chapter 11

A Time of Growth and War

In 1800, Thomas

Jefferson became the 3rd President of the United States.

Marbury v. Madison• Before Jefferson became President, President

Adams had used a law from Congress to give an important job to a man named William Marbury. But, Jefferson’s Secretary of State, James Madison, did not want Marbury to have that job. When Madison stopped Marbury from getting the job, Marbury took Madison to court. The court case is known as Marbury v. Madison.

Marbury v. Madison

• Marbury wanted the court to force Madison to obey the law and give him the job. But, Madison said the law was unconstitutional. Eventually the Supreme Court had to decide who was right and who was wrong.

Marbury v. Madison

• This case is very important for the history of the Supreme Court because it is the first time the Supreme Court actually had to decide whether a law was Constitutional. This special power of the Supreme Court is called Judicial Review.

President Jefferson

• Thomas Jefferson was very different from President Adams and Washington. He was a Democratic Republican, so he believed in a weak Federal Government. He repealed the Alien and Sedition Acts. He also repealed many of the new taxes created by Federalists.

• In 1800, France and England were at war again. The war was very expensive, so France needed money. France agreed to sell all their land in North America. This land was called the Louisiana Territory. Jefferson bought the land. This new land doubled the size of the United States. The United States became a very big country.

the Louisiana Territory

• Americans did not know much about the land in the Louisiana Territory, so Jefferson sent an expedition to explore it. The leaders of the expedition were named Lewis and Clark.

• Lewis and Clark crossed the Louisiana Territory, then crossed the Rocky Mountains, and went to the Pacific Coast. They made maps that other people could use.

• One member of their expedition, an African-American named York saved their lived many times.

• Another member, a Native-American woman named Sacagawea, helped them to make friends with the Indians in the territory and travel safely.

• In 1808, James Madison became the fourth President of the United States. He was also a Democratic Republican.

• As Americans moved into the new territory, a new war started with the Native Americans who lived there. Their leader was named Tecumseh.

• The U.S. Army beat Tecumseh and his Native American soldiers, but Tecumseh and his men lived.

• England needed more ships and sailors to fight against France, so they started impressing American ships and sailors.

• Impressment means they stole the American ships and forced the sailors to fight for England.

• This angered many Americans. Some Americans wanted to declare war against England. People who wanted war were called War Hawks. In 1812, President Madison declared war on England. This was called the War of 1812.

• In the beginning of the war, America was winning because the English were busy fighting the French. Americans attacked Canada and captured English forts.

• Tecumseh and his Native American soldiers fought against America, but America beat them. Tecumseh was killed in battle.

• In 1814, the English beat the French, so they had more soldiers and ships ready to fight in America.

• British soldiers burned Washington D.C. but President Madison was not there.

• Then, the British Navy tried to capture Fort McHenry in Baltimore, but it was too strong.

• The English realized that they could not win, so they signed a peace treaty with the United States and ended the war.

• Because of the War of 1812, the Republican Party was very popular. Republican candidate, James Monroe, won the election of 1816 and became the next President.

• Monroe was a strong president. He made the U.S. military even stronger than before.

• When slaves from the South ran away to Spanish Florida and joined the Seminole Indians, Monroe sent the U.S. Army into Spanish Florida to attack the Seminoles.

• The Spanish tried to fight back, but the U.S. was too strong. In 1819, the Spanish agreed to sell Florida to the U.S. Florida became part of the United States.

• Many Spanish colonies in Latin America started fighting for independence from Spain. Spain was too weak to stop them.

• Other European countries such as England, France, and Germany wanted to come and take the colonies. President Monroe did not want the Latin American countries to become European colonies again. He wanted European countries to stay out of the Americas. Monroe told the world that European countries were not allowed to come to the Americas anymore. If they did, America would fight them. This statement was called the Monroe Doctrine.

• From 1800 to 1825, America became a bigger and stronger country.