The Second War for Independence & the Upsurge of Nationalism

1812 – 1824

Mr. Love

“Mr. Madison’s War” War of 1812

– June 1812 – declaration of war• Opposed by Federalists & Middle Atlantic states• West & Southern states supported

War of 1812 One of America’s worst – fought wars

– People divided/ apathetic– Militarily unprepared– Canadian strategy poorly conceived– Economic life was crippled

Indian Resistance Battle of the Thames – 1813

– Tecumseh killed by William Henry Harrison’s forces

Battle of Horseshoe Bend - 1814– Creek Indians defeated by Andrew Jackson

Canadian Strategy 3 pronged invasion of 1812 Troops sent from Detroit, Niagara, & Lake

Champlain All were beaten back shortly after they crossed

the Canadian border. Some militia would not cross state lines. Made it hard to engage enemy!

British & Canadians Displayed energy from the outset Captured Fort Michilimackinac (SAY IT 3

TIMES FAST)– Commanded the upper Great Lakes & Indian-

inhabited area to the south & west– British General Isaac Brock

1813- Americans began to look for successes on water after land invasions were hurled back

Oliver Hazard Perry Captured British fleet on the shores of Lake

Erie “We have met the enemy & they are ours.” Retreating redcoats were overtaken by

General Harrison’s army & beaten at the Battle of the Thames – Oct. 1813

Problems for America 1814 – Americans were grimly defending their

own soil against the invading British Napoleon was exiled from France to the

island of Elba leaving America to fight alone

Battle of Plattsburgh 1814 British prepared to attack NY

– Forced to bring supplies over Lake Champlain

Challenged by Thomas Macdonough – British were forced to retreat (BIG WIN)– Saved upper NY from conquest

Washington Burned Aug. 1814 – 4000 British landed in

Chesapeake Bay & advanced to Washington– “Bladensburg Races” – 6000 panicky militia ran

British entered & burned capital – set fire to most of the public buildings including the

capitol & the White House

British moved on to Baltimore– Beaten off by defenders of Fort McHenry– Francis Scott Key – “The Star-Spangled Banner”

Battle of New Orleans 1815 Andrew Jackson & his hodgepodge forces

defeat British; fight behind bales of hay. Jackson becomes the hero of the west and a

national celebrity. Most devastating defeat of the entire war Peace Treaty had been signed 2 weeks earlier

– Naive citizens believed British signed treaty because of battle

The Treaty of Ghent 1814 Tsar Alexander I of Russia proposed mediation.

Why is he getting in on this? 5 American peacemakers met in Ghent

– John Quincy Adams & Henry Clay

British demands:1.Neutralized Indian buffer state in Great Lakes region

2.Control of Great Lakes

3.Substantial part of Maine

Treaty of Ghent 12-24-1814 basically an armistice Agreement

– Both sides agreed to stop fighting – Restore conquered territory

American Grievances were not addressed– Indian menace, search & seizure, Orders of

Council, impressment, confiscations – Clear that America had not managed to defeat

the British – virtual draw

Hartford Convention 1814

States involved – MA, CT, RI, NH, VT --

26 delegates total– Met in complete secrecy

for 3 weeks

Purpose – to discuss grievances & seek redress for wrongs

Final Report– Financial assistance from

Washington to compensate for lost trade

– Constitutional amendments requiring 2/3 vote in Congress for embargo, new states admitted, or war declared – except in case of invasion

Arrived in Washington after Ghent

Death of Federalist Party

Results of War of 1812 6000 Americans killed or

wounded Republic had shown that

it would resist what it regarded as grievous wrongs

Nations developed a new respect for America

Federalist Party died

War heroes emerged – Jackson & Harrison

Manufacturing prospered – industries less dependent on Europe

Canadian patriotism & nationalism – Rush-Bagot agreement –

limited naval armament on lakes

Nationalism Nationalism increased after the War of 1812 Washington Irving & James Fenimore Cooper

– Nation’s 1st writers to use American scenes & themes

North American Review 1815

Nationalistic Spirit 1816 Congress revived Bank of the US National capital began to rise from the ashes

of Washington Army was expanded to 10,000 men 1815 – Naval victory in North Africa

– Stephen Decatur – naval hero of War of 1812 & of the Barbary coast expeditions

Tariff of 1816 Factories had mushroomed British began to dump their bulging ware-

houses on the US – Cutting their prices below cost to hurt American war-

baby factories

Nationalist Congress responds– 1st protective tariff in American history– Instituted primarily for protection, not revenue

• Started a trend for more protective tariffs

American System Henry Clay’s plan for developing a profitable

home market 3 main parts

1. Strong banking system – provide easy & abundant credit

2. Protective tariff – eastern manufacturing would flourish

3. Network of roads & canals – knit country together economically & politically

Internal Improvements 1817 Congress voted to distribute $1.5 million

to states for internal improvements– Vetoed by measure as unconstitutional

States were forced to move ahead with their own programs– Erie Canal – New York/ 1825

New England strongly opposed federally constructed roads & canals– Would drain away population & create competing

states beyond the mountains

Era of Good Feelings James Monroe – became president in 1817

– Part of the Virginia dynasty

Period of one-party rule Monroe

– 1817 – inspection of military defenses

Boston newspaper coined the term “Era of Good Feelings”– Somewhat misleading

Problems during the Era of Good Feelings

Tariff Bank Internal

improvements

Sale of public lands Sectionalism Conflict over slavery

Panic of 1819 Paralyzing economic panic Results:

– deflation, depression, bankruptcies, bank failures, unemployment, soup kitchens, & overcrowded pesthouses

West was especially hit hard– Foreclosures were common – bank became the

financial devil– Imprisonment of debtors

Growing Pains of the West9 frontier states joined the union

Vermont - 1791 Kentucky - 1792 Tennessee – 1796 Ohio – 1803 Louisiana - 1812

Indiana – 1816 Mississippi – 1817 Illinois – 1818 Alabama - 1819

Westward Expansion Cheap land European immigrants Land exhaustion in tobacco states Speculators accepted small down payments making it

easier to buy new holdings Economic distress during embargo years Defeat of Indian resistance opened virgin land Building of highways improved land routes

– Cumberland Road – 1811 – ran westward from Maryland to Illinois

– Steamboat – 1811

Land Act of 1820 West demanded:

1. Cheap acreage • Land Act of 1820 - Authorized a buyer to purchase 80

virgin acres at a minimum of $1.25 an acre in cash

2. Cheap transportation

3. Cheap money & fought the powerful Bank of US to attain its goal (Read p. 246 – 247)

Slavery & Sectional Balance 1819 – Missouri applies for statehood Tallmadge amendment passed

– No new slaves & gradual emancipation of children born to slave parents in Missouri

– Viewed as a threat to sectional balance by South – Defeated in Congress

Sectional Problems– 1788 – South & North equal in population & wealth– 1819 – North was becoming more populated &

wealthier

Issue of Balance

11 slave states & 11 free states – map p. 247

Missouri – 1st state from Louisiana Territory– Would set a precedent for the rest of the area

Issue was political & economic balance

Missouri Compromise 1820 – Henry Clay played major role in

compromise Missouri Compromise

– Missouri – slave state– Maine – free state– Slavery was prohibited in the remainder of the

Louisiana Purchase north of the line of 36°30’ (the southern boundary of Missouri)

Satisfied? Both North & South yielded something, both

gained something Missouri Compromise

– lasted 30 years– Preserved the shaky compact of the states

Ducked the question of slavery – it did not resolve it

James Monroe Reelected in 1820 – received every electoral

vote except one Only president in American history to be

reelected after a term in which a major financial panic began

John Marshall Shaped the Constitution in the direction of a

more potent central government at the expense of state’s rights

McCullouch v. Maryland (1819)– Denied the right of Maryland to tax Bank of the US

Cohens v. Virginia (1821)– Right of the Supreme Court to review

the decisions of the state supreme courts in all questions involving powers of the federal gov’t

Marshall conti.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)– Constitution conferred on Congress alone the

control of interstate commerce

Fletcher v. Peck (1810)– Legislative land grant was a contract & the

Constitution forbids state laws “impairing” contracts– Protected property rights

Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)– Safe guarded business enterprise from domination

by the state’s governments • Daniel Webster

Treaty of 1818 Treaty with Britain

– Permitted America to share the coveted Newfoundland fisheries with Canada

– Fixed northern limits of Louisiana - 49th parallel from the Lake of the Woods (Minnesota) to the Rocky Mountains (p. 250)

– 10 year joint occupation of Oregon country –no surrender of rights or claims

Florida General Andrew Jackson – 1817

– Sent to Florida to punish outlaws– Hanged 2 Indians, executed 2 British subjects, &

seized two Spanish posts: St. Marks & Pensacola

Florida Purchase Treaty of 1819 (Adams – Onis Treaty)– Spain ceded Florida as well as claims to Oregon– America – abandon claims to Texas

Monroe Doctrine Concern over Russian expansion in Alaska, Oregon,

and even California Monroe Doctrine 1823 proposed by Sec Adams

– Era of colonization in America had ended– No more European intervention in the affairs of the

Western Hemisphere Expressed an increasing American sense of

isolationism from world affairs & nationalism No contemporary significance because

the US could not enforce it “Self Defense Doctrine”

Russo-American Treaty of 1824 Fixed the southern most limits at the line of

54°40’ – the present southern tip of the Alaska panhandle

Settled before the Monroe Doctrine was issued