Chapter 9: The Early Republic

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Chapter 9: The Early RepublicPreview: “In 1789 Americans could be divided into those who were rural, largely self-sufficient farmers and those tied more closely to the world of commerce. Politics in the early republic was rooted in this fundamental social division.”The Highlights: 1789: A Social Portrait The New Government Expansion and Turmoil in the West The Emergence of Political Parties The Presidency of John Adams


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The Founding of New England 1789: A Social Portrait

– First federal census (1790): about 4 million Americans

– Population would double every 22 years, mostly from natural increase

– Poor transportation and few newspapers meant that the movement of people, goods, and ideas was slow


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The Semisubsistence Economy of Crèvecoeur’s America– In 1783 French writer and traveler to

rural America, Hector St. John Crèvecoeur, published his Letters from an American Farmer

– he argued that American society’s distinguishing characteristic was equality

– Fairly broad distribution of wealth– Barter economy predominated


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The Commercial Economy of Franklin’s America– Eastern areas more tied to

commerce than the backcountry was– Greater inequality of wealth– Values of commercial economy and

of backcountry were in conflict The Constitution and Commerce

– Urban and rural American differed on the role of government in the economy


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The New Government Washington’s Character

– Washington was somewhat controversial for the pomp that he brought to the White House

– A tough historical figure to penetrate because of enormous attention by historians

Organizing the Government– Washington created a cabinet of

advisors– Judiciary Act of 1789 defined the

judicial system


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The Bill of Rights– By 1791, 10 amendments guaranteeing

basic freedoms were ratified Hamilton’s Financial Program

– Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s secretary of the treasury, promoted ambitious plan for the federal government’s role in the economy

– Wanted to link the interests of the wealthy commercial class to the government

– 1791: first Bank of the United States created


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Opposition to Hamilton’s Program– Madison and Jefferson became leading

opponents to Hamilton and the Federalists

– Fear of a financial aristocracy and a system of corruption

The Specter of Aristocracy– In spite of fears, Hamilton’s program

was an economic success—inflation was ended, the currency was stabilized, and the government’s credit restored

“The passage of Hamilton’s program caused a permanent rupture among supporters of the Constitution”(239).


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Expansion and Turmoil in the West The Resistance of the Miamis

– Federal government tried to buy Indian titles to land in order to promote white settlement in the Ohio River Valley

– Treaty of Greenville (1795): Miami Confederacy ceded two-thirds of the area between Lake Erie and the Ohio River


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The Whiskey Rebellion– Westerners irritated over new excise

tax (1791) on distilled liquors– Pockets of unrest all over the

backcountry– Resistance collapsed with

Washington’s deployment of the army

Pinckney’s Treaty– 1796: established 31st parallel as the

southern boundary of the United States

– Gave Americans free navigation of the Mississippi River


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The Emergence of Political Parties Americans and the French

Revolution– Most Americans welcomed news of

the revolution in France in 1789– Hamilton and the Federalists,

however, saw the French Revolution as leading to anarchy

– The event became a defining issue between the Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans


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Washington’s Neutral Course– Washington proclaimed American

neutrality and moderated Jefferson’s attempts to support France

– Jay’s Treaty (1795) illustrated America’s secondary position to Britain

The Federalists and Republicans Organize– By the mid-1790s, most politicians

had aligned themselves with one of the two major parties


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The 1796 Election– John Adams defeated Jefferson, who,

because of a quirk in the Constitution, became vice-president

– Federalists’ political base was the more commercial Northeast; the Jeffersonian Republicans’ was the West

“In his Farewell Address, Washington warned against the dangers of parties and urged a return to the earlier nonpartisan system. But that vision had become obsolete: parties were an effective way of expressing the interests of different social and economic groups within the nation.”


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Federalist and Republican Ideologies– Federalists believed in a strong

central government and feared “mob rule”

– Republicans believed in weaker central government and feared corruption by the aristocracy


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The Presidency of John Adams The Naval War with France

– French raiding of American shipping became a major issue for Adams

– 1797: Adams sent diplomats to France to negotiate, and the French demanded bribes

– This event, subsequently known as the XYZ Affair, aggravated tensions with France and between the two political parties


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Suppression at Home– Federalists tried to suppress disloyalty

at home with the Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)

– Persecuted Republicans enlarged their interpretation of the freedom of the press

– Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions demanded an end to federal government’s abuse of authority

The Election of 1800– Jefferson and Adams ran again; this

time, Jefferson won


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Political Violence in the Early Republic– Political tensions sometimes

threatened to devolve into armed conflict

– Ideology of republicanism made activists vigilant protectors of liberty

– Federalists achievements capped by strengthening stability and order of nation’s society and foreign affairs


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Jefferson in Power The New Capital City

– Washington, D.C. replaced Philadelphia as the nation’s capital in 1800

– Isolation of swampy city reflected Jefferson’s preference for decentralized government

Jefferson’s Character and Philosophy– Jefferson maintained a fervent belief in

human reason– Jefferson’s radicalism has been

exaggerated


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Republican Principles– Belief in limited government– 1800 election established tradition

of having an opposition party Jefferson’s Economic Policies

– President made series of spending cuts

– National debt reduced from $83 million to $57 million

– Failed to abolish Hamilton’s program


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John Marshall and Judicial Review– Judiciary Act of 1801 repealed by

Congress in 1802 by strict party vote– Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice

Marshall, established judicial review in Marbury v. Madison (1803)

The Jeffersonian Attack on the Judiciary– Republicans tried to scale back

Adams’s judicial appointments

“During his tenure on the bench, Marshall extended judicial review to all acts of government. It took time for the doctrine to be accepted, but since Marshall’s time the Supreme Court has successfully defended its position as the final judge of the meaning of the Constitution”(262).


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Jefferson and Western Expansion The Louisiana Purchase

– Surprise Spanish cession of Louisiana to France arrested American designs to acquire the territory

– Jefferson deployed Madison and Livingston to deal with the French for New Orleans

– Napoleon needed money, and offered the entire territory for $15 million

– Treaty ratified, 24 to 7


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Lewis and Clark– Spring 1804: expedition left St. Louis

to explore the Louisiana Territory– Returned in 1806 with valuable

information about the West

“The expedition fired the imagination of Americans about the exotic lands of the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase as well as the Pacific Northwest”(265).


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Whites and Indians on the Frontier The Course of White Settlement

– Treaty of Greenville had opened floodgates of settlers into the Ohio Territory

– Backcountry society began to mature A Changing Environment

– Massive deforestation altered plant and animal life

– West’s increasing population led to more disease


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Pressure on Indian Lands and Culture– Increased white settlement caused

the destruction of many Indian cultures

The Prophet, Tecumseh, and the Pan-Indian Movement– Some Shawnees, under assault from

white settlements, turned to religious movement in the late 1790s

– The Prophet, or Tenskwatawa, promoted isolation from whites

– Prophet’s older brother Tecumseh promoted political message of unity


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The Second War for American Independence

The Barbary Pirates and Cultural Identities– American perceptions of Islamic culture

forged by dispute with Barbary states

“As Tecumseh worked to overcome obstacles to a Pan-Indian alliance, Jefferson encountered his own difficulties in trying to achieve American political unity.”


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Neutral Rights– American shipping caught between the

warring nations of France and Britain– British navy’s policy of impressment

caused a deterioration of relations– Both Britain and France raided

hundreds of American ships, 1803-1807 The Embargo

– Embargo Act of 1807 prohibited American vessels in foreign ports and stopped exports

– Embargo was a huge economic disaster


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Madison and the Young Republicans– Madison won the presidency in

1808, bringing tremendous experience to the position

– Madison too often deferred to others, which led to the War Hawks in Congress taking the lead in the party

The Decision for War– American anger focused on the

British– In June 1812, Congress declared war

on Britain


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National Unpreparedness– Army and navy of the United States

too small and under-funded to wage war

– After dismal invasion of Canada in 1812, American efforts improved with Commander Perry’s victory at Lake Erie

“A Chance Such as Will Never Occur Again”– Tecumseh tried to exploit the

situation, but his Creek allies were defeated in 1814

– Pan-Indian movement died with Tecumseh’s death

9-15


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American Turns Inward

The Missouri Crisis– Missouri Territory’s possible admission

into the Union in 1819 provoked national debate over slavery

– Missouri Compromise settled dispute, and established the 36°30’ line, north of which slavery could not exist


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Monroe’s Presidency– James Monroe won the election of

1816– Transcontinental Treaty (1819) with

Spain gave Florida to the United States

The Monroe Doctrine– Improved relations with Britain,

1810s– Monroe affirmed America’s

opposition to future European colonies in the Western Hemisphere

The End of an Era– End of foreign threat and beginning

of American nationalism

Chapter 9: The Early Republic

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