A Short History of the United States by Channing

by Edward Channing

  [Illustration: JACKSON SQUARE, NEW ORLEANS.]

  [Illustration: ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.]

  [Sidenote: Napoleon's policy.]

  [Sidenote: He offers to sell Louisiana.]

  242. The Louisiana Purchase, 1803.--When Napoleon got Louisiana from Spain, he had an idea of again founding a great French colony in America. At the moment France and Great Britain were at peace. But it soon looked as if war would begin again. Napoleon knew that the British would at once seize Louisiana and he could not keep it anyway. So one day, when the Americans and the French were talking about the purchase of New Orleans, the French minister suddenly asked if the United States would not like to buy the whole of Louisiana. Monroe and Livingston, the American ministers, had no authority to buy Louisiana. But the purchase of the whole colony would be a great benefit to the United States. So they quickly agreed to pay fifteen million dollars for the whole of Louisiana.

  [Sidenote: Louisiana purchased, 1803. Higginson, 244-245; Eggleston, 234; Source-Book, 200-202.]

  [Sidenote: Importance of the purchase.]

  243. The Treaty Ratified.--Jefferson found himself in a strange position. The Constitution nowhere delegated to the United States power to acquire territory (p. 164). But after thinking it over Jefferson felt sure that the people would approve of the purchase. The treaty was ratified. The money was paid. This purchase turned out to be a most fortunate thing. It gave to the United States the whole western valley of the Mississippi. It also gave to Americans the opportunity to explore and settle Oregon, which lay beyond the limits of Louisiana.

  [Illustration: THE UNITED STATES IN 1803.]

  [Sidenote: Lewis and Clark, 1804-6. Higginson, 245-247; McMaster, 219-221;Source-Book, 206-209.]

  [Sidenote: The mouth of the Oregon.]

  244. Lewis and Clark's Explorations.--Jefferson soon sent out several expeditions to explore the unknown portions of the continent.

  The most important of these was the expedition led by two army officers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, brother of General George Rogers Clark (p. 116). Leaving St. Louis they slowly ascended the muddy Missouri. They passed the site of the present city of Omaha. They passed the Council Bluffs. The current of the river now became so rapid that the explorers left their boats and traveled along the river's bank. They gained the sources of the Missouri, and came to a westward-flowing river. On, on they followed it until they came to the river's mouth. A fog hung low over the water. Suddenly it lifted. There before the explorers' eyes the river "in waves like small mountains rolled out in the ocean." They had traced the Columbia River from its upper course to the Pacific. Captain Gray in the Boston ship Columbia had already entered the mouth of the river. But Lewis and Clark were the first white men to reach it overland.

  [Sidenote: Amendment as to the election of President.]

  [Sidenote: The Twelfth Amendment, 1804.]

  245. The Twelfth Amendment, 1804.--Four presidential elections had now been held under the method provided by the Constitution. And that method had not worked well (pp. 171, 176). It was now (1804) changed by the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment which is still in force. The old machinery of presidential electors was kept. But it was provided that in the future each elector should vote for President and for Vice-President on separate and distinct ballots. The voters had no more part in the election under the new system than they had had under the old system. The old method of apportioning electors among the states was also kept. This gives to each state as many electors as it has Senators and Representatives in Congress. No matter how small its territory, or how small its population, a state has at least two Senators and one Representative, and, therefore, three electors. The result is that each voter in a small state has more influence in choosing the President than each voter in a large state. Indeed, several Presidents have been elected by minorities of the voters of the country as a whole.

  [Sidenote: Jefferson reëlected, 1804.]

  [Sidenote: Strength of the Republicans.]

  246. Reëlection of Jefferson, 1804.--Jefferson's first administration had been most successful. The Republicans had repealed many unpopular laws. By the purchase of Louisiana the area of the United States had been doubled and an end put to the dispute as to the navigation of the Mississippi. The expenses of the national government had been cut down, and a portion of the national debt had been paid. The people were prosperous and happy. Under these circumstances Jefferson was triumphantly reëlected. He received one hundred and sixty-two electoral votes to only fourteen for his Federalist rival.

  [Illustration: STEPHEN DECATUR.]

  CHAPTER 24

  CAUSES OF THE WAR OF 1812

  [Sidenote: The African pirates. Higginson, 237-239; Eggleston, 228-229.]

  [Sidenote: Tribute paying.]

  [Sidenote: Jefferson ends this system.]

  [Sidenote: Hero Tales, 103-113.]

  247. The North Africa Pirates.--Stretching along the northern shores of Africa from Egypt westward to the Atlantic were four states.

  These states were named Tunis, Tripoli, Algiers, and Morocco. Their people were Mohammedans, and were ruled over by persons called Deys or Beys, or Pachas. These rulers found it profitable and pleasant to attack and capture Christian ships. The cargoes of the captured vessels they sold at good prices, and the seamen and passengers they sold at good prices too--as slaves. The leading powers of Europe, instead of destroying these pirates, found it easier to pay them to let their ships alone. Washington and Adams also paid them to allow American ships to sail unharmed. But the pirates were never satisfied with what was paid them. Jefferson decided to put an end to this tribute paying. He sent a few ships to seize the pirates and shut up their harbors. More and more vessels were sent, until at last the Deys and Beys and Pachas thought it would be cheaper to behave themselves properly. So they agreed to release their American prisoners and not to capture any more American ships (1805). In these little wars American naval officers gained much useful experience and did many glorious deeds. Especially Decatur and Somers won renown.

  [Sidenote: European fighters attack American commerce. McMaster, 224-226.]

  248. America, Britain, and France.--Napoleon Bonaparte was now Emperor of the French. In 1804 he made war on the British and their allies. Soon he became supreme on the land, and the British became supreme on the water. They could no longer fight one another very easily, so they determined to injure each other's trade and commerce as much as possible. The British declared continental ports closed to commerce, and Napoleon declared all British commerce to be unlawful. Of course under these circumstances British and Continental ships could not carry on trade, and American vessels rapidly took their places. The British shipowners called upon their government to put an end to this American commerce. Old laws were looked up and enforced. American vessels that disobeyed them were seized by the British. But if any American vessel obeyed these laws, Napoleon seized it as soon as it entered a French harbor.

  [Sidenote: Impressment. Eggleston, 240.]

  249. The Impressment Controversy.--With the British the United States had still another cause of complaint. British warships stopped American vessels and took away all their seamen who looked like Englishmen. These they compelled to serve on British men-of-war. As Americans and Englishmen looked very much alike, they generally seized all the best-looking seamen. Thousands of Americans were captured in this way and forced into slavery on British men-of-war. This method of kidnaping was called impressment.

  [Sidenote: The embargo, 1807. Eggleston, 241; McMaster, 226-227, 228.]

  [Sidenote: Failure of the embargo. Source-Book, 209-211.]

  250. The Embargo, 1807-1809.--Jefferson hardly knew what to do. He might declare war on both Great Britain and on France. But to do that would surely put a speedy end to all American commerce. In the old days, before the Revolutionary War, the colonists had more than once brought the British to terms by refusing to buy their goods (pp. 84, 85).

  Jefferson now thought t
hat if the people of the United States should refuse to trade with the British and the French, the governments both of Great Britain and of France would be forced to treat American commerce properly. Congress therefore passed an Embargo Act. This forbade vessels to leave American ports after a certain day. If the people had been united, the embargo might have done what Jefferson expected it would do.

  But the people were not united. Especially in New England, the shipowners tried in every way to break the law. This led to the passing of stricter laws. Finally the New Englanders even talked of seceding from the Union.

  [Illustration: AN EARLY STEAM FERRYBOAT, ABOUT 1810.]

  [Sidenote: Outrage on the Chesapeake, 1807. McMaster, 227.]

  251. The Outrage on the Chesapeake, 1807.--The British now added to the anger of the Americans by impressing seamen from the decks of an American warship. The frigate Chesapeake left the Norfolk navy yard for a cruise. At once the British vessel Leopard sailed toward her and ordered her to stop. As the Chesapeake did not stop, the Leopard fired on her. The American frigate was just setting out, and everything was in confusion on her decks. But a coal was brought from the cook's stove, and one gun was fired. Her flag was then hauled down. The British came on board and seized four seamen, who they said were deserters from the British navy. This outrage aroused tremendous excitement. Jefferson ordered all British warships out of American waters and forbade the people to supply them with provisions, water, or wood. The British offered to restore the imprisoned seamen and ordered out of American waters the admiral under whose direction the outrage had been done. But they would not give up impressment.

  [Sidenote: Madison elected President, 1808.]

  252. Madison elected President, 1808.--There is nothing in the Constitution to limit the number of times a man may be chosen President.

  Many persons would gladly have voted a third time for Jefferson. But he thought that unless some limit were set, the people might keep on reëlecting a popular and successful President term after term. This would be very dangerous to the republican form of government. So Jefferson followed Washington's example and declined a third term, Washington and Jefferson thus established a custom that has ever since been followed. The Republicans voted for James Madison, and he was elected President (1808).

  [Illustration: MODERN DOUBLE-DECKED FERRYBOAT.]

  [Sidenote: Non-Intercourse Act, 1809.]

  253. The Non-Intercourse Act, 1809.--By this time the embargo had become so very unpopular that it could be maintained only at the cost of civil war. Madison suggested that the Embargo Act should be repealed, and a Non-Intercourse Act passed in its place. Congress at once did as he suggested. The Non-Intercourse Act prohibited commerce with Great Britain and with France and the countries controlled by France. It permitted commerce with the rest of the world. There were not many European countries with which America could trade under this law. Still there were a few countries, as Norway and Spain, which still maintained their independence. And goods could be sold through them to the other European countries. At all events, no sooner was the embargo removed than commerce revived. Rates of freight were very high and the profits were very large, although the French and the British captured many American vessels.

  [Sidenote: The Erskine treaty.]

  [Sidenote: The British minister Jackson. Source-Book, 212-213]

  254. Two British Ministers.--Soon after Madison's inauguration a new British minister came to Washington. His name was Erskine, and he was very friendly. A treaty was speedily made on conditions which Madison thought could be granted. He suspended non-intercourse with Great Britain, and hundreds of vessels set sail for that country. But the British rulers soon put an end to this friendly feeling. They said that Erskine had no authority to make such a treaty. They refused to carry it out and recalled Erskine. The next British minister was a person named Jackson. He accused Madison of cheating Erskine and repeated the accusation. Thereupon Madison sent him back to London. As the British would not carry out the terms of Erskine's treaty, Madison was compelled to prohibit all intercourse with Great Britain.

  [Sidenote: Still another policy. McMaster, 229-230.]

  [Sidenote: French trickery.]

  [Sidenote: British trickery.]

  255. British and French Trickery.--The scheme of non-intercourse did not seem to bring the British and the French to terms much better than the embargo had done. In 1810, therefore, Congress set to work and produced a third plan. This was to allow intercourse with both Great Britain and France. But this was coupled with the promise that if one of the two nations stopped seizing American ships and the other did not, then intercourse with the unfriendly country should be prohibited.

  Napoleon at once said that he would stop seizing American vessels on November 1 of that year if the British, on their part, would stop their seizures before that time. The British said that they would stop seizing when Napoleon did. Neither of them really did anything except to keep on capturing American vessels whenever they could get a chance.

  [Sidenote: Indians of the Northwest. Eggleston, 242.]

  [Sidenote: Tecumthe.]

  256. Indian Troubles, 1810.--To this everlasting trouble with Great Britain and France were now added the horrors of an Indian war. It came about in this way. Settlers were pressing into Indiana Territory west of the new state of Ohio. Soon the lands which the United States had bought of the Indians would be occupied. New lands must be bought. At this time there were two able Indian leaders in the Northwest. These were Tecumthe, or Tecumseh, and his brother, who was known as "the Prophet." These chiefs set on foot a great Indian confederation. They said that no one Indian tribe should sell land to the United States without the consent of all the tribes of the Confederation.

  [Sidenote: Battle of Tippecanoe, 1811.]

  257. Battle of Tippecanoe.--This determined attitude of the Indians seemed to the American leaders to be very dangerous. Governor William Henry Harrison of Indiana Territory gathered a small army of regular soldiers and volunteers from Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. He marched to the Indian settlements. The Indians attacked him at Tippecanoe. He beat them off and, attacking in his turn, routed them. Tecumthe was not at the battle. But he immediately fled to the British in Canada. The Americans had suspected that the British were stirring up the Indians to resist the United States. The reception given to Tecumthe made them feel that their suspicions were correct.

  [Illustration: MEDAL PRESENTED TO HENRY CLAY.]

  [Sidenote: Henry Clay.]

  [Sidenote: John C. Calhoun.]

  258. The War Party in Congress.--There were abundant reasons to justify war with Great Britain, or with France, or with both of them.

  But there would probably have been no war with either of them had it not been for a few energetic young men in Congress. The leaders of this war party were Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. Clay was born in Virginia, but as a boy he had gone to Kentucky. He represented the spirit of the young and growing West. He was a true patriot and felt angry at the way the British spoke of America and Americans, and at the way they acted toward the United States. He was a very popular man and won men to him by his attractive qualities and by his energy. Calhoun was a South Carolinian who had been educated in Connecticut. He was a man of the highest personal character. He had a strong, active mind, and he was fearless in debate. As with Clay so with Calhoun, they both felt the rising spirit of nationality. They thought that the United States had been patient long enough. They and their friends gained a majority in Congress and forced Madison to send a warlike message to Congress.

  [Sidenote: Madison's war message, 1812. McMaster>, 231; Source-Book, 214-216.]

  259. Madison's Reasons for War, 1812.--In his message Madison stated the grounds for complaint against the British as follows: (1) they impressed American seamen; (2) they disturbed American commerce by stationing warships off the principal ports; they refused to permit trade between America and Europe; (4) they stirred up the western Indians to attack the settlers; (
5) they were really making war on the United States while the United States was at peace with them. For these reasons Madison advised a declaration of war against Great Britain, and war was declared.

  QUESTIONS AND TOPICS

  CHAPTER 22

  §§ 228, 229.--a. Draw a map showing the states and territories in 1800.

  b. How and why had the center of population changed since 1791? Where is it now?

  c. Why did so many people live near tide water? Do the same reasons exist to-day?

  §§ 230-232.--a. What were the "best roads" in 1800?

  b. Describe the dangers and discomforts of traveling in 1800.

  c. What were the early steamboats like?

  §§ 233, 234.--a. What fact hindered the growth of cotton on a large scale in colonial times?

  b. How did Whitney's cotton gin change these conditions?

  §§ 235, 236.--a. Why had manufacturing received so little attention before the Revolution?

  b. How did the new government encourage manufacturing?

  CHAPTER 23

  § 237.--a. How did Jefferson's inauguration illustrate his political ideas?

  b. Compare his method of opening Congress with that employed by Washington and Adams. Which method is followed to-day?

  §§ 238.--a. What is the Civil Service? How had Washington and Adams filled offices? Was their action wise?

  §§ 239.--a. Explain the Judiciary Act of 1801.

  b. What power has Congress over the Judiciary? (Constitution, Art.

  III).

  §§ 240.--a. What was Jefferson's policy toward expenses? How did he carry it out? What was the result of these economies?

  b. Was the reduction of the navy wise? What conditions make a large navy necessary?