In the election of 1808, James Madison easily beat Charles Cotesworth Pinckney who lost again.

Madison inherited the problem that had plagued the three previous presidents.

These guys!

Unlike Jefferson, Madison could not bend Congress to his will. As a result, Congress largely shaped foreign policy without the President’s input. An example of this is Macon’s Bill No. 2 which did what?

In 1810 Napoleon hoped to use this law to his own advantage. He promised to lift French sanctions against U.S. ships. Under Macon’s Bill No. 2, the U.S. would then restore its own embargo on trade with Britain. For Napoleon it was win-win. He would theoretically receive American goods, while the U.S. would send nothing to Britain.

Madison hoped that Britain would respond by lifting their trade restrictions on American ships thus solving the entire problem. What did Britain actually do?

As Americans streamed into the Louisiana Purchase in search of land, Native Americans once again made an effort to stop them. Led by the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, a confederacy of various native groups was forming to push back American settlement.

If that wasn’t bad enough, it soon became clear that British forces in Canada were helping Tecumseh by providing weapons and ammunition. He would be a powerful British ally if war broke out between Britain and the United States.

The governor of the Indiana Territory, William Henry Harrison, took action defeating Tecumseh’s brother “The Prophet” at the Battle of Tippecanoe in If Tecumseh wasn’t a British ally before, he certainly was after this battle. Harrison would use his role at this engagement later in his life. Anyone know how?

When Harrison, the man who had defeated, him was elected President in 1840 he supposedly cursed the “Great White Fathers” of America. "Harrison will die I tell you," the Prophet reportedly said. "And after him, every Great Chief chosen every 20 years thereafter will die while in office. And when each one dies, let everyone remember the death of my people."

1840: William Henry Harrison 1860: Abraham Lincoln 1880: James Garfield 1900: William McKinley 1920: Warren G. Harding 1940: Franklin Roosevelt 1960: John F. Kennedy Died Under “The Curse!” Ronald Regan was elected in He was shot in 1981 and came within inches of dying. He survived and the curse was broken.

By 1812, Madison had come to the conclusion that war with Britain was unavoidable. He was influenced by three key factors.

1. Britain was equipping Natives on the American frontier, like Tecumseh and the Shawnee, for a war.

2. “War Hawks” in his government hoped a war, and a subsequent peace settlement, would lead to American land in both Canada and Spanish Florida. John C. Calhoun (SC)Henry Clay (KY)

3. Mostly, Madison moved toward war to restore confidence in the republican experiment. Who can explain?

How did voters respond to Madison’s call for war? Notice the number of states that had been added to the union by 1812.

By and large, the states of New England were outraged by Madison’s call for war with Great Britain. Why was this?

Despite protests from Federalists, Congress approved a formal declaration of war against Great Britain in June of The strongest support for the war came from southern and western parts of the U.S. Why?

After early success in Canada, a British invasion of New York was unsuccessful. Britain turned its attention south and successfully invaded and burned Washington D.C.

At the Battle of Ft. McHenry in Baltimore, Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the Star Spangled banner.

Andrew Jackson became a national hero at the Battle of New Orleans in January At this point a peace treaty had been signed but not approved by the Senate.

Of the war, that is!

In 1812, Russian Tsar Alexander I got involved in pushing for a peace settlement. Why? (World History, especially European history, gives us the answer.)

The treaty was Negotiated in Belgium and was signed on Dec. 24, 1814 ending the war of During negotiations Britain made sweeping demands for conquered territory in the Great Lakes region in and modern day Maine.

US diplomats refused these demands. Facing a renewed French threat in 1814, Britain dropped its claims to land.

What did the treaty do to solve the issues that led to war in the first place?

What, then, were the results of the War of 1812?

1. The Death of the Federalist Party

In January 1815, the Federalist strongholds of New England gathered in Hartford Connecticut to “discuss their grievances and seek redress for their wrongs.” What was their complaint?

At Hartford, the Federalists demanded: 1. Payment from the federal government to compensate for lost trade. 2. A constitutional amendment that would require a 2/3 rd vote of Congress before enacting an embargo, admitting a new state to the union, or declaring war. 3. Abolishing the 3/5 th Compromise. 4. Limiting a president to one term only and prohibiting successive presidents from the same state.

If their demands were not met, what did the Federalists in New England threaten to do?

How did the rest of the nation respond to the Hartford Convention?

As a result, by 1817 the Federalist Party was, for all intents and purposes, as dead as its’ founder Alexander Hamilton. R.I.P.

2. A growing respect for the United States in Europe.

Europe learned that the US would fight to protect its interests and freedoms. US diplomats were thus treated with more respect in European cities, and the desires of the US figured into European foreign policy decisions.

3. A growing sense of nationalism and American pride.

Sectional tension, and party politics began to fade away, even in New England.

4. The emergence of two war heroes that would later become US President.

Andrew Jackson

William Henry Harrison

5. The growth of American industrial manufacturing.

6. A growing isolation from foreign affairs.

Following the advice of George Washington in his Farewell Address, the nation hoped to maintain neutrality and keep itself from any long term foreign entanglements.

All of these set up the nation for a rapid expansion West and placed it on the path to its’ greatest moment of peril.