Michael Chiu

AP US History
Period 2
10/17/09

Outline of Chapter 7: The Jeffersonian Era

-When Jefferson and his followers took power, they envisioned a society of independent
farmers and a limited federal government, but many things didn’t work out that way
The Rise of Cultural Nationalism
Patterns of Education
-One of the main beliefs of Republicans was that citizens should be virtuous+enlightened
-wanted creation of a nationwide system of public schools to educate male citizens
-However, schooling became responsibility of private institutions
-In the 1800s, Americans began to place new value on the contribution of the “republican
mother” to the training of the new generation – female academies arose in the 1770s
-Interest of Indian education grew because people wanted to reform “backward” people
-Higher education was rare for those in lower classes
Medicine and Science
-University of Pennsylvania was first American medical school
-Many doctors of the time period used useless and dangerous treatments
-Benjamin Rush, a pioneering Philadelphia physician, believed in bleeding and purging
-In the early 19th century, physicians began to handle deliveries of children themselves
-Led to decreased opportunity for women and less childbirth care for poor mothers
Cultural Aspirations in the New Nation
-Many Americans in the Jeffersonian era wanted a new form of cultural independence
-Noah Webster, a Connecticut schoolmaster and lawyer, argued for a simplified and
Americanized system of spelling – American Spelling Book became bestseller
-Washington Irving won wide acclaim for his satirical histories of early American life
-made him acknowledged leader of American literary life in his era
Religious Skepticism
-Some Americans, including Jefferson and Franklin embraced “deism,” where God’s
existence was accepted, but God was a being who, after having created the universe, had
withdrawn from direct involvement with the human race
The Second Great Awakening
-Began among Presbyterians in several eastern colleges
-At Cane Ridge, Kentucky, in the summer of 1801, a evangelical camp meeting happened
-Many other meetings like this were eventually held
-Second Great Awakening accelerated growth of different sects
-In some parts of country, revivals were open to people of all races and many blacks
embraced the new religious fervor
-Many Indians were also converted to different religions
-Awakening also had impact on those who didn’t accept its teachings-created
“freethinkers”
Stirrings of Industrialism
Technology in America
-In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, which helped remove seeds from cotton
more quickly and efficiently than the current methods – caused expansion of slavery
-Cotton gin also transformed the North by giving entrepreneurs in New England a strong
incentive to develop an American textile industry
Transportation Innovations
-In proportion to its population, the U.S. had more ships and international commerce than
any country in the world – shipping business grew fast
-Robert Fulton and Robert R. Livingston perfected the steamboat and brought it attention
-“Turnpike era” began
The Rising Cities
-Urban life produced affluence and these people wanted amenities and elegance
Jefferson the President
-restrained in office
-contributed to a remarkable expansion of the territory of the United States
The Federal City and the “People’s President”
-the new national capital, Washington, was designed by Pierre L’Enfant
-Jefferson was a shrewd and practical politician, but went to great lengths to eliminate the
aura of majesty surrounding the presidency
-Jefferson won for reelection in 1804
Dollars and Ships
-The Jefferson administration persuaded Congress to abolish all internal taxes in 1802
-Jefferson cut almost half of the national debt during his presidency
-When the Barbary states of Africa demanded protection money from all nations whose
ships sailed the Mediterranean, Jefferson thought about war
-When the pasha of Tripoli became unsatisfied by the American response, he ordered the
flagpole of the “American consulate chopped down
-reached agreement where Americans stopped paying tribute but had to pay large sum
Conflict with the Courts
-Federalists had long maintained that the Supreme Court had the authority to nullify acts
of Congress
-In Marbury v. Madison, William Marbury, one of Adams’s “midnight appointments”,
was refused his commission for justice of peace by Madison
-Marbury ordered the Supreme Court to force Madison to give him his commission
-Supreme Court ruled that Marbury had a right to a commission but that the Court had no
authority to order Madison to deliver it
-Chief justice at the time was John Marshall, a Federalist
Doubling the National Domain
Jefferson and Napoleon
-Africans in Santo Domingo, a French colony, revolted and created a republic of their
own, under black leader Toussaint L’Ouverture – crushed by French army
-Napoleon except Robert R. Livingston’s proposal to sell the Louisiana territory to the
United States and New Orleans
The Louisiana Purchase
-When Jefferson heard about purchase, he was pleased with the bargain but not sure
whether he had the authority to accept it, since the president couldn’t acquire territory
-His advisers persuaded him that his treaty-making power justified the purchase
Lewis and Clark Explore the West
-Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, with Sacajawea as their guide, crossed the Rocky
Mountains, descended the Snake and Columbia Rivers, and camped on the Pacific coast
-Lieutenant Zebulon Pike led an expedition to Colorado where he found Pike’s Peak
The Burr Conspiracy
-When Jefferson was reelected in 1804, it seemed that most people approved the land
expansion – however, a group of extreme Federalists known as the Essex Junto thought
that more land would decrease power of the Federalists – the only solution was to secede
from the Union – no support from Alexander Hamilton; made Aaron Burr their leader
-Hamilton accused Burr of plotting treason and insulted him in the press
-The two took part in a duel and Hamilton was mortally wounded – died next day
-Burr planned to capture Mexico from Spain – many other rumors
-Jefferson was forced to acquit him; couldn’t present enough evidence
-known as the Burr “conspiracy”
Expansion and War
-Two conflicts in Jefferson’s presidency: tension in Europe and ceaseless westward
expansion of white settlement
Conflict at Seas
-When at the Battle of Trafalgar, Britain destroyed France’s entire navy, Napoleon
implemented the Continental System, which closed European continent to British trade
-Britain established “orders in council”, which blockaded European coast
-American ships caught between two policies – violated America as a neutral nation
-Most Americans considered Britain worse of the two; more sea power; impressments
Impressment
-Britain would have a lot of deserted sailors, who would often go to American ships
-Britain used “impressments”, or forcing into service, to get them back
-Often impressed British deserters and native-born Americans
-In the Chesapeake-Leopard, four men were impressed from the Chesapeake
-Britain offered compensation for those killed and wounded and promised to return three
of the captured sailors, but refused to renounce impressments
“Peaceable Coercion”
-In an effort to prevent future incidents, Jefferson presented an act known as the embargo,
which prohibited American ships from leaving the U.S. for any foreign port in the world
-Created depression through most of the nation
-A few days before leaving office, Jefferson ended it with “peaceable coercion”
-Congress replaced Embargo with Non-Intercourse Act just before Madison took office
-opened trade to all nations except Britain and France
-replaced with Macon’s Bill No. 2
-Napoleon ordered France to stop interfering with American shipping
-U.S. created an embargo against Britain
The “Indian Problem” and the British
-William Henry Harrison, from Virginia was a committed advocate of growth in western
lands – appointed as the governor of the Indiana Territory to do Jefferson’s solution
-Jefferson’s proposed solution to the “Indian problem” was to give them the choice of
converting to settled farmers and assimilate or migrate to the west of the Mississippi
Tecumseh and the Prophet
-the rise of two remarkable Native American leaders intensified border conflict
-one was known as the prophet – spoke to his people about corruption of the whites
-helped unite the numerous tribes
-his brother Tecumseh, chief of the Shawnees – understood that only through united
action could the tribes hope to resist advance of white civilization
-set out to unite all Indians of the Mississippi Valley – land belonged to all tribes
-the Battle of Tippecanoe was an effort by Harrison to destroy the growing influence of
the two Indian leaders during their absence - camped near Prophetstown and provoked
Florida and War Fever
-the Florida territory was a continuing threat to whites in the South because slaves
escaped there and Indians launched frequent raids
-In 1810, American settlers in West Florida seized Spanish fort at Baton Rouge and
called federal government to annex territory to the U.S-Madison happily agreed
-By 1812, war fever was growing on both northern and southern borders of U.S.
-Representatives of both parties eager for war with Britain known as the “war hawks”
-Included Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina
The War of 1812
Battles with the Tribes
-Americans entered war with great enthusiasm, but surrendered many forts
-Efforts at sea were better; ships won victories over British warships
-U.S. took control of Lake Ontario – permitted them to raid and burn York – capital of
Canada – Lake Erie seized through work of Oliver Perry, who dispersed a British fleet at
Put-In-Bay in 1813
-Tecumseh was killed in the Battle of the Thames – weakened Native Americans
Battles with the British
-In 1814, after surrender of Napoleon, British went to Washington, dispersed a group of
American militia, and burned several public buildings, including the White House
-Francis Scott Key wrote Anthem at the British bombardment at Fort McHenry
-In the South, some British veterans landed below New Orleans and prepared to advance
to Mississippi – Andrew Jackson was waiting for them and a diversified group
-British had huge losses while Jackson lost eight men, thirteen wounded
-America and Britain had signed peace treaty several weeks before Battle of New Orleans
The Revolt of New England
-IN 1814, delegates from the New England states met in Hartford, Connecticut to discuss
their grievances against the government – those who favored succession were
outnumbered by a moderate majority – however, later heard about New Orleans victory
and the Hartford Convention and Federalist party seemed irrelevant
The Peace Settlement
-In the Treaty of Ghent, Americans gave up their demand for a British renunciation of
impressments and for the cession of Canada to the United States – signed in 1814
-The Rush-Bagot agreement in 1817 provided for mutual disarmament on Great Lakes
-The Treaty of Ghent also required the U.S. to restore tribal lands seized by white
Americans, but it was never really enforced – blow to capacity to resist white expansion