Chapter 9: An Agrarian Republic (AKA The Era of

Jefferson)

Mr. Logan GreeneAP United States HistoryWest Blocton High School

Chapter Objectives

• What did Thomas Jefferson achieve as President?

• What challenges did James Madison face as President?

• What were the consequences of the War of 1812?

• How did nationalism increase during the Era of Good Feelings?

• What was the Missouri Compromise?

Jefferson as President

• Jefferson’s rise to the presidency with the election of 1800 was seen as “revolution” since it handed power from one party to another

• Where as the Federalists believed in industry and trade Jefferson wished for the United States to be an agrarian or farming nation

Jeffersonian Reforms

• Jefferson was unpretentious and considered himself an “everyday” man

• He wanted the government to seem less monarchical and more accessible

• Jefferson also quickly removed the remnants of Federalist policies

• As well, Jefferson wanted to remove Federalist officials still in power

Marbury v. Madison• Thomas Jefferson ignored the Judiciary Act of 1801 and

began removing judges appointed by John Adams• This came to a head with the case of Marbury v.

Madison concerning a “midnight appointment” by John Adams as he left the presidency

• The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that a section of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional

• This created the precedent of Judicial Review that allows the Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional

The Louisiana Purchase• Jefferson got lucky when it came to foreign affairs• Jefferson attacked Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean

easing American shipping in that area• In 1800 Napoleon Bonaparte signed a secret treaty

returning the Louisiana Territory to Spain• Jefferson offered to buy New Orleans to help American

shipping, in response Napoleon offered all of Louisiana to help fund his possible war with Britain

• Despite not knowing if he had the constitutional power to purchase land Jefferson could not resist and doubled the size of the United States for 3 ½ cents an acre (15 million)

Florida and the West

• Republican’s wanted more land to bolster the plantation system of the South

• Jefferson failed to negotiate for West Florida from the Spanish

• Jefferson’s VP Aaron Burr pushed for an invasion of the territory

• Upon being ejected from politics after killing Alexander Hamilton Burr attempted to lead a separatist government in the West

Embargos and the Presidency• By 1807 war becoming inevitable with Britain as

America tried to stay neutral in the growing European Napoleonic conflict

• The British Royal Navy was impressing American sailors (forcing them to change sides and become sailors in the Royal Navy)

• The Chesapeake Incident highlighted the growing issues– The USS Chesapeake was a US Frigate that was

stopped by a British ship and ordered to submit to a search

– The British ship Leopard opened fire and killed 7 Americans after the Chesapeake refused

– Jefferson closed ports and demanded compensation but avoided war

The Embargo Act of 1807

• Jefferson passed the Embargo Act of 1807 barring all American shipping until Britain and France lifted restrictions on neutral trade

• This had the effect of infuriating the North and Secretary of State Madison was forced to abandon the Embargo during the election of 1808 to ensure a victory

Madison and the Coming War

• Madison attempted to stave off the war with Britain by adjusting economic sanctions and dealing with Britain’s strong arm tactics

• Despite this by November 1810 Madison had to reinstate non-importation against Britain and the two countries were again teetering on the brink

Natives and the Frontier• As settlers continued to pour into the West Natives

grew increasingly angry• The Pan-Indian Resistance Movement showed Natives

were beginning to throw aside tribal differences and unite to fight the whites

• The Indians leaders Tecumseh and his brother Prophet began leading a movement for Natives to not leave, albeit peacefully

• However, the movement intensified into the Battle of Tippecanoe between the natives and the US lead by William Henry Harrison

• Tecumseh now joined with the British after the American victory

Moving to War

• The issues with Natives pushed a group of Southern and Western politicians to call for war garnering their title as War Hawks

• By the summer of 1812 Madison was out of tricks and was losing control of the government

• A divided congress declared war on Britain, unprepared and totally outmatched

The War of 1812

• We will cover the War of 1812 in detail on Tuesday

The Era of Good Feelings

• With the election of James Monroe to the presidency in 1817 the country entered the Era of Good Feelings– This was a time highlighted by no party

conflict

• The economy boomed as the country recovered from the War of 1812

Second Bank of the U.S.• In time the Republicans appreciated

Alexander Hamilton’s economic sense• In 1816 they created the Second Bank of

the United States to control the national economy

• The republicans also passed the protective tariff of 1817 to help protect American industry against cheap European imports

• Lastly they passed a bill paying for massive internal improvements sponosred by John C. Calhoun

The Judicial Branch Powers UP• Under Chief Justice John Marshall the

Supreme Court drastically increased its power

• Fletcher v. Peck (1810)– Overturned a state law violating legal contracts

• Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1817)– Prohibited states from interfering with

corporations• McCullough v. Maryland (1819)– Defended the right of the federal government

to create a national bank and enforced the elastic clause

The Continent

• Under Secretary of State John Quincy Adams (two guesses on who his dad was) the US secured its land– Rush-Bagot Agreement demilitarized the

border with English Canada– The Anglo-American Accords formalized the

border with English Canada– The Trans-Continental Treaty of 1819

annexed East Florida and recognized the US conquest of East Florida from Spain

The Monroe Doctrine

• Although most likely written by Quincy Adams the Monroe Doctrine became the most lasting memory of James Monroe’s presidency

• Monroe basically told Europe that the Americas were off limits for any colonization and in the same vein the US would not interfere in the internal affairs of European states

The Panic of 1819

• In the period immediately following the War of 1812 the US economy exploded

• The bubble burst in 1819 as cotton prices collapsed

• Banks stopped loaning money and the economy floundered

• As well, the Panic made Southerners nervous as they saw an all powerful federal government that could interfere with their most precious commodity…..slaves

The Missouri Compromise• Missouri’s possible entry to the US caused

a rift• Northerners wanted Missouri to be free

and Southerners wanted it to be slave• A deadlock ensued until Henry Clay

intervened in 1820 with the Missouri Compromise

• Maine entered as a free state while Missouri entered as a slave state and the Louisiana territory north of Missouri would be free

The Election of 1824

• Monroe stepped down after his second term so the 1824 election pitted John Quincy Adams against Andrew Jackson

• None of the candidates had a majority of electoral votes so the election would be decided in the House of Representatives

• Adams won with help from Henry Clay• Clay was immediately named Secretary

of State• Jackson called it a “Corrupt Bargain”

Chapter Objectives

• What did Thomas Jefferson achieve as President?

• What challenges did James Madison face as President?

• What were the consequences of the War of 1812?

• How did nationalism increase during the Era of Good Feelings?

• What was the Missouri Compromise?