Chapter 3

 As we learned in the last unit, in 1803 the Napoleonic Wars broke out between France and Great Britain.  Once again the United States was caught in the middle.  Both French and British warships would stop American merchant ships.  The British also began a policy of impressment, or seizing Americans at sea and drafting them into the British navy.

 Britain helped Native Americans in their fight against American Settlers moving into new lands.  In response to British aid to Native Americans and forced drafts, a group of young congress members know as the War Hawks began calling for war with Britain to protect American interests.  Soon, the War of 1812 began.

 The War of 1812 was the second war between British and American forces. The war took place throughout the colonies, and Britain established a naval blockade in the Atlantic.

 In the final battle of the war, American won a decisive victory.  On January 8, 1815, General Andrew Jackson led American troops against a large British force in New Orleans and defeated it.  Through the combined efforts of the states, America worked together to defeat the British troops.  The victory led to a great sense of nationalism amongst the Americans. Battle of New Orleans

 With the rise in nationalism (the belief that the interests of the nation as a whole are more important than regional interests or the interests of other countries) came new policies for America.  The Monroe Doctrine declared the Americas off-limits to European colonization.

 Muculloch V. Maryland The issue: After the Second Bank of the United States was authorized by Congress, Maryland fought back by imposing a tax on all banks not chartered by the state. The U.S. branch bank manager in this city refused to pay the tax. The ruling: The Supreme Court ruled that Congress had implied powers under the Constitution's “Sweeping Clause” to create a national bank and that Maryland lacked the power to tax the bank. This case became a legal keystone of later expansions of federal power.

 Gibbons v. Ogden The issue: Steamboat operator Aaron Ogden was granted a monopoly to run his boats on the Empire State’s waters, a power that was challenged by a competitor. The ruling: The court ruled that, under this Constitutional clause, states could not interfere with the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. This decision has been called "the emancipation proclamation of American commerce"

 The Monroe Doctrine established the idea that further outside colonization was “dangerous to our peace and safety.” If the United States stayed out of European affairs, Europe was expected to stay out of American affairs.  The Adams-Onis Treaty- The United States acquired Florida. This also established a firm boundary between the Louisiana purchase and Spanish territory. The treaty also allowed American settlers to travel to Oregon for 10 years.

 By 1820 there was a tension between free states and slave states. When Missouri petitioned to join the union as a state, it caused an uproar. Half of the states in the Union were free states, while half were slave states. This exact balance provided equal representation in the senate. Missouri wanted to be admitted as a slave state which would upset the balance.  The Situation was resolved through the Missouri Compromise- under this agreement Missouri was admitted as a slave state and Maine was admitted as a free state.  Sectionalism (the belief that one’s own section, or region, of the country is more important than the whole) began to emerge.

 In 1824 Andrew Jackson, a popular hero of the War of 1812, ran for president.  Jackson lost to John Quincy Adams but after Adams’s unpopular presidency, Jackson was elected to office in  Jackson’s presidency is often called the Age of Jackson.  It was characterized by conflict with the Native Americans, conflict over the national bank, and increasing sectionalism.

 White settlers sought to claim Native American lands. Jackson sought to remove Native Americans in the regions they occupied in America.  Indian Removal Act- This act called for the relocation of the five Native American Nations to an area west of the Mississippi river called Indian territory.  These five groups were the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Creek.  Under U.S. Army supervision many Native Americans were forced to march West, hundreds of miles, to Indian Territory.

 Trail of Tears- The march which the Indian Nations undertook under the Indian Removal Act.  Conditions on the marches were miserable. Exposure, malnutrition, and disease took their toll.  So many Cherokee people suffered and died that their journey became know as the trail of tears, a term which symbolizes the suffering of all of the nations.

 One hotly contested issue during Jackson’s presidency was the Second Bank of the United States, a national bank overseen by the federal government. The purpose of the bank was to regulate state banks.  Jackson and other Americans opposed the Second National Bank. They argued that the Constitution did not give congress the authority to create a national bank… What political party that we have learned about would have held this view?  Jackson sealed the fate of the bank. He ordered his secretary of the treasury to take all of the money out of the national bank and put it into select state banks. They became known as pet banks because they were loyal to Jackson.

 The controversy over the national bank was largely a dispute over how power should be divided between federal government and state government.  Northern states and southern states also clashed over tariffs. Northerners liked tariffs because they made northern goods more competitive. Southerners resented having to pay more for manufactured goods.  In 1832 the south put the nullification theory into place in which they could consider an unfair law null and void.  At this time South Carolina threatened to secede over tariffs.  Henry Clay resolved the issue by reducing tariffs for ten years. However, tensions were heightened between the north and south.

 Native Americans continued to be pushed Westward as America sought to expand its settlements.  Through domestic policies the north and south began to split over governmental decision.  Sectionalism began to eradicate the strong sense of nationalism which was in place shortly after the War of 1812.