American Experiment

by James Macgregor Burns

  Concord, N.H., 326, 338

  Conestoga wagons, 315-16, 449

  Confederate Army, 607, 614, 622-5, 628; in battle, 605-7, 609-12, 621-2, 624, 626; conscription in, 613-14; strategy of, 608

  Confederate Navy, 621-2

  Confederate States of America, 608, 612, 618, 626; border states in, 602, 604, 606, 608, 620, 626; constitution of, 601, 612; Davis as president of, 600-3, 606, 608, 612-14, 628; government of, 612-13; negative brand of liberty in, 613; states’ rights in, 612-14

  Congregationalists, 7, 24, 52, 223, 373, 476, 494, 497-8, 507

  Congress, U.S., 6, 76-7, 84-9, 97, 110-12, 146, 175, 199-201, 237, 240-1, 250-1, 259, 269-70, 301, 458, 459-60, 564; Alien and Sedition Acts, 125-33, 141; under Articles of Confederation, 16, 17, 43, 76, 96; bank issues, 335, 339-40, 344-6, 424-6; brokerage in, 61, 62, 243, 263, 270, 426, 427, 475, 565; caucus system in, 171-2, 183, 204, 210, 212, 228, 238, 265, 369, 378, 379; in Civil War, 615, 619-21, 626-7; Dickens on, 352; enumerated powers of, 38-9, 40, 152, 188, 215, 619; and Mexican War, 461, 465; and national defense, 210, 215, 235, 236; negative veto in, 37, 262; and nullification and secession, 327-31, 336-7, 603, 605; political parties in, 104, 136, 145, 171-2, 369, 377; representation in, 36-7, 61, 62-3, 465-6; and slavery issue, 242-3, 345-6, 464, 465-6, 470-1, 472-5, 543-7, 549-50, 551-2, 591, 625; in War of 1812, 206, 208-9, 211, 328; see also House of Representatives; legislative branch; Senate

  Connecticut, 49, 72-3, 94, 280, 282, 288, 290, 351, 433, 505, 506, 528, 536; politics in, 183, 231, 239

  Connecticut compromise, 37, 40

  Connecticut River, 220, 223, 231, 310, 448

  Conscience Whigs, 468-70, 549

  conservatives, 345, 372, 374, 422; fear egalitarianism, 118, 224; for suffrage restrictions, 226, 364, 365; see also Essex. Junto

  Constitution, U.S., 38, 61, 135, 215, 252, 261, 366, 379, 465, 493, 520, 615; amending, 40, 42, 89-90, 177; broad construction of, 87-8, 177, 259, 261: and citizenship and statehood, 176-7, 576; debates over interpretation of, 104, 240; and federalism, 34-5, 40, 61, 135, 136, 140, 260, 262, 369, 374, 598; and impeachment, 40, 60; intellectual roots of, 28, 29, 368; ratification of, 40, 42-59, 89-90, 104, 134, 367, 428; strict construction of, 177, 258, 423, 466; see also Bill of Rights; checks and balances; separation of powers

  Constitution, U.S.S., 196, 211

  Constitutional Convention, 16, 19, 23, 27-42, 49, 62, 104, 134; see also Framers of Constitution

  Constitutional Union party, 593

  construction industry, 405, 406, 433, 534

  Continental Congresses, 23, 24, 28

  contracts, sanctity of, 27, 260, 400

  Contreras, Mexico, 463

  conventions, see nominating conventions

  Coolidge, John, 480

  Cooper, James Fenimore, 477

  Cooper, Thomas, 129-30, 569, 572

  Cooperstown, N.Y., 477

  Cooper Union, N.Y.C., 594

  Copley, John Singleton, 221

  cotton, 141, 274-5, 276, 277, 282-7, 302, 315, 318-9, 450, 529-30, 567, 589, 608, 618; see also textile industry

  cotton gin, 275, 282, 287-8, 291, 295, 308, 311, 315, 347, 567

  Cotton Whigs, 468, 470, 545

  courts, 14, 39, 55, 70, 90, 130, 184, 375, 392; equality in, 17-18, 453; see also judicial branch

  Cowles, Alfred, 514

  Coxe, Tench, 89

  Cranch, Mary, 122

  Cranch, Richard, 71

  Crane, Ichabod, 558

  Crawford, William H., 238-9, 247, 254-5, 264-7, 378

  Creek Indians, 6, 216-17, 452-3

  Crimean War, 539-40, 588

  Crittenden, John J., 425, 565, 593

  Crockett, Davy, 455

  Cuba, 249; U.S. interest in, 537-9

  culture: of liberty, 476-522; in New England, 476-92; urban, 78-9, 81, 110-11, 112, 115, 220, 222-3; Virginia, 255-7, 263-4, 482

  Cumberland, Md., 299, 450

  Cummings, Arthur, 610-11

  Cummins, Maria S., 517

  Cunningham, Noble, 190

  Curtis, Benjamin R., 575

  Curtis, James, 346

  Cushing, William, 185, 222

  Dabney, Thomas Smith Gregory, 282-5

  Dalzell, Robert, 466

  Dana, Francis, 49

  Dana, Samuel, 127

  Dane, Nathan, 231

  Dangerfield, George, 267, 270

  Daniel, Peter V., 575

  Dartmouth College, 74, 478

  Davis, David, 556, 558, 595

  Davis, Jefferson, 462, 473, 564-5; as president of Confederacy, 600-3, 606, 608, 612-14, 628; as Secretary of War, 545, 564

  Davis, Richard Beale, 255

  Davis, Varina (Mrs. Jefferson), 601

  Day, Benjamin H., 512-13

  Day, Luke, 14

  Dayton, Ohio, 210, 419-20

  Dearborn, Henry, 166

  Decatur, Ill., 558

  Decatur, Capt. Stephen, 196, 236

  Declaration of Independence, 15, 21, 23, 40, 49, 62, 140, 142, 249, 270, 272-3, 352, 383, 411, 572, 573, 584, 586-7, 595, 604

  Declaration of the Rights of Man, 99

  Deere, John, 430, 527

  Defoe, Daniel, 112; Robinson Crusoe, 527

  Delaware, 47, 239, 504

  Delaware Indians, 6, 96

  democracy, 118, 225, 457; and education, 502, 506, 510; equality in, 19, 20-1, 354-8, 361-2, 383, 411, 416, 525; Jacksonian, 347-50, 354-8, 361-2, 363-4, 376, 453, 511; work ethic in, 506, 510; see also republic

  Democracy in America, see Tocqueville, Alexis de

  Democratic party, 343, 358, 373, 435-6, 466-7, 515, 525, 536, 554; and Civil War, 615; in Congress, 340, 344, 566, 577; convention and election of 1860, 592-3, 596-7, 600; election of 1832, 331-6, 380; election of 1836, 341-2; election of 1840, 421-2; election of 1848, 468-70; election of 1856, 559-62; factions in, 330, 338, 345, 360, 361, 425, 427, 466, 468-71, 553-4; fiscal policies of, 344-6, 347; formation of, 322-3; lack of political philosophy in, 348-9; as majority, 576-8, 579, 599; and “manifest destiny,” 458, 459, 538-40; slavery issue in, 348-9, 465, 467, 468-71, 473, 547-8, 554, 558, 626; in South, 559, 560-2, 564, 576-8, 579-80, 592-3, 599; state, 373, 374, 408; see also Jackson, Andrew: and Democratic party

  Denmark, 24

  Derna, Libya, 196

  Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 515

  Detroit, Mich., 210, 212-13, 450, 532

  Dial, The (journal), 483

  Dickens, Charles, 317, 351-3, 356, 527, 575

  Dickinson, John, 35

  Diderot, Denis, 100

  District of Columbia, 424, 470, 472

  divorce, 360, 361, 402

  Dixon, Archibald, 544

  Doherty, E. P., 610

  Donald, David, 574

  Donelson, Emily, 332

  Dorr, Thomas, 365

  Dorr’s Rebellion, 466

  Douglas, Stephen A., 457, 473, 565, 580-1, 615; in convention and election of 1860, 592-3, 596-8, 600; debates with Lincoln, 557, 581-7, 594; election of 1856, 559; and Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 543-7, 549, 551-2, 557; popular sovereignty doctrine of, 544, 550, 577, 579-80, 584-5, 592

  Douglass, Frederick, 393-4, 412-13, 590, 626

  Duane, James, 56, 81

  Duane, William, 162, 199, 339

  Du Bois, W. E. B., 14, 149

  Dubuque, Iowa, 302

  Du Pont Company, 430

  Du Pont de Nemours, Pierre Samuel, 165, 169, 430

  Durfee, Amos, 446-7

  Dutch, 81, 113, 114; canal system, 302 Dutch Reformed Church, 7, 78, 370

  Dwight, Timothy, 161, 167, 280, 492, 493, 494, 497-8

  Dwight family, 292, 307

  Eads, James Buchanan, 617

  East, the, 86, 277, 309, 355, 356, 494, 528-9; see also New England; North, the

  East Chelmsford, Mass., 294

  East Indies, British, 103

  Eastman, Mehitable, 398-9, 403

  Eaton, Clement, 573

  Eaton, Maj. John H., 321, 325-6

  Eaton, Peggy (Mrs. John), 3
26-7, 332

  Eberhardt, Johann Ludwig, 289-91

  economy, 140-1; change in, and internal improvements, 302, 306-11; credit in, 276, 285-6, 339-40, 360, 374, 434, 451; and equality, 361-2; expanding, 29, 433, 533-5, 553, 587-9, 593; federal action in, 84, 236-7; and politics, 428-9; see also banking; fiscal policies; Panic

  education, 111-12, 115, 407, 441, 453, 476, 482, 486: classical, 28, 44, 111; and democracy, 502, 506, 510; parochial, 509; private, 75-6, 504-6, 507; public, 76, 352, 358, 360, 372, 467, 498, 501-11, 565; and religion, 497-8, 506, 507-9; in a republic, 19, 109, 144, 501-2

  Edwards, Jonathan, 196, 497

  election campaigns, 107, 147, 265-7, 375, 378-9, 419-22, 583, 596; see also political parties

  Electoral College, 38, 67, 107-8, 148, 152, 227, 266, 367; and Twelfth Amendment, 229-30

  Ellet, Charles, 617, 621

  Ellsworth, Oliver, 184

  Emancipation Proclamation, 625-8

  Embargo Act (1807), 199-203, 205, 228, 230, 276, 278, 282, 291, 488

  Emerson, Dr. John, 576

  Emerson, Lidian (Mrs. Ralph Waldo), 479-80, 481, 561

  Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 223, 331, 396, 451, 476-88, passim, 491, 517, 522, 526, 545, 561, 588, 590; Conduct of Life, The, 588; Nature, 481-2

  Emporia Kansas News, 579

  Engels, Friedrich, 416, 444, 467

  England, 249, 368, 416, 431, 438, 477, 625; liberty in, 23-4, 61, 117, 571; manufacturing, 200, 217, 251, 275, 282, 285-6, 291-2, 293, 439; trade, 249, 251, 506; see also Great Britain

  Enlightenment, 493

  Ephrata, Pa., 439

  Episcopalians, 257

  Eppes, John W, 258

  equality, 142-3; economic, 361-2, 440; inegalitarianism, 143, 355-6, 383-4, 440, 441-2, 535, 597-8; and Jacksonian democracy, 347-8, 350, 354-8, 361-2; legal, 17-18, 362, 453; and liberty, 25, 143, 226, 228-9, 258, 263, , 272, 347-8, 491, 500, , 520, 571-3, 575, 587, 593; political, 362-3, 378, 584; social, 362, 440, 584; see also democracy: equality in; liberty

  Eric Canal, 301, 302-4, 305, 431, 432, 450, 499, 517; financing and construction of, 302-3, 306-7, 309; grass-roots support for, 309, 310; passengers and freight on, 316-17, 528, 532

  Erie Railroad, 408, 531

  Essex Junto. 165, 223-4, 228, 230-1, 361

  Europe, 16, 26, 172, 249, 252; culture in, 477, 478, 483; Holy Alliance in, 248-52; investments in U.S. from, 531, 534, 587; reaction to Monroe Doctrine in, 251; revolutionary movements in, 254, 416, 438, 467, 536-7, 538; see also Napoleonic wars

  Eustis, William, 211

  Evans, George H., 360, 517

  Evans, Col. Nathan, 610

  Evans, Oliver, 297

  Everett, Edward, 341; 396, 434, 436, 452, 478, 501-2, 554, 578-9, 591, 593

  Ewing, Thomas, 424

  executive branch, 36, 37-8, 168, 187-9, 193, 226; see also President

  factionalism, 91, 92, 93, 239, 241, 261, 502; and liberty, 29-30, 45, 54, 60-1

  Fair, Charles, 622

  Fairhaven, Mass., 541

  Fallen Timbers, Battle of the, 97

  Farley, Harriet, 396-7

  farming, see agriculture

  Farragut. David, 608, 621

  federal government, 83, 383; bureaucracy of, 71, 78, 324-5, 346, 565, 617; factions in, 91, 92, 93, 502; geometry of balance in, 465-7, 472-5, 544, 598-9; and liberty, 62, 263, 491, southern power elite in, 576-8; strong, support for, 21, 26, 30, 34-7, 41, 42-58, 60, 126, 226, 241, 350, 433, 436; supremacy of, 259, 335; weak, support for, 43-4, 46-60, 61, 162, 258, 347; see also states’ rights: vs. federal government

  federalism, 369, 374; see also Constitution, U.S.: and federalism

  Federalist, 44-6, 60, 215, 261, 262, 511

  Federalist party, 109, 137, 138, 164-6, 223, 227-31, 357, 369, 377; and Alien and Sedition Acts, 126-34, 138, 230; antiwar position in, 206, 208-9, 210, 217-18, 230-1, 235; in Congress, 122, 136, 153-4, 186, 190, 202, 209, 227, 235, 237, 378; control of judiciary by, 128, 183-6, 193; decline and fall of, 191-2, 217-18, 227-31, 239, 243, 266, 377, 420; election of 1796, 107-8; election of 1800, 145-8, 151-5, 227; election of 1804, 183, 227; election of 1808, 203-4, 227, 230; election of 1812, 210, 227; election of 1816, 227, 238-9; and foreign affairs. 102-4, 121, 123, 124, 174-7, passim, 200, 230, 231; Hartford convention of, 217, 218, 224, 231, 261; state, 210, 227, 229; view of liberty in, 226, 228-9, 231, 347; see also Essex Junto

  Federalists (supporters of new Constitution), 30, 60-3, 69, 79-80, 82, 83-9, 98, 369; and ratification of Constitution, 42-58

  Fell, Jesse. 595

  Fenno, John, 80, 87, 90, 135

  Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria, 416, 467

  Ferdinand VII, King of Spain, 248-9

  Fillmore, Millard: in election of 1856, 559-62; presidency of, 474, 525, 531, 542

  Finney, Charles C, 492, 500

  First Amendment, 493, 500

  fiscal policies, 8, 13, 84-7, 97, 168-9, 344-7, 419-20, 457, 589; see also Hamilton, Alexander: as Secretary of Treasury

  Fischer, David, 223, 228

  fishing industry, 219-20, 234, 540

  Fisk, Theophilus, 361

  Fitch, John, 41, 277, 297

  Fitzhugh, George, 572-4

  Fitzsimmons, Thomas, 35

  Flagg, Azariah, 371

  Fletcher v. Peck (1810), 259

  Florida, 452, 530, 597, 612

  Florida, Spanish, 7, 173-4, 176, 207, 244-8; Jackson’s campaign in, 245-7, 320, 332

  Foner, Eric, 118, 469

  Foote, Comm. Andrew, 621

  Force bill (1833), 337

  foreign affairs; chauvinism in, 207-9, 237-8, 445-9, 458, 536, 538, and Constitution, 38, 61; disputes over, and domestic disputes, 99-105; expansionism, 536-40; interventionism, 251-4; leadership in, 252, 449; and liberty, 537; neutrality, 101-4, 195, 198, 205-6, 249, 254, 446; non-interventionism, 250-2; Realpolitik in, 245, 253; self-interest vs. morality in, 195, 252-4; see also Mexican War; War of 1812; and individual countries and residents

  Forman, Joshua, 305-6

  Forrest, Gen. Nathan Bedford, 622

  Fort Dearborn, 1

  Fort Donelson, 621

  Fort Erie, 213

  Fort Greenville, 97

  Fort Henry, 621

  Fort Johnson, 605

  Fort Maiden, 213

  Fort McHenry, 619

  Fort Moultrie, 606

  Fort Sumter, 605-7

  Foster, William, 361

  Fourier, Charles, 403, 442-4, 517

  Fox, George, 527

  Fox, Gustavus, 618

  Framers of Constitution, 28-42, 83, 104, 262, 311, 364, 368, 428, 493, 565, 574, 587, 594; and absence of bill of rights, 42, 50, 51, 53-5, 57, 59, 60, 69; and checks and balances, 34-5, 37, 38-9, 61, 63, 368; and foreign and military affairs, 216, 252; oppose political parties, 13, 134, 379; and separation of powers, 36, 61, 63, 216, 261, 368; slavery compromise of, 39-40; see also Constitution, U.S.

  France, 4, 5, 18, 80, 95, 99-100, 113, 124, 150, 162, 179, 232, 249, 250, 275, 297, 354, 416, 431, 438, 442, 467, 539; American sympathy for, 104, 109, 205, 208, 377; attacks U.S. shipping, 102, 121, 124, 205-6, 208, 291, 445; blockade of, 198-9; and Confederacy, 601; quasi-war with, 120-5, 127, U.S. claims against, 445-6; war declaration (1792) of, 99-102, 125; XYZ Correspondence, 123; see also Napoleon I

  Francis I, Emperor of Austria, 194

  Frankfort, Ky., 326

  Franklin, Benjamin, 21-3, 30, 108, 111, 116, 117, 226, 302, 304, 448; at Constitutional Convention, 31, 35, 39, 40, 42; and liberty, 24-5

  Franklin, James, 24

  Fraunces, Phoebe, 81

  Fraunces, Samuel, 81

  Fraunces’ Tavern, NYC, 77, 81

  Fredericksburg, Battle of, 626

  Freedom, Pa., 604

  Free Enquirer, The; 415, 517

  Freehling, William, 333, 567

  Free Inquirer, The, 360

  Freeman, Elizabeth, 20

  Free Soil movement (and party), 468-70, 545, 547-9, 553, 579, 584, 593

  Frelinghuysen, Theo
dore, 452

  Frémont, Jessie Benton (Mrs. John C), 560

  Frémont, Capt. John C, 462, 472, 616, 617, 620; in election of 1856, 559-62

  French Revolution, 98, 99-100, 149, 445, 498, 571; American sympathy for, 99-101, 126, 137, 253

  Freneau, Philip, 8, 1, 90, 93

  Fries, John, 146

  frontier, the, 7, 93, 94, 95-6, 395, 410, 416, 421, 449, 450, 507; American character on, 207, 317-18, 477; religion on, 492-7; see also West, the

  Fuller, Margaret, 483, 487, 516

  Fulton, Robert, 170, 277, 296-301, 308, 311, 431

  Galena, 111, 562, 622

  Gallatin, Albert, 127, 145, 166-7, 177, 200, 202, 205, 232-4, 236, 268, 304-5

  Gallatin, James, 233-4

  Gandhi. Mohandas K., 486

  Garrison, William Lloyd, 366, 394, 411-12, 517, 519-21

  Gassendi. Pierre, 170

  Gazette of the United States, 80, 90

  Geddes, James, 303

  Genêt, Edmond, 101-2, 121

  Genius of Universal Emancipation (journal), 517

  Genovese, Eugene, 387

  George III, King of England, 40, 194

  Georgetown, 65, 168, 450

  Georgia, 47, 92, 173, 246, 274, 286, 385, 409, 433, 597; Indians of, 452-3; states’ rights in, 335, 346; Yazoo land fraud, 259-60

  German immigrants, 80, 113, 289-90, 405, 439, 450, 547, 549, 555, 622

  Germany, 416, 431

  Gerry, Elbridge, 121-4, and

  Constitution, 31, 35, 38, 42, 43, 49-51

  Ghent, Treaty of, 231-5

  Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), 259, 577

  Giddings, Joshua, 595

  Giles, William Branch. 185-6, 258

  Gilmer, Thomas W., 424

  Gladstone, William, 32

  Godey’s Lady’s Book, 517

  Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 478, 481, 490

  gold, see California: gold rush in

  Goldsmith, Oliver, 112

  Gonzales, Tex., 454

  Goodyear, Charles, 534

  Gorham, Nathaniel, 35

  Gouge, William M., 344

  government: Adams on, 17-18, 109, 224-6, 272; Jackson on, 348; Madison on, 29-30, 45-6; see also democracy; republic

  grain products, 528, 529-30

  granite, 429-30

  Grant, Ulysses S., 462, 464, 617, 621, 623

  Grayson, William, 53

  Great Britain, 80, 141, 179, 222, 246, 247, 275, 297, 319, 405, 446, 512, 530, 539, 540, 542, 547, 587, American opinion of, 101-4, 205-6, 228, 231, 377, 445, 448; American possessions of, 95, 100, 173-4, 245, 455, 458-9, 540; attacks U.S. shipping, 102-3, 291; Canadian rebellion against, 446-7; and Confederacy, 601, 618-19; France declares war on (1792), 99-102, 125; and Ghent treaty, 232-5; and Holy Alliance, 249-50; impressment of seamen by, 103, 198-200, 203-9 passim, 228, 233-4; Indian allies of, 6, 96, 207, 216, 223-4; and Monroe Doctrine, 251; Royal Navy, 102, 194-5, 198, 205, 211, 212-14, 216, 220-1, 232, 234, 235, 251; and U.S.-Canadian boundary dispute, 7, 103, 235, 447-8; in War of 1812, 208-15, 216-17; see also Napoleonic wars