Download Adline Rahmoune Crash Course US History #10: Thomas Jefferson

Adline Rahmoune
Crash Course US History #10: Thomas Jefferson & His Democracy
1800 Election
● In 1800, ​Jefferson​ (a ​Republican)​, ran against ​John Adams​ (a
Federalist​)
○ Jefferson won the election and became president
■ Americans preferred a democracy where the
common people could express their opinions
● While Jefferson was in power, there wasn’t liberty for slaves
(he was racist), and not all white men could vote
Gabriel’s Rebellion
● In 1800, a violent slave rebellion (​Gabriel’s Rebellion​) was
organized by a blacksmith in Virginia
○ His plan was discovered & Gabriel was hanged with
25 other slaves
● After Gabriel’s Rebellion, VA made its laws regarding slaves
much harsher
○ Unless they were supervised by whites, it was illegal
for slaves to meet in groups on Sundays
○ It was a lot harder for whites to free their slaves
○ George Tucker​ was a member of the ​General
Assembly of Virginia
■ he suggested that to end slave rebellions, a
colony should be set up for them in GA within
Indian territory
Thomas Jefferson’s
goals
● Thomas Jefferson’s goals were to:
○ Make the government & military smaller
■ He shrunk the army & navy
○ Lower taxes
■ He got rid of all taxes except for the ones on
imports, like the ​Whiskey Tax
■ He paid off part of the national debt
○ Make America agrarian & an empire of liberty
Marbury v. Madison
● Jefferson mostly appointed Republicans to gov positions, but
he couldn’t do anything about the ​Supreme Court​ bc they
serve life terms
○ For example, ​Chief Justice John Marshall
■ He wrote the 1803 decision in ​Marbury v.
Madison
● Marbury v. Madison gave the Supreme Court the power to
confirm or disprove of federal laws
○ In ​Fletcher v. Peck​, its power was extended to state
laws as well
● Jefferson & the Republicans supported the idea of ​Strict
Construction
○ This meant that the constitution should read as
literally as possible to limit the power of the federal
gov
Louisiana Purchase
● With the ​Louisiana Purchase​, Jefferson greatly increased the
size of the US
○ Jefferson wanted to buy New Orleans bc Western
farmers were shipping their products through the
city. ​Napoleon​ was eager to sell it for money
■ Jefferson bought it for about $15 million
($250 million today)
● After buying Louisiana, Jefferson sent ​Lewis & Clark​ to
explore it
○ They went beyond the boundaries all the way to the
Pacific
■ This benefited Jefferson since he wanted
enough land for every white man to own a
small farm, making America independent
Embargo
● Another policy of Jefferson's was the ​embargo
○ It prohibited American ships from trading in foreign
ports
■ Britain and France didn’t notice the embargo
because they were at war
■ Exports dropped by 80%, hurting the
American economy
■ It limited the power of the federal
government and violated the liberties of the
people
■ (It was basically a failure)
Unit 4 Notes: Pages 201-213
The Louisiana
Purchase
(pg. 201-202)
● On April 30, 1803, ​James Monroe​ and ​Robert Livingston
signed an agreement giving America the ​Louisiana Territory
○ The US was to:
■ Pay a total of $15 million to the French gov.
■ Give France commercial privileges in the port
of ​New Orleans
■ Give citizens in the area the same rights as
other citizens
○ Although it wasn’t stated in the Constitution that the
country could be expanded, Jefferson agreed to it
■ The Republican Congress approved the treaty
and appropriated the money
○ In 1812, the state of ​Louisiana​ was created
Lewis and Clark
Explore the West
(pg. 202)
● Before the Louisiana Territory treaty, Jefferson was involved
in an expedition plan to cross North America and reach the
Pacific Ocean
○ The leader of this expedition was ​Meriwether Lewis
■ A veteran of Indian wars
○ William Clark​ was Lewis’ partner in expedition
■ He was also an Indian fighter
○ In the spring of 1804, Lewis, Clark, & 4 dozen other
men started from ​St. Louis
■ In 1806, they arrived back in St. Louis with
records & discoveries about Indian
civilizations, geography, and their experiences
● Jefferson had also sent off other explorers to other parts of
the Louisiana Territory
○ Zebulon Montgomery Pike​ led an expedition in 1805
from St. Louis → upper Missouri Valley
○ In the summer of 1806, Montgomery Pike set out
again from the Arkansas River → what is now
Colorado
The Burr Conspiracy
(pg. 202-204)
● In 1804, Jefferson suggested that the nation keep expanding
○ Federalists from New England protested bc as the
West grew, they realized that they’d have less power
● In MA, a group of extreme Federalists known as the ​Essex
Junto​ decided that they should separate from the Union &
form the ​Northern Confederacy
○ They wanted to include NY and NJ, but Hamilton of
NY didn’t agree
■ Federalists in NY turned to ​Aaron Burr​,
Hamilton’s political rival
● There were rumors about Burr’s plans for secession &
Hamilton was accusing him and making private remarks in
public
○ To end this tension, Burr challenged Hamilton to a
duel
■ They met in Weehawken, NJ in 1804 and
Hamilton died the next day of severe wounds
○ After the duel, Burr had to escape NY to avoid
accusation of murder
■ He wanted to go to the West and capture
Mexico from the Spanish w ​General James
Wilkinson​, governor of the Louisiana Territory
● In 1806, Burr led a group of armed men down the Ohio River
and rumors said that he was going to attack New Orleans
○ Jefferson ordered that they be arrested as traitors
and Burr was brought to Richmond, VA for trial
■ This became known as ​The Burr Conspiracy
Expansion and War
(pg. 204)
● The tension in Europe and expansion of white settlement in
North America led to the ​War of 1812
Conflict on the Seas
(pg. 204)
● During the early 1800s, Britain was involved with trade in
Europe and Asia so it wasn’t trading with America
○ As a result, the US developed an important merchant
marine that controlled most trade between Europe &
the West Indies
● At the ​Battle of Trafalgar​ in 1805, a British fleet destroyed
what was left of the French navy.
○ Because he no longer had a navy, ​Napoleon
Bonaparte​ challenged England economically
■ Napoleon designed the ​Continental System​,
which closed all of Europe to trade w Britain
● Napoleon banned British ships & ships associated with
Britain from landing at ports controlled by France
○ In response, the British established a blockade of the
European coast
■ This required goods being shipped to
Napoleon to be carried in British vessels so
they couldn’t reach him
● American ships wanted to stay neutral but sailing near either
Britain or France was risky, especially Britain
Impressment
(pg. 204-205)
● Impressment​ meant that people were forced to join the
British navy
○ Oftentimes sailors left & joined the American navy
since it was better, but Britain started searching
American merchant ships for them
● Chesapeake-Leopard incident: ​In 1807, an American ship
encountered a British one that wanted to search it. When
the British ship fired, America surrendered and 4 men were
taken off
○ American citizens saw the incident as an opportunity
for revenge
■ Jefferson banned British ships from American
waters & his minister back in England
demanded that the British government stop
impressment but it refused
“Peaceable Coercion”
(pg. 205-206)
● To prevent future incidents, Jefferson presented the
Embargo​, which prevented American ships from leaving the
US for any foreign port (plus it was enforced by Congress)
○ Mostly Federalist merchants and shipowners in the
Northeast were suffering and losing money
● In the ​Election of 1808​, James Madison won the presidency
● Congress replaced the Embargo with the ​Non-Intercourse Act
○ This allowed the US to trade with all nations except
for Britain and France
● In 1810, Congress replaced the ​Non-Intercourse Act​ with
Macon’s Bill No. 2
○ This new law reopened trade with Britain and France
as long as they didn’t violate neutral shipping
■ Napoleon announced that France wouldn’t
interfere with American shipping anymore
■ Now, it was up to Britain to renounce its
restrictions or there would be another
embargo with Britain only
The “​Indian Problem​”
and the British
(pg. 206-207)
● William Henry Harrison was a Virginian and veteran Indian
fighter
○ He advocated growth & development in western
lands and was responsible for the ​Harrison Land Law​,
which made it easier for settlers to receive a farm
○ He was appointed governor of ​Indiana​ territory to
resolve land problems with Indians
● Jefferson gave the Indians two options
○ They could become farmers and assimilate
themselves (he preferred this idea)
○ Or, they could migrate to the west of the ​Mississippi
○ They would also have to give up their land claims in
the Northwest either way
● Harrison forced tribe leaders to sign treaties and Indians lost
eastern ​Michigan​, southern ​Indiana​, & most of ​Illinois​ by
1807. In the Southwest, Americans were taking land from
tribes in ​Georgia​, ​Tennessee​, and ​Mississippi​ as well
Tecumseh and the
Prophet
(pg. 207-208)
● Tenskwatawa​ was a Native American religious leader known
as the ​Prophet
○ He spoke to his people about the ​virtuousness within
Indian civilization that white settlements lacked
● Tecumseh​ was the Prophet’s brother & believed that unity
would help the Natives resist the white settlers
○ In 1811, he went to visit Southern tribes to try and
convince them to join an alliance
■ While he was gone, Harrison drove off the
Indians and burned the village (​Battle of
Tippecanoe​)
Florida and War
Fever
(pg. 208-209)
● People in the North wanted the US to acquire ​Canada​ but
those in the South wanted ​Florida
● In 1810, settlers seized Spanish territory in ​Baton Rouge​ and
asked the federal government to add it to the US
○ President Madison did this and intended to take the
rest of Florida
● By 1812, people in the northern and southern borders of the
US both wanted war with Britain (​war hawks​)
○ Henry Clay​ of KY was one of them, and he became
Speaker of the House​ in 1811
○ Clay appointed ​John C. Calhoun​ of SC to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
○ Clay and Calhoun planned to take Canada
● On June 18, 1812, Madison approved a declaration of war
against Britain
Battles with the
Tribes
(pg. 209)
● During the summer of 1812, American forces invaded Canada
● American forces were doing well on the seas at first, but by
1813, the British navy was attacking in response and it
imposed a blockade on the U.S
● On the ​Great Lakes​, the US seized control of ​Lake Ontario
and ​Lake Erie
● The Battle of the Thames​ was fought in ​Upper Canada​ on
October 5, 1813, and it was a victory for the US while it
discouraged Native Americans
● Andrew Jackson​ was a wealthy Tennessee planter and a state
military general
○ On March 27, 1814, him and his men attacked Indians
in the ​Battle of Horseshoe Bend
■ The tribe gave up most of its land to the US
and moved westward
Battles with the
British
(pg. 209-211)
● On August 24, 1814, England invaded Washington and then
went up to Baltimore but Baltimore was prepared
○ Washington lawyer ​Francis Scott Key​ watched the
entire attack and wrote the ​Star Spangled Banner
which became the national anthem years later
● In the ​Battle of Plattsburgh​ on September 11, 1814, Britain
invaded again, but in Northern NY
● On January 8, 1815, the British landed in the New Orleans
area, preparing to advance up the Mississippi
○ American forces were well-protected and better
prepared so Britain retreated after the battle
The Revolt of New
England
(pg. 211)
● Throughout the war, not everyone supported it
○ In New England, Federalists celebrated British
victories
● Federalists were the majority in New England, and they
wanted to secede from the US to escape potential tyranny
○ On December 15, 1814, delegates from New England
met in ​Hartford, CT​ to discuss this
● In the end, 7 amendments were
proposed to the Constitution that were
designed to protect New England from
Southern and Western influence
(unsuccessful)
The Peace Settlement
(pg. 212)
● On Christmas Eve 1814, a peace treaty was signed to end the
War of 1812 (​The Treaty of Ghent​)
● Americans had the right to trade freely with England
● The Great Lakes were disarmed in 1872
● The Treaty was supposed to restore tribal lands to Natives
but that didn’t actually happen