AP U.S. History

Chapter 12:The Second War for Independence and the Upsurge of Nationalism: 1812-1824

Focus Question

"Early U.S. foreign policy was primarily a defensive reaction to perceived or actual threats from Europe." Support, modify, or refute this generalization with reference to U.S. foreign policy on TWO major issues during the period from 1789 to 1825.

Learning Objectives

  • Explain why the War of 1812 was so politically divisive and poorly fought by the United States.
  • Describe the crucial military developments of the War of 1812, and explain why Americans experienced more success on water than on land.
  • Identify the terms of the Treaty of Ghent, and outline the short-term and long-term results of the War of 1812.
  • Describe and explain the burst of American nationalism that followed the War of 1812.
  • Describe the major political and economic developments of the period, including the death of the Federalist Party, the so-called Era of Good Feelings, and the economic depression that followed the Panic of 1819.
  • Describe the furious conflict over slavery that arose in 1819, and indicate how the Missouri Compromise at least temporarily resolved it.
  • Indicate how John Marshall’s Supreme Court promoted the spirit of nationalism through its rulings in favor of federal power.
  • Describe the Monroe Doctrine and explain its real and symbolic significance for American foreign policy and for relations with the new Latin American republics.

Questions

On to Canada over Land and Lakes (224)

  1. Why was the War of 1812 one of the worst fought wars in United States history? What was the status of the U.S. Army on the eve of the war?Why was the U.S. so militarily unprepared?
  2. Why did Canada become an important battleground in the War of 1812?Why was America's campaign against Canada in the War of 1812ultimately a failure?
  3. What were the results of the American naval victories on the Great Lakes during the War of 1812?
  4. What wasthe British strategy for 1814? Why was the Battle of Plattsburgh a key battle of the war?

Washington Burned and New Orleans Defended(225)

  1. Why was the failed British attack on Fort McHenry noteworthy? Why was the Battle of New Orleans the most devastating defeat suffered by the British during the War of 1812? How was Andrew Jackson able to recruit "free men of colour" into his forces?

The Treaty of Ghent (227)

  1. At the peace conference at Ghent, why did the British withdraw many of their earlier demands, allowing a peace treaty to be signed?

Federalist Grievances and the Hartford Convention (228)

  1. What were the demands expressed in the resolutions of the Hartford Convention? What were the effects of those resolutions? How did political cartoons lampoon the states that threatened to leave the Union?

The Second War for American Independence (229)

  1. Why did the War of 1812 meanthat Native Americans had to relinquish tribal lands in the Old Northwest? What were the results of the Rush-Bagot agreement?
  2. What was the global impact of the War of 1812? What was the war's significance in diplomatic and economic terms?
  3. What were the results of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo within the nations of Europe?

Nascent Nationalism (230)

  1. How did the War of 1812 serve as a stimulus to patriotic nationalism in the United States? What were the ways in which this nationalism was expressed? How did American literature reflect this spirit?

"The American System" (231)

  1. How did the end of the war alter economic relations between Britain and America?
  2. In what way was the Tariff of 1816 a first in American history? What were its long-term effects?
  3. What were the proposals that Henry Clay embraced in "the American System"? Why were elements of it opposed by New England? Why did many Democratic-Republicans oppose it?

The So-Called Era of Good Feelings(232)

  1. How did the demise of the Federalist Party lead to the "Era of Good Feelings"? Why was the name something of a misnomer?

The Panic of 1819 and the Curse of Hard Times (233)

  1. What were the major causes and effects of the Panic of 1819? Why was the West particularly hard hit, and why did Westerners blame the Bank of the United States?

Growing Pains of the West (233)

  1. What were the causes and effects of the western land boom? What were the West's political demands?

Slavery and the Sectional Balance (234)

  1. Why were Southerners outraged by the passage of the Tallmadge Amendment in the House of Representatives in response to Missouri's request for admission to the Union? How did the South defeat the amendment? How did the issue of Missouri affect the abolitionist movement?

The Uneasy Missouri Compromise (235)

  1. What were the provisions of the Missouri Compromise? How was it received in the North and in the South? What were its benefits and drawbacks?
  2. Why did Thomas Jefferson see the Missouri controversy as a "firebell in the night"? What were the social, legal, and political results of the compromise?

Makers of America (236)

  1. For what reasons did people move into the Old Northwest? How did the motives and expectations of settlers from the South and settlers from the North differ?

John Marshall and Judicial Nationalism (238)

  1. How did John Marshall give strength to the doctrine of loose construction?
  2. Why did John Marshall, in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland, utter his famous legal dictum that "the power to tax involves the power to destroy"?
  3. How did John Marshall's rulings in McCulloch v. Maryland, Cohens v. Virginia, and Gibbons v. Ogdenlimit the extent of states' rights?

Judicial Dikes Against Democratic Excesses (238)

  1. How, in the cases of Fletcher v. Peck and Dartmouth College v. Woodward, did Chief Justice John Marshall's rulings erect barriers against democratic attacks on property rights?
  2. How do John Marshall's rulings in the direction ofnationalistic centralism and conservatism represent a triumph of Hamilton's understanding of the Constitution?

Sharing Oregon and Acquiring Florida (239)

  1. What achievements marked John Quincy Adams as the United States' most successful diplomat in the Era of Good Feelings?
  2. What were the provisions of the Treaty of 1818 with Britain?
  3. How was Andrew Jackson instrumental in the United States gainingpossession of Florida from the Spanish? Why did Spain sell Florida to the United States?

The Menace of Monarchy in America (241)

  1. Why did Britain oppose Spain's reestablishing its authority in Latin American countries that had successfully revolted?
  2. How did the apparent designs of the Russians in Alaska and Oregon help lead to the Monroe Doctrine?

Monroe's Doctrine Appraised (243)

  1. What was the significance of Monroe Doctrine, as, at the time it was issued, it wasincapable of being enforced by the United States? How did Latin America react to the Monroe Doctrine?
  2. How did Russian-American relations change in the aftermath of the Monroe Doctrine? What were the provisions of the Russo-American Treaty of 1824?
  3. How did the Monroe Doctrine lead to an illusion that America could isolate itself from world affairs?

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