3. THE ROAD WEST- ON THE WAY TO THE CIVIL WAR

PART TWO

• Election gridlock: Washington was president until 1797, living in Philadelphia, federal capital until Washington City was built and then stepped down going back to his beloved farm at Mount Vernon. He handed the job to the newly elected John Adams. Both Washington and Adams were Federalists, believing that only a strong central government could protect the nation. Alexander Hamilton, first secretary of the treasury, was born in the Bahamas to an unmarried woman, and became a wealthy self-made lawyer, was also a Federalist. While he became the secretary of the treasury, he tried to consolidate the national and state debt. Some Southern states were especially against the consolidation of state and federal debt because they had already paid off their debt and did not want to take on the debt of the North. They also thought that letting the government have power over money gave them too much power. Hamilton, however, believed that only by paying off this debt would the United States establish itself as an economic power in the world. Jefferson strongly disagreed. A fierce rivalry developed between these two men, and this was the beginning of political parties. 

• Hamilton and Jefferson did come back together one more time to help the country. Jefferson invited Hamilton and James Madison to a dinner party. Somewhere between coffee and dessert the three men made their last compromise together to help the new country. Jefferson and Madison saw some advantage to paying off the debt but feared that a National bank would only benefit the rich in the North. Hamilton assured them that this move would make the country as a whole more solid, better and more competitive economically worldwide. And Hamilton assured Jefferson that he had something that the Southerner would like. If Jefferson and Madison helped the bank bill pass through Congress, Hamilton would make sure that Washington City would be built between Virginia and Maryland where Jefferson could keep his eye on what was happening in the national government. The three men agreed. The deal was struck. This would be the last time that Hamilton would agree with these two men and the Democratic Republicans.

     Then came the election of 1800. This particular election was considered one of the dirtiest in American History. Jefferson's supporters (anti-Federalists or Democratic Republicans as they were called because he felt that states should have more power) accused Adams of scandal in the Presidency. His supporters claimed that the National Bank and other actions by Hamilton and like minded Federalists were part of a plan to create a monarchy. Adams' supporters said that Jefferson had many mistresses and was an atheist. Thomas Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr clearly won over John Adams and his running mate. In the first presidential elections, the person with the most votes became President, and the second would become Vice President. The election was a tie (in the Electoral College) between Jefferson and Burr. 35 times the House of Representatives voted and tied. Finally, Alexander Hamilton made a backroom deal with a Federalist to give the election to Jefferson, the man he considered the lesser of two evils. This made Burr and Hamilton enemies. On April 17, 1804, the hatred between the two men brought Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton to the dueling field armed with pistols.  Hamilton raised his gun and shot into the air (an honorable act) and Burr shot Hamilton dead. Aaron Burr, although he did not face criminal prosecution, was considered a villain and killer to people in the North, and Jefferson no longer wanted him as his vice-president nor was he welcomed after this act in most of American society. Later Burr became involved in a plot with men who wished to leave the Union. The plot was uncovered and Aaron Burr was charged with treason, tried and acquitted. He left for Europe. He was rejected by everyone he approached in Europe and then finally came back to the United States at the end of his life only to be rejected by his second wife. She filed for divorce when she found out that he was using her fortune for a personal venture. He died soon thereafter at age 80.  

To earn extra points to your grade at the END OF THE YEAR- 20 POINT EXTRA CREDIT TOWARD THE FINAL POINT TOTAL (not percentage points).This is a fictional story about a man who was helping Aaron Burr, and unlike Burr, was convicted of treason, and sentenced to "never hear the name of the United States again".  After reading the story, WRITE IN YOUR OWN WORDS A ONE PAGE SUMMARY ON YOUR GOOGLE APPS ACCOUNT. 

• 1. READ THE FOLLOWING SHORT STORY FROM AMERICAN LITERATURE "The Man Without a Country" by Edward Everett Hale (click on this link), 

  2. Title your Google doc "Extra Credit- the Man Without a Country" It must be in your shared folder for you to get credit, in your own words, and have it in by the end of MARCH. I will NOT ACCEPT IT PAST THE END OF MARCH.

PART TWO B

• Before Jefferson could take power in 1801, John Adams with a Federalist congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1801 setting up a system of courts throughout the country. He also made John Marshall chief justice. With Marshall's help, John Adams hoped to fill the courts with Federalist sympathizers before he left office. Some of the positions had not been filled when Jefferson took over only because the documents had not been delivered. Jefferson told James Madison, secretary of state,  NOT TO DELIVER THEM even though they had been approved by Congress. One of these men was William Marbury. Marbury, angry, took his case to the Supreme Court in Marbury vs Madison.  James Madison claimed that the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction over this case. Madison said there was NOTHING in the constitution which allowed the Supreme Court to decide what was constitutional or not. This is the first of many Supreme Court decisions that changed the fate of the United States. Eventually, Marbury won the case and chief justice, John Marshall set down the following principles of the Supreme Court:

• The Constitution is the Supreme law over any other court or law in the United States. In other words, it is the Supreme Law of the Land. 

• The Constitution must be followed when there is conflict 

• Judicial system must uphold Constitution or nullify (get rid of) unconstitutional laws.

  • In other words, this decision spelled out the job of the Supreme Court which was not spelled out in the Constitution itself. In several other cases, the court broadened the Federal power by saying that Congress and the Supreme Court have IMPLIED POWERS, or powers not specifically spelled out in the Constitution as in the case of the Louisiana Purchase, and federal courts took precedence over state courts. See in the link below what other landmark decisions changed our country. Open the worksheet that accompanies this in Google Doc, make a copy to your shared folder and then discover what happened in the following cases:

• Supreme Court web link and the assignment is below

->Google docs assignment or you can find this in the workbook

->also read the following: Marshall's Supreme Court

PART TWO C -THOMAS JEFFERSON'S THOUGHTS ON THE MATTER

• • Thomas Jefferson as President was determined to do the following:

    1. Reduce the power and size of the Federal Government.

    2. Advance the French idea for growing the American economy by using a policy of "laissez-faire" or let the people do as they choose. This was not always in the best interest of the American people as Americans discovered.

    3. He cut the number of federal positions, and taxes. He said that federal funds would come only from Customs Duties or taxes on imported goods and from the sale of Western lands. With the purchase of the Louisiana, he knew there was lots of land to sell....if the Native Americans were not living there first. (Jefferson was a brilliant man, but economics was not one of them; he died $100,000 in debt. Bankers did not have the heart to evict him while he was alive. His death left his remaining family deeply in debt, having to sell everything and everyone (slaves) to pay off his debts (from Paradox of Liberty, an exhibit at the Smithsonian). 

    4. Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Purchase for $15 million at about 3 cents an acre. He claimed "implied powers" gave him the authority to do this therefore more than doubling the size of the United States. He used the same argument that Alexander Hamilton had almost a decade before when the National Bank was created. The added land also asked  the question, "Free or slave?" A group of Federalists rebelled against Jefferson's purchase, and they hoped to start to a new country to rebel against Jefferson's big government.  Massachusetts was going to where the new country would be located, but the plot fell through. 

    5. Jefferson served 2 terms as President until 1809. He returned to his mountain top home, Monticello,  in Virginia. Jefferson was born an aristocrat and always lived his life as one. He spent money without thought to the debt. He bought a new dress sword, candlesticks, every book he could, and rebuilt his home many times. He inherited over 100 slaves from his father-in-law as well as his in-law's debt. Although he was an advocate for the common man and his rights, he had little or no exposure to the common man. He lived with his family in the Virginia home built far away from the city on a mountain top until 1826, rebuilding his home, reading non-stop, and helping to design and start the University of Virginia. Frequently, Jefferson entertained dinner guests having lively discussions on the nature of the world, politics, science or anything else of interest. He also wrote letters and journals about his view of America. Joseph Ellis, author of Thomas Jefferson, American Sphinx and Founding Brothers said that everything Jefferson wrote put Jefferson in a shining light.  

    6. During Jefferson's remaining years, he was vocal on keeping ordinary uneducated persons out of government, restricting their ability to rule by majority (too easily swayed), keeping women's education to the gentle side and limited to women's place in society, and removing all Native Americans to west of the Mississippi. He died on July 4, 1826, fifty years after the Declaration of Independence and on the same day as another founding father, former president, and once again his friend, John Adams. The man who had once written "all men are created equal" only freed in his will only six slaves of his over 100 slaves he owned. The rest, the families that had existed for years on his plantation, were each sold individually to pay Jefferson's debts. The Smithsonian exhibit shows what happened to many of these slaves, including one of Sally Hemming's sons (Jefferson's slave and half sister of Jefferson's wife, Martha)  who had red hair and extremely light skin. He later became a major in the Civil War, passing as a white man.

ONE OTHER FEATURE YOU SHOULD SEE FROM THE SMITHSONIAN SOCIETY

JEFFERSON'S BIBLE

 THE DUALITY OF THOMAS JEFFERSON

PART THREE- FIGHTING FOREIGN THREATS

THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE

The War of 1812 and other things....

Americans and Early Foreign Encounters

• •  THREE A-  Early Americans had a reason to be afraid of foreigners. They had fought for their independence from Great Britain and against Hessian (German) troops, had Spanish settlements in Florida, and the Southwest. There were French and British in the Canadian provinces, and the French occupied parts of the Mississippi including Louisiana and New Orleans. On the other hand, Americans realized that they would not survive without these contacts. Americans also learned what many of these countries had known for a thousand years. If the United States could trade with India and China, there was a chance that they would make a fortune. In 1785, the first Chinese ship filled with silks and spices from China came into New York and soon thereafter, many followed. Soon American ships were sailing everywhere in the known world establishing trade.

• Wars between Britain and France and Spain brought other concerns. American ships were clearly marked with the American flag and did not want to get involved with any foreign conflicts. In the 1790’s, pirates from African coasts took ships captive until they paid a ransom to operate in the Mediterranean and off the African coast. Finally in 1801, the king of Tripoli declared war on the United States giving Tripoli the right to attack American ships. The United States blockaded Tripoli harbors and finally a peace treaty was signed. This is where the Marine hymn “from the shores of Tripoli” comes from…. that the United States will fight wherever needed.

•  In 1805, American ships faced a new threat. Even though the United States was neutral or not taking sides with either Great Britain or France, the British ships would stop American ships and accuse them of having British deserters on board, and forcibly took the men from their ships to serve in the British navy. This was called impressment. In one incident between a British war ship and American trading vessel, the British captain demanded to search the ship for deserters. The American captain refused and the warship fired on the American ship severely crippling the ship and killing 3 men. The Congress in reaction to this passed a disastrous Embargo Act. This meant that Americans could no longer trade with any other country. Britain needed American cotton and other products such as wood. James Madison, secretary of state, felt that this move would help America avoid war.  Britain in answer to America’s Embargo Act simply turned to South American countries to get what they wanted. Finally, congress lessened the law so merchants were only prohibited from trading with Britain and France.

    In the midst of the turmoil, Thomas Jefferson decided like Washington, two terms were enough. It was time to go to his Virginia home. James Madison, former secretary of state, and friend of Thomas Jefferson became the next president, and the beginning of his presidency was marked by war fever and great changes that would shape the future of the United States.

3B  What Americans were about to experience was what modern people would call UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES. In other words, leaders felt what they were doing was the right thing to do at the moment they did it, but soon discovered that their actions could bring on serious and unexpected consequences. Here is what happened:

•   Congress promised to drop all bans on Great Britain and France; that is, the first country to drop their trade bans on the United States. Napoleon (France) took advantage. France got the trade. But Americans still had ties to Britain and did not trust the foreign speaking, aloof, Catholic French. They knew they were on the verge of war but most could not decide who the enemy was. 

• The enemy became clearer when Native Americans began to rebel against American expansion. Led by Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief, and backed by the British, Native Americans began to attack white settlements. Eventually, Americans defeated Native American troops. The unintended consequences were that this act convinced WAR HAWKS that war with Britain was inevitable. Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, southern congressmen, were hungry for more land and worked hard to sell their cause. If they could convince Congress and America that the Native Americans were dangerous and that behind them and with them stood the British, then there would be war. If America could win this war, then Britain would no longer be a threat and the land would be there for the taking.

• In the spring of 1812, President Madison declared war on the British forces. And the winds of war began to blow...... One of the winds that blew through Ohio was a battle on Lake Erie fought between the British and Commodore Oliver Perry (American commander). Perry defeated the British in Naval Battles.

• British and drove them out. Two future presidents were involved in these battles. One was William Henry Harrison, and the other was Andrew Jackson. 

•  In the summer of 1814, British troops attacked Washington DC and burned the White House. Dolly Madison, first lady, grabbed the portrait of George Washington as she fled the troops. 

  • Again, Great Britain decided that this war was too costly. So America and Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent. But news was slow and Andrew Jackson, an orphan due to the British in the Revolutionary War and commander of American troops in New Orleans, won a battle in late 1814 against the British after the treaty was signed. Jackson was now a hero and this helped him win the presidency in 1828.

    After the war of 1812, James Monroe became President. By this time, Americans felt great about being American. This was known as "the Era of Good Feelings".  What was becoming stronger, however, is SECTIONALISM. In other words, feelings of loyalty became stronger for the section of the country that the citizen was from became extremely important. People voted in Congress mainly by what section of the country they were from, not by the political party they belonged to. 

     The Southerners whether they owned slaves or not believed in the right to own slaves. Slaves they said were property and the Constitution had guaranteed the right to own property, and the right of each state to make their own laws deciding such matters. The Southerners cited the Bible as a reason for slavery and how they were helping the souls of Black slaves to be saved. The North saw slavery an immoral act and a practice that could hurt their economy. Slaves in the North would take the jobs that many of the poor or new immigrants were willing to work with low pay. Low pay or not, the poor white of the North saw it as their chance to some day make it, to make their fortune and find a place in society. Ministers in the GREAT AWAKENING, a religious revival of the Protestants in the North, preached the evils of slavery, that God frowned on it and those that practiced it. 

    From these movements came strong personalities. JOHN C. CALHOUN was a southerner from South Carolina. He believed strongly in STATE SOVEREIGNTY. He opposed high tariffs, which raised the prices of manufactured goods. These made it difficult for those in New York to sell goods to those in North Carolina and vice-versa.

    DANIEL WEBSTER  was from New Hampshire. He was in favor of tariffs that protected Northern manufacturers, and was for strong central government. 

     HENRY CLAY of Kentucky was a War Hawk that could see the advantages of the war of 1812. He represented Western interests and tried to solve disputes between the two sections of the country. Clay believed in the American System or something that said 1) There would be protective tariff against foreign imports 2) there would be internal improvements to the land 3)the National Bank. Many Southerners did not see the advantages of the tariff or internal improvements. Why should Southerners pay for Northerners? 

     Out of this time of warring words and worry within the American Congress came the MISSOURI COMPROMISE. In March of 1820, after much fighting on the Congressional floor, a compromise was reached to admit new states so that Congress would be balanced. Slavery would be banned north of the 36 30' parallel, Missouri was admitted as a slave state and Maine a free state. Hopefully, legislators wished, this would please everyone and keep peace.

    The last part of Monroe's Presidency produced THE MONROE DOCTRINE. This said the US would not interfere with any other foreign power already existing in America. However, North and South America were now considered off limits to any foreign power and the United States would consider it an act of war if they did interfere. This doctrine was used more than one time in US history.

PART FOUR- THE ROAD WEST

WESTWARD HO!!!!

    Where was the West? In 1800, it was Ohio, and Indiana. Cincinnati was nothing but an army outpost, a mere fort. By 1821, it was a major city and trade center on the Ohio River. 

     Horace Greeley, a journalist wrote in the newspaper, "Go West young man." There was land to be had and opportunity when there was none before. People hoped to feed their families, become successful, climb the economic ladder. This opportunity was not available anywhere else in the world.  

      Of course there were a few people living there already. Native Americans saw this land as a present from the Great Spirit, and did not understand the white man's obsession with "owning" it. So there were hurdles.....for both Native Americans and White Settlers. 

     In 1800, when many began moving west there were no trains, factories, canals, or steam boat. Within 20 years, this was different. All of these things were in play as the wagons moved West by 1820. Promise of new land, of new opportunities, enticed all kinds of people. At this time, forests stretched to prairie and on the prairie lived herds of buffalo. Millions migrated across the prairie of the middle of the US territories. 

    In the Southwest were immigrants from Europe; the four legged type. Cattle and horses had broken away from their European human masters and multiplied. Huge herds competed for grasslands. They ran wild and were there for the taking. At first, Native Americans became one with the horses. Soon however, their world was invaded by aliens. 

    In the East, families often sold all they had and bought a Conestoga wagon, a large wagon covered with canvas usually pulled by oxen and packed up with what these early white settlers felt they needed for their new homes. Routes were often scattered with belongings that people could not use or made the wagon too heavy to be pulled over barriers. 

     With the Louisiana Purchase came new uncharted territories, places for the settlers. These territories were often lawless, overrun by Native Americans, huge snow storms, locusts, and animals of every sort. The weather was unpredictable and often harsh. In Kansas territory, homesteaders often made homes out of sod, or thick grassed earth. The homes were uncomfortable, unsanitary and small. Women and men got old before their time, children forced to work as soon as they could walk. The modern school year for public schools today is still scheduled around this agrarian society which needed kids to help in the fields. 

        With new lands came the question, "Will this be free or slave territory?" Not only did settlers see the obvious hazards of this question as something that could hurt them, but there were those that would one day start a civil war and tear the country apart over this very question. Did the color of one's skin make this a land of opportunity or was this a white man's land? A large number of slaves in any single territory would be represented by 3/5 of a person. This would make the House of Representatives a Southern institution or could throw the vote and advantages to the industrialized North. So Congress looked for a way to balance out the numbers. All of this became part of the Western story.

PART FOUR A. Now, watch the story below (it will take you a while) and take GOOD, thorough notes.

Much of what you need to know will be in the movie.

PART FOUR B. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WEST-read and explore these pages AND TAKE GOOD NOTES.

NOW READ THIS:

    When the western movement began in earnest, new trade routes had to be open and ways for people to travel. A new invention called the train came onto the scene. Earliest railroads were coal powered, noisy, dangerous and dirty. Eventually, this one form of transportation moved more people to the west than any other. Trains, in general, changed the American landscape. 

    There were roads for wagon travel from one trade center to another built and maintained called a turnpike that allowed travelers to pass easier. 

      There was also river travel by all kinds of boats. In 1807, Robert Fulton introduced the first steam powered engined boat. No longer did people have to rely on the currents or the wind. At first, it was called "Fulton's Folly" because no one believed that it would work or last. 

    Then New York decided to provide waterways where there were no waterways. These waterways were dug to create a passageway from one trade center to another. These were called canals. The most famous was the Erie Canal. One of the early canals ran through Sidecut Park. 

    Soon, settlers began moving more and more to the West. By 1820, 581,000 settlers had crossed the Appalachian Mountains on their way west. This movement was not easy as you saw in the movie.

   In the 1840's settlers in Texas decided it was time to become independent of Mexico. So in the late 1840's, the Mexican War occurred to first make Texas its own country and then part of the USA.

    Jackson believed that power should be given to the common person and his election was the first in history in which white men could vote for president and have their voices heard. In the election of 1824, Jackson faced 3 other candidates. One was John Quincy Adams, the son of John Adams. Adams campaign used the fact that Jackson was not formally educated (self educated), and married to a scandalous woman as a reason why people should NOT vote for him. Jackson said that Adams had arranged for immoral business deals with the foreign powers that he know. The first was true, the second accusation false. But it made no difference. Jackson won a plurality or the largest share of votes but not a majority (over 50%). According to the 12th amendment, the election then goes to the House of Representatives. Henry Clay arranged a deal to elect John Quincy Adams and so it happened. Henry Clay was now Jackson's enemy and would be for the rest of his life. In fact, Jackson stated that one of 2 things that he regretted in his presidency was not shooting Clay. 

     While John Quincy Adams was President (number 6), he encouraged the government to set money aside for improvements and education and scientific research. The opposition thought that this was not the government's job. Because of this, and the fact that Adams was highly educated, the stage was set for Jackson to be elected in 1828. For the election (one of the first in American history that people could vote for who they supported), Adams supporters printed up "coffin handbills", and told how Jackson had deserters shot. The handbills backfired because many "ordinary Americans" approved of what he did and considered Jackson to be a true American hero. This was a time to celebrate the American spirit, his supporters said. There were for the first time, banners, slogans, buttons and barbecues to drum up support.  

     Andrew was just and everyday type of guy, hero of the war of 1812, illegally grabbing land from Indians in the South and Florida from Spain, therefore making America safer and better for all Americans. So in 1828, the first "ordinary" man was elected President. His supporters called him "Old Hickory" because he was tough like a hickory stick. By 1828, 22 out of 24 states had changed voting requirements so that ordinary white males could vote, not just rich land owners. These are the men who had voted for Jackson, and John C. Calhoun from South Carolina  his vice president. Both Jackson and Calhoun strongly supported "state sovereignty" so it appeared at first that this would be a good combination. 

     As president, he struggled with "what to do".  After sworn in, President Jackson opened the White House doors to the common man to celebrate. The mud, broken china and crystal and chaos was absolute proof to Washington insiders that rough house backwoods people should not be in the White House. 

• The first thing he did as president was to fire many veteran government workers and give the jobs to his supporters. This was called the Spoils System. 

• In congress, a tariff act was passed against European goods. Calhoun and the South oppose this. He stated that any state that did not like a federal law or action had the right to nullify it or get rid of it. If South Carolina did not get its way, Calhoun stated, At a dinner with mostly southern legislators attending, Jackson sat silently as one toast after another was given against the tariff and for nullification. Finally it came time for Jackson to toast. He shocked the crowd by saying the union must be preserved at any cost. Soon the Tariff Act of 1832 passed lower rates on imported goods, but Calhoun led South Carolina in passing the Nullification Act. It said that the state would not pay for the tariff and if the USA did not like it, they would secede from the Union. Jackson fired back that he would send US Troops to keep the Union together if necessary. South Carolina backed down but did not like it.

• President Jackson had been a frontier man. He knew that the only good place for an Indian was west of the Mississippi River.  He also knew how valuable the farmland was that they lived on. So he ordered the Indian Removal Act in which Native Americans were pushed forcibly off their land and marched thousands of miles west. During the term of his successor, Martin Van Buren, the Cherokee were forced to Indian territory or what is now Oklahoma. This only lasted however till white men wanted the land in Oklahoma....

• One thing that Jackson was really opposed to was the National Bank. He felt that the bank had driven many an honest farmer off his land, and held their money. The president of the bank, Nicolas Biddle, stood for everything Jackson hated. He was rich and powerful, came from a rich family and was college educated. The bank represented something for rich men, not everyday farmers. Jackson vetoed the bank renewal. Jackson said that the bank was unconstitutional even though the US Supreme Court disagreed in 1819 with this opinion. He took all the money out of the federal banks and put them in unregulated state banks. Soon the USA found itself deeply in dept. By 1836, the country was on its was in a deep depression only second to the great depression of the 1930's. 

  Read in class this excerpt from Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States and take notes about what happened to the American Indian.