Transcript Lesson 1: A Time of Conflict

Chapter 7: Foreign Affairs in the Early Republic
Lesson 1: A Time of Conflict
Freedom of the Seas
• Sailing in foreign seas was
dangerous.
• Ships in the Mediterranean
had to be aware of pirates
from Tripoli and other
Barbary Coast states of
North Africa.
• These pirates raided ships
and demanded tribute, or
protection money, from
European governments to
let ships pass.
A Barbary pirate?
• In 1804, pirates seized a
U.S. ship and had it towed
to Tripoli Harbor, where
they threw the captain and
crew in jail.
• Stephen Decatur, a U.S.
Navy captain, burned the
captured ship to prevent
pirates from using it.
• Tripoli agreed to stop
demanding tribute, but the
United States had to pay a
ransom to free the ship’s
crew.
• Foreign trade depended
on sea travel.
• Between 1803 and 1805,
U.S. trade prospered
because the United
States had neutral rights the right to sail the seas
and not take sides - in the
war between Britain and
France.
• In 1805, Britain and
France began a new
policy of seizing and
searching ships.
American sailors being impressed by the
British navy.
• The British needed
soldiers in its Royal Navy
because many were
deserting.
• British naval patrols
stopped American ships
and searched for any
soldiers they thought
might be British
deserters.
• The British would force
sailors on the American
ships to serve in the
British navy in a practice
called impressment.
The Chesapeake-Leopard Incident
• In 1807, the British
intercepted an
American ship off the
coast of Virginia and
demanded to search
it.
• When the captain of
the U.S. ship refused,
the British opened
fire.
The Embargo Act of 1807
• In 1807, The United States passed the Embargo Act, which
prohibited trade with foreign countries, but it was ineffective.
• The embargo damaged America’s economy.
• American merchants resented the embargo and frequently
violated it.
The Election of 1808
President James Madison
• In 1808, James Madison was elected president.
Question Break #1
• In 1803, which two European nations went to
war against each other?
• What is impressment?
• The British violation of America’s neutral
rights led America to pass a trade __________
in 1807.
War Fever
• In 1810, Napoleon Bonaparte
promised to end France’s trade
restrictions with the United
States, and the United States
resumed trade with the
French.
• However, the French
continued to seize American
ships.
• Americans were unsure of who
their enemy was - the British
or the French.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Ohio Becomes a State
• Ohio became a state
in 1803, and more
farmers began
settling in the Ohio
Valley on land that
had been guaranteed
to the Native
Americans.
Ohio became the our 17th state in 1803
Problems with Native Americans
• Tecumseh, a powerful
Shawnee chief, build a
confederacy among Native
American nations in the
Northwest to halt the white
movement onto Native
American lands.
Native Americans were often
aided by the British, as shown in
this picture depicting a meeting
between British General Brock
and Tecumseh.
• The Prophet was
Tecumseh’s brother,
Tenskwatawa.
• He urged Native
Americans to return
to the customs of
their ancestors.
• He attracted a huge
following and set up a
village in northern
Indiana called
Prophetstown.
The Prophet
• William Henry Harrison,
the governor of Indiana
territory, was alarmed by
the Shawnee brothers.
• He wrote a letter to
Tecumseh, telling him the
United States had many
more warriors than did
the Native Americans.
• Tecumseh went in person
to speak to the white
people.
William Henry Harrison
• Harrison attacked
Prophetstown in
1811, in the Battle of
Tippecanoe.
• Many Native
Americans, including
Tecumseh, fled to
Canada.
• This flight to Canada
led Americans to
believe the British
were supporting
Native Americans.
Battle of Tippecanoe
The War Hawks
• A group of young
Republicans known as
the War Hawks pressured
the president to declare
war on Britain.
• They wanted revenge for
British actions against
Americans, and they
wanted to expand the
power of the United
States.
• Their nationalism, or
loyalty to their country,
appealed to many
Americans.
In this British political cartoon, King George III is
shown offering guns to Native Americans in
return for the scalps of U.S. citizens.
Henry Clay
John Calhoun
• Henry Clay and John Calhoun led the War Hawks.
• By the spring of 1812, Madison had decided that
war with Britain was inevitable.
• He had not received word of Britain’s decision to
end searches and seizures of American ships.
•Daring attack on Tripoli
Harbor.
•Embargo Act passed to
hurt Britain.
•Governor of Indiana
Territory met with
Tecumseh.
•Eventually the Americans
attacked Tecumseh’s
people and defeated
them.
Question Break #2
• Tecumseh wanted to create a strong
confederacy of Native Americans with the
backing of the __________ to resist white
settlement.
• How did General William Henry Harrison
earn the nickname “Tippecanoe”?
• Both Westerners and Southerners
encouraged war with Britain partly due to
their desire for __________.