Download Democratic-Republican Dominance and Westward Expansion

Democratic-Republican Dominance and Westward Expansion
Standard VUS.6 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the major events from the
last decade of the eighteenth century through the first half of the nineteenth century
by
a) Explaining the principles and issues that prompted Thomas Jefferson to organize
the first opposition political party;
b) Identifying the economic, political, and geographic factors that led to territorial
expansion and its impact on the American Indians;
c) Examining the reasons why James Madison asked Congress to declare war on Great
Britain in 1812 and how this divided the nation.
In 1800, the American people elected Democratic-Republican candidate Thomas
Jefferson as president of the United States. When Jefferson defeated President Adams’
bid for re-election in the 1800 election, it was the first American presidential election in
which power was peacefully transferred from one political party to another. Jefferson’s
election began a period of Democratic-Republican dominance of American politics for more
than two decades. James Madison, Jefferson’s successor, served as president between
1809 and 1817. Events on the world stage caused President Madison in 1812 to ask Congress
to declare war on Great Britain. American involvement in the War of 1812 divided the
nation until the war’s conclusion in 1815. After the War of 1812, the new American republic
experienced dramatic territorial expansion, immigration, economic growth, and
industrialization. Prior to the Civil War (1861-1865), thousands of Americans moved west to
settle new frontiers. The hunger for land and the ideology of “Manifest Destiny” stirred
these Americans into action. In short, economic and strategic interests, supported by
popular beliefs, caused the United States to expand its territory to the Pacific Ocean.
During Jefferson’s presidency, the United States purchased the huge Louisiana
Territory from France. This 1803 purchase doubled the size of the United States
overnight. President Jefferson then sent the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the new
territories that lay west of the Mississippi River. Sacajawea, an American Indian woman,
served as their guide and translator.
The Jefferson administration also indirectly involved the United States in the
Napoleonic War between France and Great Britain. Both European powers had violated the
United States’ rights as a neutral nation, because neither wanted its enemy to trade with
the United States during the war. In addition, since the British navy desperately needed
sailors, the British stopped and boarded American ships and seized any suspected British
deserters. This action was called impressment, which is the practice of drafting sailors by
force. In 1807, the Jefferson administration responded to impressment of American
sailors by passing the Embargo Act. Since embargo means refuse to trade, the Embargo
Act provided that no American ship could leave an American port for a foreign port, nor
could any foreign vessel load a cargo at an American city.
The Embargo Act was an economic disaster for the United States. It especially
hurt the economy of the New England states, which depended on shipping and trade for
prosperity. Federalists gained increasing popular support by denouncing the Embargo Act
as unconstitutional. State governments in New England even threatened to nullify (void or
wipe out) this federal law. In 1809 James Madison, also a Democratic-Republican,
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succeeded his friend Thomas Jefferson as president. Madison quickly replaced the
unsuccessful and unpopular Embargo Act with the less severe Non-Intercourse Act.
Instead of banning all foreign trade, as the Embargo Act had done, the Non-Intercourse
Act only made trade with Great Britain and France illegal. Unfortunately, Madison’s NonIntercourse Act was almost as big a failure as Jefferson’s Embargo Act. The British navy
continued to impress American sailors, thereby forcing them to serve on British warships,
and interfered with American shipping rights as a neutral nation. British interference with
American shipping and western expansionism fueled the call for a declaration of war by
young Western congressmen. This group, called the War Hawks, believed the British were
encouraging Indian attacks on American settlers on the western frontier. The War Hawks,
led by Henry Clay of Kentucky, thought an American victory in a war against Britain would
speed up westward expansion and result in American conquest of Canada.
Under pressure from the War Hawks, the Madison administration finally asked
Congress to declare war on Great Britain in 1812. The War of 1812 lasted until 1815.
Regional self-interests led to a divided nation at war against the British. New England
Federalists opposed Madison’s war resolution, talked of secession, and proposed
constitutional amendments that were not acted upon. Federalist criticism of the War of
1812 contributed to the disintegration of the Federalists as an effective political party on a
national scale. Although the end of this war produced no major changes, American public
opinion believed the United States had achieved victory over the British. This belief
produced an American claim to the Oregon Territory and increased migration of American
settlers into Florida. The United States later acquired Florida from Spain by an 1819
treaty, called the Adams-Onís Treaty.
Relations with foreign nations continued to concern the United States during the
next decade. In 1823, the United States government issued the Monroe Doctrine, which
set forth the basic principles of American foreign policy for the rest of the nineteenth
century. The Monroe Doctrine takes its name from President James Monroe, the
Democratic-Republican who succeeded Madison as president. The Monroe Doctrine
contained four important points. First, the United States said that European nations should
not consider establishing future colonies on the American continents (North and South
America). Second, nations in the Western Hemisphere (North and South America) were
inherently or basically different from European countries. The countries of North and
South America were republics by nature, while the European nations were monarchies (ruled
by kings or queens). Third, the United States would regard as a threat to its own peace and
safety any attempt by European powers to impose their system of government on any
independent state in the Western Hemisphere. All American presidents have continued to
follow the precedent set forth by this part of the Monroe Doctrine. Fourth, the United
States would not interfere in European affairs. In short, the Monroe Doctrine warned
European nations to stay out of the affairs of the Western Hemisphere. If European
leaders tried to influence or control the governments of Latin American nations, then they
would face strong opposition from the United States. The United States government would
use its military force to protect its power and interests in the Western Hemisphere.
As indicated by the American purchase of Louisiana and Florida and interest in
Oregon, westward movement and economic development were two trends in American life
during the first half of the nineteenth century. American settlers poured westward from
the coastal states into the Midwest, southwest, and Texas. They sought economic
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opportunity in the form of land, both to own and to farm. The growth of canals and
railroads helped the growth of an industrial economy and supported the westward movement
of settlers. In addition, in 1793 Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, which mechanically
separated cottonseeds from cotton fiber. Whitney’s invention led to the spread of the
slavery-based “cotton kingdom” across the Deep South. American migration into Texas led
to an armed revolt against Mexican rule in the war for Texas independence. At the Battle
of the Alamo, a band of Texans futilely fought to the last man against a much larger
Mexican force. Although the Mexicans killed all the men defending the Alamo, the Texas
army continued the fight against Mexican rule. When the Texans defeated the Mexican
army several weeks later, Texas thereby gained its independence. The independence of
Texas from Mexico in 1836 eventually resulted in the annexation (addition; incorporation of
territory) of Texas by the United States in 1845.
The belief that it was America’s “Manifest Destiny” to stretch from the Atlantic to
the Pacific provided political support for territorial expansion. Under “Manifest Destiny,”
Americans believed it was God’s will that the United States span the entire continent from
one ocean to the other. Following “Manifest Destiny” to its logical conclusion, the American
victory in the Mexican War (1846-1848) led to the acquisition of an enormous territory in
the West. This territory, known as the Mexican Cession, included the present-day states of
California, Nevada and Utah, as well as parts of Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.
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