Early national through 1812



Early National through The War of 1812

I. Constitutions determine the structure of government - experience and practice determine the character of government- Gouverneur Morris - “No constitution is the same on paper as in life.”

A. disagreement on the relative importance of the time period

1. Blum - 23, Garraty - 9, Link - 11, Current - 17, Bailey - 35, Morison - 48 .

2. personal view has changed from insignificant to one of great importance - particularly concerning the character of government

B. dominant theme of the time - strength of the national government v strength of the states - the character of federalism must be defined

1. the leading players in this struggle will be Hamilton and Jefferson

2. emergence of the first American party system - Federalist v Republican

C. Washington the man

1. complained he had “inferior endowments from nature”

2. superior was in character not in talent - Morison

3. balanced not brilliant - Bailey

4. Washington made a firm, dignified, conscientious but cautious and unaggressive President - Garraty

5. was this type of character good or bad in a first President

D. the character of government is established by precedent - with the first President all actions may become precedents - thus Washington’s role is important

1. strong executive - established by Washington’s nationalistic view and by his personal prestige which gave greater weight to his pronouncements

2. respect for the concept of separation of powers - non-involvement in the legislative process - Washington didn’t believe it was the president’s role to propose or support specific pieces of legislation - seldom appeared before Congress because of early incidents in which he was kept waiting - his cabinet did play a role in advising Congress

3. establishment of an independent cabinet - responsible to the president not to the legislature - their power is limited by the role which the president assigns them - Washington desired top men regardless of their philosophy

4. partisan appointments - no prominent anti-federalists were appointed

5. two-term precedent

6. Senatorial courtesy on appointments

7. judicial review - the Judiciary Act of 1789

II. Credit and debt are the first major focus of the administration

A. Hamilton’s program as Secretary of the Treasury

B. the cornerstones of Hamiltonian policy

1. funding at par - full funding

2. assumption of state debts

3. establishment of a National Bank

4. establishment of a protective tariff to benefit domestic manufacturing

5. excise taxes to assert the power of the national government

C. Hamilton’s goals

1. most importantly - strengthen the national government

2. win the support of the wealthy elite

3. encourage the growth of American industry through protectionism

4. maintain a public debt so citizens have a stake in the survival of the government

D. Hamilton’s goals according to Nash

1. stabilize finance and credit

2. build and demonstrate the power of the national government

3. tie the wealthy elite to the government

4. promote commerce and industry

5. commercial and diplomatic alliance with England

E. “All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and well-born; the other the mass of the people...turbulent and changing they seldom judge of determine right. Give therefore to the first class a distinct, permanent share in the government.”

F. the Hamilton program

1. full funding - foreign debt - 11.7m, domestic debt - 42.4m, state debt - 21.5m

a. options available - default, partial funding, full funding

b. chooses full funding - why

1. establish credit (credibility) of the U.S. with foreign governments - this was essential for the development of commerce

2. means of establishing support of the elite for the national government

a. speculators and wealthy held most of the bonds - payback would tie their self interest to the national government - actually tipped off about the plan so they could accumulate more bonds

b. full funding would be financed through the issuing of new bonds - the wealthy would invest in them and their payback would require the survival of the national government

3. the accumulation of a national debt would insure the loyalty of those to whom it was owed to the national government

4. the accumulation of capital in the Northeast - where the majority of the elite resided - would lead to capital accumulation which would foster the development of industry in the region

2. assumption of state debts by the national government - why?

a. compromise necessary in order to win Jefferson’s support - proposed national capital to be located in

Washington

b. assumption should tie the states more closely to the national government since they’d be indebted for the assumption of debts

c. loyalty of state bond holders would be transferred to the national government since it was that government which would be repaying them

d. creation of a national debt would again tie bondholders more firmly to the national government since they had a financial stake in its survival

e. additionally, it was designed to cause money (capital) to accumulate in the Northeast where it could be used to finance industrial or commercial development

f. this would occur because northern states had a greater outstanding debt than southern states

1. Massachusetts - 309,000

2. New York - 367,000

3. Virginia - 62,000

4. Georgia - 6880

5. thus money (taxes) would move from the agrarian south to the northern elite who would have capital to invest in industry and commerce

3. First Bank of the United States

a. would serve as depository for federal funds

b. capitalized at $10m - one fifth owned by the federal government and four-fifths by private investors - elite

c. it was oversubscribed in two hours

d. deposits would be loaned to finance industry and commerce

e. again, the elite would have a stake in the survival of the national government

f. major debate over the constitutionality of the bank - centers around strict and loose constructionism - argue each side

4. protectionism

a. concept of the revenue v protective tariff

b. first tariff in 1789 (8%) was a revenue tariff

c. Hamilton favored a protective tariff to benefit infant industries

d. industry and commerce would support the national government

e. who would benefit most from a protective tariff (North) why? - least (South) why?

f. thus the elite of the north would again have a financial stake in the national government

5. excise tax policy

a. excise tax on whiskey - why whiskey?

b. whiskey was the preferred drink of the south and the west while rum or cider was the preferred drink of the north and east (rum was excluded)

c. flow of tax money would be from the south to the north

d. flow of money from agrarian to industrial areas

G. balance sheet of Hamilton’s economic plan

1. masses were largely untouched by the policies of Hamilton

2. Hamilton believed that the benefits of his program would eventually trickle down to the masses

3. his program strengthened the national government but failed to provide a sense of national unity

4. increased sectionalism as a result of discriminatory economic policy

5. it established a direction for the country - proactive rather than reactive

6. how might the country have developed differently if Jefferson had the ear of Washington?

7. Which of today’s would you associate the policies of Hamilton with?

II. Party and sectional differences

A. Jefferson - “If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not go at all.”

B. Elihu Root - “The great difficulty with the application of pure reason to practical affairs is that never does the reasoner get all of the premises which should affect the conclusion: so it frequently happens that the practical man...who feels the effects of the conditions that the reasoner overlooks, goes right, while the superior intelligence of the reasoning man goes wrong.”

C. a basic difference between Hamilton and Jefferson is their view of man in the natural state

1. Jefferson - a positive view - if left largely to himself, man will do right

2. Hamilton - a negative view - if left largely to himself, man will do wrong

3. Jefferson believed in the ability of the educated common man to govern

4. Hamilton believed in a governing aristocracy of birth and merit

5. Jefferson had affection for the French Revolutions attempts to establish pure democracy

6. Hamilton had great affection for the stability of England and its aristocratic rule

7. Jefferson favored limited powers for the national government - state governments kept power as close to the common man as possible - therefore easier to control

8. Hamilton favors a strong national government which would attract the elite from each state - thus have more wisdom to govern in the best interests of the nation as a whole

9. Jefferson favored a nation of small farmer who would live close to the state of nature

10. Hamilton favored development of industry and commerce so the U.S. could take its place among the great nations of the world

11. Jefferson has abiding faith in the common sense and wisdom of the educated common man-“That government is best which governs least” - “A wise frugal government, which shall restrain man from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and commerce.”

12. Hamilton feared that government in the hands of the people degenerated to mobocracy - the people are turbulent and changing. They seldom judge or determine right.

The debate is again between whether the greatest threat to natural rights of is from tyranny or from anarchy.

13. Hamilton favored stability above all else - when Henry contended that the constitution didn’t authorize assumption, Hamilton responded - “This is the first symptom of a spirit which must either be killed, or will kill the constitution of the United States.”

14. Jefferson on the other hand - “A little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing. It is the medicine necessary for the sound health of government. The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is natural manure.”

D. the basis of growing sectionalism

1. differing economic bases for the north and south

2. Hamilton’s discriminatory economic program

a. funding

b. assumption

c. excise tax

E. Hamilton - Jefferson conflict can be seen in terms of strict and loose constructionism

1. Jefferson - strict constructionist - unless the constitution specifically authorizes an action, the federal government may not take it

2. Hamilton - loose constructionist - unless the constitution specifically a given action, it is permissible

3. reexamine the role of the elastic clause (necessary and proper - implied powers)

a. strict constructionists emphasize PROPER

b. loose constructionists emphasize NECESSARY

c. constitutional interpretations of ins and outs

d. which is the proper view in your mind?

e. Hierl view - there are no strict constructionists left, only degrees of loose constructionists - what did the framers of the constitution intend?

F. overview of the development of the character of federalism

1. Hamiltonian philosophy provided the U.S. with a strong, viable national government

2. Jeffersonian philosophy did much to retain the federal character of the constitution

3. was the fact that they counter balanced each other important?

G. discuss party alignment today

1. Republicans - Hamiltonian in economics - Jeffersonian in federalism

2. Democrats - Jeffersonian in economics - Hamiltonian in federalism

III. Washington foreign policy

A. primary concerns

1. secure navigation on the Mississippi (right of deposit) to cement the loyalty of the west

2. secure the removal of the British from northwestern forts and reduce tension with the Indians of the northwest

3. secure trading rights, particularly with the West Indies, for he northeast

B. primary foreign policy was to utilize geographic isolation, delay confrontation, and allow America’s birthrate to fight her battles

C. key elements of this foreign policy were - neutrality - isolationism - temporary alliances

D. impact of the French Revolution

1. widespread support early on - when it turns vicious Americans become more polarized in their views

2. Jefferson favored France - sought the establishment of a commercial treaty and a further strengthening of ties- French alliance is still in effect

3. Hamilton favors England - believed our economy was directly tied to theirs - 3/4 of our commerce involved trade with England - 90% of our imports came from England

4. 1793 - France declares war on England

a. Washington invokes neutrality

b. more than 300 American ships seized by each side

c. views on the rights of neutrals

1. destination determines ownership of the cargo - doctrine of continuous voyage

2. French view is that free ships make free goods

3. why does each side have its view?

4. British seizures generally compensated owners

5. French seizures did not

5. the Citizen Genet affair

a. appointed in official capacity to the U.S.

b. landed in Charleston and began illegally recruiting privateers before presenting his credentials to Washington

c. sought to recruit men for an attack on Louisiana

d. Washington asked for his recall

e. French asked that he be sent home under arrest

f. marries the daughter of Governor Clinton of New York

E. the Jay Treaty 1794

1. the U.S. was on the verge of war with Great Britain over violations of the rights of neutrals

2. Jay sent to work out differences - concludes treaty

3. British were to give up forts by 1796

4. payment of pre-revolutionary debts is guaranteed by the U.S. government

5. British payment for damages to U.S. shipping to be determined by arbitration

6. Jay was viewed as strongly pro-British and the treaty was very unpopular with republicans - nevertheless it was ratified

7. secured the integrity of the U.S. - British come to respect, to a degree, American rights - why were they willing

8. most importantly the Jay Treaty led to the Pinckney Treaty

F. Pinckney Treaty - 1795

1. Pinckney sent to Spain to try to secure right of deposit

2. Spain was convinced that secret provisions in the Jay treaty for a joint U.S. - British takeover of Louisiana

3. treaty secured the rights of navigation and deposit on the Mississippi

4. particularly important to the old northwest

G. Indian affairs - general philosophy

1. Indian lands should be guaranteed by treaty

2. federal regulation of Indian land sales and trade with Indians

3. policy of acculturation (define) with citizenship held out as the prize

4. 1791 - St. Clair attempts to build a fort in Indian territory - 2000 man force including the entire regular army - routed with 900 casualties

5. 1794 - Mad Anthony Wayne defeats northwest tribes in the Battle of Fallen Timbers

6. 1795 - Treaty of Greenville - major land cession by Indians

7. problem of American policy is that it did not that into account American greed for land

H. Barbary pirates - seizure of American sailors - 126 - 1794

1. leads to the beginnings of a navy

2. 6 ships authorized though only three completed (United States, Constellation, Constitution - Old Ironsides)

3. none completed in time and a $1 million dollar ransom paid in 1796

I. on balance - Washington’s foreign policy helped secure national integrity

IV. Exercise of national power over states and individuals

A. Whiskey Rebellion - 1794

B. insurrection in 1794 in Western Pennsylvania - refusal to pay whiskey tax

C. western farmers typically turned excess corn into whiskey

D. Pennsylvania governor refuses to put down the rebellion

E. the issue is critical because it will demonstrate whether the federal government has both the will and the ability to enforce its laws

F. 13,000-15,000 troops were called up - more than Washington had at any time during the American Revolution - look at the importance of this as a demonstration of national power

1. Washington and Hamilton personally lead the troops as far as Harrisburg

2. rebellion dissolves - leaders caught and convicted - pardoned

3. cost of the expedition was 3 years worth of revenue from the whiskey tax

4. importance of the response to the Whiskey Rebellion

V. The Washington balance sheet

A. he had a personal effect on giving legitimacy to the national government

B. precedents established - character of the national government is thus established

C. character of federalism is established at least to the point where the national government will stand on an equal footing with the states - it will not be dominated by the states

D. establishes the tone of foreign policy - farewell address

Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns..Our detached and distant situation invites us to pursue a different course...’tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances, with any portion of the foreign world...taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable establishments, on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies.

VI. The Adams Administration

A. election of 1796

1. Washington delayed announcing he wasn’t a candidate until September

2. reasons Federalists did not choose Hamilton

3. outcome - Adams - 71, Jefferson - 68, Pinckney - 59, Burr - 30

B. personality

1. Morison from Franklin - “Always honest, often great, but sometimes mad.”

2. Adams administration led to a leveling of executive prestige because of his personality

3. Bailey referred to John Quincy Adams as a “chip off the old family glacier.”

4. Adams was the most knowledgeable and experienced of the early presidents

5. he attempted to be above party and politics and thus lost the support and respect of both parties

6. had respect but little admiration from the masses - Bailey - “He was a tactless, prickly intellectual aristocrat, with no appeal to the masses, and with no desire to cultivate any.”

C. absence from the seat of government

1. Washington gone 181 days in 8 years

2. Adams gone 385 days in 4 years

a. his love of his farm in Quincy

b. Abigail's feeling of being snubbed in Philadelphia

D. beliefs of Adams

1. strong executive leadership

2. two house legislature

3. harmony between factions - he wanted to be above party

E. cabinet problems

1. he inherited Washington’s - Garraty - “And a sorry lot they were.”

2. couldn’t fire them because of Washington’s prestige

3. lack of people personally close to him

4. salary - $3000 - better opportunities elsewhere

5. cabinet is effectively controlled by Hamilton from New York

a. Adams’ absence from the seat of government contributes to it

b. doesn’t find out until 1799 - then fires the cabinet

F. foreign problems with France

1. the Jay Treaty antagonized the French and led to increased harassment of U.S. shipping - they viewed it as a prelude to an alliance with Great Britain

2. results in an undeclared naval war with France 1797-1798 - more than 300 U.S. ships seized

3. in 1797 a delegation sent to resolve differences

G. XYZ Affair

1. Tallyrand demands, through intermediaries, a $250,000 bribe and a $10m loan for France before he will meet with the delegation

2. considered a diplomatic insult and bad faith by the U.S. - bribery was pretty standard practice in European

diplomacy

3. leads to the cry “millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute.”

H. Federalists press for war - even some Republicans

1. the Federalist belief was that the U.S. will either have to fight France now, with England, or later, alone

2. Adams refuses to seek a declaration of war

a. would have increased his popularity

b. Republicans complained about the reduction in the party’s ranks

c. Adams believes in delaying confrontation and allowing our birthrate to fight our battles

3. “high Federalists” favor war

a. Washington volunteers to command the army - if Hamilton is allowed to lead the troops in the field

b. Hamilton strongly favors war - why?

1. greater attachment to the English - commercially

2. war would strengthen the national government - why?

3. Morison’s contention - “Hamilton had a grand plan to lead U.S. troops against Florida and New Orleans, continue on to Mexico, divide South America with the British, and return “laurel-crowned at the head of his victorious legion, to become the first citizen of America as Napoleon Bonaparte was already the first citizen of France.””

c. high Federalists were very disappointed that Adams failed to seize the opportunity

I. outcome of the undeclared naval war is “armed neutrality”

1. a navy department is created

2. began with no ships but three are completed - three more are commissioned to be built, five sold to the government by merchantmen

3. 1798 - 14 men of war were commissioned - navy yards are purchased by the government, etc.

4. Army consisted of 3000 men at the outset - Congress called for a provisional army of 50,000 - enlistments totaled 10,000 - Adams resists this expansion - why? - if you have an army you tend to use it

5. France believed that with Republican help the Adams administration could be overthrown

J. why did Adams oppose war with France/

1. U.S. weakness - let our birthrate fight our battles

2. believed that national interest overshadowed party interest

K. tensions eased with the signing of the Convention of 1800 with Napoleon September 30

1. voided the French alliance

2. established a commercial treaty with France

L. October 1 Spain retrocedes Louisiana to Spain - who now control the right of deposit?

M. the Alien and Sedition Acts

1. to some degree, there is always a constriction of civil liberties during war - it tends to be necessary

2. Naturalization Act - increased the residence requirement for citizenship from 5 to 14 years - reason - most aliens became Republicans - election of 1800 at hand

3. Alien Enemies Act - Alien Act - gave the President authority to deport those aliens he considered a threat to the peace and safety of the United States

4. Sedition Act - made it illegal to incite riot, insurrection, or to criticize high government officials

5. problems stemmed not so much from the act as from its application

a. partisan enforcement particularly against Republican newspaper editors

b. example - Republican newspaper described Adams as “Blind, bald, toothless, and querulous.” - which was three quarters true but irrelevant

c. more than 25 Republican newspaper editors are jailed

N. reaction against the acts leads to the Virginia and Kentucky Resolves - written by Madison and Jefferson

1. espouses the compact theory of government

2. the Constitution was a compact between the states

3. each state ultimate authority to determine the constitutionality of federal laws

4. thus states retain ultimate sovereignty and can nullify federal law within their borders

Why is Madison lying in these particular words? How about Jefferson? Is it a matter of philosophy or a question of ins and outs?

5. what is the ultimate nullification?

VII. Election of 1800 - “Revolution of 1800”

A. outcome - Adams -65, Pinckney - 64, Jefferson - 73, Burr - 73

B. Republicans intended for Jefferson to be president but forgot to leave one ballot blank

C. Burr seizes the opportunity but refuses to compromise with Federalists

D. Jefferson was more willing to compromise

E. Federalists tended to support Burr because they feared Jefferson’s radicalism

1. after thirty-five ballots Hamilton swings his support to Jefferson

2. probably influences some Federalists

3. reasons for Hamilton’s support

a. conflict with Burr over New York politics

b. stronger belief in Jefferson’s character than in Burr’s

F. significance of the election

1. first peaceful transition of power from one party to another

2. was there any guarantee that it had to be that way

VIII. Jefferson and the “revolution of 1800”

A. so termed because of the peaceful transition of power

1. has been called a renovation not a revolution

2. those who knew Jefferson knew they had nothing to fear from him

3. Hamilton - “The new president will not lend himself to dangerous innovations, but in essential points will tread in the steps of his predecessors”

4. his basic philosophy was “that government is best which governs least” - wished to establish a “wise, frugal government, which shall restrain man from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement.”

B. “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists” - easy to say after you’re in office

C. Washington was well suited for a frugal, unpretentious government

1. Pennsylvania Avenue was stump lined with swamps and the threat of malaria

2. Jefferson established no preferential seating at state dinners with the result that all the ladies rushed to be close to him - mob scenes

3. diplomats greeted by Jefferson in robe and slippers

D. power axis shift from Boston-Hartford-Philadelphia to New York-Richmond-Raleigh - note - this may be true politically but probably not economically

E. some of the acts of Federalists were overturned

1. Alien and Sedition Laws were allowed to expire

2. excise tax on whiskey was done away with though Gallatin (Sec. Tres.) favored it

3. Adams fills the judiciary with Federalists through the midnight appointments in order to preserve a power base and obstruct Republican legislation

a. Judiciary Act of 1801 created openings

b. 16 new circuit courts created

c. John Marshall appointed Chief Justice

4. Jefferson attempts to combat this partisan move

a. favors removal by impeachment

b. first attempted with Samuel Chase a staunch Federalist so hated by Republicans that they named vicious dogs after him

c. he was guilty of bad manners and unrestrained partisanship - are those impeachable offenses?

d. Chase is acquitted of the charges (define impeachment) - the effect of this failure was that Jefferson abandoned future attempts to control the judiciary through impeachment

e. what were the possible effects of this on the separation of powers?

F. the spoils system - define

1. presidential prerogative is employed, but only a mild bloodletting occurs

2. Jefferson complains that appointments “seldom die and never resign”

G. Hamiltonian programs are left largely in tact

IX. Foreign affairs under Jefferson

A. initially Jefferson has success in foreign affairs largely because of a lull in the Napoleonic Wars

B. Tripoli - the Barbary pirates declare war on the U.S. in 1801 - U.S. does not respond

1. revives the cry of “millions for defense but not one cent for tribute” - nevertheless, the U.S. sends 26 barrels of money

2. several ships see action including the U.S.S. Constitution

3. Stephen Decatur in the Intrepid burns the Philadelphia which has been captured

4. William Eaton expedition - 16 marines, 40 Greeks, a squadron of Arab cavalry, 100 nondescripts, and a fleet of camels - march 500 miles across the desert and capture Derna - the second largest city

5. given back after he finds war was not declared

6. incident tends to show the U.S. will take action to defend its rights if pushed far enough

C. the Louisiana Purchase - 1803

1. secret treaty in 1800 provided for the retrocession of Louisiana to France

2. 1802 Spain withdraws the right of deposit - France had not yet taken possession of it

3. Napoleon planned to use it as a granary to process sugar from the French west Indies

4. serious slave revolt in Santa Domingo led by Toussant l’Overture

5. France loses 35,000 troops - mostly to disease - Napoleon’s reaction - “Damn sugar, damn coffee, damn colonies Jefferson understands the importance of the possession of Louisiana - “There is on the globe one single spot, the possessor of which is our natural and habitual enemy. It is New Orleans. The day that France takes possession of New Orleans we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation.” – understand the importance of this coming from Jefferson

7. sends a commission to attempt to buy New Orleans - authorized to offer up to $10m for New Orleans and West Florida

8. Tallyrand drops a bombshell when he asks how much we’d be willing to pay for all of Louisiana - commission offers

$4m - Tallyrand indicates that the offer is too little

10. commission finally agrees to $12m plus the assumption of $3m in French damages to U.S. shipping

a. doubles the size of the U.S.

b. cost of 3 cents per acre

11. Jefferson has constitutional concerns

a. not Constitution does not specifically authorize the national government to purchase land from a foreign country

b. thus as a strict constructionist can Jefferson do it?

c. he favors a constitutional amendment allowing it

d. advisors encourage quick action before the offer is withdrawn

e. the purchase is accomplished under the treaty making power of the national government - Louisiana Purchase Treaty

f. some Federalists object to it as a violation of constitutional authority - examine the positions of ins and outs in constitutional interpretations

g. Hamilton and Adams both argue for it - why?

h. ironically it is paid for with Hamiltonian type bonds

i. Federalist opposition draws support away from the party

j. creates deep loyalty to the Republican party in the west

k. Jefferson saw it as necessary to create an agrarian nation

12. Jefferson authorizes the Lewis and Clark expedition even before the purchase is made

a. mission is to explore and map the far west - 1803

b. Shosone - horse used to transport men - women carry the baggage

X. Military appropriations

A. Jefferson favors a reduction in military spending

1. cuts the size of the army from 4000 to 2500

2. cuts the fleet from 25 to 7

3. fleet suffers dry rot while in dry dock - some sold to merchantmen

4. favors the construction of gunboats for coastal defense - how does this fit with Jeffersonian philosophy?

5. gunboats were 60 feet long and cost about $10,000 each - provides for good patronage (define) because contracts can be divided between many shipyards

6. generally unworthy as seagoing vessels

a. guns had to be stored below deck in rough seas or the boats would capsize

b. guns were :more often a menace to the crew than to the prospective enemy.”

c. hurricane and tidal wave deposit one gunboat in a cornfield eight miles inland - Federalist gibe - “If our

gunboats are of no use in water, they may at least be the best on earth.”

XI. Marbury v Madison - 1803 - emphasize the importance of the decision

A. John Marshall appointed chief Justice of the Supreme Court as one of the midnight appointments

B. personal background

1. he was a Hamiltonian Federalist

2. not well schooled in law - studied formally only for two weeks

3. was a cousin of Jefferson though he personally disliked him

C. Marshall always has three major goals

1. strengthen the national government

2. strengthen the power and prestige of the Supreme Court

3. embarrass Jefferson and the Republicans

D. case background

1. stems from the midnight appointments - attempt to maintain Federalist power after they are out of office

2. Marbury had been granted a commission in the judiciary but it was not physically delivered to him by the Secretary of State (Marshall)

3. Jefferson ordered that it not be delivered

4. Marbury sues to gain his commission

5. dilemma for Marshall

a. refusal to hear the case will make the court seem like a wimp - afraid of Jefferson

b. decision favorable to Marbury will be ignored by Jefferson and hurt the court’s prestige

c. ruling against Marbury will also make the court seem scared

6. the ruling

a. Marbury is entitled to his commission and it should be delivered

b. since the suit is brought under terms of the Judiciary Act of 1789 the court cannot order that it be delivered because the act is unconstitutional

7. thus Marshall sacrifices short term for long term gains - how?

8. Marbury v Madison establishes the principle of judicial review - the ability of the court to declare acts of congress unconstitutional

a. doesn’t the constitution grant them that power?

b. no the constitution does not establish whose responsibility that is - whose could it be?

c. thus Marshall assumes power for the court that the constitution does not specifically grant adding to its power and prestige

9. once he assumes the power does he use it frequently to invalidate Republican acts

a. the next Congressional act declared unconstitutional occurs in 1857 in the Dred Scott case

b. this is the genius of Marshall - assume the power and draw back so that the assumption of power is not

challenged

10. Marshall’s procedure

a. was a genius in quickly seeing how he wanted the case decided

b. lacked legal expertise to make it happen

c. he would tell Justice Story how he wanted the case decided and leave it to him to work it out legally

XII. Serious foreign problems - by the end of 1805 England was dominant on the sea (Trafalga) and the French were dominant on land (Austerlitz) - thus neither could attack each other directly and they intensified efforts to disrupt the trade of their enemy

A. 1805 - England adopts the doctrine of continuous voyage in the Essex case - also adopts the Rule of 1756 - shipping not open to neutrals in peacetime may not be opened in war - this was because goods were being shipped from the

French West Indies to ports in the United States and then trans-shipped to France - thus France claimed they were neutral goods

B. 1807 - Britain adopts the Orders in Council - all European ports are closed to foreign trade unless ships first stop in Great Britain and obtain clearance (pay a fee_

C. France counters with the Berlin and Milan Decrees (Continental System - all trade with Great Britain is illegal - anyone subjecting themselves to the Orders in Council is subject to have their ships seized by the French

D. British practice of impressment

1. life in the British navy was particularly harsh - many desertions

2. a favorite place for deserters was the U.S. - high wages - well treated

3. also the U.S. Navy - at one time the crew of the U.S. S. Constitution had 149 British subjects out of a crew of 419

4. Britain claimed the right to search for deserters among these crews - very arrogantly carried out

5. neither country recognized naturalization of their citizens - so once an Englishman, always an Englishman - press gangs were sent out to recruit sailors by extremely harsh tactics

6. between 1808-1811 between 6000 and 9000 were impressed

E. Chesapeake Incident - 1807

1. Leopard asks permission to search the Chesapeake for deserters

2. permission is denied and the Leopard opens fire on the Chesapeake within sight of the U.S. coast - fires three broadsides - cripples the Chesapeake

3. Chesapeake boarded and the British impress an American Negro, a British deserter, and a native of Maryland

4. Jefferson could have had war - but the U.S. was unprepared because of Jefferson’s policy of cutting the military

5. Jefferson decides on the tool of the embargo to force Britain and France to respect neutral right (freedom of the seas)

F. the embargo takes effect 12-22-07 - it was a complete halt to foreign trade

1. Jefferson believed that Britain and France were so dependent on U.S. supplies that they would be forced to revoke the Orders in Council and the Continental system

2. typical of U.S. overconfidence about its role in the economies of other nations

3. other nations would apply pressure on those two as well

4. effects of the embargo

a. radically decreases exports and imports

b. imports - 1807 1808

138m 57m

c. exports 108m 22m

5. northern hostility to embargo - why?

a. some idle talk of secession - Virginia/Kentucky resolves used to support it

b. agrarian areas were hurt because of grain surpluses and declining prices

c. south hurt by a lack of market for its one crop economy and inability to import necessary goods

6. some efforts to smuggle goods in

a. some smuggled through Canada and Florida

b. some ships were already in foreign ports

c. shippers rush to get their ships to sea before the embargo is enforced

d. John Jacob Astor - Punqua Windchong - asked for an exception to attend funeral - took attendants and $45,000 of merchandise in gifts - sought and obtained permission to bring back goods - helped make Astor the richest man in America - Windchong turned out to be a clerk for Astor

7. hostility in all areas of the country led to its repeal in March 1, 1809 - note - the same day Jefferson is scheduled to leave office

G. reasons for the failure of the embargo

1. it underestimated British resolve

2. over-emphasis on the importance of American trade

3. lack of sufficient time for it to have the desired impact

4. character of the American people - unwilling to make long term sacrifices without short term obvious successes

H. results of the embargo

1. antagonizes Great Britain because it impacted more heavily on them than France - why?

2. turned out to be three times more costly than war

3. Jefferson failed to use the time bought by the embargo to construct a navy

4. probably would have been successful if given more time

5. ironically - it helps spur the growth of industry in the northeast - a Jeffersonian goal?

XIII. Close of Jefferson - declining popularity

A. alienation of the north through the embargo - Timothy Pickering - Jefferson was “a cowardly wretch, a Parisian mobster” - “the triumph of democracy meant terror, atheism, and free love”

B. among Republicans - some were alienated due to loosened interpretation during Louisiana Purchase - Jefferson’s favoring of internal improvements - attempts to court the political support of the north - these were all seen as attempts to steal power from the states and give it to the national government - John Randolph - “Asking one of the states to part with part of their sovereignty is like asking a lady to surrender part of her chastity.”

C. the book on Jefferson - read Morison pages 102-103

XIV. Madison - the election of 1808

A. in essence Jefferson establishes the two-term precedent

B. Madison had served as Jefferson’s Secretary of State - begins a trend where the heir apparent to the presidency is the Secretary of State rather than the Vice President

C. the character of Madison

1. “must be counted as a great statesmen, but he was a very poor politician”

2. “had few intimate friends, and among the people generally he inspired little affection and no enthusiasm”

3. “and he was stubborn to the point of stupidity”

D. Non-intercourse replace the embargo after March 1, 1809

1. differed from the embargo in that U.S. could trade with anyone EXCEPT England and France

2. when one side ended their violation of neutral rights the U.S. would open trade with them

3. overall effect was to open up trade since once ships were at sea destination couldn’t be determined

4. June 9, 1809 Erskine Agreement signed - would have reopened trade with Great Britain - but not with France

a. provisions said that the U.S. would agree to rule of 1756

b. would have allowed the British navy to seize American vessels trading with France

c. these two provisions were unacceptable to the U.S. and are left out of the final draft

d. England then repudiates the agreement and non-intercourse is reimposed

E. April 1810 - Macon Bill # 2 replaces non-intercourse

1. opens trade with the entire world

2. when either Britain or France ends violations of neutral rights the U.S. will halt trade with the other unless they end violations within six months

3. look at who each of the policies favored

a. embargo - strongly pro-French since bulk of U.S. trade was with Britain

b. Non-intercourse - pro-French for the same reason

c. Macon’s Bill #2 pro-British because of more trade with Britain and the fact that Britain has a greater capacity to interrupt trade with France

d. thus, who will likely be the first to respond

F. 1810 - Napoleon - “His majesty loves Americans “ thus will repeal the continental system

1. conditional on British repealing the Orders in Council

2. Napoleon had no intention of stopping exploits against America shipping - Cadore letter

3. J.Q. Adams warns Madison in a letter from Russia - “A trap to catch us in a war with England.”

4. Madison believes Napoleon is well intended and refuses to recognize he is wrong even after it is apparent

5. November 2, 1810 he announces that Britain has six months to repeal the Orders in Council before the U.S. halts trade with them

6. Britain fails to act and non-intercourse is imposed on March 2, 1811

G. relative success of non-intercourse

year imports exports

1790 22 - 30 20 - 30

1800 90 - 110 71 - 110

1808 60 -70 21 - 57

1810 79 -114 67 - 119

1810 20 16

H. why did war come?

1. surface reasons - listed in declaration

a. impressment of sailors

b. repeated violations of territorial waters

c. paper blockade

d. Orders in Council against neutral shipping

e. thus the bottom line - freedom of the seas

2. if the surface reasons are true which section of the country should support war strongly- did they?

3. other causes

a. war hawks - Calhoun, Clay, Grundy

b. growing power of the nationalist west

c. fully half of Congress was replaced in 1810 - new leadership feeling their oats

d. why would the west support a war for freedom of the seas?

1. most nationalist section - why?

2. agricultural depression was blamed on British practices, though it was not in fact caused by them

3. the desire for Canada - Clay - “The militia of Kentucky are alone competent to place Montreal and upper Canada at your feet.” - “I am not for stopping at Quebec, but would take the whole continent.”

4. Florida in the south

5. continued Indian problems and the belief that Britain was behind them

a. Tecumseh and his Indian confederation in 1811

b. Harrison forces Indian concessions but Tecumseh repudiates them

c. Tecumseh and the Prophet come close to uniting Indians

d. Battle of Tippiecanoe - a draw though Indians retreat

e. similar situation on the southern frontier

4. discuss sectional support for the war - what do you think the real causes are?

I. war declared 6-4-1812 - House vote 79-49 - June 17-18 Senate vote 19-13

1. June 16th England repeals the Orders in Council

2. Merchant pressure and the pressure of war in Europe

3. note the lack of urgency for war that the vote demonstrates

J. why did we choose England instead of France?

1. impressment a matter of pride

2. Republicans in power

3. nearness of something to attack - Canada and Florida

4. possibility of damage to British shipping

K. military readiness - U.S. woefully unprepared

1. army authorization placed at 50,000

2. 10,000 the maximum enlisted - one year enlistments - generally closer to 7000

3. worst military leaders of any war in which the U.S. has fought

4. naval preparedness

a. Congress adjourns after declaration without making provisions for increasing the size of the naval

b. “Six frigates, three sloops of war, seven smaller vessels, not counting a fleet of completely useless gunboats.”

5. U.S. tariff revenues slim during the war - lack of trade

a. attempted to finance it by borrowing

b. northerners refuse to support it with bond purchases

XV. War of 1812

A. 1812-1813 - offensive phase - “The administration’s military policy was as stupid as its diplomacy.”

1. planned attack of Canada

a. Wm. Hull (61) placed in charge - crosses into Canada

b. retreats to Detroit after Michilimackinac and Dearborn

c. surrenders after British officer hints he will be unable to control the Indians after the attack begins

d. Kentucky wishes to launch a punitive expedition against Canada - 500 troops requested - none show up

2. Niagara attack

a. regular troops cross into Canada

b. New York militia refuses to cross and watches regulars captured

c. Apocalypse Smyth takes command - hypes troops troops up with an emotional speech - but when he sees the British the following day - calls off the attack - troops discharge weapons in glee, “showing a preference for the General’s tent as a target.”

3. Wilkerson and Dearborn attempt to capture Montreal

a. Wilkerson gives up after a minor skirmish

b. Dearborn - New York militia won’t cross the Canadian line

B. early successes

1. at sea success in one on one battles

2. most U.S. ships bottled up during the war

3. some success against British merchant ships

4. most significant naval battle - Battle of Lake Erie - Sept. 1913

a. Oliver Hazard Perry - we have met the enemy and he is ours

b. helps U.S. maintain control of the northwest

5. Battle of the Thames (Moravian Town (Oct. 1813

a. Tecumseh killed

b. Indian unity in the northwest is broken

c. thus, U.S. maintains firm control of the northwest

6. Battle of Horseshoe Bend March 1814 breaks Indian power in the southwest

C. defensive phase of the war - 1814

1. Napoleon’s defeat freed England to concentrate more on the U.S.

2. Champlain invasion route

a. British outnumber Americans 5-1

b. Battle of Plattsburg - Thomas McDonough halts the British advance and forces retreat because of British failure to secure control of the lake

3. Chesapeake attempts - August 1814

a. Bladensburg - 95,000 militia summoned - 7000 show up

1. they break and run

2. Bailey characterizes as the Bladensburg races

b. British invade, capture, and burn Washington

c. next attempt at Baltimore - Fort McHenry

4. New Orleans - January 1815

a. British delay allows Jackson time to fortify his position

b. great American victory though it occurs after the treaty is signed

D. the Hartford Convention

1. Federalists meet to consider several things

a. limiting Congressional warmaking, state admitting, and embargo power

b. restricting Presidents to one term in office and insisting on successive presidents being from different states

c. abandoning the three-fifths compromise regarding representation

2. consider invoking the Virginia-Kentucky Resolves

3. consider, though not seriously, secession

4. strong negative public reaction to it - and New England’s openly trading with the enemy through Canada

XVI. The Treaty of Ghent

A. why was England willing to stop fighting?

1. twenty years of continuous warfare

2. merchant discontent

B. the treaty simply maintains the status quo prior to the war - since the treaty did nothing it left no lasting bitterness

C. British demands

1. cede the northwest forts and p[arts of Maine

2. establish an Indian buffer state north of the Ohio

3. Canadian right to navigate the Mississippi

4. British interpretation of maritime law

5. closing of Grand Banks to U.S. fishermen

D. U.S. demands

1. U.S. interpretation of maritime

2. indemnity for ships seized

3. cession of all or part of Canada

4. exclusion of Canadians from the Great Lakes

E. treaty does none of this - it merely preserves the prewar status quo - importantly - it defers questions to a convention system

F. post-war conventions

1. commercial convention - 1815 - allows the U.S. to trade with all parts of the British empire except the West Indies - West Indies actually declining in importance to U.S. trade

2. Rush-Bagot Agreement - 1818 - disarms the Great Lakes - creates the longest unfortified boundary in the world - still in force today

3. fisheries commission - 1818 - grants U.S. fishing rights of the Grand Banks

4. boundaries convention - 1818 - establishes the 49th parallel as the boundary from the Great Lakes to the Rockies - also provided for joint occupation of Oregon

G. results of the war - review the two names for it - Mr. Madison’s War - Second War for American Independence

1. death of the Federalist party - Hartford Convention - lack of support for the war effort

2. informal recognition of neutral rights (highly questionable - rights of neutrals always exist in peace time)

3. increased respect (and self-respect) for the U.S. as a viable nation

4. new sense of nationalistic sentiment - sectionalism given a black eye

5. new isolationism - due to increased respect the U.S. will not be challenged

6. new set of heroes - Jackson - Harrison - Johnson

7. Republican acceptance of the need for a stronger navy

8. removal of the Indian menace - Tippiecanoe - Horseshoe Bend

9. expansionistic sentiment - westward movement

10. encouragement of manufacturing

11. myth of unpreparedness

12. rise of the West as a legitiment political power

Look also at the seemingly unrelated themes of the future of the Republican party, the coming of the Civil War, and the reemergence of sectionalism

XVII. Plots and conspiracies

A. through the purchase of Louisiana and federal sponsorship of internal improvements, Jefferson’s popularity was hurt in the Old South

1. Jefferson recognizes the need for northern support

2. partisan appointments are made to northerners - Northern scum - “clerk of the water closet”

B. in 1803 talk of establishing a northern confederacy surfaces

1. led by Federalists

2. known as the Essex Junto

3. the confederation was to include New York

a. enter into a conspiracy with Burr

b. attempt to have him defeat the regular Republican candidate for governor

c. Burr would then bring New York into the confederacy and serve as its president

d. remember, Burr is still Vice President, but he realizes Republicans will dump him in 1804 - why?

e. Hamilton urges support for the regular Republican - Burr loses

4. Burr challenges Hamilton to a duel in July 1804 - still Vice President

a. dueling was illegal but Hamilton could not refuse and save face - Napoleonic complex

b. determines to waste his shot

c. dies after 30 hours

C. 1805, before leaving office, Burr approaches the British minister with a plan to detach Louisiana from the U.S.

1. for $500,000 and the loan of a naval force Burr promises to deliver

2. serious enough so the British minister transmits the offer to his government and urges that they accept

3. the British don’t respond

D. Burr’s plot to lead an expeditionary force against New Orleans - from there on to Mexico where he would become

dictator, bringing Louisiana with him

1. sells Herman Blennerhasset on a plan to float the force down the Mississippi

2. befriends Andrew Jackson who offers to make him a senator from Tennessee

3. Burr deals with James Wilkerson - U.S. governor of New Orleans - General in the U.S. Army, and taking pay from the Spanish as well - “Wilkerson is the only man I ever saw who was from the bark to the very core a villain.”

4. 1806 - floats down the Cumberland on ten flatboats

a. Wilkerson gets cold feet and blows the whistle on Burr - exposes the plot - “Thus Wilkerson, a traitor to every cause he embraced, retained his command and the confidence of the President.”

b. Jefferson orders the arrest of Burr

c. tried before John Marshall on charges of treason

d. acquitted on the basis of the fact that there were not two witnesses to the same overt act - why did Marshall decide this? Why is the Constitution so specific on treason?

E. Burr leaves for Europe where he attempts to gain support for two projects

1. the liberation of Canada from Great Britain and subsequent reattachment to France

2. as hostilities with England draw near - Burr offers the British a plan of invading Washington using unemployed sailors from the East coast and subsequently reattaching the U.S. to England

3. 1812 he returns to New York where he practices law

4. marries a wealthy French widow - Jumel - who claimed to have been the only woman to have slept with both

Napoleon and Washington

5. she divorces him when he’s 80 after he fathers two illegitimate children and runs through all of her money

6. dies in 1836

XVIII. Post war America - The Era of Good Feeling

A. tremendous increase in national pride

1. Americans may not have entered the war with a distinct feeling of nationalism, but they emerged from it with one

2. recent victories dulled the memory of earlier losses

3. Federalists were discredited for their failure to support the national government

4. lessened economic and political dependence on Europe

5. confidence in the future - optimism

B. Anglo-American adjustments - “British conservatives continued to view the U.S. as ‘little more than a grimy Republican thumbprint’ on the pages of history” - at the same time one British officer - “I do not like Americans: I never did and never shall...I have no wish to eat with them, drink with them, deal with them, or consort with them in any way; but let me tell the whole truth, nor fight with them.”

1. commercial convention - 1815

2. Rush - Bagot Agreement - 1818

3. fisheries convention - 1818

4. boundaries convention - 1818

C. Florida problems

1. 1810 and 1812 the U.S. had appropriated two sections of West Florida

2. after the War of 1812 Florida continued to be used as a haven for runaway slaves and for Indian attacks against U.S. settlements - Spain lacked the ability to effectively govern Florida

3. 1817 - Jackson sent to Florida to search for runaway slaves and to punish Seminoles for raids against U.S.

settlements

4. he removes the Spanish governor, hangs two British traders and two Seminole chiefs - clearly oversteps his orders - some are fearful he might attempt to overthrow the U.S. government

5. the cabinet, except for John Quincy Adams, favors court martial - but Adams is convincing

6. result of Jackson raid showed Spanish that they could either give up Florida or have it taken from them

7. 1819 - Adams-Onis Treaty (also known as the Transcontinental or Florida Purchase Treaty)

a. U.S. receives Florida

b. U.S. assumes Spanish claims against U.S. citizens - $5m

c. boundary between Louisiana and Texas is established

d. Spain gives up claims to Oregon to the U.S.

e. northern boundary of Spanish territory set at the 42th parallel

f. Adams saw the extension of U.S. claims to the Pacific as the most important aspect of this treaty

D. the Monroe Doctrine

1. background - weakness of Spanish rule fostered Latin American revolutions - there was some fear that a join

Spanish-French force might attempt to reestablish control (the Concert of Europe)

2. Adams (Secretary of State) hoped to accomplish three things

a. support the principle of Latin American revolutions - republicanism

b. further isolate the U.S. by having small, weak, independent republics at our doorstep - thus discouraging further European colonization

c. remove the Russian threat of colonization to the west coast

3. Great Britain proposes a joint declaration

4. Adams wishes to steal their thunder - “It would be more candid, as well as more dignified, to avow our principles explicitly..than to come in a cockboat in the wake of a British man-o-war

5. despite its name, it was written by John Quincy Adams - contains to positive and two negative provisions

a. the western hemisphere is closed to further European colonization

b. political systems of Europe and the western hemisphere are fundamentally different - any attempt by European nations to impose a European system would be viewed as a threat to our peace and safety

c. the U.S. will not interfere with existing European colonies

d. the U.S. will refrain from involvement in the internal affairs of European countries

6. the bottom line is - “You keep out the Western Hemisphere and we’ll keep out of Europe.”

7. it could work only with the support of the British fleet

8. it had no effect on the policies of European nations

XIX. The American System - generally viewed as the symbol of nationalism at high tide - Henry Clay

A. protective tariff

1. passed in 1816 - established 20-25% average duties

2. British dumping of cheap manufactured goods after the war a primary cause

3. positions of Daniel Webster and Calhoun - south v north

4. New england shippers oppose it - manufacturing not yet dominant

B. second Bank of the United States

1. chartered in 1816

2. poorly run compared to the first bank

3. became known as the “monster” in the south and west

C. internal improvements

1. to be financed with a $1.5 m bonus paid by the second BUS

2. also to be paid for by tariff revenue

3. designed to link manufacturing centers with agricultural centers

4. New England fears it will drain away population - shortsighted - they benefited most

a. opposed by the south

b. generally favored by the west

c. never dramatically undertaken except for the National Road

5. the American System reflects a complete shift in the philosophy of Republicans - they adopt Hamiltonian policies - some say they out Federalist the Federalists - perhaps the Federalist party didn’t die, it just had its ideas co-opted

XX. Nationalistic court cases of the Marshall court

A. review Marshall’s three-pronged plan

1. strengthen the power of the national government

2. increase the power and prestige of the Supreme Court

3. embarrass Jefferson - Republicans

B. review the phases of Supreme Court history

1. 1789-1865 - concerned primarily with the relationship of the states and the federal government - Federalism

2. 1865-1945 - concerned with the relationship of state and federal police power to big business - regulatory authority

3. 1945-present - concerned with the police power of the state (state and national government) to the rights of

individuals

C. in 1803 Marbury v Madison had established the precedent of judicial review - the right of the court to rule national laws unconstitutional

D. Marshall’s decisions in the period 1803-1936 can be divided into three categories

1. judicial review extended to state laws

2. sanctity of contracts

3. state v federal power

E. judicial review extended to state laws

1. Fletcher v Peck - 1810

a. Yazoo land company granted millions of acres of land by the Georgia legislature

b. fraud and bribery was involved

c. therefore the next legislature invalidated the grants even though some land had passed into the hands of third parties

d. third parties brought suit claiming the earlier Georgia legislature had entered into a contract and was

constitutionally bound to carry it out

e. Georgia law rescinding the contract was held unconstitutional by the Marshall Court

1. it interfered with private rights

2. impaired the obligation of contracts which was prohibited by the constitution

3. marks the first time a state law is invalidated because it violated the federal constitution

2. Martin v Hunter’s Lessee - 1817

a. state of Virginia passed a law making it illegal for aliens to inherit real property

b. Lord Fairfax wished to inherit the property of his father (a loyalist)

c. U.S. treaties with Great Britain prohibited the discrimination against loyalist heirs

d. Marshall court rule that the constitution is the supreme law of the land and all judges (state and federal) are bound by its provisions

e. also rule that where constitutional issues are involved the Supreme Court has a right to review the findings of state courts and rule on the constitutionality of state laws

3. Cohens v Virginia - 1821

a. Cohens convicted in Virginia court of selling congressionally authorized lottery tickets (for District of Columbia) in Virginia where lotteries were illegal

b. Cohens are convicted and appeal to the Supreme Court

c. Virginia hold that due to the 11th amendment the Supreme Court may not review the case (citizens suing states)

d. Marshall Court rules that Virginia initiated the action by charging the Cohens and thus the court may rule

e. Kelly - “The national judiciary must be able to decide whether or not the constitution and laws of any state are conformable to the federal constitution and laws, and for this purpose the Supreme Court’s right to hear

appeals from the state courts was an imperative necessity.”

f. court rules in favor of Virginia

4. by these cases, the court extends the doctrine of judicial review to state law and state court decisions, greatly expanding the power of the Supreme Court

F. the sanctity of contracts - Federalist view of commercial/industrial nation rides on this

1. Fletcher v Peck - 1810 - already reviewed above

2. Dartmouth College v Woodward - 1819

a. Dartmouth Board of Trustees was given the exclusive right to govern themselves in the British charter

establishing the institution

b. following the revolution the Federalist New Hampshire legislature allowed this to continue

c. when Republicans gain power they attempt to control the institution and view Dartmouth as a public institution

d. Marshall rules that the British charter was a contract within the meaning of the constitution and that the failure of the New Hampshire legislature to alter it prior to ratification of the constitution acknowledged acceptance of it as such

e. therefore, new legislatures cannot alter contract entered into by previous ones

3. these cases create a strongly pro-business atmosphere and limit the degree to which state and federal governments can intervene in private contractual obligations

G. state v federal power

1. McCulloch v Maryland - 1819

a. involved the second BUS after the Panic of 1819

b. many states blamed the bank for the panic

c. Maryland levied special taxes against the bank to try to tax it out of existence

d. cases raises several questions

1. is the bank constitutional?

a. Marshall - “Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consistent with the letter and the spirit of the constitution, are constitutional.”

b. established the precedent of the acceptability of loose constructionism

2. can states tax the federal government?

a. “the power to tax is the power to destroy

b. the American people could not have intended to make their government dependent on the states

c. therefore, states cannot tax agencies of the federal government

2. Gibbons v Ogden - 1824

a. New York had given a monopoly of Hudson River ferry traffic between New Jersey and New York to one

company

b. rival company sues

c. two questions - what constitutes interstate commerce - can states regulate it

1. commerce is intercourse, not merely the exchange of goods

2. federal grants of power are complete

3. the constitution grants the federal government the right to regulate interstate commerce

4. where federal law exists, state are not free to act - (Marshall cite federal statute regulating intercoastal trade

5. leaves unanswered the question of whether states may regulate interstate commerce if the federal

government has chosen not to act

F. what is the net result of these cases and judicial nationalism

1. power of the federal government increases at the expense of state power

2. Supreme Court emerges with greatly enhanced powers

XXI. Westward migration - 1817 - English visitor - “Old America seems to be breaking up and moving west”

A. population increase

1. 1790-1820 increases from 4m to 9.9m

2. during the time period only 250,000 immigrants - in fact, America’s birthrate was fighting its battles

B. population shifts westward as well

1. 1810 - 1 in 7 Americans lived west of the Appalachians

2. 1840 - 1 in 3 “ “

C. reasons for westward migration

1. the lure of free or cheap land - relative to European system

2. land laws made land more affordable over time

a. 1796 - 160 acres of land for $2 acre - paid over four years - $80 down - total cost $320

b. 19m acres sold between 1796-1820

c. 1 m acres sold in 1815 - 5 m in 1819 - note accelerating sales

d. financed by easy credit policies of BUS and state banks

e Panic of 1819 temporarily slows the sale

f. may have been a typical post-war depression

g. BUS tightens credit and calls in loans - forecloses on mortgages

h. this heightens the unpopularity of the bank - particularly in the south and west

i. Land Law of 1820

j. 80 acres for 1.25 per acre - made western lands more affordable

3. optimism from the war of 1812 - that’s what make people take risks

4. speculation - encouragement through advertising

5. Indian removal lessens the threat

6. worn out Southern land - overproduction of cotton

D. results of the westward movement

1. shifting political power base - west

2. emergence of the west as a viable section - political power broker

3. increased nationalism

4. agricultural surpluses making possible the beginnings of the industrial revolution

XXII. Missouri Compromise - 1820 - one of the major problems with western expansion was the emergence of the issue of the extension of slavery into the territories

A. Missouri situation

1. southerners view with alarm the prospect of diluted political power

a. 1789 there had been relative balance in the population of the sections

b. by 1820 - 5.1m v 4.5m - in the House 105-81

c. Senate remained equal - with 11 states from each section

2. Missouri is ready for statehood but Talmadge Amendment is offered

a. would have prohibited the importation of slaves into Missouri and the freeing of slaves already there when they reached the age of 25

b. if Missouri came in as a free state, it would upset the veto power of the south in the Senate - EMPHASIZE!

c. only two more slave territories were close to being ready to enter - five free territories were

3. North saw slave state status for Missouri as a power move on the part of the south because it was largely above the slave holding line then in existence

4. northern leaders anxious to regain control of the country from the Virginia dynasty

B. two compromises proposed, Clay’s (The Great Compromiser) accepted

C. provisions of the compromise

1. Missouri will enter as a slave state

2. Maine will enter as a free state

3. slavery will be banned in the Louisiana Purchase territory north of 36-30 - except for Missouri

D. who wins the compromise

1. what the south gets

a. continuation of veto power in the Senate

b. guarantee of additional slave territory south of 36-30

c. admission of Missouri as a slave state

2. what the north gets

a. ban of slavery north of 36-30 except for Missouri

b. tacit recognition that Congress has the right to control slavery in the territories

c. more potential free than slave states (not as great as it may seem because of the concept of the Great

American Desert)

E. there are those who recognize the importance of the compromise when it occurred

1. Jefferson - “We have a wolf by the ears, and we can neither safely hold him, or safely let him go. This momentous question, like a fire bell in the night, awakened me and filled me with terror. I considered it at once as the knell of the union.”

2. John Quincy Adams - “I take it for granted that the present question is a mere preamble, a titlepage, to a great tragic volume.”

F. what change over time do these comments foreshadow?

XVII. Industrialization and collateral revolutions

A. the Civil War is hastened by the disparity of wealth between the various sections

1. increasingly the south will come to feel like the odd man out in this triangle

2. the south therefore becomes introverted, defensive, and seeks scapegoats in an attempt to explain its economic demise

B. industrial revolution defined - a change in the source of power - from man to machine

1. primary goal of the industrial revolution is to produce goods faster and cheaper

2. England had industrialized first and was anxious to retain their advantage

a. forbid the exportation of technology

b. codified restrictions to ensure industrial secrets would remain in England

C. why the U.S. was slow to industrialize

1. cheap available land was the primary thing sought by immigrants

2. thus labor was relatively scarce and relatively expensive

3. venture capital tended to be lacking because of the dominance of subsistence farming

4. raw materials lie largely undiscovered until relatively late

5. low population density scattered potential markets

6. absence of an efficient transportation system

7. established competition from English industry

D. why does it begin in New England

1. rocky soil, short growing season made restricted agricultural possibilities

2. relatively high population density provided labor and markets

3. capital raised from commerce sought new investment potential

4. seaports made importing raw materials easier - exporting easier

5. initial source of power - fast flowing rivers close to the coast

6. superior intelligence (education)

E. industrial revolution begins in the textile industry - both here and in England

1. Samuel Slater - the father of the American industrial revolution

2. sneaked out plans for textile machinery

3. hired by Moses Brown in Rhode Island - 1790

a. employed seven kids - all between 7 and 12

b. worked 76-84 hours per week

F. contributions of Eli Whitney - Connecticut

1. cotton gin (1793) - most time consuming part of cotton production was the removal of seeds

2. invented it within ten days after visiting a southern plantation

3. resulted in the ability to put more land under cultivation - what effect does that have?

a. increases the need for slaves

b. prior to its invention slavery was though to be a dying institution

c. allowed for the increase in short staple cotton production which could be grown over broader areas of the south

4. developement of interchangeable parts is more significant

a. prior to the introduction of interchangeable parts machine parts had to be individually crafted - slowed down repair time

b. Whitney receives government contract to manufacture guns

1. extneded from 28months to 10 years

2. never fulfilled - though Jefferson supports

c. interchanaheable parts leads to the development of the assembly line by Samuel Colt (Connecticut)

d. made possible the specialization of labor - thus increasing the demand for unskilled workers and reducing the cost of production by lowering labor costs while speeding up production

F. Francis Cabot Lowell and the introduction of the factory system (Lowell or Walthan) - Boston dtty - “Welcome to the city of Boston, the home of the bean and the cod, where the Cabots speak only to the Lowells, and the Lowells speak only to God”

1. all operations would be performed under one roof - raw material to finished product

2. Lowell’s unique approach to labor shortages

a. hired farm girls who were economic liabilities to parents

b. paid relatively good wages and sheltered them in dorms - carefully supervised

3. the Lowell system produces faster and cheaper material by eliminating middle man profits

a. one yard of cloth in 1820 - 18 cents

b. one yard of cloth in 1860 - 4 cents

G. Elias Howe and Isaac Singer

1. the invention of the sewing machine was necessary to make effective use of improvements made in the production of textiles

2. raw cloth could be produced faster and cheaper - need to dispose of it

3. lower clothing cost increased the available market for those goods

H. labor/management relations change with the coming of the factory system

1. reduced pride in workmanship because of lack of ownership of the product

2. professional management replaces working along side the boss as size of factories increased

3. labor becomes a cost of production - one can increase profits by finding ways to decrease cost of production

4. in 1840 Horace Greeley figured the average family needed $10 per week to survive - wages averaged $5 per week - what did this necessitate?

5. women and children were favored by factory owners because they worked for lower wages

6. 1820 - 47% of the industrial workers in Conn. were children - in RI - 55%

I. Commonwealth v Hunt (1842) - ruled that labor unions were not illegal conspiracies which restrained trade

J. agricultural revolution necessary for the success of the industrial revolution (workers inindustry were no longer self- sufficient, thus others had to produce an surplus

1. Cyrus McCormick - invention of the mechanical reaper allowed one farmer to cultivate more land - one could harvest what previously took fifteen

2. Jerome Case - thresher speeded up the processing of grain similar to what the cotton gin did - a farmer could thresh seven bushels a day by hand, twenty bushels per day with farm animals, and twenty-five per day with thresher

3. John Deere - invention of the steel plow allowed Great Plains land to be cultivate, thus increasing the land available for cultivation

K. the agricultural revolution tied the west and northeast more closely together (foodstuffs exchanged for cheaper manufactured goods - same thing should have happened between the northeast and the south, but the protective tariff and the issue of slavery got in the way

L. transportation revolution also needed to facilitate the exchange of goods and services between the northeast and other sections - those link (water transportation) were already available between the northeast and the south but were lacking between the west and northeast - thus, the transportation revolution creates relatively stronger links between the west and northeast than previously had existed

1. road building was the first great national transportation mania

a. private turnpikes operated

b. federal financing of national roads

c. limitation of ground transportation with bulk commodities

d. road building, public and private was largely a northeastern phenomena - linking the east with the west

2. canal building era - water transportation is the cheapest way to ship bulk commodities - use the St. Lawrence Seaway tolls ($25,000) as an example

a. the Erie Canal is easily the most famous of the era - connected New York City with the Great Lakes

b. known Clinton’s Big Ditch - completed between 1817-1825 - tolls were four cents per mile and it paid for itself in seven years - parts of it still in operation today as the New York State Barge Canal

c. difficult to over-estimate its importance

1. cost of transporting one ton of grain from Buffalo to New York City dropped from $100 to $5

2. time dropped from twenty to six days

3. Philadelphia to Pittsburgh - easier to send by ship to Albany, barge up the Erie Canal, steamer across Lake Erie, wagon or canal to Pittsburgh

4. flour produced from wheat grown in upstate New York was cheaper to buy in Savannah than flour made from wheat grown in central Georgia

d. importance of the Erie Canal

1. links the northeast and the northwest - economically, intellectually, physically, and demographically

2. increased the flow of goods between the mid-west and the northeast

3. New York City became the primary port of exit for northwestern produce - supplants New Orleans - lessens the importance of the Mississippi

4. further stimulates industrialization - even caused the development of nfant industries in the mid- west (farm related)

5. all of these tend to tie the northeast and northwest more closely together further isolating the south

3. development of steamboats - begun with John Fitch around 1790

a. Robert Fulton makes significant improvements and demonstrates the commercial value of steamboats (Claremont - Fulton’s Folly)

b. the real value of steamboats was that they turned rivers into two-way highways

c. most important on western rivers (Ohio and Mississippi) - Henry Shreeve develops the shallow draft steamboat needed for western rivers

4. railroad development - 1830 contest between the Tom Thumb and horsedrawn railcars on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad - steam power loses the battle but wins the war

a. primary advantages over canals

1. didn’t freeze in winter

2. easier to build over rugged terrain

b. objections

1. safety - sparks caught women’s dresses on fire (sometimes cars)

2. farmers complained chickens wouldn’t lay eggs

3. brake problems - sometimes missed the station both ways - eventually solved by Westinghouse’s air brakes

4. competition by towns for railroads - strikes by hotel owners who feared the railroad would miss their town

c. primary significance - it created a dominant link between the northeast and northwest

1. prior to 1860, no rail links between the north and south

2. increased the two-directional flow of goods, information, and people between the northeast and northwest

5. communication

a. Samuel Morse - American painter - invention of the telegraph

1. 1844 - “What hath God wrought?” - signals begin

2. primarily used to tie urban and trade centers together - what does that mean sectionally?

b. Cyrus Field - the transatlantic cable

c. Pony Express and the stage coach

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download