Adams – U.S. to 1877

October 29, 2013

New Era

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The early republic was characterized by multiple changes in the political power in the United States. From the beginning of the nation and the power of the Federalists to the dramatic growth of middle and lower class power inspired by Jackson it was always evolving. The 1824 election, won by John Quincy Adams, resulted in an almost stagnant presidency, an exception for the time period. Adams wasn’t able to accomplish much during his presidency because of issues stemming from the election, such as the “corrupt bargain” and also because “Congress would enact none of [Adams] improvement projects” (Willentz 138) The most important part of Adams presidency may in fact be that he opened the door for Jackson to become the President in 1828.

In an earlier post on October 23rd NAKINDIG said that “environment also played a huge role on early American History” and this was very true, especially when it came to Jackson’s rise to power. His growth to power started because of his rise to fame during the War of 1812 and it didn’t stop there. He became the man of the people, someone that the lower and middle class could identify with. His victory “marked the culmination of more than thirty years of American democratic development.” (Willentz 164) He was a savvy political mind and his building of his party he changed how democracy would forever be run in America. This was the true beginning of universal white male suffrage.

Now Jackson’s actual presidency was by no means perfect as it was quickly riddled with scandal and his removal of the Indians will forever cloud his presidency. But his ability to reach out to the common man, and his identity as an everyman changed how politics would be done forever. It was no longer just the elites who had a say in the governance of America.

October 23, 2013

Alright Guys, Let’s Make a Government

For the first time, I was not bored while reading about how we made our government (which is arguably the most important time in American History). Willentz does an excellent job of making politics more appealing. I don’t entirely agree with his portrayal of Adams, though. He illustrates that he “believed that political leadership should come from America’s aristocracy” (Willentz 32), but he fails to stress the importance of how Adams believed that he was doing what was best for the country. Although his views were not egalitarian, he did have a heart for the good of the country. I love Willentz’s explanation of the person of Jefferson. He iterates that although Jefferson made decisions that increased federal power, he always made decisions based on the good for his people, down to creating a national symbol of the mastodon for the American people. Who wouldn’t double the size of their country at 3 cents an acre? I do agree with Willentz when he argues about the importance of the War of 1812; for the first time, the new country garnered international respect. I also like his characterization of the wild Andrew Jackson, a very emotionally motivated man.

Environment also played a huge role on early American History. Willentz alludes to its importance on politics when describing the Federalists’ fear that the Democratic-Republicans would make an innumerable amount of rural states composed of citizens more likely to support the Democratic-Republican platform. Turner explains many different facets of the importance of the frontier and American history. Not only did the frontier shape early American politics, but, as AJ pointed out, Americans were able to create a new identity through expansion. The increased national identity was even helped by the gradual changed of state-federal relations over time. “In 1789 the States were the creators of the Federal Government; in 1861 the Federal Government was the creator of a large majority of the States” (Mr. Lamar, quoted by Turner). Although American land was expanding rapidly, the national identity became more cohesive even though the distances between American citizens became greater and greater. Expansion also helped lead to the Civil War, which further increased the number of American citizens via the 14th Amendment.

October 21, 2013

Democratic Divisions

In Chapters 3-5, Wilentz describes the political unrest present in the early decades of the United States. The parties were severely divided throughout Adams’, Jefferson’s, and Madison’s Presidencies. The Federalists were in control of the national political scene during Adams’ Presidency. Adams was a Federalist, and Congress was controlled by the Federalists as well. The Federalist majority passed anti-alien bills targeting their Republican enemies. The sedition bill passed “that outlawed and heavily penalized all statements…construed as contemptuous of the president or the Congress” (Wilentz, p. 33). As TASIMMONS stated last week, “the ability of the people to express their opinions shaped the political practices of the time.” The sedition bills hindered political practices of Republicans and any other people who disagreed with the national politicians. Republicans, led by Jefferson, went to the state governments to oppose the new federal laws. Republicans were hurt even more by the almost-slave revolt near Richmond. Jefferson convinced Monroe to pass a policy of the deportation of rebels outside the U.S. to help ease the embarrassment (Wilentz, p. 39). Despite these set backs, Jefferson was narrowly able to gain the Presidential seat in the election of 1800. Adams, however, would take advantage of his last ten weeks in office by passing the Judiciary Act of 1801 and creating sixteen new federal judgeships which he filled with Federalists. While in office Jefferson tried to be as neutral as possible when filling his political appointments. He made them based on the merit of the politician, not on the party he associated with. Jefferson was able to convince Congress to repeal almost all of the naturalization laws of 1798. He avoided armed conflicts at all costs even with the British attacking the U.S.’s ships. Instead Jefferson proposed an embargo, but that ended up hurting the Americans. The Non-Intercourse Acts were largely ineffective, but did delay any serious conflicts until Jefferson was out of office. With Jefferson’s support Madison was able to win the election of 1808. The war was inevitable. Although the Republicans were divided on the declaration of war, Congress declared war in 1812. The new anti-British Republican nationalists helped tip the scale. The Republicans divided into the younger nationalists and the southern Old Republicans. Even though the nationalists blamed the British for the entirety of the war, the natives substantially contributed to the cause of the War of 1812. The war created many heroes, none of which were Federalists. The War of 1812 marked the decline and eventual disappearance of the Federalist party.

On a personal note, Wilentz’s style and organization is very different from the other authors we have read. I find the short histories on the important people sometimes distracting. I think they make it hard to find the overall themes and subject of the chapters.