Chapter 9: Partisan Politics and War: The Democratic-Republicans in Power, 1801–1815 285
CHAPTER 9
Partisan Politics and War: The Democratic-Republicans in Power, 1801–1815
Learning Objectives
After you have studied Chapter 9 in your textbook and worked through this study guide chapter, you should be able to:
1. Assess the Democratic-Republicans’ attempts to implement their philosophy of government.
2. Discuss the role of Chief Justice John Marshall in establishing the Supreme Court as an equal branch of government in theory and in practice.
3. Discuss Jefferson’s decision to purchase the Louisiana territory, and explain the political and economic impact of this decision on the United States.
4. Explain the goals and discuss the achievements of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
5. Examine the development of party politics in the early nineteenth century, and indicate the factors that led to the demise of the Federalist Party.
6. Examine the hostility between the United States and Shawnee Indians from 1801 through the war of 1812.
7. Examine, evaluate, and discuss the consequences of United States policies from 1801 to 1812 that were designed to protect America’s trading rights.
8. Discuss the causes, course, and consequences of the War of 1812.
Thematic Guide
Chapter 9 covers the development of the United States from 1801 to 1815. After a peaceful transition of power from the Federalists to the Democratic-Republicans, the Democratic-Republicans began to implement their domestic governmental philosophy by cutting taxes, reducing the army and navy budgets, reducing the size of the national debt, and allowing the Alien and Sedition Acts to expire. Furthermore, they appointed fellow Democratic-Republicans to governmental offices and attacked Federalist control of the judicial branch of the government. The attack did not succeed. In fact, under the direction of Chief Justice John Marshall, the Supreme Court successfully claimed the power of judicial review, which allowed the Court to develop as a coequal branch of government. The Court also asserted the supremacy of the federal government over the states.
While the Supreme Court expanded its powers and the powers of the central government, Jefferson, in the face of political reality and national interest, showed a willingness to alter his strict constructionist view of the Constitution. Seeing the possibility of doubling the size of the republic and removing major obstacles to future commercial growth, Jefferson accepted the idea of implied executive powers and agreed to the Louisiana Purchase. In the aftermath of the purchase, Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the area for both scientific and political purposes.
These years also witnessed continued competition between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans and the further development of democratic party politics. Although older Federalists remained disdainful of direct appeals to voters, Younger Federalists attempted to imitate the campaigning style and tactics of the Democratic-Republicans. However, despite movements in the direction of party politics, intraparty factionalism and personal rivalries prevented the emergence of political parties in the modern sense. Aaron Burr’s attempt to secure the presidency in the disputed 1800 presidential election and the Hamilton-Burr duel are both excellent examples of these factional forces and personal rivalries in operation.
The United States also faced challenges from abroad during these years. Caught between two warring powers, the United States found its independence and nationhood challenged, with the greatest challenge coming from Great Britain. The adoption of the policy of “peaceable coercion” by President Thomas Jefferson and President James Madison created a situation in which the use of federal power had a tremendous economic impact on the lives of individuals and on the future economic development of the country—an ironic development in light of Jeffersonian beliefs about the role of government in society. As disruptions to commerce caused by embargoes and war made domestic manufacturing more profitable, the number of cotton and woolen mills in New England grew from twenty in 1807 to more than two hundred by 1813. It was, in fact, in 1813 that a radical transformation of textile manufacturing occurred with the chartering of the Boston Manufacturing Company and the development of the Waltham (Lowell) system.
The policy of “peaceable coercion” did not bring an end to the humiliations experienced by the young republic at the hands of the British navy. Ultimately, because of continued affronts to its independence and because of the assertiveness of expansionists within the republic, the United States was drawn into the War of 1812. Lack of preparation for war, the presence of internal divisions, and the emergence of a pan-Indian movement in the Northwest could easily have spelled disaster for the nation. Instead, defeat of the pan-Indian movement of Prophet and Tecumseh caused the collapse of Indian unity in the Old Northwest and ended effective Indian resistance to American expansion in that area, and England’s preoccupation with war in Europe resulted in military stalemate with the United States and led to the status quo antebellum Treaty of Ghent.
Despite the nature of the peace, the American victory at the Battle of New Orleans (fought after the signing of the peace treaty) caused most Americans to perceive the war as a major victory against the British and as a reaffirmation of the nation’s independence, strength, and vitality.
Building Vocabulary
Listed below are important words and terms that you need to know to get the most out of Chapter 9. They are listed in the order in which they occur in the chapter. After carefully looking through the list, (1) underline the words with which you are totally unfamiliar, (2) put a question mark by those words of which you are unsure, and (3) leave the rest alone.
As you begin to read the chapter, when you come to any of the words you have put question marks beside or underlined, (1) slow your reading; (2) focus on the word and on its context in the sentence you are reading; (3) if you can understand the meaning of the word from its context in the sentence or passage in which it is used, go on with your reading; (4) if it’s a word that you have underlined or a word that you can’t understand from its context in the sentence or passage, look it up in a dictionary and write down the definition that best applies to the context in which the word is used.
Definitions
despotic
depraved
agrarian
attrition
entourage
autocrat
allay
fauna
flora
avidly
demeaning
secession
convergence
repudiate
mettle
astute
tenacious
foil
prostrate
moot
Identification and Significance
After studying Chapter 9 of A People and a Nation, you should be able to identify and explain fully the historical significance of each item listed below.
· Identify each item in the space provided. Give an explanation or description of the item. Answer the questions who, what, where, and when.
· Explain the historical significance of each item in the space provided. Establish the historical context in which the item exists. Establish the item as the result of or as the cause of other factors existing in the society under study. Answer this question: What were the political, social, economic, and/or cultural consequences of this item?
1. John Foss
a. Identification
b. Significance
2. the Tripoli War
a. Identification
b. Significance
3. the “Revolution of 1800”
a. Identification
b. Significance
4. President Thomas Jefferson
a. Identification
b. Significance
5. Albert Gallatin
a. Identification
b. Significance
6. Democratic-Republican frugality
a. Identification
b. Significance
7. the Naturalization Act of 1802
a. Identification
b. Significance
8. the Judiciary Act of 1801
a. Identification
b. Significance
9. Federal District Judge John Pickering
a. Identification
b. Significance
10. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase
a. Identification
b. Significance
11. Chief Justice John Marshall
a. Identification
b. Significance
12. Marbury v. Madison
a. Identification
b. Significance
13. the theory of judicial review
a. Identification
b. Significance
14. the Louisiana Purchase
a. Identification
b. Significance
15. the Lewis and Clark expedition
a. Identification
b. Significance
16. York
a. Identification
b. Significance
17. Sacagawea
a. Identification
b. Significance
18. Zebulon Pike
a. Identification
b. Significance
19. the National Intelligencer vs. the New-York Evening Post
a. Identification
b. Significance
20. Josiah Quincy
a. Identification
b. Significance
21. Younger Federalists
a. Identification
b. Significance
22. political barbecues
a. Identification
b. Significance
23. Timothy Pickering
a. Identification
b. Significance
24. the presidential election of 1800
a. Identification
b. Significance
25. the Twelfth Amendment
a. Identification
b. Significance
26. the Hamilton-Burr duel
a. Identification
b. Significance
27. the Burr conspiracy and trial
a. Identification
b. Significance
28. the presidential election of 1804
a. Identification
b. Significance
29. Prophet
a. Identification
b. Significance
30. Tecumseh
a. Identification
b. Significance
31. the battle of Tippecanoe
a. Identification
b. Significance
32. the impressment of American sailors
a. Identification
b. Significance
33. the Chesapeake affair
a. Identification
b. Significance
34. the Embargo Act
a. Identification
b. Significance
35. the presidential and congressional elections of 1808
a. Identification
b. Significance
36. the Non-Intercourse Act of 1809
a. Identification
b. Significance
37. Macon’s Bill Number 2
a. Identification
b. Significance
38. the War of 1812
a. Identification
b. Significance
39. the War Hawks
a. Identification
b. Significance
40. Dolley Madison
a. Identification
b. Significance
41. the invasion of Canada
a. Identification
b. Significance
42. General William Hull
a. Identification
b. Significance
43. the British naval blockade
a. Identification
b. Significance
44. the Great Lakes campaign
a. Identification
b. Significance
45. the Battle of Put-in-Bay
a. Identification
b. Significance
46. the Battle of the Thames
a. Identification
b. Significance
47. the burning of Washington, D.C.
a. Identification
b. Significance
48. the bombardment of Fort McHenry
a. Identification
b. Significance
49. Francis Scott Key
a. Identification
b. Significance
50. Andrew Jackson
a. Identification
b. Significance
51. the Battle of Horseshoe Bend
a. Identification
b. Significance
52. the Battle of New Orleans
a. Identification
b. Significance
53. the Treaty of Ghent
a. Identification
b. Significance
54. the presidential and congressional elections of 1812
a. Identification
b. Significance
55. the Hartford Convention
a. Identification
b. Significance
Organizing, Reviewing, and Using Information
Chart A
(See Chart A in the previous chapter.)
Print out the chart on the pages that follow. Then, in the appropriate blanks, enter brief notes to help you recall key information in Chapter 9 and class lectures relevant to the chart’s subject. Use your completed chart to review for your next test, to identify potential essay questions, and to guide you in composing mock essays answering the questions you think you are most likely to be asked.
Democratic-Republican Answers as Indicated by Democratic-Republican Leaders’ Actions /Actions of Thomas Jefferson / Actions of James Madison / Democratic-Republican Answer /
Question: Should the national government assume debts incurred by states during the Revolutionary War?
Question: Does the Constitution give Congress the authority to establish a national bank?
Question: Should the national government actively promote domestic manufacturing?
Question: What limits, if any, should be imposed on public protests against national laws and policies?
Question: How should the Alien and Sedition Acts (especially the Sedition Act) be viewed?
Question: What is the proper response of the national government to dissent and protest?
Question: What are legitimate states’ rights in opposing actions of the national government?
Question: What is the appropriate response to the French Revolution? Relations with France?
Question: How will the growth of factionalism affect the nation?
Question: Should the Constitution be interpreted strictly or broadly?
Question: Should the country go to war with Great Britain (in 1812)?
Chart B
(See Chart B in the previous chapter.)
Print out the following chart. Then, in the appropriate blanks, enter brief notes to help you recall key information in Chapter 9 and class lectures relevant to the chart’s subject. Use your completed chart to review for your next test, to identify potential essay questions, and to guide you in composing mock essays answering the questions you think you are most likely to be asked.
The President, Congress, the Supreme Court, and the “Supreme Law of the Land,” 1801–1809Amending the Constitution
Year / Topic/Provisions / Immediate Effects / Significance
Eleventh Amendment
Tinkering with the Structure of the Federal Judiciary
Context / Administration of John Adams / Administration of Thomas Jefferson / Significance
Legislation
Name (year)
Provisions
Appointment and Removal of Supreme Court Justices
William Marbury Appointment / Samuel P. Chase Impeachment
Context/Situation
Key Figures
Means of Deciding Outcome
Congressional or Court Decision
Principle Established
Chart C
Print out the chart on the pages that follow. Then, in the appropriate blanks, enter brief notes to help you recall key information in Chapter 9 and class lectures relevant to the chart’s subject. Use your completed chart to review for your next test, to identify potential essay questions, and to guide you in composing mock essays answering the questions you think you are most likely to be asked.
Chart C / Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Presidency, 1800–1808 / Effects and Significance / CHARACTER OF ELECTIONPUBLIC REACTION
Federalists’ Response to Events and Jefferson’s Actions
Jefferson’s Concerns About His Responses
Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Responses
Events, Others’ Actions
Style of Campaign / First Term / Second Term / Role of Congress / First Term
Chart C / Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Presidency, 1800–1808 / Effects and Significance / NATIONALISM
PUBLIC REACTION
Federalists’ Response to Events and Jefferson’s Actions
Jefferson’s Concerns About His Responses
Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Responses
Events, Others’ Actions
Assertion of sovereignty / Military action / Declarations / Expansionism / Policies/military / Diplomatic Pressure / Exploration/Settlement / Removal of Native Americans
Chart C / Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Presidency, 1800–1808 / Effects and Significance / FISCAL POLICY / FOREIGN RELATIONS
PUBLIC REACTION
Federalists’ Response to Events and Jefferson’s Actions
Jefferson’s Concerns About His Responses
Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Responses
Events, Others’ Actions
Taxation / Spending / Budget/National Debt / Relations with
Specific Nations / Britain / France / Barbary States / Spain / Important Treaties
Chart C / Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Presidency, 1800–1808 / Effects and Significance / POSITIONS ON LEGISLATION OR PROPOSED LEGISLATION/LEGISLATIVE CONCERNS
PUBLIC REACTION
Federalists’ Response to Events and Jefferson’s Actions
Jefferson’s Concerns About His Responses
Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Responses
Events, Others’ Actions
Legislative Issues / Criticism of government / Immigration, citizenship / Control of judiciary / Trade / Impeachments
Chart C / Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Presidency, 1800–1808 / Effects and Significance / RELATIONSHIP WITH THE JUDICIARY AND POSITIONS ON SUPREME COURT CASES
PUBLIC REACTION
Federalists’ Response to Events and Jefferson’s Actions
Jefferson’s Concerns About His Responses
Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Responses
Events, Others’ Actions
Controversies / Judgeships / Attempts to Oust Judges / Appointments / Supreme Court / Power of Review / Chief Justice
Chart D