Ch.10, Sec.3 – Problems with Foreign Powers
Jefferson’s Foreign Policy
- Jefferson felt all along that the government should focus on domestic affairs and stay out of foreign affairs
- his idea of neutrality was doomed from the beginning because of the many merchants trading all over the world and westward expansion from the Louisiana Purchase
- expansion would bring Americans into closer contact with people from other nations who had already established settlements in the West
Ch.10, Sec.3 – Problems with Foreign Powers
- lastly, Jefferson had little control over the actions of England and France
- the U.S. was fortunate to stay out of European wars after the French Revolution
Problems with France and England
- however, by 1805, England started clamping down on American ships that were providing supplies to their enemies
- England set up a partial blockade, which angered France and put our merchants into a difficult situation
Ch.10, Sec.3 – Problems with Foreign Powers
- if our merchants followed the British stockade, the French would seize our ships and vice-versa
- England also interfered with the U.S. trade by impressment of American sailors to work on British ships
- from 1803 to 1812, England had impressed about 6,000 U.S. sailors
- many politicians & citizens were angry with Jefferson for not declaring war on England!
Ch.10, Sec.3 – Problems with Foreign Powers
Trade as a Weapon
- instead of declaring war, Jefferson asked Congress to pass legislation that would stop all foreign trade
- in 1807, Congress passed the Embargo Act of 1807, which no longer allowed U.S. merchants to sail to foreign ports & closed American ports to British ships
- the act was a disaster that ended up hurting our economy
- the embargo became a major issue in the election of 1808, which was won by James Madison
Ch.10, Sec.3 – Problems with Foreign Powers
Ch.10, Sec.3 – Problems with Foreign Powers
- by the time Madison took office, Congress had repealed the embargo and replaced with a law that allowed merchants to trade with any country except England & France
- this law proved no more effective than the embargo!
- Americans were furious with the British for their interference with shipping, impressment, and stirring up Native American resistance to frontier settlements in the Northwest Territory & Louisiana Territory
Tecumseh and Native American Unity
Ch.10, Sec.3 – Problems with Foreign Powers
- since the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, Native Americans had lost a lot of land in Ohio & Indiana
- Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief, vowed to stop the loss of Native American land though the unification of many tribes
- in 1809, William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana Territory, signed the Treaty of Fort Wayne with chiefs of the Miami, Delaware, and Potawatomi tribes Tecumseh
William Henry Harrison
Ch.10, Sec.3 – Problems with Foreign Powers
- the treaty sold over 3 million acres of land, but Tecumseh refused to recognize the treaty
- in November of 1811, the Shawnee tribe was defeated by Harrison’s forces at the Battle of Tippecanoe, severely crippling his efforts to unite more tribes against the U.S.
Ch.10, Sec.3 – Problems with Foreign Powers
War Hawks
- after the Battle of Tippecanoe, Tecumseh allied his warriors with the British in Canada
- many Americans began demanding war against England and they were named War Hawks
- War Hawks wanted the British out of Canada and their aid to the Native Americans stopped; some Americans wanted war because of the British violations at sea
- urged on by future president, Andrew Jackson, and War Hawks, Congress declared war on England June 18, 1812!!!
Ch.10, Sec.3 – Problems with Foreign Powers