History of the United States (1789-1861)
| Pre-Colonial America |
| Colonial America |
| 1776–1789 |
| 1789–1861 |
| Origins of the Civil War |
| The Civil War |
| 1865–1918 |
| 1918–1945 |
| 1945–1964 |
| 1964–1980 |
| 1980–1988 |
| 1988–present |
After the election of George Washington as the first President of the United States in 1789, Congress passed the first of many laws organizing the government, and adopted a Bill of Rights, in the form of ten amendments to the new Constitution.
Despite a desire on the part of Washington to remain isolationist, as detailed in his farewell address, the United States would grow to have a rich diplomatic history.
The young government struggled to maintain a peaceful neutrality through the upheavals, which began with the French Revolution, and continued with the Napoleonic Wars. Sympathy for the French, who as allies, had made a success of the American Revolution, clashed with identification with Britain, with which the United States shared a language, political heritage, and strong economic ties. Political parties formed, and vied for control, with control of the federal government passing from the hands of one political party to the another for the first time in 1800.
In 1812, the United states entered a second war with the British Empire, known as the War of 1812. It was caused in large part by the British policy of impressment (the forcible seizure of American seamen for service in the British Royal Navy) and the British blockade of French seaports where Americans wanted to trade.
During the 19th century the country expanded its territory greatly through two major acquisitions; the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and the Mexican Cession of 1848, a consequence of the Mexican-American War. Meanwhile, Florida was purchased from Spain, the Oregon territory was divided with Great Britain,Alaska was purchased from Russia, and the kingdom of Hawaii was annexed at the end of the century, completing the present territory of the United States.
Westward expansion (known as Manifest Destiny) by official acts of the United States Government was accompanied by the western (and northern in the case of New England) movement of settlers into the trans-Appalachia region and beyond the frontier.
Economic development and westward expansion was fairly slow for the first fifty years after independence, though the birthrate continued at the phenomenal levels achieved in the colonial period, driving rapid population growth. After 1815, however, the advent of the railroad, steamship and the telegraph provided the technological means to settle and develop as one country the vast western expanse of territory, and a massive migration westward began in earnest. The failure of crops and revolutions in Europe in the 1840's sparked an enormous wave of immigration.
George Washington was elected as the first President of the United States under the new Constitution. This was in many ways inevitable; Washington was a renowned hero of the American Revolutionary War who kept the Continental Army together, President of the Constitutional Convention, and perhaps the most well-loved figure ever in United States politics. He easily won the U.S. presidential election of 1789, running virtually unopposed. He received all of the electoral votes.
Under Washington's presidency, the first US Census was taken and the Supreme Court of the United States was established. However, the major policies and decisions of his terms involved two of his cabinet members - the Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton and the Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, whose different ideologies formed the Federalist and Republican parties, respectively. Although Washington warned against political parties in his farewell address, many felt that by the end of his term he was a Federalist, and indeed the Whiskey Rebellion seems to indicate this.
Despite a desire on the part of Washington to remain isolationist, as detailed in his farewell address, the United States would grow to have a rich diplomatic history.
James Madison won the U.S. presidential election of 1808, largely on the strength of his abilities in foreign affairs at a time when England and France were both on the edge of war with the United States. Both countries were blockading the ports of the other, preventing American commerce with either. In the end, England's efforts to destroy American maritime commerce proved too much for legislators. In 1810, a bill was passed that would break off relations with any nation that would not remove the blockade: France conceded, while England did not.
In 1812, the United states entered a second war with the British Empire, known as the War of 1812. It was caused in large part by the British policy of Impressment (the forcible seizure of American seamen for service in the British Royal Navy) and the British blocking of French seaports where Americans desired to carry on trade.
The war was not a wonderful success; the British won victory after victory, including a temporary occupation of Washington, D.C., where Madison was driven out. The British also armed American Indians in the west, including the Shawnee under their leader Tecumseh. Neither side was terribly enthusiastic about the war, however: the British had nothing to gain, and in the United States, New England threatened secession if the war was not ended.
Certain factions in the United States supported the war due to the desire to add Canadian lands to the United States, but all invasions of Canada failed. The burning of Fort York, now Toronto, was one reason that Washington D.C. was burned in retaliation by the British. Though the British held the upper hand in most engagements, several of the battles entered the American mythos--including the Battle of New Orleans (1815), when General Andrew Jackson handed the British one of the worst defeats in their history. Ironically, the battle was fought two weeks after the peace Treaty of Ghent, which ended the hostilities, and restored pre-war conditions.
The major lasting effect for the political face of the country was the end of the Federalist Party, who were considered traitors when they opposed the war.
Madison's wife, Dolley, was one of the most famous First Ladies in U.S. history. During her husband's political life, Dolley Madison was noted as a gracious hostess, whose sassy, ebullient personality, love of feathered turbans, and passion for snuff seemed at odds with her Quaker upbringing. However, probably her most lasting achievements were her letters to James Madison during the period of the framing of the United States Constitution, and her rescue of valuable treasures, including state papers and a Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington, from the White House before it was burned by the British army in 1814.
Following the War of 1812, James Monroe was elected president in 1816, and re-elected in 1820. Monroe, the last American Revolutionary War veteran to serve as president, was almost uncontested in his two elections.
Monroe's presidency was later labeled "The Era of Good Feeling", in part because partisan politics were almost nonexistent. The Federalist Party had died out, and the rift between the Democratic Party and the Whig Party had not yet happened. Practically every politician belonged to the Democratic-Republican Party.
Monroe is probably best known for the Monroe Doctrine, which he delivered in his message to Congress on December 2nd, 1823. In it, he proclaimed the Americas should be free from future European colonization and free from European interference in sovereign countries' affairs. It further stated the United States' intention to stay neutral in wars between European powers and their colonies, but to consider any new colonies or interference with independent countries in the Americas as hostile acts toward the United States.
Following his defeat in the election of 1824 (despite having a majority of the popular vote), Andrew Jackson set about building a political coalition strong enough to defeat John Quincy Adams in the election of 1828. The coalition that he built was the foundation of the United States Democratic Party.
During the 19th century, the country expanded its territory greatly through two major acquisitions. In 1802, the size of the country doubled with the Louisiana Purchase, when France sold all of its territories west of the Mississippi River to the United States. The Lewis and Clark expedition quickly explored the north western territories from the Mississippi to the Pacific. The nation's territory continued to expand by the annexation of Texas, which led to the Mexican-American War, where the United States obtained territory in the southwest from Mexico. The Oregon territory was purchased from Great Britain, Alaska from Russia, and the kingdom of Hawaii was annexed at the end of the century, completing the present territory of the United States. In summary, the following contributed to the present-day territory of the United States:
Major events in the western movement of the American people were the Homestead Act, a law by which, for a nominal price, a settler was given title to land to farm; the opening of the Northwest Territory to settlement; the Texas Revolution; the opening of the Oregon Trail; the Mormon Emigration to Utah in 1846-7; The California gold rush of 1849; the Colorado Gold Rush of 1859; and the completion of the US Transcontinental Railroad on May 10th, 1869.
The western movie, one of the classic American film genres, is situated in this era.
Era Overview
Washington's presidency
Adams and Jefferson
Madison administration
War of 1812
Dolley Madison
Monroe administration
Formation of the Democratic Party
Westward expansion
Westward expansion by official acts of the United States Government was accompanied by the western (and northern in the case of New England) movement of settlers on and beyond The Frontier. Daniel Boone was one frontiersman who pioneered the settlement of Kentucky. This pattern was followed throughout the West as men traded with the Indians, and explored. Skilled fighters and hunters, these Mountain Men trapped beaver in small groups throughout the Rocky Mountains. After the demise of the Fur Trade, they established trading posts throughout the west, continuing trade with the Indians and serving the western migration of settlers to Utah, Oregon and California.The coming of the Civil War
For details see the main article The coming of the Civil War.