1. Creating and Growing a Nation
Jefferson
Madison
Monroe
Creating and Growing a Nation
After the Revolutionary War, The United States underwent significant social, economic, and territorial changes. The U.S. experienced the growth of sectional differences that led to the Civil War.
As the population grew the demand for additional land grew. Expanding into the lands west of the Appalachians and east of the Mississippi River, settlers demanded connections between western and eastern markets. An on-going war between Great Britain and France led America into a second war with the British and to acquisition of additional lands for settlement.

2. Western Land Claims, 1783
The Articles of Confederation established a good system of settling western lands
The lands between the Appalachian Mountains & Mississippi River that were acquired from the British in 1783 were claimed by numerous states.
States had to cede (give up) their claims to lands in the west to the national government in order to get out of debt from the war
The government then sold the land back
Selling western lands was the only way the national gov’t could generate money since it did not have the power to tax

3. Land Ordinance of 1785
The Land Ordinance established an orderly way to divide the west into townships and farms
Land was divided into rectangular sections
This method was used every time new land was acquired
Provided a way for free public education to be financed through the sale of the 16th section in each township

4. The Northwest Ordinance - 1787
Land North and West of the Ohio River became the Northwest Territory
Provided the method by which new territories would be admitted to the U.S.
Banned Slavery in the Northwest Territory – made the Ohio River the boundary between free and slave regions
The NW Ordinance showed Americans that the government encouraged westward expansion
New territories had to follow the laws of the nation
New states would be admitted to the nation as equal members of the Union

5. Thomas Jefferson – 3rd President
As a Democratic-Republican, Jefferson tried to reverse Federalist policies & reduce the size & cost of the national gov’t:
He reduced the size of the army
Cut back Hamilton’s financial plan by ending all excise taxes and allowing the charter of the Bank of the U.S. to expire

6. Jefferson & the Louisiana Purchase
Many American merchants and farmers lived in the Louisiana Territory
New Orleans was a key port for agricultural goods produced in the Ohio River Valley
In 1800, Napoleon reclaimed Louisiana from Spain but by 1803, he needed money to fund his European war
Jefferson sent Robert Livingston and James Monroe to France to inquire about purchasing the territory
This purchase doubled the size of the U.S., gave the U.S. a permanent port on the Mississippi River, and secured the port at New Orleans for exports
As a strict constructionist Jefferson did not know if he had the Constitutional power to buy Louisiana but he did it anyway and expanded the power of the President!

7. Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark were sent by Jefferson to map and explore this new territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean
On their 16 month expedition they:
Charted trails
Mapped rivers and mountain ranges
Wrote descriptions and collected samples of unfamiliar animals and plants
Recorded facts and figures about Native American tribes
They reached the Pacific Ocean and established a legal claim to the region along the Columbia River

8. James Madison – 4th President
James Madison won the presidency in 1808 and 1812
Madison was the Father of the US Constitution, was elected to Congress, and served as Jefferson’s Secretary of State.
Madison continued the dominance of the Democratic Republican Party and tried to continue Jefferson's policies of downsizing the national government.

9. War of Causes
Britain and France had been at war since America was often caught in the middle.
England and France continued to violate American neutrality.
Britain was restricting and preventing neutral American merchants from trading with the French.
The British policy of impressment. Thousands of American sailors were forced to serve in the British navy after their merchant ships were captured at sea.
The British refused to turn over fortifications along the Great Lakes as required by the Treaty of Paris of 1783.
Americans wished to drive the British out of North America altogether by conquering Canada while the British army was fighting the French in Europe.

10. War of 1812 - Results America didn’t lose any territory to the British
America’s army and navy gained respect because they had stood up to Europe’s most powerful nation.
Ended all hopes Native Americans had of driving the Americans out of the Ohio Valley
Marked the end of the Federalist party – didn’t support the war
Stimulated America’s economic growth
Ended all military hostility with Great Britain – never again would the U.S. and Britain wage war over diplomacy, trade, territory, or any other kind of dispute.
Increased national identity.

11. Treaty of Ghent
On December 24, 1814, The Treaty of Ghent was signed by British and American representatives at Ghent, Belgium, ending the War of 1812.
By terms of the treaty, all conquered territory was to be returned, and commissions were planned to settle the boundary of the United States and Canada.

12. James Monroe – 5th president
James Monroe was elected president in and 1820 with a clear set of goals
To promote national unity
To promote America’s dominance in the world.
Monroe was a Democratic Republican but by the Federalists were so few that the Republicans could do almost anything.

13. The Era of Good Feelings
After the War of 1812, America experienced an “Era of Good Feelings” from :
Monroe and the Republicans in Congress used this time to promote American nationalism
Nationalism – the interests of the USA should be placed ahead of regional interests

14. American Nationalism
Monroe and the Republicans in Congress promoted nationalism and American unity in 3 ways:
Government: increasing the power of the national gov’t over the states
Economy: Encourage industry and build better transportation to link the South, North, and West
Foreign Policy: Expand U.S. land and increase America’s role in world affairs
John Marshall ( ) used the Supreme Court to strengthen the power of the national government:

15. The American system
In 1816, Congressman Henry Clay proposed the American System to unify the economies of the North, South, and West
Created a 2nd Bank of the U.S.
Created a tariff to promote U.S. industry and limit the importation of British manufactured goods
A national system of roads and canals
The American System allowed the USA to create a national economic unit for the first time.
Southern cotton was used in northern textile factories.
Northern factories made manufactured goods that were sold throughout the country.
Western farms grew food and raised livestock that fed the nation.
After the War of 1812, Americans flooded into the West; By 1840 over 25% of the population lived out west; This economic and territorial shift expansion created a need to settle America’s national borders.

16. Nationalist foreign policy
When Latin American nations gained independence, the U.S. supported the new republics:
Monroe did not want Europeans re-colonizing in Latin America
Monroe Doctrine (1823) warned European nations that the USA would protect the Western Hemisphere and that the U.S. would not interfere in Europe
The U.S. still holds this policy today.