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March 9, 1789.

The Constitution would not be binding until its ratification by nine of the existing 13 states. Hamilton and Madison wrote the "Federalist Papers" in efforts for votes. "The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. Some states voiced opposition to the Constitution on the grounds that it did not provide protection for rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and press." In response, the Bill of Rights would be added to the Constitution.  The Constitution was finally ratified as by Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, and, lastly, New Hampshire. The new government would take place on March 9th, 1789.

(Sources: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-day-the-constitution-was-ratified)

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April 30, 1789

The significance of George Washington's inauguration is that it is the first ever presidential inauguration. A leader chosen by the people of the newly-formed government.  Washington described his inauguration as president to an “experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.” The importance of seeing how this country would run with George Washington at the front of it.

(Sources: https://www.history.com/news/first-presidential-inauguration-george-washington)

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The First Presidential Inauguration: How George Washington Rose to the Office

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Look back at George Washington’s road to the presidency.

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February 25, 1791.

It represented the "dominance of mercantile over agrarian interests and an unconstitutional use of federal power" and will tend to obtain loans, for the use of government, in sudden emergencies; and will be productive of considerable advantages to trade and industry in general.

(Sources:  https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/february/first-bank-united-states-chartered)

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1791–1794

The significance of the Whiskey Rebellion is that it was the first real test of federal authority. The government had the right to enforce laws.

(Sources: https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/august/whiskey-rebellion#:~:text=Why%20was%20this%20rebellion%20significant,impact%20citizens%20in%20all%20states.)

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April 22, 1793

A formal announcement issued by President George Washington on April 22, 1793, declaring the United States a neutral nation in the conflict between Great Britain and France. This act established orderly procedures for dividing and selling federal lands at a reasonable price.

(Sources: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/neutrality-proclamation/#:~:text=The%20Proclamation%20was%20important%20for,in%20the%20first%20party%20system.)

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November 19, 1794.

The treaty eliminated British control and helped avert war between the two nations. This guide provides access to digital materials, links to external websites, and a print bibliography.

(Sources: https://guides.loc.gov/jays-treaty#:~:text=Signed%20on%20November%2019%2C%201794,websites%2C%20and%20a%20print%20bibliography.

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1795.

The treaty opened the Mississippi River and New Orleans to American trade. "It resolved territorial disputes between the two countries and granted American ships the right to free navigation of the Mississippi River"

(Sources: 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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Spanish and U.S. negotiators concluded the Treaty of San Lorenzo, also known as Pinckney's Treaty, on October 27, 1795. The treaty was an important diplomatic success for the United States. It resolved territorial disputes between the two countries and granted American ships the right to free navigation of the Mississippi River as well as duty-free transport through the port of New Orleans, then under Spanish control.

Prior to the treaty, the western and southern borders of the United States had been a source of tension between Spain and the United States. The U.S. border extended to the Mississippi River, but its southern stretch remained in Spanish territory, and Spanish officials, reluctant to encourage U.S. trade and settlement in a strategic frontier area, kept the Mississippi River closed to American shipping. Moreover, both Spain and the United States claimed portions of the present-day states of Alabama and Mississippi, and earlier negotiations to resolve the territorial disputes had broken off inconclusively. The Spanish government maintained several forts in the disputed territories, and could also count on indigenous resistance to U.S. attempts to survey or encroach upon Native American lands. U.S. citizens from the southern states and frontier areas found Spanish policies restrictive, and wanted the U.S. Government to renegotiate its positions.

Prior to 1789, Spanish policy had focused on keeping American trade and settlement in frontier areas to a minimum, and so neither Spanish colonial officials nor policymakers in Madrid were interested in granting the concessions that U.S. negotiators had attempted to obtain earlier. However, Spanish interests changed during the wars of the French Revolution. Spain joined the other European monarchies in war against France in 1793, but by 1794 Spanish forces experienced defeats in the Caribbean and Europe. Spanish King Charles IV, uninterested in managing political affairs, had earlier handed political and diplomatic responsibilities to his prime minister, Manuel de Godoy. Godoy sought to extract Spain from its alliance with its traditional enemy Great Britain, and to restore peace with France. Godoy's policy was not without risks, as antagonizing the British would put Spanish colonies in the Americas at risk.

While Spanish diplomats sought to shift Spanish alliances, U.S. diplomat John Jay arrived in London to negotiate a treaty with Great Britain. Spanish officials feared that Jay's negotiations would result in an Anglo-American alliance and an invasion of Spanish possessions in North America. Sensing the need for rapprochement, Godoy sent a request to the U.S. Government for a representative empowered to negotiate a new treaty. President George Washington selected South Carolinian Thomas Pinckney, who had been serving as United States minister to Great Britain.

Pinckney arrived in Spain in June of 1795, and negotiations proceeded swiftly. Spain's political and military position had weakened under its defeats and war expenses, while population growth in Kentucky and Tennessee, combined with a shortage of European ships to sustain trade with Louisiana, made Spanish officials amenable to a change in restrictive Spanish trade policies. Godoy offered to accept the 31st parallel as the U.S.-Florida border as well as the right to free navigation of the Mississippi, which Americans west of the Appalachians supported enthusiastically. In return, Godoy requested that the United States commit to an alliance with Spain.

Pinckney rejected the alliance, and after further consultation Godoy provided the same offer without the necessity of the alliance. Nevertheless, negotiations came to an impasse as the Spanish continued to insist on their right to require duties for goods passing through Spanish-held New Orleans. Pinckney threatened to leave without signing a treaty unless the Spanish dropped duties on American trade passing through New Orleans. The next day, Godoy agreed to Pinckney's demands, and the two negotiators signed the treaty on October 27, 1795. The final treaty also voided Spanish guarantees of military support that colonial officials had made to Native Americans in the disputed regions, greatly weakening those communities' ability to resist encroachment upon their lands.

The Treaty of San Lorenzo enabled and encouraged American settlers to continue westward expansion, and made frontier areas more attractive and lucrative. Consequently, it was popular with the American public, especially in the West and South. Since Thomas Pinckney was associated with the Federalist Party, the treaty served to bolster the Federalists outside of their New England stronghold and give the party a stronger base in areas where it had traditionally been weak. Diplomatically, the treaty marked a reverse in Spanish policies that attempted to maintain a strong buffer region in North America, while placing the United States in a stronger position in relation to European powers compared to the U.S. concessions made in Jay's Treaty.

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Milestones: 1784-1800 - Office of the Historian

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Spanish and U.S. negotiators concluded the Treaty of San Lorenzo, also known as Pinckney's Treaty, on October 27, 1795. The treaty was an important diplomatic success for the United States. It resolved territorial disputes between the two countries and granted American ships the right to free navigation of the Mississippi River as well as duty-free transport through the port of New Orleans, then under Spanish control.

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September 17, 1796.

Showed a precedent to the passing of power peacefully. He gave his advice to the people and warn Americans against the danger of political parties, to remain neutral in foreign conflicts and to celebrate their achievements.

(Sources: https://iowaculture.gov/history/education/educator-resources/primary-source-sets/american-political-parties/president-george#:~:text=In%20his%20%22Farewell%20Address%2C%22,and%20to%20celebrate%20their%20achievements.)

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1796.

The election of 1796 was the first time American voters had to choose between candidates from competing political parties. Federalist and Democratic-Republicans. John Adams won the election over Thomas Jefferson.

(Source: https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1796)

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1797 – 1798

An incident in which French agents attempted to get a bribe and loans from US diplomats in exchange for an agreement that French  would no longer attack American ships. It led to an undeclared war between the two countries.

(Sources: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/xyz#:~:text=The%20XYZ%20Affair%20was%20a,as%20the%20Treaty%20of%20Mortefontaine.)

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July 7, 1798 – September 30, 1800

It was the first action by the United States to protect its shipping abroad and the first effort to exert control over the Caribbean Sea. It had a impact on Us-French relations.

(Source: https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/major-events/the-quasi-war-with-france/#:~:text=The%20Quasi%2DWar%20is%20significant,control%20over%20the%20Caribbean%20Sea.)

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The Quasi-War with France (1798 - 1801) - USS Constitution Museum

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After winning independence, the United States’ first international conflict was with its revolutionary ally, France. Like many conflicts in the early years of the United. . .

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July 6, 1798.

Alien Act: Restricted new immigrants from voting for 14 years instead of 5 and they could force out foreigners. Sedition Act: Restricted freedom (first amendment goes against this law) by not being able to speakl out to the government.

(Sources: https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/alien-and-sedition-acts#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20a%20Federalist,imprisonment%2C%20and%20deportation%20during%20wartime)

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November 11, 1798

"The resolutions condemned the Alien and Sedition Acts as unconstitutional and claimed that because these acts overstepped federal authority under the Constitution, they were null and void."

(Sources: https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/877/virginia-and-kentucky-resolutions-of-1798#:~:text=Federalist%2Ddominated%20Congress.-,Drafted%20in%20secret%20by%20future%20Presidents%20Thomas%20Jefferson%20and%20James,they%20were%20null%20and%20void.)

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October 31 to December 3, 1800.

The election of 1800 was significant because it marked the first peaceful transition in power from one political party to another. Tied in electoral vote, Thomas Jefferson took the win and became president of United States.

(Sources: https://guides.loc.gov/presidential-election-1800)

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February 24, 1803

The significance of Marbury v. Madison was that it was the first U.S. Supreme Court case to apply judical power, and it allowed the Supreme Court to rule laws unconstitutional.

(Sources: https://www.britannica.com/event/Marbury-v-Madison)

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April 30, 1803

It was extremely important to the United States because it gave the U.S. a drastic change of the amount of land. It essentially doubled the size of union. It was also acquired peacefully rather than through warfare.

(Sources: https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/louisiana-purchase-treaty#:~:text=The%20Louisiana%20Purchase%20was%20the,solidified%20with%20the%20Gadsden%20Purchase.)

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May 14, 1804.

The expedition raced the British and the Spanish to claim the West; if the other nations claimed the territory first, the U.S. could not spread out, and might not survive. Many americans moved west in search for new ideas.

(Sources: 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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June 22, 1807.

Impressment in which the British seized American sailors and forced them to serve on British ships.

(Sources: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chesapeake-affair-1807#:~:text=The%20Chesapeake%20Affair%20(sometimes%20called,in%20the%20War%20of%201812.)

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December 22, 1807.

The Embargo Act of 1807 was a law passed by Congress forbidding all exportation of goods from the United States. Britain and France had been continuously harassing the U.S. and seizing U.S. ship's and men.

(Source: https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/embargo-1807/)

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November 4, to Wednesday, December 7, 1808.

This election was the first of two instances in American history in which a new president was selected.  James Madison becomes president.

(Sources: https://www.270towin.com/1808_Election/)

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In the United States presidential election of 1808, the Democratic-Republican candidate James Madison defeated Federalist candidate Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. Madison had served as United States Secretary of State under incumbent Thomas Jefferson, and Pinckney had been the unsuccessful Federalist candidate in the election of 1804.

Sitting Vice President George Clinton, who had served under Thomas Jefferson, was also a candidate for President, garnering six electoral votes from a wing of the Democratic-Republican Party that disapproved of James Madison.

This election was the first of only two instances in American history in which a new President would be selected but the incumbent Vice President would continue to serve. (The re-election of John C. Calhoun in 1828 was the other instance.)

New York electors split their vote: 13 for Madison, 6 for Clinton

Maryland: A district-based system was used, similar to ME/NE today. Districts 3 and 4 voters each chose two electors. In all, Madison won 9 electors, Pinckney 2.

Madison won North Carolina; however three electors cast votes for Pinckney

Issues of the Day: Embargo Act

One available electoral vote from Kentucky was not cast

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Presidential Election of 1808 - 270toWin

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In the United States presidential election of 1808, the Democratic-Republican candidate James Madison defeated Federalist candidate Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. Madison had served as United States Secretary of State under incumbent Thomas Jefferson, and Pinckney had been the unsuccessful Federalist candidate in the election of 1804.

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June 18, 1812

The War of 1812 was the Second War for Independence, in that if the U.S. lost to Britain, then Britain could take over the country and colonize it again.

(Sources: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/brief-overview-war-1812#:~:text=The%20War%20of%201812%20brought,high%20seas%20and%20Great%20Lakes.)

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The War of 1812 brought the United States onto the world's stage in a conflict that ranged throughout the American Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast, into Canada, and onto the high seas and Great Lakes.

The United States went to war against Great Britain. The British were already waging a global war against France, one which had been raging since 1793. Canada, then under British rule, became the primary battleground between the young republic and the old empire.

The seeds of war were sown in many places. Since their war had broken out, Britain and France had both tried to restrict international trade. The United States was put in an awkward position, unable to trade with either world power without incurring the wrath of the other. In response, Congress passed a series of non-importation acts and embargos, each time trying to force the European powers to feel the sting of losing access to American markets. Europe was largely unmoved, and the United States fell into an economic depression.

During this time, the British were also doing several other things that Americans considered to be insulting. They rejected America's claim to neutrality in the global war, effectively dismissing the former colony's national legitimacy. They stopped American ships at sea and "impressed" American sailors-forcibly recruiting them into the Royal Navy on the spot. They also armed Native American tribes that preyed on frontier settlers.

From 1783-1812, the British Parliament issued twelve "Orders in Council," which declared that any merchant ship bound for a French port was subject to search and seizure. Because the United States traded regularly with France, the Orders put a heavy strain on Anglo-American relations. The Orders in Council of 1807 led to the ill-conceived Embargo Act, signed by Thomas Jefferson, which closed all American ports to international trade and plunged the American economy into a depression. In many ways the brewing war would be for freedom of the seas. A century later, the United States would once more go to war for the same cause, this time against Imperial Germany.

When James Madison was elected to the presidency in 1808, he instructed Congress to prepare for war with Britain. On June 18, 1812, buoyed by the arrival of "war hawk" representatives, the United States formally declared war for the first time in the nation's history. Citizens in the Northeast opposed the idea, but many others were enthusiastic about the nation's "Second War of Independence" from British oppression.

Ironically, the British Parliament was already planning to repeal its trade restrictions. By the time the ship carrying news of the declaration of war reached Great Britain, almost a month and a half after war had been declared, the restrictions had been repealed. The British, however, after hearing of the declaration, chose to wait and see how the Americans would react to the repeal. The Americans, after hearing of the repeal, were still unsure how Great Britain would react to the declaration of war. Thus, although one of the main causes for war had vanished, fighting began anyway.

The poorly trained U.S. army, numbering roughly 6,700 men, now faced an experienced adversary fielding over 240,000 soldiers spread across the globe. America's military fleet was large, but Britain's was much larger.

The United States entered the war seeking to secure commercial rights and uphold national honor. The American strategy was to quickly bring Great Britain to the negotiating table on these issues by invading Canada. Captured Canadian territory could be used as a powerful bargaining chip against the crown.

The invasion of Canada, which began in the summer of 1812, ended in disaster. By the end of the year 1812, American forces had been routed at the Battle of Queenston Heights on the Niagara River, a thrust into modern-day Québec had been turned back after advancing fewer than a dozen miles, and Detroit had been surrendered to the Canadians. Meanwhile, British-allied Native Americans continued their raids in Indiana and Illinois, massacring many settlers.

The Americans performed better at sea. Although the British were able to set a semi-tight blockade along the Atlantic seaboard, American ships won several battles against British warships and captured a number of British trade vessels. The Americans continued to ably combat the formidable Royal Navy throughout the war.

American fortunes fared little better through most of 1813. An attempt to retake Detroit failed near Frenchtown, Michigan, though the resulting massacre of American prisoners at the hands of Native Americans on January 23, 1813, inspired Kentucky soldiers to enlist, heeding the new rally cry "Remember the River Raisin!" Continued attempts at capturing Canada resulted in only temporary footholds at York and Fort George along the Niagara front. The Battles of Chateauguay and Crysler's Farm again prevented American forces from advancing on Montréal.

The only considerable American successes occurred in September, with Oliver Hazard Perry winning a major naval battle on Lake Erie, and in October when the Tecumseh's Confederacy of northwestern Native American tribes was crushed at the Battle of the Thames.

Towards the end of 1813, a war among the Creek nations erupted in the Southeast between factions influenced by Tecumseh's nativism and those who sought to adopt white culture. The opposition faction, known as the Red Sticks, attacked American outposts including Fort Mims, Alabama.

Andrew Jackson organized a force of militia over the winter of 1813-1814 and defeated the Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend on May 24, 1814. Through the Treaty of Fort Jackson, he forced both sides of the Creek Nation, even those allied to him, to cede nearly 23 million acres of what would become Alabama and portions of Georgia.

In 1814, the newly promoted Brigadier General Winfield Scott implemented a plan of strict drill for American troops on the Canadian border. They advanced into Upper Canada and scored a decisive victory at the Battle of Chippawa on July 5, 1814, but were forced to withdraw weeks later after the bloody Battle of Lundy's Lane near Niagara Falls.

In April, a brief peace broke out in Europe as Napoleon was forced into his first exile. Great Britain was able to shift more resources to the North American theater. The tone of the war changed as Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin described, "We should have to fight hereafter not for 'free Trade and sailors rights,' not for the Conquest of the Canadas, but for our national existence." At the same time, however, the British began the process of repealing their policies of impressment and trade strangulation.

On August 19, 1814, an expeditionary force of 4,500 hardened British veterans under the command of General Robert Ross landed at Benedict, Maryland and began a lightning campaign. After routing Maryland militia at the Battle of Bladensburg, Ross's men captured and burned the public buildings in Washington, D.C., including the White House. That month, peace negotiations began in the European city of Ghent.

On September 12, Ross and his force attempted to take Baltimore with the support of the Royal Navy. Maryland militia held off the land assault at the Battle of North Point, killing Ross. Fort McHenry repulsed the British ships in a 25-hour battle that inspired the American national anthem. The British abandoned their designs on Baltimore, but soon launched another invasion of the Gulf Coast.

On December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed and peace was agreed upon. Word was again slow to travel, however, and on January 8, 1815, Andrew Jackson engaged a British force outside of New Orleans, resulting in a stunning but ultimately pointless victory. On February 18, 1815, the Treaty of Ghent was officially ratified by President Madison, and the nation ended the War of 1812 with "less a shout of triumph than a sigh of relief." 15,000 Americans died during the war.

The terms of the peace were status quo antebellum, "the way things were before the war." All land reverted back to its original owners. British agents stopped supporting Native American raiders. The British trade restrictions and impressment policies had already been repealed. America had fought its old master to an honorable draw, and Britain had avoided disaster in North America while defeating the French in Europe. Canada gained a proud military heritage. The War of 1812 is somewhat paradoxical in that relations between the warring factions generally improved after the war.

The Native Americans, however, were the worst losers of the war. Many of them had fought in the hopes that Great Britain would insist upon a recognized Native nation in North America as part of the peace, but the British quickly abandoned the claim during the peace negotiations. Additionally, without British money and weaponry, the Native Americans lost the ability to defend their lands and attack U.S. settlements, increasing the rate of U.S. expansion.

In America, the war was followed by a half-decade now called the "Era of Good Feelings." The coming of world peace spurred an economic revival, and the collapse of the Federalist Party, which had bitterly opposed the war, removed much of the rancor from American politics. However, this was only an era, not an eternity. Having won its "second independence," the United States would soon have to confront its first sin-slavery.

Further Reading

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The War of 1812 brought the United States onto the world's stage in a conflict that ranged throughout the American Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast, into Canada, and onto the high seas and Great Lakes. The United States went to war against Great Britain.

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August 24, 1814

The British burnt down the capital and lay waste. Madisonś wife saved the painting portrait of George Washington.

(Sources: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/burning-washington-dc#:~:text=Washington%20was%20quickly%20rebuilt%2C%20with,on%20and%20come%20out%20victorious.)

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The burning of Washington, D.C., in 1814 was one of America's darkest hours. The new republic that had been created by the Founding Fathers less than a half-century earlier was in peril. Culminating in a flurry of disastrous British-American interactions that resulted in war - the War of 1812 acted as a pseudo-Revolutionary War that further solidified the United States' legitimacy as a new nation independent from the British Empire. Since the Revolutionary War, America and Britain were not on good terms. The British navy continually captured American sailors on the high seas, as well as assisted Native American tribes against American expansionist efforts. The most famous of these campaigns is Tecumseh's War , in which Tecumseh, a Native American chief, led a war against American forces expanding into the region of the modern-day state of Indiana. The American forces, led by William Henry Harrison, won, however, congressmen back in Washington, D.C. blamed Britain for providing aid to Tecumseh and his multi-tribe confederacy. By 1812, Britain was slowly phasing out America from trade in favor of their colonies in Canada and the Caribbean. Americans feared losing Great Britain as a trade partner, as Britain was one of the two major world powers at the time.

The War of 1812 began when war-hawks (government officials who wanted to go to war) pushed for a war bill on June 12 th, 1812 in response to Britain's actions against American interests. In 1812, with the assistance of Napoleon Bonaparte, the United States implemented a trade embargo against Britain in favor of French trade, in return the French would stop attacking American vessels.

The two years leading up to the burning of Washington DC were spent primarily in Canada with a stalemate between British and American forces. The British military in the War of 1812 was not the entirety of the British Army & Navy, rather it was a detachment from the main army that was currently fighting the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. America's military, however, was not strong due to Congress' unwillingness to dedicate much needed trained soldiers to fight in the war. Nor could politicians agree on the size of the American Army & Navy. The United States relied primarily on the use of citizen-led militia groups, who were not nearly as effective compared to trained regular soldiers. Both British and American forces were unable to make a dent in either's armies. Neither side could hold and occupy territories for an extended period of time. It was not until the British began their campaign in the Chesapeake Bay when the British began implementing new strategies to try and win the war.

In August of 1814, the British began raiding the eastern shores of the United States in an attempt to dampen morale and the will to fight in the states. In 1814, Britain and a coalition of nations had recently defeated Napoleon and his army, so Britain's resources could be directed almost entirely towards the war in America. Britain wanted to invade the southern regions of the United States to move American forces away from Canadian territory. The British chose to assault two cities: Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland. They chose Washington due to its lack of defenses and easy access from the Chesapeake Bay, and Baltimore due to its importance in ship manufacturing and trade in the Baltimore Harbor. On August 24 th, 1814, the Battle of Bladensburg took place outside of Washington, resulting in an embarrassing American defeat. The defeat at Bladensburg allowed for the British soldiers led by Major General Robert Ross to enter the nation's capital.

Later that August 24 th evening, British soldiers moved on Washington holding bitter resentment for the American burning of the Canadian capital of York (present-day Toronto) in 1813. When entering Washington, the British and Canadian soldiers had unfettered access to the capital and began burning the city. Government officials were forced to flee the city. President James Madison and First Lady Dolley Madison both fled the White House. Before leaving, Dolley Madison had a portrait of President George Washington, and many other irreplaceable artifacts from the founding of the nation secured. Dolley had the artifacts taken for safekeeping from the flames. Washington's naval yard was ordered to be set ablaze to prevent warships from being taken into British hands. British Admiral George Cockburn ordered his men to burn the White House, Capitol Building, the Library of Congress (located in the Capitol Building at the time), the Treasury, and other government buildings. However, Cockburn instructed his men to not destroy private residences, and they even spared the Patent Office due to the head administrator convincing the British that inside the building contained private property. The administrator argued that if the inventions within the Patent Office were burned that it would be a loss to humanity.

The following day on August 25 th, a storm rolled into Washington and put out the fires. Unfortunately, during the storm, a tornado erupted and tore through the city. While the British had spared the private residences, the tornado did not express such mercy to private residences and destroyed some in the city. After the burning of Washington, there was widespread looting throughout the city, and many of the looters were American citizens. Shortly after the British were finished with burning Washington, they left almost immediately towards Baltimore as the British did not intend to occupy Washington.

The burning of Washington did not achieve the effect that the British had hoped that it would cause. Instead of demoralizing Americans, it gave Americans a cause to rally behind in defeating the British once again. The burning of Washington negatively impacted the British, because when the British arrived in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 13 th, 1814, the British navy was met with a well-defended city. The B attle of Fort McHenry ensued and resulted in an American victory. While the battle was raging, a Baltimore lawyer by the name of Francis Scott Key was held aboard a British warship and watched the battle unfold. He wrote a poem called the Defense of Fort McHenry, which later became the Star-Spangled Banner, America's national anthem. The United States' victory at Fort McHenry led to the eventual end of the war, with Washington left to rebuild from the fires.

The burning of Washington was not a large embarrassment as it was originally thought to be. Washington was quickly rebuilt, with the White House becoming operational in 1817 and the Capitol Building was operational by 1819. Overall, 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. Thomas Law, a foreign visitor who went to Washington, described the city after the war like a phoenix rising from the fires stronger than ever before. The War of 1812 showed the world that America was a force to be reckoned with and would continue to be perpetual.

Further Reading:

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The Capture and Burning of Washington, D.C.

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The burning of Washington, D.C., in 1814 was one of America's darkest hours. The new republic that had been created by the Founding Fathers less than a half-century earlier was in peril.

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December 24, 1814

It is what ended the War of 1812. The treaty stated that all the territory that was conquered was to be returned, and commissions were planned to settle the boundary of the United States and Canada.

(Sources: https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/treaty-of-ghent#:~:text=This%20%22Treaty%20of%20Peace%20and,and%20Great%20Britain%20remained%20strained.)

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January 8, 1815

America's victory boosted nationalism and the Star Spangled Banner was created.

(Sources:https://www.crt.state.la.us/louisiana-state-museum/online-exhibits/the-cabildo/the-battle-of-new-orleans/index#:~:text=The%20American%20victory%20in%20the,political%20incorporation%20into%20the%20Union.)

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The fighting in Louisiana was really a series of battles for New Orleans, lasting from December 1814 through January 1815. On the Chalmette battleground , just below the city, a diverse force of soldiers, sailors, and militia, including Indians and African Americans, defeated Britain's finest white and black troops drawn from Europe and the West Indies.

The American victory in the Gulf region forced the British to recognize United States claims to Louisiana and West Florida and to ratify the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war. The Battle of New Orleans also marked the state's political incorporation into the Union.

The Battle of New Orleans
Eugene Louis Lami
1839

The Key Players
Britain sent between 11,000 and 14,450 troops under the command of Major General Sir Edward Pakenham to fight in the Louisiana campaign. These included army and navy men fresh from campaigns fought against Napoleon in Europe, as well as veterans of other theaters in the War of 1812. Vice-Admiral Alexander Cochrane had charge of the British navy in American waters and directed naval skirmishes in the gulf.

Among the British forces were the First and Fifth West India Regiments, made up of about one thousand black soldiers from Jamaica, Barbados, and the Bahamas. Some of these units recruited and trained American slaves who escaped to British lines, attracted by the promise of freedom.

United States forces at the time of the Battle of New Orleans were much smaller--somewhere between 3,500 and 5,000. This detachment was composed of United States army troops; Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana militia; Baratarian pirates; Choctaw warriors; and free black soldiers.

Major General Andrew Jackson, commander of the Seventh Military District, led United States forces in the Gulf campaign against Britain. An ardent expansionist and charismatic leader, Jackson inspired his men and the local populace to fight and defeat the British.

Preparations for War
General Jackson established his base of operations in New Orleans in late November 1814 to concentrate United States military efforts on the Mississippi River after discovering that British Vice-Admiral Cochrane intended to direct the Gulf Coast campaign against New Orleans. Distrustful of Jackson at first, citizens of New Orleans formed committees of public safety to protect their interests; they feared that Jackson would burn the city rather than surrender it.

The British had many potential routes in attacking New Orleans from their base in Jamaica. They ultimately chose to approach the city from the east by way of Lake Borgne and Bayou Bienvenu, which brought them within a mile of the Mississippi.

A General Map of the Seat of War in Louisiana and West Florida
c. 1815

The Battles Begin
General Jackson's plans for defense of the city were thwarted by the British capture of five American gunboats in Lake Borgne in the first battle near New Orleans in December 1814. Despite the loss, American casualties numbered fewer than those of the British. In the next major battle during the night of December 23, United States and British forces fought on land on the Villeré and adjacent plantations below the city, ending in a stalemate that threw the British off balance and battered their morale. The cost of the engagement was high: 277 British casualties, including 46 killed, and 213 United States casualties, including 24 killed. Hardest hit was Beale's rifle company, composed primarily of New Orleans lawyers and merchants.

Although United States and British commissioners met in Ghent, Belgium, on December 24 to sign a peace treaty to end the War of 1812, the battle raged on around New Orleans. A major American victory came on New Year's Day, with British casualties outnumbering those on the United States side by more than two to one.

Finally, on January 8, the day commemorated today as the victory day in the Battle of New Orleans, two British generals, including Major General Pakenham, were killed in battle, with a third severely wounded. Soldiers described battlefield action as confused and haphazard in the dark hours of that foggy morning. Britain suffered over 2,000 casualties in that decisive battle, whereas Jackson lost only 71 men. The British forces withdrew through Lake Borgne and into the Gulf, firing on Fort St. Philip for over a week before sailing out to sea for good.

Jackson's Forces
Militia units from surrounding states joined local troops in defending Louisiana. These included mounted militia and dragoons, (mounted troops who rode into battle, dismounted, and fought on foot). Major Gabriel Villeré commanded the Louisiana Militia, and Major Jean Baptiste Plauché headed the New Orleans uniformed militia companies. Each of these companies had its own distinctive, colorful uniform, and many of their members had previous military experience in France, Saint-Domingue (Haiti), and Latin America.

Major Jean Baptiste Plauche
Jean Joseph Vaudechamp
1836
Gift of the Forstall Family

Louisianians contributed to the American victory in many ways. Behind the front lines white and free black men forty-five years and older formed home guards to protect private property and maintain order in New Orleans and surrounding towns and posts. Slaves and citizens helped widen canals and build defenses along them. Slaves also fortified military positions and fought in several battles of the Louisiana campaign. Women at home made clothing for the troops and flags and bandages for the militia regiments, while nuns and free women of color nursed the wounded at hospitals and convents.

The First and Second Battalions of Free Men of Color, comprising over six hundred men, played an important role in the Louisiana campaign, just as free black men had during the colonial period in the service of France and Spain. Louisiana was the first state in the Union to commission a military officer of African descent, and an act passed by the Louisiana legislature in 1812 was the first in the nation to authorize a black volunteer militia with its black line officers.

The Battle of New Orleans
John Andrews
1856
Detail showing free black battalions.

Fighting with Jackson's forces in Louisiana was a group of Choctaws, longtime enemies of the pro-British Creek nation. They were under the command of Major Pierre Jugeant, a part-Choctaw scout who had grown up among Native Americans and spoke various dialects.

The legendary Baratarian pirates also lent assistance to Jackson and the Americans, primarily in the form of military supplies and artillery power. The Baratarians had been approached by British officials to act as allies and waterway guides. Acting as leader of the "Frenchmen of Barataria," Jean Laffite went to American authorities while considering the British offer, ultimately securing from Jackson promises of amnesty for past offenses in return for siding with the United States and committing his men to battle.

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The fighting in Louisiana was really a series of battles for New Orleans, lasting from December 1814 through January 1815. On the Chalmette battleground , just below the city, a diverse force of soldiers, sailors, and militia, including Indians and African Americans, defeated Britain's finest white and black troops drawn from Europe and the West Indies.

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November 1 to December 4, 1816.

The presidential election of 1816 resulted in a landslide victory for Republican candidate James Monroe of Virginia.

(Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1816_United_States_presidential_election#:~:text=It%20was%20held%20from%20November,Party%20fielded%20a%20presidential%20candidate.)

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The 1816 United States presidential election was the eighth quadrennial presidential election. It was held from November 1 to December 4, 1816. In the first election following the end of the War of 1812, Democratic-Republican candidate James Monroe defeated Federalist Rufus King. The election was the last in which the Federalist Party fielded a presidential candidate.

As President James Madison chose to retire after serving two terms, the Democratic-Republicans held a congressional nominating caucus in March 1816. With the support of Madison and former President Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State Monroe defeated Secretary of War William H. Crawford to win his party's presidential nomination. Governor Daniel D. Tompkins of New York won the Democratic-Republican vice presidential nomination, continuing the party's tradition of balancing a presidential nominee from Virginia with a vice presidential nominee from either New York or New England. The Federalists did not formally nominate a ticket, but Senator King of New York emerged as the de facto Federalist candidate.

The previous four years of American politics were dominated by the effects of the War of 1812. Its drawn outcome and the peace concluded in 1815 were satisfactory to the American people, and the Democratic-Republicans received credit for the results. Federalists were discredited by having opposed the war and by radical rhetoric from New England Federalists at the Hartford Convention. Also, President Madison had adopted certain measures favored by Federalists, including a national bank and protective tariffs. The Federalists had little to campaign on, and Monroe easily won the Electoral College, carrying 16 of the 19 states.

Withdrew before caucus

Declined to run

James Monroe was the favorite candidate of both former President Jefferson and retiring President Madison. However, Monroe faced stiff competition from Secretary of War William H. Crawford of Georgia. Also, there was widespread sentiment, especially in New York, that it was time to end the Virginia dynasty of presidents, resulting in Daniel D. Tompkins and Simon Snyder, the governors of New York and Pennsylvania respectively, briefly considering running for the presidential nomination. But Monroe's long record of service at home and abroad made him a fitting candidate to succeed Madison. Crawford never formally declared himself a candidate, because he believed that he had little chance against Monroe and feared such a contest might deny him a place in the new cabinet. Tompkins and Snyder realized they had even less chance of beating Monroe to the nomination, and instead positioned themselves to run for the vice presidency. Still, Crawford's supporters posed a significant challenge to Monroe.

Fifty-eight of the Democratic-Republican members of the United States Congress attended the first nominating caucus. A second caucus in March 1816 was attended by one hundred nineteen members of Congress. Monroe won the presidential nomination against Crawford by a vote of sixty-five to fifty-four while Tompkins won the vice-presidential nomination against Snyder by a vote of eighty-five to thirty.

In hopes of uniting with disaffected Democratic-Republicans, as they had in the previous election, the Federalists initially planned to hold their own congressional nominating caucus after that of the Democratic-Republicans. With the end of the war and the nomination of Monroe, the Federalists abandoned their hopes of another fusion ticket, and the demoralized party failed to formally nominate a candidate. Senator Rufus King of New York, who had been the party's 1804 and 1808 vice presidential nominee, and who had been nominated for president by a dissident faction of the party in 1812, eventually emerged as the de facto Federalist presidential nominee. Several Federalists would receive electoral votes for vice president, with former Senator John Eager Howard of Maryland receiving the most votes.

On February 12, 1817, the House and Senate met in joint session to count the electoral votes for president and vice president. The count proceeded without incident until the roll came to the last state to be counted, Indiana. At that point, Representative John W. Taylor of New York objected to the counting of Indiana's votes. He argued that Congress had acknowledged the statehood of Indiana in a joint resolution on December 11, 1816, whereas the ballots of the Electoral College had been cast on December 4, 1816. He claimed that at the time of the balloting, there had been merely a Territory of Indiana, not a State of Indiana. Other representatives contradicted Taylor, asserting that the joint resolution merely recognized that Indiana had already joined the Union by forming a state constitution and government on June 29, 1816. These representatives pointed out that both the House and Senate had seated members from Indiana who had been elected prior to the joint resolution, which would have been unconstitutional had Indiana not been a state at the time of their election. Representative Samuel D. Ingham then moved that the question be postponed indefinitely. The House agreed almost unanimously, and the Senate was brought back in to count the electoral votes from Indiana. The issue had no bearing on the final result.

When the votes were counted, Monroe had won all but three of the nineteen states. King thought that a Monroe victory was inevitable, and did not seriously contest the election.

Each of the three states that were won by King voted for a different person for vice president. Massachusetts electors voted for former United States Senator (and future Governor) John Eager Howard of Maryland. Delaware chose a different Marylander, sitting United States Senator Robert Goodloe Harper. Connecticut split its vote between James Ross of Pennsylvania and Chief Justice John Marshall.

Maryland did not choose its electors as a slate; rather, it divided itself into electoral districts, with each district choosing one elector. Three of Maryland's eleven districts were won by Federalist electors. However, these electors did not vote for King or for a Federalist vice president, instead casting blank votes as a protest.

Source (Popular Vote): A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825

(a) Only 10 of the 19 states chose electors by popular vote.
(b) Those states that did choose electors by popular vote had widely varying restrictions on suffrage via property requirements.
(c) One Elector from Delaware and three Electors from Maryland did not vote.

Elections in this period were vastly different from modern day Presidential elections. The actual Presidential candidates were rarely mentioned on tickets and voters were voting for particular electors who were pledged to a particular candidate. There was sometimes confusion as to who the particular elector was actually pledged to. Results are reported as the highest result for an elector for any given candidate. For example, if three Monroe electors received 100, 50, and 25 votes, Monroe would be recorded as having 100 votes. Confusion surrounding the way results are reported may lead to discrepancies between the sum of all state results and national results.

The Federalist parties of New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia did not provide a slate of electors, and as such Monroe was virtually unopposed in these states (though trivial Federalist electors received a handful of votes in New Jersey and Virginia).

Tennessee cast votes but they have been lost to time.

States where the margin of victory was under 10%

Source (Electoral Vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 1789-1996". National Archives and Records Administration.

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1816 United States presidential election - Wikipedia

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The 1816 United States presidential election was the eighth quadrennial presidential election. It was held from November 1 to December 4, 1816. In the first election following the end of the War of 1812, Democratic-Republican candidate James Monroe defeated Federalist Rufus King. The election was the last in which the Federalist Party fielded a presidential candidate.