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CHAPTER 10: THE JEFFERSON ERA
Section 3: Problems with
Foreign Powers
Today we describe foreign policy
challenges that Jefferson faced.
Vocabulary
• blockade – use of force to prevent
transportation of goods or people
into or out of an area
• impressment – kidnapping of
sailors to work on British ships
• embargo – government order
banning trade with another country
What We Already Know
During both the
Washington and
Adams
presidencies,
actions of the
French
government
nearly led to
war with
France.
What We Already Know
American victory over the Indians at the
Battle of Fallen Timbers opened up most of the
Ohio River Valley to white settlement.
What We Already Know
For fifty years, France and Britain had been in an
almost constant state of war with each other.
Jefferson’s Foreign Policy
• When Thomas Jefferson
took office in 1801, he
wanted to focus on
domestic concerns.
• Like George Washington,
he advised Americans to
seek the friendship of all
nations, but to enter into
“entangling alliances
with none.”
Jefferson’s desire for isolation
from other nations’ problems was
doomed to fail.
American merchants were busily engaged in
trade all over the world.
• The Louisiana Purchase would bring
conflict with other nations in the West.
• Also, the United States could not
control the actions of foreign nations.
In 1804, the United States was at war
with Tripoli on the North African coast.
• Pirates sent from Tripoli had repeatedly
attacked American merchant ships.
• The U.S. warship Philadelphia had been
captured by Tripoli.
U.S. Navy Lieutenant Stephen
Decatur was sent to fight the pirates.
• Decatur set fire to the
Philadelphia so that it could
not be used by the enemy.
• He then escaped under
enemy fire with only one
man wounded.
• The conflict with Tripoli
showed how hard it was for
the United States to stay out
of foreign affairs while its
citizens participated so
heavily in overseas trade.
Check for Understanding
A ask B: What was the
goal of Jefferson’s
foreign policy?
The goal of Jefferson’s
foreign policy was to keep
the United States from
getting involved with other
countries.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
Check for Understanding
A ask B : Who was Stephen Decatur?
Stephen Decatur was a naval officer sent to
destroy the U.S. warship Philadelphia – which
had been captured by Tripoli – so that it could
not be used by the enemy.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
Problems with France and England
• By 1805, the British set up a blockade and
began to inspect U.S. ships and seize those
carrying food and supplies to France.
• France then declared it would seize American
merchant ships that submitted to British
inspection.
• If Americans obeyed the British rules, their
ships could be seized by the French. If they
obeyed the French rules, their ships could be
seized by the British.
Check for Understanding
A ask B : Why did Britain and France try to
keep American ships from trading in Europe?
They were at war with each other and wanted to
prevent the Americans from providing food and
supplies to their enemies.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
Britain also interfered with U.S.
trade by the impressment of
about 6,000 American sailors to
work on British ships between
1803 and 1812.
What is
impressment?
Impressment. is the seizing of
foreign sailors by force
10. How did the British and French
interfere with American shipping?
A. French ships sent pirate fleets to capture
American ships.
B. British ships seized American ships
carrying goods to France.
C. French ships seized American ships
carrying goods to Britain.
D. British ships impressed American sailors.
E. French ships sank American ships
carrying goods to any European markets.
Choose all that are true!
The Chesapeake Incident
• In 1807, the British ship Leopard attacked an
American naval ship, the Chesapeake, off the
coast of Virginia, and three Americans lost their
lives in the battle.
• The attack aroused widespread anger.
• Many Americans wanted to declare war, but
Jefferson decided against it.
Trade as a Weapon
• In response to the
Chesapeake
incident, Jefferson
asked Congress to
pass the Embargo
Act of 1807.
• American ships
were no longer
allowed to sail to
foreign ports and
closed American
ports to British
ships.
Jefferson’s policy was more harmful
to Americans than to the Europeans.
• Southern and Western farmers lost markets for
their grain, cotton, and tobacco.
• Shippers lost income, and many violated the
embargo by making false claims about where they
were going.
• By the time Congress repealed the Embargo Act,
the American shipping industry was nearly
destroyed.
11. How did Jefferson respond to
the Europeans’ interference?
A. He ordered that all ships be escorted
by a U.S. naval warship.
B. He had Congress pass an embargo
law stopping all foreign trade.
C. He persuaded Congress to expand
the U.S. navy, in preparation for war.
D. He sent Stephen Decatur to attack
the European fleets.
By the time James Madison took office
in 1809, Congress had already repealed
the embargo.
• Madison called for a law that
allowed merchants to trade
with either France or Britain.
• Trade with either country
would begin when they
agreed to respect U.S. ships.
• But this law proved no more
effective than the embargo.
Trouble on the Frontier
• American settlers
believed that the British
were stirring up Native
American resistance to
frontier settlements.
• Since the Battle of Fallen
Timbers in 1794,
thousands of white
settlers had swarmed
into Ohio and then into
Indiana.
Check for Understanding
A ask B : Why were Americans in the
Northwest angry with Britain?
Americans in the Northwest were angry with
Britain because many settlers believed that the
British were stirring up Native American
resistance to frontier settlements.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
Jefferson’s Indian Policy
• Jefferson promoted a policy of "civilization,"
getting Native Americans to farm the land, convert
to Christianity, and live as white settlers lived.
• Jefferson increased the number of trading posts
on the frontier, in hopes that Native Americans
would buy goods on credit, fall into debt, and sell
off lands to repay the debts.
Tecumseh and Native American Unity
• A Shawnee chief named Tecumseh believed that
Indians were losing their land because they were
separated into many different tribes.
• He concluded that Native Americans had to unite
to resist white Americans.
Check for Understanding
A ask B : Who was
Tecumseh?
Tecumseh was a
Shawnee chief who
tried to unite Native
American tribes in
order to keep Indians
from losing their land
to whites.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
The Fort Wayne Treaty of 1809
• In September 1809, William Henry Harrison,
governor of the Indiana Territory, signed the
Treaty of Fort Wayne with chiefs of the
Miami, Delaware, and Potawatomi tribes.
• They agreed to sell over three million acres
of land, but Tecumseh declared the treaty
meaningless.
The Battle of Tippecanoe
• After
But inthe
November
Treaty of1811,
Fort Wayne,
while Tecumseh
many Indians
was
away
beganrecruiting
to answertribes
Tecumseh’s
for his alliance,
call for unity.
the
Shawnee were defeated by Harrison’s forces at
the Battle of Tippecanoe. It was a severe
setback for Tecumseh’s unity movement.
12. What was the goal of the Fort
Wayne Treaty of 1809?
A. To make more land
available for white
settlement
B. To gain allies against
the British in the War
of 1812
C. To set aside government land as Indian
Territory
D. To promote trade
between the two
cultures
The War Hawks
• After the battle of Tippecanoe, Tecumseh and
his warriors were welcomed by the British to
take shelter in Canada.
• This raised anti-British feelings even higher in
the West.
The War Hawks
• Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of
South Carolina led a group of Congressmen who
angrily demanded war against Britain.
• These Congressmen who called for war were
known as War Hawks.
The War Hawks
They wanted British aid to
Native Americans stopped,
and they wanted the British
out of Canada so that it
could be added to the
United States.
The War Hawks
• Other Americans sought war because of the
British violations of American rights at sea.
• Urged on by the War Hawks, Congress declared
war on Britain on June 18, 1812.
Check for Understanding
A ask B : Why did the
War Hawks favor war?
The War Hawks
favored war because
they felt it was the best
way to stop British
support of Native
American attacks.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
13. Who were the War Hawks?
A. They were young members of Parliament
who saw personal political opportunities in
war with the United States.
B. They were Native Americans who wanted to
keep Americans from settling the Ohio
Valley.
C. They were a secret society who wanted to
keep new immigrants out of the United
States.
D. They were a group of young Congressmen
who favored war with the British.
14. Why did Congress declare war on
Britain?
A. It was America’s duty as France’s
new ally.
B. Congress wanted the British to stop
aiding the Native Americans.
C. Britain was violating American
rights at sea.
D. Britain had violated the Embargo
Act on several occasions.
E. British soldiers had launched an
invasion from Canada.
Choose all that are true!