Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic,

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1 Chapter 7: Politics and Society in the New Republic, The Political Crisis of the 1790s - The 1790s brought a division to the Federalists, splitting them into two irreconcilable factions over the issues of financial policy and then later the French Revolution. - The views offered by Jefferson hoped that the United States remain an agricultural nation governed by local and state officials. - The views offered by Alexander Hamilton, on the other hand, hoped that the United States would become a strong national government and an economy based on manufacturing. The Federalists Implement the Constitution - American political life now included choosing national leaders as well. And in the first national elections, the Federalists swept the election of 1788, winning 44 seats in the first House of Representatives, while only 8 Antifederalists won election. - George Washington was also selected by the Electoral College to become the first President of the United States, whilst John Adams was selected to be Vice President. - George Washington adopted many of the administrative practices of the Confederation and asked Congress to reestablish the existing executive departments: Foreign Affairs, Finance, and War. He also selected the following people for the following positions - Thomas Jefferson Head of the Department of State - Alexander Hamilton Secretary of the Treasure - The Constitution had created a Supreme Court, but it left the task of establishing the rest of the national court system to Congress. - The Federalists also kept their promise of creating a Bill of Rights, which was written by James Madison, in which they were originally 13, but only 10 were ratified. This eased some of the Antifederalists concerns. Hamilton s Financial Program - Hamilton devised bold policies to enhance national authority and to favor wealthy financiers and merchants. - He outlined his plans in three groundbreaking reports to Congress; on public credit (Jan. 1790), on a national bank (Dec. 1790), and on manufactures (Dec. 1791) - These programs laid out a program of national mercantilism, a system of state-assisted economic development. Report on the Public Credit - Hamilton proposed a system of national debt, in which he had two plans; the redemption

2 plan and the assumption plan. - In the redemption plan, Hamilton called on Congress to redeem at face value the millions of dollars issued by the Confederation during the Revolutionary War. Hamilton recognized that the US was heavily dependent on Dutch and British Loans and needed good credit to survive financially. However, this plan would allow enormous profits to a small percentage of Americans, and this offended a large number of Americans. - In the assumption plan, Hamilton proposes that the national government enhances the public credit by paying off the war debts of the states. A problem with this, however, was that some states were already debt free, and Hamilton revised this plan so that those states would be reimbursed. - Hamilton was a financial genius when he proposed these two plans, because they complemented each other very well, and a large majority of American citizens supported them. A National Bank - The idea of a National Bank was proposed by Hamilton in December of The idea was that the bank would be jointly owned by private stockholders and the national government, and that the bank would provide financial stability to the country by making loans to merchants, handling government funds, and issuing bills of credit. - Thomas Jefferson and James Madison opposed this initiative, because while they both had opposed the redemption and assumption plans because of the corrupt speculation that occurred, they thought this was not a power delegated to the United States by the Constitution. Revenue and Tariffs - This was the final element to Hamilton s financial system: revenue to pay off the newly created national debt. - To do this, Hamilton convinced Congress to impose a number of domestic taxes, including a duty on American whiskey, which would raise about $1 million a year. - To raise another $4-5 million, he proposed higher tariffs on foreign imports. These tariffs he proposed were not protective tariffs (which would exclude foreign competition), but they were revenue tariffs that would pay the interest on the debt and defray the expenses of the national government. - These plans worked brilliantly and as American trade increased, so did the revenue brought in by it, which allowed the treasury to implement Hamilton s redemption and assumption plan. - An unforeseen result of Hamilton s financial system was an increased migration to the west. This was because the national government could afford to sell lands at much lower prices because of all the revenue being brought in from trade.

3 Jefferson s Agrarian Vision - Hamilton s financial policies split the Federalist party into two irreconcilable factions. - Most northern federalists followed the faction headed by Hamilton, whilst most southern federalists followed the faction headed by Jefferson and Madison. - Jefferson had an agrarian vision for America, in which the Enlightenment was heavily included. His democratic vision of America was an agricultural society based on free labor (although he owned slaves himself). - His vision did come close to reality, when turmoil in Europe in the shape of the French Revolution, which created new opportunities for farmers. As war disrupted European farming, prices of crops skyrocketed, brought huge profits to Chesapeake and Middle Atlantic farmers. - Simultaneously, increases in the export of cotton, through the aid of the cotton gin, brought revenue to Georgia and the Carolinas. - As Jefferson had hoped, European markets brought prosperity to American farmers and planters. The French Revolution Divides Americans - The Proclamation of Neutrality, which was issued by President Washington in 1793, allowed for American merchants to trade with both sides during the French Revolution. - It didn t take long before American merchants came to dominate the lucrative sugar trade between France and its West Indie islands. - Incredible amounts of profit were being made, averaging $20 million in the 1790s. This allowed for substantial upgrades in housing styles and life styles, as some Americans began to enjoy their luxuries. Ideological Conflicts - The French Revolution brought about ideological conflicts between many Americans. - The French established a democratic republic, which many Americans disagreed with; however, the people that did agree with their political system started to act similarly. They began to address each other as citizen, and started hundreds of democratic political clubs. - The Whiskey Rebellion was mounted in western Pennsylvania in They were in protest of Hamilton s excise tax on spirits, which had raised the price and cut the demand in the corn whiskey they bartered for eastern manufactures. Similar to the Sons of Liberty, they attacked tax collectors and the authority of a distant government. - To uphold national authority and deter secessionist movements along the frontier, President Washington raised an army of 12,000 troops to disperse of the Whiskey Rebellion. And disperse of it, they did.

4 Jay s Treaty - In November of 1793, the British seized about 250 American ships in British ports that were carrying French sugar. - Washington dispatched John Jay to Britain in order to protect American property, and he returned with a controversial treaty. - This treaty acknowledged Britain s right to remove French property from neutral ships, rejected American merchants claim that Free ships make free goods. It also demanded that the U.S. government repay British merchants for all pre-revolutionary debts. - In return, the agreement allowed American merchants to submit claims of illegal seizure to mediation, and most important, it required the British to remove their military garrisons from the American Northwest Territory. Lastly, it forced the British to end their alliances with any and all American Indians. - Jay s Treaty was barely ratified, with not much more then the bare minimum 2/3 of Congress voting to pass. - It appeared that as long as Hamilton and his federalist allies were in power, the United States would have a pro-british policy. The Rise of Political Parties - The rise of the Federalists and Republicans marked a new stage in American politics, what is know as the First Party System. - Most people thought that political parties were unnecessary and borderline open opposition of the national government. - Most merchants, creditors, and urban artisans supported the Federalists, while the emerging Republican coalition was far more diverse. The republicans include, tobacco and rice planters, western farmers, Germans and the Scots-Irish in the southern backcountry, whilst also including the subsistence farmers in the Northeast. - Federalist candidates triumphed in the national elections of 1796, winning a majority in Congress and electing John Adams to the presidency. Constitutional Crisis, The 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts, which authorized the deportation of foreigners and prohibited the publican of insults or malicious attacks on the president or members of congress, respectively. - These resolutions brought forth a debate about states rights to interpret the Constitution individually for each state. The states argued that they had a right to judge the legitimacy of national laws. - After Adams first term was over, a civil war almost broke out. Jefferson had defeated Adams by a vote count of 73-65, but Aaron Burr had also received 73 votes from the Electoral

5 College. The Constitution specified that in case of a tie, it would be up to the House of Representatives to decide the next president. - Alexander Hamilton, although his views clashed with Jefferson s in numerous aspects, became a huge advocate for him. This was because he saw Burr as the most unfit man in the United States for the officer of president. - Jefferson called this the revolution of 1800, although it was bloodless. This was an extremely important point in American history because it showed how America could transfer power in an orderly way, even in times of bitter partisan conflict. The Westward Movement and the Jeffersonian Revolution - Beginning in the 1780s, thousands of the more confident farmers undertook the trek into the west. - George Washington noted that the former members of the Sons of Liberty had become the lords and proprietors of a vast tract of continent. Unfortunately for Washington, the majority of these western farmers supported Thomas Jefferson and the Republicans. The Expanding Republic and Native American Resistance - In the Treaty of Paris, Britain relinquished its claims on the land west of the Appalachians. This left the Indians with which they had held peace with, to the care of their [American] neighbors. - There were two sides when it came to the issue of the Indians. One side, composed of white Americans (including some very influential men) wanted to destroy native communities and their crops. The other, more rational side, sought to assimilate them into Euro-American society. Conflict Over Land Rights - This conflict is referring to the one that occurred between white Americans and Indians. - U.S. commissioners used the threat of military action to force the pro-british Iroquois to relinquish much of their land in NY and PA in the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784). - The Greenville Treaty of 1795 was signed after the Battle of Fallen Timbers occurred, and in which Americans forces handily defeated a confederation of Indian Tribes. As a result, Indian peoples ceded the majority of their lands, whilst they were also placed under the protection of the United States, and no other Power whatever. - Another result of the Greenville Treaty was that it sparked a new wave of white migration. By 1805, Ohio, a state just two years old, had more then a 100,000 residents. Assimilation Proposed and Rejected - To alleviate tensions between western farmers and Indians, the U.S. government proposed assimilation of the Indians into American culture.

6 - However, most Indians rejected this, sticking to traditional ancestral values. - Many Indians tried to find a middle ground, blending traditional values with elements of Christianity. However, when American missionaries attempted to convert warriors into farmers, and women into domestic helpmates, many Indians refused. Migration and the Changing Farm Economy - Native resistance slowed, but did not stop, American migration westward. - This migratory surge transformed America s farm economy. Movement out of the South - From , two huge streams of migrants left the South. - The first stream was comprised mostly of white tenant farmers and struggling yeomen families, migrated through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky and Tennessee. These farmers were fleeing planter societies and hoped to prosper by growing cotton and hemp, which were in great demand. - The second stream of migrants refers to a group dominated by slave-owing planters and their enslaved African Americans. They migrated along the coastal plain toward the Gulf of Mexico from the Carolinas. They moved to the Old Southwest, the future states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Exodus from New England - As migration occurred out of the south, a population exodus occurred out of New England around the same time. - Previously, generations of farm families from MA and CO had migrated north and east into New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. However, now, they began to migrate west, seeking land for their childrens. Hundreds of thousands moved to New York and settled there, whilst a minority of them migrated even further into Ohio. Agricultural Change in the East - To pay their debts, farmers (who recently migrated there from New England) in central NY, exported wheat to the east, forcing major changes in agriculture there. - Because they sold wheat at such low prices, New England farmers switched to high yielding and nutritious POTATOES. And to compensate for their decreasing number of workers, New England farmers bought farm equipment that was more advanced and brought about higher production, even with fewer workers. - Farmers also discovered that they could double their yields by rotating crops. Yeomen farmers also diversified production by raising sheep and selling wool to textile manufacturers. - In this new agricultural economy, families worked harder and longer, but their efforts

7 were rewarded with higher output and a better standard of living. The Jeffersonian Presidency - From , three Republicans from Virginia served two terms of Presidency. These three chronologically were Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. - Jefferson was the first president to reside in the White House. - Jefferson also inherited a judiciary system that was filled with Federalist appointees. They were midnight appointees that were appointed by previous President John Adams just before he left office. - The Chief Justice, John Marshall, sought to increase the power held by the Judiciary Branch. This was seen in Marbury v. Madison. The result of this case assetted that the Court had power to review congressional legislation and to interpret the meaning of the Constitution. Implementing the Revolution of Jefferson set out to reversing many of the Federalist policies. - Under the Jefferson administration, the Alien Act and the Sedition Act were branded unconstitutional and they were not reenacted. - His administration also sought to bring the power of the government down a bit, because it had been significantly expanded under the Federalists rule. - However, Jefferson governed tactfully, he allowed many competent Federalists to retain their posts. All-in-all he removed only 69 of 433 Federalist officeholders (apart from some midnight appointees). Jefferson and the West - Jefferson was the champion of encouraging western settlement, and this was continued when he became president. - Jefferson led the push to cheapen land prices for yeomen farmers and all western settlers. The Louisiana Purchase - The French were seeking to establish an empire in Europe and America, and they were being ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte. - As Napoleon sought to sell New Orleans, Jefferson warned Americans that if they did end up selling New Orleans, that they must marry themselves to (form an alliance with) the British, in case of war. - Jefferson s diplomacy yielded a magnificent prize: the entire territory of Louisiana, which Napoleon had sold because France now had large amounts of debt. They had sold the entire territory of Louisiana for $15 million (about $500 million today).

8 - Explorers Lewis and Clark sought to explore this new expanse of land, and were sent forth by Jefferson himself. Threats to the Union: Aaron Burr - Although the Louisiana Purchase, was undoubtedly a stunning accomplishment, because it doubled the size of the nation. It caused many Federalists to fear that the power of their states would be diminished. - These Federalists were led by Aaron Burr, who was accused of participating in a conspiracy to destroy the Union by Alexander Hamilton. Eventually, Burr challenged Hamilton to a pistol duel, although they were illegal in most northern states because Hamilton didn t support the idea of a northern confederacy. Hamilton died as a result. The War of 1812 and the Transformation of Politics - Trouble was brewing in Europe, where war had broken out again in For the next decade, the American government sought to safeguard themselves against war. - However, this effort eventually failed, and when it did it set in motion a series of dramatic political changes that destroyed the Federalist Party, and split the Republicans into the National and Jeffersonian factions. Conflict in the Atlantic and the West - The Napoleonic Wars that ravaged Europe between 1802 and 1815 endangered American commerce. - This was because naval blockades were established in several European countries. In Britain, hundreds of ships were seized, searched and possibly confiscated. This was done so they could search for British deserters. However, these navy raids were meant to replenish British forces, a practice known as impressment. The Embargo - This was a diplomatic decision enacted by President Jefferson and his Secretary of State James Madison. - The Embargo Act of 1807 prohibited American ships from leaving their home ports until Britain and France repealed their restrictions on U.S. trade. - However, the American government overestimated France s and Britain s dependence on American goods. - This ended up being a terrible decision economically. American exports plunged dramatically from $108 million in 1806 to $22 million in 1808, which hurt all American classes.

9 Tenskwatawa And Tippecanoe - Tenskwatawa was an Indian Chief in the Indiana territory. He sought to return his peoples to traditional Indian customs. - Bolstered by British guns and supplies, they sought to repel American settlers out of the Indiana territory. - When Tenskwatawa brought together a significant number of people near Tippecanoe, the American governor of the territory was forced to recognize them as a threat. - William Henry Harrison, the governor, mobilized a force of one thousand troops and militiamen for a preemptive strike on the holy city of Prophetstown (the town created by Tenskwatawa), and they burned it to the ground in November Republican War Hawks - Many Republicans were pressuring President Madison toward war because of the British aided Indians in the west, and the seizing of American ships in the Atlantic. - In response to this, Madison demanded respect for American sovereignty in the west and for neutral rights on the Atlantic. When the British were slow in their response, Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war. - In June of 1812, the Senate voted for war, and the House of Representatives concurred with a vote of for war. - Historians have reasoned that the causes for the war were actually a western war with eastern labels. The War of The War of 1812 was a war declared by the United States against Great Britain (and its Empire), lasting from June 18, 1812 to February 18, The causes involved American grievances against Britain for suppressing American trade, impressing (seizing) sailors with U.S. papers, and inciting hostile Indian raids in the west. Britain, tied down by a much larger war with Napoleon's France, acted too late diplomatically to head off the conflict. - The war followed a series of failed efforts by the U.S. to use economic pressure through the Embargo of The Federalist Legacy - The Federalist legacy refers to the fact that after The War of 1812, the Federalist Party dissipated. - The Republican party split into two factions. The National Republicans, which was led by Henry Clay was one of them.

10 - The Federalist party was effectively finished. Republicans outnumbered them 37 to 7 in the Senate and 156 to 27 in the House. Westward expansion and the success of Jefferson s Revolution of 1800 had ended both the Federalists and the First Party System. John Marshall s Jurisprudence - John Marshall remained an influence on American politics until his death in He was committed to judicial authority, the supremacy of national laws, and traditional property rights. - After Marshall claimed the right of judicial review for the Court in 1803, in Marbury v. Madison, the doctrine evolved slowly. Although the Supreme Court did not void another congressional law until the Dred Scott decision in 1857, the Marshall Court frequently overturned state laws that infringed on the U.S. Constitution. Property Rights - This refers to controversy involving property rights. Marshall and the largely Federalist Supreme Court vowed to void any law that would [impair] the rights of people to their property. - This could be seen in Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819). Dartmouth College was a private institution established by a royal charter, and when New Hampshire sought to convert it into a public university, the Dartmouth trustees opposed this and hired Daniel Webster to plead their case. Arguing the constitutionality of the legislation s actions, the Supreme Court agreed and upheld the rights of the college. The Rise of John Quincy Adams - John Quincy Adams political career started at a young age. Although his father, former president John Adams, was a federalist, he had joined the Republican Party before the War of He came under the national spotlight for his role in negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war. He then served brilliantly as Secretary of State under James Monroe for two terms. - The Republican Party however was soon to be split into two factions. - The first faction was the National Republicans, led by Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams. - The second faction was the Jeffersonian Republicans, led by the aging Jefferson, and soon to be led by Martin Van Buren and Andrew Jackson. - By the early 1820s, one cycle of American politics and economic debate had ended, and another was about to begin.