as laissez-faire which means “let the people do as they choose.” This means he did not believe the government should play a major role in things like the economy.

 Jefferson served 2 terms as President. During his second term, he had a new vice president (he never trusted Aaron Burr and never gave him a lot of responsibilities).

 Burr found himself in trouble in 1804 during a disagreement with Alexander Hamilton. Burr had always disliked Hamilton partly because he blamed him for losing the Presidential election. Burr went on to challenge him to a duel. The two men-armed with pistols-met in New Jersey. Hamilton hated dueling and told Burr he would not shoot. Burr, however, did fire and shot Hamilton who died the next day. Burr fled the country to avoid arrest.

Expanding the Nation

 During the early 1800s, more and more American moved west looking for more land. At this time the United States extended as far west as the Mississippi River (about half the size of the country today).

 The area to the west of the Mississippi River was known as the Louisiana Territory. Once owned by France, it now belonged to Spain as a result of the French and Indian War. It was an enormous area of land and went as far south to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico.

 In 1800, the extremely powerful French leader, Napoleon Bonaparte forced Spain to give Louisiana territory back to France. The Spanish army was too weak to fight against the French and they gave them back the land.

 When Jefferson heard of this takeover, he knew he wanted to gain control of Louisiana and sent 3 men over to France to try and buy the land from Napoleon. The U.S. was able to buy all of Louisiana territory for $15 million. That adds up to about 2 cents/acre. This event became known as the Louisiana Purchase and is still known today as the greatest real estate buy in history!

Lewis and Clark

 Jefferson was unsure as to exactly what he had bought from France. He was very interested to know more about the land and find out what types of plants and animals lived in the area. He sent his private secretary, Meriwether Lewis to lead the exploration. The co-leader was Lewis’s friend, William Clark.

 Their expedition began in St. Louis in the spring of 1804 and slowly worked its way up the Missouri River. During their travels they met a young Native American named Sacagawea who served as their guide and helped them interact with the Native Americans. They kept a journal with notes of everything they saw and did. After 18 months, Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific Ocean and ended their journey.

Election of 1804

 In the Election of 1804, Thomas Jefferson ran for reelection. His opponent was a Federalist named Charles Pinckney. Jefferson won the election with an overwhelming victory of 162 electoral votes to 14 electoral votes.

 Thomas Jefferson’s second term as President began with the nation at peace. Across the sea, however, Great Britain and France were involved in a war that would soon involve the U.S.

Causes for War

 America had been trading with both the French and British for a number of years. Because the two countries were at war, Thomas Jefferson did not want to choose sides and stated that the U.S. would have neutrality when it came to trading with the two countries. This neutral rights policy also stated that we had the right to trade and not take sides.

 In 1806 the British needed sailors for their royal navy badly. British sailors were poorly paid, poorly fed, and badly treated. As a result many of them deserted the navy. Desperately in need of sailors, the British began a practice of kidnapping and forcing American sailors to serve in their navy. This was known as impressments. Many Americans were outraged by this but we would not go to war with Britain.

 In June of 1807, a British warship attacked an American ship known as the Chesapeake and demanded to search the ship for British naval deserters. When the ship captain refused to allow them to search it, the British opened fire, killing 3, wounding 18, and ruining the ship.

 As a result of the attack on the Chesapeake, Thomas Jefferson in December of 1807 passed the Embargo Act. This embargo prohibited trade with all countries. Jefferson thought that this would hurt Britain but avoid war, but it ended up hurting the U.S. more and the act was repealed.

 Jefferson replaced the Embargo Act with the Nonintercourse Act. This new act prohibited trade only with Britain and France. It was just as unpopular as the Embargo Act and was eventually repealed as well. Many people pressured Jefferson to declare war by this time but he still refused. Those people that urged the President to declare war were known as the War Hawks. They mainly came from the South and the West.

 Jefferson decided not to run for a third term during this time, and James Madison was elected as our country’s new president. After much conflict with the English, Madison declared that war was inevitable and in the spring of 1812, the War of 1812 began.

War of 1812

 The War of 1812 was fought in the United States. Perhaps the biggest attack to take place occurred in August of 1814. During this month, the British sailed into the Chesapeake Bay. Their goal was to burn and destroy Washington, D.C. The importance of them wanting to do this was because it was our nation’s capitol.

 The Capitol and President’s Mansion were among the buildings burned. James Madison’s wife, Dolly Madison showed her bravery on the night this happened because she saved many priceless valuables including a picture of George Washington (page 299-read excerpt on Dolly Madison). Fortunately, a violent rain storm put out the fires before they could do more damage.

 The British left Washington D.C. and sailed north to Baltimore, Maryland. Soldiers stationed there were ready and waiting. The British attacked in mid-September. During the nights of September 13th and 14th, a young attorney named Francis Scott Key watched as both sides fired on each other. He was deeply moved by the sight of the American flag that morning. As he stood on a boat deck, he took a letter out of his pocket. On the back of the letter, he began to scribble lines to a poem about that night. His poem would later go on to become our National Anthem. In the end, the U.S. was able to hold onto Baltimore.

 Following a few other defeats, the British knew they were losing the war and in December 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed ending the war. However, before word of the treaty hit the U.S. one final battle would take place.

Battle of New Orleans

 In December 1814, British troops moved toward New Orleans. Awaiting them behind was an American army led by Andrew Jackson.

 On January 8. 1815, the British troops attacked and the Battle of New Orleans took place. The British were no match for Jackson’s men, and hundreds of redcoats were killed. The Americans achieved a decisive victory. Andrew Jackson became a national hero and would later go on to become President in 1828.

 The significance of this battle however is that it was fought after the war was over; therefore, it was never a necessary battle and shouldn’t have taken place!

Election of 1816

 James Monroe, the Republican candidate, faced almost no opposition. Monroe won the election by an overwhelming margin. This time was known as the Era of Good Feelings. This era did not last long. Most Americans felt a strong allegiance to the region where they lived. They thought of themselves as Westerners or Southerners or Northerners. This feeling can be defined as sectionalism.

The Missouri Compromise

 Admitting new states to the union became one of the largest debates between Northerners and Southerners. The problem revolved around slavery. The South wanted Missouri, part of the Louisiana Purchase, admitted as a slave state. Northerners wanted Missouri to be free of slavery. Maine also became an issue of debate when it applied for statehood.

 The Missouri Compromise was reached and provided for the admission of Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. The agreement banned slavery in the remainder of the Louisiana Territory north of the 36’30’N parallel.

The Monroe Doctrine

 Because of increased European involvement in North America, President Monroe decided to take action. He issued a statement, later known as the Monroe Doctrine. It stated the United States would not interfere with any existing European colonies in the Americas, but it would oppose and new ones. North and South America “are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.”