Chapter 5
The Experiment Begins, 1787-1800
Embedded Files
[5.b.6-8] Forming the Army and Navy
Debate over the army and navy symbolized the competing visions of the Federalists vs. Republicans. The Federalists saw armies as tools of statecraft; they wanted a standing army under federal control. The Democrat-Republicans relied on state militia, believing full-time armies were tools of despots to rob the people of their liberties.
Many in the country also wanted a navy to protect against Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Democrat-Republican view prevailed, which disappointed President Washington:
The 1792 Militia Act relied on the state militias as the first line of defense. The standing army was authorized at only 719 men.
The 1796 Naval Act built the first six frigates of the United States Navy. The $680,000 bill was the biggest Congress had passed up to that time. Even Democrat-Republicans from seaport cities voted for this bill required the federal government to build the ships in six different construction yards in order that the federal project not favor one seaport.
[5.c.6] Indians Cede Land
Indians signed away southern Ohio in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville. The war on the frontier was over—for a while.
[5.g.1-2] Jefferson Wins in 1800
Each elector chose two candidates for president. Second place became vice-president.
The Electoral College Tally
Burr (D-R) 73 Jefferson (D-R) 73 Adams (F) 65 Pinckney (F) 64
The House of Representatives now had to name the president, which by the Constitution would be when one candidate obtained the votes of 9/16 state congressional caucuses (meaning Virginia = 1 vote, Pennsylvania = 1 vote, etc). Jefferson accepted a compromise: Delaware’s sole delegate—a Federalist—abstained when Jefferson announced he would not disturb the Bank of the United States or the Federalist financial program. The abstention left the Delaware caucus tied, canceling it out. Thus did Jefferson win 8/15 states.
[6.f.1] Support for the War came from the South and West
When war came in June 1812, congressmen from the west and south wanting war with England were called the “War Hawks of 1812.” [102]. They wanted to invade Canada to eliminate the vestiges of British colonialism—and expel British agents continuing to arm Indians for raids on the American frontier.
The War of 1812 had many causes. Unresolved issues left over from the American Revolution and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars raised the anxieties within the young American republic. Historians have cited the following reasons:
On land, the British were arming Indians from Canadian forts. Invasion and annexation of Canada would eliminate that problem. The same was going on in Florida (technically a Spanish possession but the British were the real power). A war against England would eliminate the remnants of British colonialism. At sea, British press crews had kidnapped 6,000 sailors by 1812. Assaults on the high seas struck at American honor,and hurt trade. Westerners and southerners also believed the British distant naval blockade hurt American grain exports.
[6.f.4] Failure of the Militia
The army was only 6,700 strong, so the United States had to rely on the militia when war came in June 1812. But the militia failed to meet the challenge of America's second war against Britain. For example, Several New England militias refused to cross state lines to support the invasion of Canada. Other examples follow:
(1) New York militia refused to cross over to Canada to reinforce US Army at the Battle of Queenstown (1812). The Americans lost the battle on the Canadian side.
(2) At the Battle of Blandensburg (1814), the militia ran as the British approached, allowing the British to enter Washington D.C. and to burn the public buildings.
Although Congress authorized a 30,000-many army in 1814, Americans did not learn from 1812-1814 failures. Just as in the case of Bunker Hill (1775), Jackson's victory at New Orleans gave the impression that militia, under good command, could beat European professionals. That nation would learn only slowly that warfare was too serious to entrust to purely "citizen soldiers."
[6.g.2] Effects of the British Naval Blockade, 1814
During the early period of the Republic (pre-1820) American commerce remained oriented on Europe. At first the Napoleonic wars (1799-1815) benefited the American merchants and shippers. The table below shows the percentage of trade carried in American ships across Atlanic:
Some things the statistics tell:
US export revenue dropped from $45 million in 1811 to $7 million in 1814.
The British blockade was effective, but only at considerable allocation of naval forces by Great Britain to American waters.
Smugglers were able to sneak through the blockade, but but it was hard and ship owners raised prices to cover the risk. In 1913 sugar quoted at $9 per hundredweight in New Orleans cost $21 per hundredweight in New York.
Ships of foreign registry carried increased cargo tonnage as Yankee shippers were shut up in port.
The reduced imports hurt the U.S. treasury, as import duties had been a major source of revenue.
The blockade starved economy of New England led to protest. The Hartford Convention (1814) was an attempt by wealthy New Englanders to end the war by signing a separate peace with England. Since most were Federalists, the Federalist Party emerged from the war as "traitors."
Source: Faulkner, Harold Underwood. American Economic History 6th ed. (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1949), 229-39; and Harry Coles The War of 1812, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965), 88-90.
[6.g.4] The Treaty of Ghent, Christmas Eve, 1814
Ghent is in Belgium, and there representatives of the United States and Great Britain ended the War of 1812. Both sides were tired of the conflict. The treaty did not really say much except that hostilities ceased. It contained relatively mundane agreements--prisoners of war were exchanged and the British recognized the American annexation of west Florida from Spain--but was silent impressment, the status of the Great Lakes, and the fate of the tribes.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse