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The Constitution Ratified on June 21, 1788, by 9 of the 13 states to create a new national government. The purpose for the Constitution Ratifying was it gave enough power to act on a national level.

Source:
https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/constitution-day/ratification.html#:~:text=The%20ratifying%20conventions%20served%20the,were%20the%20agents%20of%20ratification.

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George Washington is Inaugurated (April 30, 1789)

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George Washington is Inaugurated (April 30, 1789)

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On April 30, 1789, Washington took the oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall. Washington wrote a speech because he acknowledged he was the first president and he had to present himself so that he would have a good reputation among citizens and future presidents. He addressed the need for a strong Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Source:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-washington-gives-first-presidential-inaugural-address#:~:text=For%20the%20most%20part%2C%20his,frequently%20emphasized%20the%20public%20good.

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1st Bank of the US is chartered (February 25, 1791)

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1st Bank of the US is chartered (February 25, 1791)

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The Bank of the United States was first chartered by the US Congress on February 25, 1791 after being proposed by Alexander Hamilton. The purpose for the bank was to handle the financial needs and requirements of the new government of the newly formed United States. This was necessary because the government had a debt from the Revolutionary War, and each state had a different form of currency.

Source:
https://www.ushistory.org/tour/first-bank.htm#:~:text=The%20First%20Bank%20of%20the,was%20still%20the%20nation's%20capital.

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The Whiskey Rebellion was an uprising of farmers and distillers in western Pennsylvania in protest of a whiskey tax enacted by the federal government passed in 1991. The tax was an immediate failure and violence broke out. Many incidents occurred and escalated over the next few years. The tax was repealed after continuing to be almost impossible to collect. This is considered one of the first major tests of the authority of the newly formed U.S. government.

Source: https://www.history.com/topics/early-us/whiskey-rebellion

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What Caused the Whiskey Rebellion?

During the American Revolution, individual states incurred significant amounts of debt. In 1790, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton pushed for the federal government to take over that debt. He also suggested an excise tax on whiskey to prevent further financial difficulty.

President George Washington was opposed to Hamilton's suggestion of a whiskey tax. In 1791 Washington journeyed through Virginia and Pennsylvania to speak with citizens about their views. Local government officials met the idea of a whiskey tax with enthusiasm, and Washington took this assurance back to Congress, which passed the bill.

But protests against the new tax began immediately, arguing that the tax was unfair to small producers. Under the new law, large producers paid the tax annually at a rate of six cents per gallon, and the more they produced, the further the tax breaks.

Small producers, however, were stuck with paying nine cents per gallon in taxes. Farmers took further issue because only cash would be accepted for tax payment.

Whiskey Tax Violence

The law was immediately a failure since refusals to pay the taxes were as common as intimidation against the officials hired to collect them. Excise officers sent to collect the tax were met with defiance and threats of violence. Some producers refused outright to pay the tax.

Perhaps inevitably, violence broke out. On September 11, 1791, excise officer Robert Johnson was riding through his collection route in western Pennsylvania when he was surrounded by 11 men dressed as women. The mob stripped him naked and then tarred and feathered him before stealing his horse and abandoning him in the forest.

Johnson recognized two men in the mob. He made a complaint and warrants were issued for their arrest. A cattle drover named John Connor was sent with the warrants, and he suffered the same fate as Johnson. He was tied to a tree in the woods for five hours before being found. In response, Johnson resigned his post, fearing further violence.

Incidents escalated over the next few years. In 1793, the home of Pennsylvania excise officer Benjamin Wells was broken into twice. The first time, a mob of people forced their way in and assaulted Wells' wife and children.

The second incident involved six men in disguises who attacked Wells while he was at home. The intruders demanded Wells' account books at gunpoint and insisted he resign his position.

Feeling unrepresented in Congress, the citizens of Western Pennsylvania gathered their own assembly with three to five representatives per county. While radical members pushed for open rebellion, moderates like Hugh Henry Brackenridge and future Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Albert Gallatin urged conciliatory measures.

Attack on Bower Hill

In the summer of 1794, federal marshal David Lenox began the process of serving writs to 60 distillers in western Pennsylvania who had not paid the tax. On July 14, Lenox accepted the services of tax collector and wealthy landowner John Neville as a guide through Allegheny County.

On July 15, they approached the home of William Miller, who refused to accept his summons. An argument ensued, and when Lenox and Neville rode off, they were face-to-face with an angry mob, armed with pitchforks and muskets-some in the crowd were believed to be drunk.

Someone had told the mob that federal agents were dragging people away, but Lenox and Neville were allowed to pass once that was understood to be untrue. Nonetheless, a shot was fired as the two men rode away.

Whiskey Rebellion Flag

On the morning of July 16, Neville was asleep in his home, Bower Hill, when he was awakened by a crowd of angry men-some of whom had been served summons the previous day.

The men claimed that Lenox needed to come with them because there was a threat to his life. Neville didn't believe the men and ordered them off his property. When the mob refused to move, Neville grabbed a gun and shot at the crowd, striking and killing Oliver Miller. In retaliation, the mob shot back at the house.

Neville made it inside the house and sounded a signal horn, after which he heard the sound of his enslaved persons attacking the crowd with firearms. Six members of the mob were wounded before they fled with Miller's body. By evening, the mob had reconvened for a meeting with a group of other people who declared revenge on Neville.

It was around this time that a flag, which has come to be known as the Whiskey Rebellion Flag, was first flown by participants in the uprising. The flag features 13 stars (for the 13 original colonies) with an eagle holding a red and white ribbon on a background of dark blue.

The Destruction of Bower Hill

On July 17, 1794, as many as 700 men marched to drums and gathered at Neville's home. They demanded his surrender, but Major James Kirkpatrick, one of 10 soldiers who had come to the property to help defend it, answered that Neville was not there. In fact, Kirkpatrick had helped Neville escape the house and hide in a ravine.

The mob demanded that the soldiers surrender. When that request was refused, they set fire to a barn and the dwellings of enslaved people. The Neville women were allowed to flee to safety, after which the mob opened fire on the house.

Following an hour of gunfighting, the mob's leader, James McFarlane, was killed. In a rage, the mob set fire to other buildings and the soldiers soon surrendered as the Bower Hill estate burned to the ground.

A Threat to Pittsburgh

Less than a week later, the mob met with local dignitaries who warned that Washington would send a militia to strike them down and they had to strike first. Wealthy landowner David Bradford, along with several other men, attacked a mail carrier and discovered three letters from Pittsburgh expressing disapproval of the attack on Neville's property.

Bradford used these letters as an excuse to encourage an attack on Pittsburgh, inciting 7,000 men to show up at Braddock's Field, east of the city.

The city of Pittsburgh, fearing violence, sent a delegation to announce that the three letter writers had been expelled from the city and to offer a gift of several barrels of whiskey.

As the day ended, the crowd had drunk deeply from the barrels and weren't inspired to descend on Pittsburgh with any fury, instead gaining permission to march through Pittsburgh peacefully.

Washington Sends the Militia

With signs that the rebels were hoping to reignite the conflict and believing it was linked to unrest in other parts of the country, Hamilton wanted to send troops to Pennsylvania, but Washington opted for a peace envoy instead.

The peace envoy failed. Washington met with his cabinet officials and presented evidence of the violence to Supreme Court Justice James Wilson, who ruled a military response was justified under the auspices of the Militia Acts of 1792. Washington assumed emergency power to assemble more than 12,000 men from the surrounding states and eastern Pennsylvania as a federal militia.

Washington met first with the rebels, who assured him the militia was not needed and that order had been restored. Washington opted to retain the military option until proof of submission was apparent.

The large and well-armed militia marched into western Pennsylvania and was met with angry citizens but little violence. When a rebel army didn't appear, the militia rounded up suspected rebels instead.

However, the rebellion's instigators had already fled, and the militia's prisoners weren't involved in the rebellion. They were marched to Philadelphia to stand trial regardless. Only two men were found guilty of treason, and both were pardoned by Washington.

Why The Whiskey Rebellion Was Important

The federal response to the Whiskey Rebellion was widely believed to be a critical test of federal authority, one that Washington's fledgling government met with success.

The whiskey tax that inspired the rebellion remained in effect until 1802. Under the leadership of President Thomas Jefferson and the Republican Party (which, like many citizens, opposed Hamilton's Federalist tax policies), the tax was repealed after continuing to be almost impossible to collect.

Sources

The Whiskey Rebellion: Frontier Epilogue to the American Revolution. Thomas P. Slaughter.
Failures of the Presidents. Thomas J. Craughwell.
Whiskey Rebellion. National Park Service.
Gallatin: A Voice of Moderation During the Whiskey Rebellion. National Park Service.
About the Whiskey Rebellion Flag. Americanflags.com.

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Whiskey Rebellion: Definition, Causes & Flag

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The Whiskey Rebellion was a 1794 uprising of farmers and distillers in western Pennsylvania in protest of a whiskey tax enacted by the federal government.

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Proclamation of Neutrality (April 22, 1793)

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Proclamation of Neutrality (April 22, 1793)

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On, April 22, 1793, a formal announcement issued by President George Washington, defined the policy of the United States in response to the spreading war in Europe. The Proclamation warned Americans that the federal government would prosecute any violations of the policy by its citizens, and would not protect them if they would get hostile. The impact this has was keeping the US from war with England.

Source: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/neutrality-proclamation/

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Jay's Treaty was an agreement between the United States and Great Britain that helped prevent war between the two nations. The treaty proved unpopular with the American public but accomplished the goal of maintaining peace between the two nations and preserving U.S. neutrality.

Source:
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/jay-treaty

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Pinckney's Treaty was an agreement between the U.S. and Spain. President George Washington sent Thomas Pinckney as an envoy to Spain to resolve the dispute. The Treaty states the privilege of the United States in sailing and steering through the Mississippi River. This treaty was an important diplomatic success for the United States.

Source:
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/pickney-treaty#:~:text=The%20treaty%20was%20an%20important,Orleans%2C%20then%20under%20Spanish%20control.

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Washington’s Farewell Address (September 17, 1796)

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Washington’s Farewell Address (September 17, 1796)

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On September 17, 1796, George Washington's Farewell Address announced that he would not seek a third term as president. Washington set the precedent for the two-term limit, avoiding that presidency would become a lifetime. In this address, he urged the nation to remain neutral and "steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world." He also advised remaining neutral in foreign conflicts. His advice guided U.S. foreign policy into the 20th century.

Source:
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/washington-farewell#:~:text=To%20announce%20his%20decision%20not,newspaper%20article%20September%2017%2C%201796.

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Election of 1796 ( November 4 to December 7, 1796.

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Election of 1796 ( November 4 to December 7, 1796.

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On the Election of 1796, John Adams is nominated for president by the Federalists, he becomes president,
Thomas Jefferson was nominated for president by the Dem/Reps and became vice president. This was the first presidential election in which political parties played a dominant role.

Source:
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this-day-the-first-bitter-contested-presidential-election-takes-place

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This article was most recently revised and updated by

United States presidential election of 1796, American presidential election held in 1796, in which Federalist John Adams defeated Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson.

American presidential election, 1796 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Rise of the political party system

The election of 1796 marked the emergence of the political party system in the United States. In the previous elections of 1789 and 1792, George Washington won unanimous support with no party affiliation, but over the course of his presidency a strong political divide had formed around the fiscal policy of Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton and others who favoured a loose interpretation of the Constitution and a strong central government formed the Federalist Party in 1791. Their opponents, favouring a strict interpretation of the Constitution and states' rights, rallied around Thomas Jefferson. Though Jefferson maintained that the party system was unfavourable, he formed his own party, later to become known as the Democratic-Republican party.

Political issues in the 1790s began to be viewed along these party lines, and the rift between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans was furthered by foreign policy disputes. In 1796, though there was not yet a clear procedure for selecting partisan candidates, informal and secretive caucuses were held for the parties' congressional delegations to choose presidential and vice presidential nominees. The Democratic-Republicans chose Jefferson, and the Federalists nominated Vice Pres. John Adams. Neither party was able to decide on a vice presidential candidate. At the time, however, the Constitution-not having anticipated the rise of the party system-stated that the candidate with the second highest total of votes would become vice president.

Though unfamiliarity with contested presidential elections and the indirectness of the electoral system led to low public interest, the election was closely fought-in part because of the rapidly forming party divide. The result was a narrow victory for Adams, who carried 71 electoral votes to Jefferson's 68. Adams swept the northeast, while Jefferson won much of the south and west. Under the original electoral system devised under the Constitution (not changed until the Twelfth Amendment in 1804), Jefferson became Adams's vice president-a situation that, owing to their conflicting political parties, proved difficult for the Adams administration.

Collection of David J. and Janice L. Frent

Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. Subscribe today

For the results of the previous election, see United States presidential election of 1792. For the results of the subsequent election, see United States presidential election of 1800.

Results of the 1796 election

The results of the 1796 U.S. presidential election are provided in the table.

presidential candidate

political party

electoral votes

popular votes*
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

*Electors were chosen by legislatures in many states, not by popular vote.

Source: United States Office of the Federal Register.

John Jay
Independent-Federalist

5

John Henry

Independent

2

Samuel Johnston

Independent-Federalist

2

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Independent-Federalist

1

Amy Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:

United States presidential election of 1796

date

participants

related topics

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united states presidential election of 1796

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US presidential election of 1796 | Candidates, Results, & Facts

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US presidential election of 1796, American presidential election held in 1796, in which Federalist John Adams defeated Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. Adams received 71 electoral votes to Jefferson's 68. The election was especially notable for marking the emergence of the political party system.

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The XYZ Affair was a diplomatic incident between the United States and France in 1797. French agents attempted to get a bribe and loans from US diplomats in exchange for an agreement that French privateers would no longer attack American ships. It led to an undeclared war, known as the Quasi-War.

Source:
https://www.history.com/news/what-was-the-xyz-affair

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 “quasi-war” with France (July 7, 1798 – September 30, 1800)

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 “quasi-war” with France (July 7, 1798 – September 30, 1800)

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The Quasi-War with France was an undeclared war fought entirely at sea between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800. The French began to seize American ships trading with their British enemies. The Quasi-War officially ended with the Convention of 1800, also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine, negotiated between France and the United States in September 1800. It also evolved in the wake of the French Revolution, which changed the relationship between the United States and the French government.

Source:
https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/major-events/the-quasi-war-with-france/#:~:text=Commonly%20referred%20to%20as%20the,the%20newly%20established%20U.S.%20Navy.

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The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by the Federalist Congress in 1798 and signed into law by President Adams Passed Passed in preparation for an anticipated war with France. The Alien Act was a longer period for naturalization. Power of executive to detain or deport aliens deemed dangerous. The Sedition Act was a conspiracy against the government, a "false, scandalous and malicious" nature against the government or any of its offices. These acts set off criticism against Federalists, which led to the repeal of the act.

Source:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/alien-and-sedition-acts#:~:text=Sedition%20Act%20trials%2C%20along%20with,repealed%20or%20allowed%20to%20expire.

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Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (November 11, 1798)

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Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (November 11, 1798)

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The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were written Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, they believed the act was unconstitutional. This enabled the states to have the right to nullify a law they did not believe in or deemed "Unconstitutional". It attacked the ideas of the Alien Sedition Acts and stated the rights ideology and the difference in interpretation of nullification.

Source: https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/877/virginia-and-kentucky-resolutions-of-1798

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Election of 1800 (October 31 to December 3, 1800)

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Election of 1800 (October 31 to December 3, 1800)

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Vice President Thomas Jefferson defeated President John Adams by an electoral vote of seventy-three to sixty-five in the Election of 1800. Jefferson and Burr tied but Burr lost in the House of Representatives. Electors could not distinguish between the president and vice president when voting, which led to the passage of the 12th Amendment. This was the first peaceful transition of political power between opposing parties in U.S. history.

Source:
https://guides.loc.gov/presidential-election-1800#:~:text=Thomas%20Jefferson%20(Democratic%2DRepublican),%2Dthree%20to%20sixty%2Dfive.

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The Marbury v Madison was aU.S. Supreme Court decision that established for the first time that federal courts had the power to overturn an act of Congress on the ground that it violated the U.S. Constitution. This led to Congress having the power to pass laws that override the Constitution, and the establishment of Judicial Review.

Source:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/marbury-v-madison

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The Louisiana Purchase was a land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million, doubling the size of the U.S. acquired peacefully rather than through warfare. It established the first time the supreme court declared something 'unconstitutional'. This was an economic as well as a political victory since it avoided a possible war with the French.

Source:
https://www.monticello.org/thomas-jefferson/louisiana-lewis-clark/the-louisiana-purchase/

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A look at Jefferson's role in the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the young American republic.

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Lewis and Clark Expedition (May 14, 1804)

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Lewis and Clark Expedition (May 14, 1804)

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The Lewis and Clark Expedition was a U.S. military expedition, led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark, to explore the Louisiana Purchase and the Pacific Northwest. They brought back journals filled with details about Native American tribes and scientific notes about plants and animals they'd never seen before. They also mapped uncharted land, rivers, and mountains. They traveled for a total of Two years, four months, ten days, from May 14, 1804 to September 23, 1806.

Source:
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/lewis-and-clark#:~:text=Lewis%20and%20Clark's%20team%20mapped,Americans%20dream%20about%20heading%20west.

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On a gloomy December afternoon in 1803, a boat crept along the banks of the Mississippi River and landed at the mouth of the Wood River in what is now the state of Illinois. A group of men climbed out and began to set up camp under a dark canopy of oak trees. Suddenly a violent storm moved in, pelting the area with snow and hail.

The men didn't turn back though. Instead, they hunkered down and spent the next five months here preparing for the trip they were about to embark on,in which poor weather would be one of the many dangers they'd face.

Among these men were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, co-leaders of an expedition tasked with exploring land that the United States had recently acquired. Their trip would turn into an epic 8,000-mile-long trek-and the first big step in the United States' westward expansion.

LET'S MAKE A DEAL

When Thomas Jefferson became the third president of the United States in 1801, the country basically stopped at the Mississippi River. France controlled much of the land to the west of this waterway.

President Jefferson wanted to acquire the Port of New Orleans, in what is now the state of Louisiana, from the French. Its prime location made it a key spot for trade. In 1803, Jefferson made what's known as one of the greatest real estate deals in history: the Louisiana Purchase.

After negotiations, France agreed to sell the entire city of New Orleans, which included the port, to the United States for $10 million; they threw in the rest of the territory they owned for an additional $5 million. The agreement-which gave the United States approximately 828,000 square miles of land-almost doubled the size of the nearly 30-year-old nation.

The United States only paid about three cents an acre for the land, which stretched from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west and from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to the Canadian border in the north. Spain still owned much of the southwestern part of what's now the United States, stretching from the area that would become Texas to present-day California.

Purchasing this enormous amount of land was one thing, but exploring it was another. Jefferson wanted to plan an expedition to investigate the territory. He called the proposed mission the Voyage of Discovery and began assembling a team of explorers called the Corps (KOR) of Discovery. The president chose Captain Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark to lead the expedition. Lewis, President Jefferson's personal secretary, was an officer in the United States Army and spoke several Native American languages. Lewis recommended Clark-a retired officer who had served alongside him in the Army-as the expedition's co-leader.

WAY OUT WEST

In the spring of 1804, Lewis, Clark, and dozens of other men left St. Louis, Missouri, by boat. They traveled westward through what is now Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

In November they reached Knife River Village in present-day North Dakota. There they met a young Shoshone Native American woman called Sacagawea (Sa-kuh-juh-WEE-uh) and her fur-trader husband, Toussaint Charbonneau (Too-SAHNT SHAR-bon-oh). The couple joined the expedition as interpreters, translating the language of the local tribes for Lewis and Clark's men.

Sacagawea didn't just serve as an interpreter during the trip, however. She helped Lewis and Clark's men obtain essential supplies and horses, identified edible plants and herbs, and prevented hostile relations with other tribes simply by being with the group-all while carrying her newborn baby on her back.

After meeting Sacagawea and her husband, the Corps traveled west from North Dakota, 15 to 20 miles a day on foot and by boat, toward the mountains. Day after day, the exhausted, freezing team braved rough rivers and perilous peaks, getting by on very little food. They wouldn't see the Pacific Ocean until November 1805-over a year after they first left Missouri.

COMING HOME

After a long winter waiting out the bad weather, the Corps was able to start making their way back east in March 1806. After returning Sacagawea and her husband to North Dakota, the remainder of the Corps arrived back in Missouri in late September, more than two years after they started their expedition.

Lewis and Clark's team mapped uncharted land, rivers, and mountains. They brought back journals filled with details about Native American tribes and scientific notes about plants and animals they'd never seen before. They also brought back stories-tales that made other Americans dream about heading west.

Many Americans did more than dream. The great westward expansion was about to begin.

Text adapted from The Journals of Lewis and Clark; The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation: From the Louisiana Purchase to Today; and Sacagawea

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On a gloomy December afternoon in 1803, a boat crept along the banks of the Mississippi River and landed at the mouth of the Wood River in what is now the state of Illinois. A group of men climbed out and began to set up camp under a dark canopy of oak trees.

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The Chesapeake was an incident that happened on June 22, 1807. The Chesapeake was a US frigate boarded by a British ship, the Leopard. The Chesapeake was not fully armed. The British seized four alleged deserters, and the commander of the Chesapeake was later court-marshaled for not taking any action. This is a famous example of impressment, in which the British seized American sailors and forced them to serve on British ships. Impressment was one of the major factors leading to the War of 1812.

Source:
https://www.nps.gov/articles/chesapeake-leopard-affair.htm

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The Embargo Act of 1807 was passed by the United States Congress and signed by President Thomas Jefferson on December 22, 1807. It was a law that forbade all exportation of goods from the United States. Britain and France had been continuously harassing the U.S. and seizing U.S. ships and men. The U.S. was not prepared to fight in a war, so Jefferson hoped to weaken Britain and France by stopping trade. The Embargo Act hurt our economy more than theirs, which led to its repeal in 1809. The Embargo Act helped to revive the Federalists. It caused New England's industry to grow. It eventually led to the War of 1812.

Source:
https://www.britannica.com/summary/Embargo-Act#:~:text=Embargo%20Act%2C%20Legislation%20by%20the,ships%20during%20the%20Napoleonic%20Wars.

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Embargo Act, Legislation by the U.S. Congress in December 1807 that closed U.S. ports to all exports and restricted imports from Britain. The act was Pres. Thomas Jefferson's response to British and French interference with neutral U.S. merchant ships during the Napoleonic Wars. The embargo had little effect in Europe, but it imposed an unpopular restriction on New England merchants and exporters ( see Hartford Convention). Legislation passed in 1809 lifted the embargo, but continued British interference with U.S. shipping led to the War of 1812.

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Embargo Act, Legislation by the U.S. Congress in December 1807 that closed U.S. ports to all exports and restricted imports from Britain. The act was Pres. Thomas Jefferson's response to British and French interference with neutral U.S. merchant ships during the Napoleonic Wars.

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Election of 1808 (November 4, to December 7, 1808)

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Election of 1808 (November 4, to December 7, 1808)

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The Election of 1808 was between Democratic-Republican candidate James Madison and Federalist candidate Pinckney. James Madison defeated Federalist candidate Pinckney. Thomas Jefferson, the previous president, did not serve another term and followed Washington's Precedent.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1808

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Table of Contents

United States presidential election of 1808, American presidential election held in 1808, in which Democratic-Republican candidate James Madison defeated Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney .

Candidates and issues

Deciding not to run for reelection, Pres. Thomas Jefferson unofficially anointed James Madison, his secretary of state and fellow Virginian, as his successor. As an architect of the U.S. Constitution and Jefferson's principal adviser, Madison appeared to be an ideal presidential candidate. However, widespread dissatisfaction with the Embargo Act of 1807-a foreign-policy maneuver contrived by Jefferson and Madison that had had unintended deleterious effects on the U.S. economy-led to fractiousness within the Democrat-Republican Party. At the party's congressional nominating caucus in January 1808, Madison emerged triumphant despite opposition from supporters of former foreign minister James Monroe and Vice Pres. George Clinton . Clinton, who had boycotted the caucus, was nominated to continue as vice president, in part to undermine his presidential ambitions.

Meanwhile, the Federalist Party criticized the Embargo Act even more forcefully and accused Madison of deliberately working against American interests. At the party's caucus in September, Gen. Charles C. Pinckney of South Carolina was selected as the presidential nominee, and former U.S. ambassador and New York senator Rufus King was nominated for vice president-the same ticket the Federalists had put forth in 1804.

The election

Although the Federalists found favour in New England, a traditional party stronghold where the local mercantile industry had been economically crippled by the Embargo Act, the Democrat-Republicans' superior political organization and numerous newspaper endorsements provided them with a broader base of support. In the end, Madison earned a decisive victory in the contest, with 122 electoral votes to Pinckney's 47. Clinton, who was reelected vice president, managed an additional six votes for president from his home state of New York. While the Federalists achieved greater electoral success than they had in the previous election, carrying all states in New England except Vermont, the overall results confirmed the ascendancy of the Democrat-Republican Party.

For the results of the previous election, see United States presidential election of 1804. For the results of the subsequent election, see United States presidential election of 1812.
John M. Cunningham

Results of the 1808 election

The results of the 1808 U.S. presidential election are provided in the table.

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united states presidential election of 1808

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United States presidential election of 1808 | United States government

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United States presidential election of 1808, American presidential election held in 1808, in which Democratic-Republican candidate James Madison defeated Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney . Deciding not to run for reelection, Pres. Thomas Jefferson unofficially anointed James Madison, his secretary of state and fellow Virginian, as his successor. As an architect of the U.S.

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The War of 1812 was the conflict fought between the United States and Great Britain over British violations of U.S. maritime rights. Some causes of the war were Britain's seizure of American ships and impressment of sailors, America's resentment of Britain, the American belief that the British were arming Native Americans and inciting them to riot, American "War Hawks" wanting to annex Florida, and Canada. Some results were that America became more isolationist, encouraged American industry (New England textile mills), ended the Federalist party, inspired nationalism, weakened Native Americans, and made Andrew Jackson a hero (after winning the Battle of New Orleans, in 1815). The Treaty of Ghent officially ended the War of 1812.

Source:
https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-1812/Final-stages-of-the-war-and-the-aftermath

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Washington DC is burned (August 24, 1814)

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Washington DC is burned (August 24, 1814)

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An incident between the British Empire and the United States of America, led by General Robert Ross, a British force occupied Washington, D.C. and set fire to many public buildings following the American defeat at the Battle of Bladensburg. The facilities of the U.S. government, including the White House and U.S. Capitol, were largely destroyed, though discipline and the British commander's orders. This has been the only time since the Revolutionary War that a foreign power has captured and occupied the United States capital. President's wife Dolly Madison fled with the portrait of George Washington. This was quickly rebuilt, with the White House becoming operational in 1817. The burning of Washington symbolized that the young nation that was built upon democracy and freedom was able to take a major world power head-on and come out victorious.

Source:
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/burning-washington-dc#:~:text=Washington's%20naval%20yard%20was%20ordered,Treasury%2C%20and%20other%20government%20buildings.

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A meeting in Belgium of American delegates and British commissioners ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814. Great Britain agreed to give up claims to the Northwest Territory, and both countries pledged to work toward ending the slave trade. America gained influence as a foreign power. This treaty was signed before the Battle of New Orleans, and word of peace did not reach the American and British armies for some time.

Source:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/treaty-of-ghent#:~:text=A%20meeting%20in%20Belgium%20of,toward%20ending%20the%20slave%20trade.

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The Battle of New Orleans was the last major battle of the War of 1812. Under the command of Andrew Jackson, American Forces successfully repelled the invading British Army led by General Edward Pakenham, despite there being a ratio between the British and American army of 2-1. This battle made Andrew Jackson a war hero. America's victory boosted American pride and nationalism. The War of 1812 ended once the Treaty of Ghent, was signed, which was before the Battle of New Orleans. However, news of the treaty did not arrive in the United States until after the battle was fought.

Source:
https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/battle-of-new-orleans

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In the Battle of New Orleans, future President Andrew Jackson and a motley assortment of militia fighters, frontiersmen, slaves, Native Americans and even pirates weathered a frontal assault in January 1815 by a superior British force, inflicting devastating casualties along the way. The previous month, Great Britain and the United States signed a treaty in Ghent, Belgium, that effectively ended the War of 1812. But news was slow to cross the pond, and in January the two sides met in what is remembered as one of the conflict's biggest and most decisive engagements. The victory vaulted Jackson to national stardom, and foiled British plans for an invasion of the American frontier.

War of 1812

In December 1814, even as diplomats met in Europe to hammer out a truce in the War of 1812, British forces mobilized for what they hoped would be the campaign's finishing blow. Following military victories against Napoloeon in Europe earlier that year, Great Britain had redoubled its efforts against its former colonies and launched a three-pronged invasion of the United States.

American forces had managed to check two of the incursions-at the Battle of Baltimore (the inspiration for Francis Scott Key's " Star-Spangled Banner") and the Battle of Plattsburgh-but now the British planned to invade New Orleans-a vital seaport and the gateway to the United States' newly purchased territory in the West, procured through the Louisiana Purchase.

If it could seize the Crescent City, the British Empire would gain dominion over the Mississippi River and hold the trade of the entire American South and the West under its thumb.

Andrew Jackson

Standing in the way of the British advance was Major General Andrew Jackson, who had rushed to New Orleans' defense when he learned an attack was in the works. Nicknamed "Old Hickory" for his legendary toughness, Jackson had spent the last year subduing hostile Creek Indians in Alabama and harassing the redcoats' operations along the Gulf Coast.

The General had no love for the British-he'd spent time as their prisoner during the Revolutionary War -and he was itching for a chance to confront them in battle. "I owe to Britain a debt of retaliatory vengeance," he once told his wife, "should our forces meet I trust I shall pay the debt."

After British forces were sighted near Lake Borgne, Jackson declared martial law in New Orleans and ordered that every available weapon and able-bodied man be brought to bear in the city's defense. His force soon grew into a 4,500-strong patchwork of army regulars, frontier militiamen, free blacks, New Orleans aristocrats and Choctaw tribesmen.

After some hesitation, Old Hickory even accepted the help of Jean Lafitte, a dashing pirate who ran a smuggling and privateering empire out of nearby Barataria Bay. But many citizens of New Orleans were distrustful of Jackson-some feared he would burn the city rather than surrender it.
READ MORE: Why Andrew Jackson's Legacy is So Controversial
Edward Pakenham and 'Line Jackson'

Jackson's ramshackle army was to face off against some 8,000 British regulars, many of whom had served in the Napoleonic Wars. At the helm was Lieutenant General Sir Edward Pakenham, a respected veteran of the Peninsular War and the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington.

The two sides first came to blows on December 23, when Jackson launched a daring nighttime attack on British forces bivouacked nine miles south of New Orleans. Jackson then fell back to Rodriguez Canal, a ten-foot-wide millrace located near Chalmette Plantation off the Mississippi River.

Using local slave labor, he widened the canal into a defensive trench and used the excess dirt to build a seven-foot-tall earthen rampart buttressed with timber. When complete, this "Line Jackson" stretched nearly a mile from the east bank of the Mississippi to a nearly impassable marsh.

"Here we shall plant our stakes," Jackson told his men, "and not abandon them until we drive these red-coat rascals into the river, or the swamp."

Battle of New Orleans Begins

Despite their imposing fortifications, Lieutenant General Pakenham believed the "dirty shirts," as the British called the Americans, would wilt before the might of a British army in formation. Following a skirmish on December 28 and a massive artillery duel on New Year's Day, he devised a strategy for a two-part frontal assault.

A small force was charged with crossing to the west bank of the Mississippi and seizing an American battery. Once in possession of the guns, they were to turn them on the Americans and catch Jackson in a punishing crossfire. At the same time, a larger contingent of some 5,000 men would charge forward in two columns and crush the main American line at the Rodriguez Canal.

Pakenham put his plan to action at daybreak on January 8. At the sound of a Congreve rocket whistling overhead, the red-coated throngs let out a cheer and began an advance toward the American line. British batteries opened up en masse, and were immediately met with an angry barrage from Jackson's 24 artillery pieces, some of them manned by Jean Lafitte's pirates.

While Pakenham's main force moved on the canal near the swamp, British light troops led by Colonel Robert Rennie advanced along the riverbank and overwhelmed an isolated redoubt, scattering its American defenders.

Rennie had just enough time to howl, "Hurrah, boys, the day is ours!" before he was shot dead by a salvo of rifle fire from Line Jackson. With their commander lost, his men made a frantic retreat, only to be cut down in a hail of musket balls and grapeshot (small-caliber round shots packed inside canvas).

Line Jackson Holds

The situation on the other side of the line proved even more calamitous. Pakenham had counted on moving under the cover of morning mist, but the fog had risen with the sun, giving American rifle and artillerymen clear sightlines. Cannon fire soon began slashing gaping holes in the British line, sending men and equipment flying.

As the British troops continued the advance, their ranks were riddled with musket shot. General Jackson watched the destruction from a perch near the right side of the line, bellowing, "Give it to them, my boys! Let us finish the business today!" Old Hickory's militiamen, having honed their aim hunting in the woods of the frontier, fired with terrifying precision.

Red-coated soldiers fell in waves with each American volley, many with multiple wounds. One stunned British officer later described the American rampart as resembling "a row of fiery furnaces."

British Lose Ground

Pakenham's plan was quickly unraveling. His men had bravely stood their ground amid the chaos of the American deluge, but a unit carrying ladders needed to scale Line Jackson was lagging behind. Pakenham took it upon himself to lead the outfit to the front, but in the meantime, his main formation was cut to ribbons by rifle and cannon fire.

When some of the redcoats began to flee, one of Pakenham's subordinates unwisely tried to wheel the 93rd Highlanders Regiment to their aid. American troops quickly took aim and unleashed a maelstrom of fire that felled more than half the unit, including its leader. Around that same time, Pakenham and his entourage were laced by a blast of grapeshot. The British commander perished minutes later.

'Truly Distressing'

With the majority of their officers out of commission, the British attack descended into bedlam. A few valiant troops tried to climb the parapets by hand, only to withdraw when they found they had no support. Pakenham's secondary assault on Jackson's battery across the river had met with more success, but it was too little, too late.

By the time the British seized the American artillery position, they could see the day was already lost. At Line Jackson, the British were retreating in droves, leaving behind a carpet of crumpled bodies. American Major Howell Tatum later said the enemy casualties were "truly distressing...some had their heads shot off, some their legs, some their arms. Some were laughing, some crying...there was every variety of sight and sound."

British Casualties

The assault on Jackson's fortifications was a fiasco, costing the British some 2,000 casualties, including three generals and seven colonels-all of it in the span of only 30 minutes. Amazingly, Jackson's ragtag outfit had lost fewer than 100 men. Future President James Monroe would later praise the General by saying, "History records no example of so glorious a victory obtained with so little bloodshed on the part of the victorious."

The stunned British army lingered in Louisiana for the next several days, but its remaining officers knew that any chance of taking the Crescent City had slipped through their fingers. After an abortive naval attack on nearby Fort St. Philip, the British boarded their ships and sailed back into the Gulf of Mexico.

Impact of the Battle of New Orleans

Shortly before the British withdrawal, Andrew Jackson reentered New Orleans to the sounds of "Yankee Doodle" and a public celebration worthy of Mardi Gras. Newspapers in the beleaguered city of Washington, D.C. labeled him the national savior.

The festivities only continued in the following month, as news of the Treaty of Ghent finally reached American shores. When Congress ratified the agreement on February 16, 1815, the War of 1812 came to an official end. The conflict is now considered to have concluded in a stalemate, but at the time, the victory at New Orleans had elevated national pride to such a level that many Americans chalked it up as a win.

Jackson, who would later ride his newfound celebrity all the way to the White House, was no doubt among them. Addressing his troops shortly after the battle, he hailed their "undaunted courage" in saving the country from invasion and said, "Natives of different states, acting together, for the first time in this camp...have reaped the fruits of an honorable union."

Sources

The Battle of New Orleans. Louisiana State Museum.
Battle of New Orleans Timeline. The Historic New Orleans Collection.

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In the Battle of New Orleans, future President Andrew Jackson and a motley assortment of militia fighters, frontiersmen, slaves, Native Americans and even pirates weathered a frontal assault in January 1815 by a superior British force, inflicting devastating casualties along the way.

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The Election of 1816 (November 1 to December 4, 1816)

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The Election of 1816 (November 1 to December 4, 1816)

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James Madison prepared to leave office after completing his second term as president. The Election of 1816 was the first election following the end of the War of 1812, in which Democratic-Republican candidate James Monroe defeated Federalist Rufus King. After this election the Federalist Party was no more.

Source:
https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1816

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United States presidential election of 1816, American presidential election held in 1816, in which Democratic-Republican James Monroe defeated Federalist Rufus King with 183 electoral votes to King's 34.

Federalist collapse

As James Madison prepared to leave office following his second term as president, the election of another Democratic-Republican was all but assured. The Federalist opposition was in shambles, in part because of the backfiring of the Dec. 15, 1814-Jan. 5, 1815, Hartford Convention, a secret meeting of Federalist delegates from several states that had opposed Madison's mercantile policies and the War of 1812. The party-already viewed as elitist-was dealt a death blow by the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, in the midst of the convention they had engineered to condemn it. Though James Monroe was considered the early Democratic-Republican favourite, dissenters within his party disputed his anointment. While Monroe was popular because of his status as one of the Founding Fathers, some were rankled by his Virginia provenance; aside from John Adams, the previous presidents were also from Virginia.

Democratic-Republican victory

Monroe's main opponent for the nomination was Secretary of War William H. Crawford of Georgia. Not wanting Monroe as an enemy, Crawford remained publically amibiguous about his ambitions. However, political wrangling on his behalf set him up as the alternative candidate when the congressional caucus to select the candidate met in March 1816. Monroe emerged victorious with 65 votes to Crawford's 54. Monroe's supporters had hoped to avoid such a narrow victory with their ultimately unsuccessful attempt to abolish the caucus system in favour of party representatives in state legislatures choosing the party's nominee. New York Gov. Daniel D. Tompkins was maneuvered into the vice presidential slot by New York politicians-including Martin Van Buren. The fragmented Federalists put forth two-time vice presidential candidate Rufus King as their nominee, not even bothering to formally pair him with a vice presidential candidate. Their halfhearted efforts reflected the inevitability of Monroe's win in November.

For the results of the previous election, see United States presidential election of 1812. For the results of the subsequent election, see United States presidential election of 1820.

Results of the 1816 election

The results of the 1816 presidential election are provided in the table.

presidential candidate

political party

electoral votes

popular votes*

*Electors were chosen by legislatures in many states, not by popular vote.

Source: United States Office of the Federal Register.

James Monroe

Democratic-Republican

183

Rufus King

Federalist

34

(not voted)

4

Richard Pallardy.

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united states presidential election of 1816

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United States presidential election of 1816 | United States government

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United States presidential election of 1816, American presidential election held in 1816, in which Democratic-Republican James Monroe defeated Federalist Rufus King with 183 electoral votes to King's 34. As James Madison prepared to leave office following his second term as president, the election of another Democratic-Republican was all but assured.