Even after America won its independence from England in 1783, England maintained its forts in the the American Indian country. To prevent war, America and England signed 'Jay's Treaty' in which England agreed to surrender its forts. In 1796, the American people elected as their second president Federalist, lawyer, and former Vice President John Adams. Adams spent much of his presidency dealing with France, including a young Napoleon Bonaparte. President Adams was not elected to a second term, in some part due to his quarrelsome and irritable nature. In 1800, the United States moved its capital from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Washington D.C. in the newly formed the District of Columbia. This was to ensure no one state had the advantage of having the capital city within its borders.
The Federalists worked to adopt the Constitution, made the government stronger, and worked to pay down the debt of the country. The Federalists passed the 'Alien Law' enabling them to expel any unnaturalized foreigner from the United States at will. They also passed the 'Sedition Law' which enabled the government to punish speakers and newspapers who spoke out against the government. The Republicans believed more in equality of the people and in trusting the people, which proved popular with the people. America's second president, John Adams, was the last Federalist to be elected. In the United States, the people do not choose the president directly. Instead, they elect representatives called 'electors' who vote for the president on their behalf. Thomas Jefferson was elected the third president after John Adams. During this time, and in contrast to Europe, America was mostly at peace and benefitted greatly commerce-wise. However, conflict brewed with Tripoli and Algiers.
In 1787, the 'Ordinance of Eight-seven' or 'Northwest Ordinance' forbade slavery in the territory north of the Ohio and dictated that all children inherit equally when their father dies without a will. This ordinance made Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin free states. Soon after, settlers flooded westward to establish new settlements. People were cut off from the cities of the east and grew or made most of their food and possessions. Packhorses, wagons, and boats traversed the mountains, bringing goods back and forth between the east and west. In 1803, President Jefferson arranged for the purchase of Louisiana Territory from France for fifteen million dollars.
During Thomas Jefferson's presidency, the English seized American vessels and pressed any English-born sailors into naval service for England in their war against France. To avoid war with England, Jefferson passed 'The Embargo of 1807,' an act forbidding vessels from leaving American ports. This act hurt coastal commerce, and England picked up the trade America lost. James Madison was elected as the fourth president to replace Jefferson. War broke out with the American Indians, and Americans believed the English supplied the Indians with arms. The British army made the American Indian warrior Tecumseh a brigadier general in their army. America declared war on the British, leading to the War of 1812. Many of the American Indians fought with the British, and the unprepared American forces initially suffered losses when trying to invade Canada.
Fourth president James Madison opposed the War of 1812 between America and Britain. During the war, America had disadvantages compared to Britain. American generals were too old, and the soldiers were at times insubordinate. At the time of the war, the powerful British navy was known as the 'mistress of the seas.' America's navy was small, but it won key victories against the powerful British navy. These underdog victories kept American spirits high. To bolster its small navy, the American government equipped privately owned vessels called privateers.
Although suffering setbacks early in the War of 1812, the Americans rallied, fending off British sieges at American forts and repelling the British at New Orleans. A peace treaty was signed by the Americans and the British at Ghent in Belgium in 1814. Neither side gained much in the treaty, but after the war, the British stopped seizing American sailing vessels and conscripting their British-born captives into military service.
The United States added new states in the decades after the adoption of the constitution and formation of the original thirteen states. The addition of Missouri as a slave state caused a great debate in Congress. At this time, there was a power struggle between the northern free states and the southern slaveholder states. In 1820, the Missouri Compromise enabled Missouri to join as a slaveholder state with the agreement that any land to the north or west would be free states.
James Monroe, the fifth president, put country before party, and was very popular with the people. During his presidency, the United States purchased Florida from Spain. President Monroe passed the 'Monroe Doctrine' which stated the United States would oppose European expansion into the Americas. The sixth president, John Quincy Adams, was honest but unpopular and gained enemies, making him a one-term president. General Andrew Jackson followed as the seventh president for two terms. He was a volatile ruler who practiced nepotism and vetoed improvements to America's infrastructure. In his favor, he and his administration did well at international relations, building America's respect abroad. President Jackson was also divisive, and the country split into the Democrats, who supported Jackson, and the Whigs, who opposed him. Martin Van Buren followed Andrew Jackson as the country's eighth president.
Whig General William H. Harrison defeated Martin Van Buren's bid for a second term and became America's ninth president. However, Harrison died only a month into his presidency and was replaced by Vice President John Tyler, the tenth president of the United States. President Tyler quarreled with his own political party, the Whigs, and consequently accomplished little beyond annexing Texas just before he left office, replaced after one term by Democrat James K. Polk, the eleventh president. Texas was originally a state of Mexico, but many Americans settled there. The Americans, led by General Sam Houston, fought for their independence. Texas was an independent country before being annexed to the United States. The annexation and border disputes were two of multiple factors that led to war between the United States and Mexico.
Political instability in Mexico hindered obtaining peace in the Mexican-American War. To convince Mexico to surrender, General Scott, American commander-in-chief, and his armies, occupied Mexico City, the capital at the heart of Mexico. Mexico held out for five more months before agreeing to peace. During this war, America not only secured its claim on Texas, but also acquired New Mexico and northern California from Mexico in exchange for 15 million dollars.
With the annexation of Texas, a slaveholder state, the conflict between the free northern states and the southern slaveholder states rekindled. The disagreement contributed to the election of Whig General Zachary Taylor as the twelfth president. President Taylor died in office, and his Vice President, Millard Fillmore, became the thirteenth president. Statesman Henry Clay worked to pass 'The Compromise of 1850' which attempted to settle the slavery matter. However, the compromise did not quell the rising anti-slavery tide in the free states. Also during this time, gold was discovered in California in 1848, and the great gold rush began.
As the Whig party declined, the issue of slavery rose once again. The 'Nebraska Bill' was introduced to repeal the Missouri Compromise so that the territories of Nebraska and Kansas could decide whether to become slaveholder states versus automatically becoming free states. This was such a contentious issue that violence broke out, including assassinations and mobs. Political parties reorganized into a new Republican party that opposed the Nebraska Bill, while the Democratic party supported the bill. The Supreme Court waded into the controversy with its 'Dred Scott' decision. Abolitionist John Brown seized an armory, tried and failed to liberate slaves in Virginia, and was executed. In the next election, the Republican Abraham Lincoln was chosen as the sixteenth president. Three more free states were admitted into the union - Minnesota, Oregon, and Kansas. The balance between free and slaveholder states was shifting, and the United States was headed for war.
With the election of Republican Abraham Lincoln as the sixteenth president, the cotton states began planning to leave the Union. South Carolina was first to leave, passing an ordinance of secession in 1860. By February of 1861, all of the cotton states declared themselves separate from the Union. A convention of southern states met in Montgomery, Alabama and formed a new government called, 'The Confederate States of America.' Jefferson Davis was elected the Confederate president. Congress tried to settle the issue with another compromise, but this time failed. Fighting first broke out at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas joined the Confederacy. Thousands of young soldiers joined up to fight on both sides, and the American Civil War commenced in earnest.
In the American Civil War, Confederate advantages included soldiers generally better versed in weaponry and horsemanship. Plus, the South fought on their home territory. The Union side had advantages in manufacturing, money, trade, and sheer number of soldiers. One early Civil War battle of importance was the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. The Confederates decisively won the battle, and the Union troops retreated to Washington. Additional battles were fought, some which the Union won, such as the Battle of Shiloh.
The American Civil War struggle continued, with generals attempting to outmaneuver one another. Confederate generals Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson and Robert E. Lee outmatched multiple Union generals. The Union replaced multiple generals, trying to find one who could win against the Confederates. General Lee was finally stopped in the Battle of Gettysburg, where General George G. Meade notched a Union victory near Gettysburg, PA. Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, with around forty-eight thousand casualties. Gettysburg is considered a turning point, where the war turned in favor of the Union.
In the American Civil War's Battle of Hampton Roads, the Confederates triumphed over the Union's wooden ships with their iron-plated steam-ram, 'Virginia.' The Union brought its own iron vessel to fight off the Virginia. With this demonstration of the superiority of metal, the construction of warships shifted from wood to iron. As the war continued, sentiment against slavery continued to grow in the North. On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln announced in the famous Emancipation Proclamation that all slaves held in the Confederate states were free. (Slavery was officially abolished everywhere in the United States in the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution passed in 1865.) More battles were fought, and the Confederate generals showed their leadership and strategy skills. The Union armies eventually moved under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant. Ultimately, the Union met their goal of controlling the Mississippi River.
Additional American Civil War battles were fought in Tennessee and Georgia and each side had its triumphs and defeats. Union General William Rosecrans' troops fought to victory in the cold of December, 1862, during the Battle of Stone's River. However, around nine months later in September, 1863, Rosecrans and his troops lost to Braxton Bragg's Confederate forces in the Battle of Chickamauga. The Battle of Chickamauga was the most significant Confederate victory in the Civil War, leading to many casualties. Additional leadership changes took place on both sides, including putting General Ulysses S. Grant in command of all Union armies. Union General William T. Sherman and his forces pushed the Confederate armies southward, eventually capturing the city of Atlanta, Georgia in November, 1864.
Under General Ulysses S. Grant and General George G. Meade, the Army of the Potomac encountered Confederate General Robert E. Lee's army in "The Wilderness" near Spotsylvania, VA. Grant tried multiple times to cutoff the Confederate forces from resupply in Richmond, Virginia, but Lee thwarted those efforts. The forces faced off for many months. Multiple skirmishes occurred, each side winning and losing, setting the stage for the final critical battle of the American Civil War at Petersburg, Virginia.
Additional battles were waged in Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Union General William T. Sherman marched across the land, breaking the reinforcement and supply lines of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Lee was everywhere outnumbered, and his soldiers were beaten and captured. On the 9th of April, 1865, Lee surrendered his army to General Grant, at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Sixteen days later, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston also surrendered to General Sherman. The Confederate forces were broken, and any of the smaller forces soon surrendered after that.
The American Civil War complicated America's relations with England and France, as these countries sought to weaken America. England and France sent ambassadors to collude with the Confederates. England also ran Union blockades and built ships for the Confederates. After the war, an international court mandated England to pay the United States a hefty penalty for their meddling. After the war, President Abraham Lincoln, who was elected to a second term, was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Consequently, Vice President Andrew Johnson became the seventeenth president. Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy, was charged with high treason but released without trial.
The war determined that slavery was over in the United States and that states could not secede at will. Ratified in 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery in all states. Andrew Johnson, the Vice-President, succeeded to the presidency on the death of Lincoln. President Johnson and the Republican Congress quarreled over reconstruction matters, leading to a failed impeachment attempt. The next few presidents were Republican General Ulysses S. Grant (1868), Republican Rutherford B. Hayes (1876), Democrat General James A. Garfield (1880, Assassinated in Office), Democrat Chester A. Arthur (Garfield's Vice President who succeeded him), and Democrat Grover Cleveland (1884). One controversial item during Cleveland's presidency was the question of the effective use of tariffs.
With the acquisition of Louisiana, Oregon, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, northern California, and Alaska, Americans continued their expansion westward, coming into conflict with the American Indians. General Custer attacked American Indian villages after the snow fell, upending the American Indian belief that they could fight in the summer while remaining safe in winter. The Sioux Indians, led by Sitting Bull, eventually killed Custer during the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The continued westward expansion of settlers destroyed the buffalo hunting grounds and broke down the old life of the American Indians. There was little left for the American Indians but to adapt or to perish.
The United States has increased in population and wealth over its existence. Many inventions were created in the United States, including Eli Whitney's cotton gin, Elias Howe's sewing machine, and Morse's telegraph. There have also been advancements in travel, heating, lighting, and manufacturing.
There was little literature written in America before the 1800s. However, since that time, many great works have been written. Washington Irving's 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,' Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven,' and Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter' are all still widely read today. Art also began to flourish during this period.
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