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James Madison Inaugurated
James Madison is inaugurated as the fourth President. He is a Democratic Republican. -
Treaty of Fort Wayne
Negotiated with the Delaware, Eel River, Miami tribe, and Potawatomi, Kickapoo to receive 3 million acres of land in Indiana and Illinois. The US government agreed to pay $5,200 for it up front and then annuities ranging between $250 and $500. -
Fletcher v. Peck
The Court ruled that a Georgia law voiding a land grant made by an earlier legislature -- on the grounds that it had involved massive fraud -- violated the constitutional provision "barring any state from impairing the obligation of contracts." Marshall held that despite the fraud, the original land grant constituted an unbreakable legal contract. -
Macon's Bill No. 2
Congress passed this act sponsored by Nathaniel Macon of NC. It granted exclusive trade relations with either Britain or France, depending on which country repealed restriction on neutral shipping first, The US government promised to halt all commerce with the other. -
Tecumseh denounces the Treaty of Fort Wayne
Tecumseh, leader of the Shawnees and brother of the Prophet, met with Indiana governor William Henry Harrison at Vincennes to denounce the Treaty. Tecumseh claimed that the Treaty was not signed with them. -
Construction of the Cumberland Road/National Road Begins
Initially the bill to build the road was vetoed by Madison. Built between Cumberland, MD on the Potomac and Wheeling, VA. It was later extended to Vandalia, IL in 1838 . By about 1825, thousands of miles of turnpikes -- privately owned toll roads chartered by the states -- crisscrossed southern New England, upstate NY, much of PA and northern NJ -
Battle of Tippecanoe
General William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana Territory, defeated the Shawnee Indians and destroyed Prophetstown.
Harrison immediately became a national hero, and several decades later he was President.
Tecumseh ended up seeking British military assistance in battling the Americans. -
War of 1812 begins
Congress declared war on Britain. This was the first declaration of war by the United States.
James Madison wanted the British to respect US maritime rights, especially in the Caribbean.
Congressional War Hawks included Henry Clay of Kentucky and John Calhoun from South Carolina wanted to annex Canada. -
Period: to
War of 1812
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Burning of Washington
British troops march onto Washington and destroy public building, including the White House and the Capitol. -
Francis Scott Key Writes "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Key watched the bombing of For McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore Key on the night of September 13–14, 1814. He saw that the flag still waved the next morning, inspiring him to write the song. -
Hartford Convention Meets
Delegates from the 5 New England states, representing the Federalist Party, met at Hartford, Connecticut, to discuss the encroachments of the national government. The convention was a protest of the War of 1812 and the Embargo Act of 1813. The delegates discussed secession from the Union. -
Treaty of Ghent signed
The Treaty was signed between the Americans and British ending the War of 1812. Neither side gained any territory. -
Battle of New Orleans
The last battle of the War of 1812. Andrew Jackson defeated British forces. Interestingly, a peace treaty had been signed at Ghent, Belgium, 15 days before the battle took place, but nobody knew that because of slow communications -
Congress passes the Tariff of 1816
The first protective tariff in US history. In 1815 and 1816, the British inundated the US market with cheap imports to strangle US industry in its infancy. The Tariff was meant to protect American textile industry. Congress earmarked revenue from the tariff and $1.5 million from the Bank for transportation projects. -
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Era of Good Feelings
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James Monroe Inaugurated
James Monroe becomes the fifth President of the United States. He will be the last Founding Father to be come President. -
Construction on the Erie Canal Begins
Western trade did not start to flow eastward until the completion of the Canal in 1825, which linked eastern seaboard states with western markets. At 364 miles long, 40 feet wide, and 4 feet deep, and containing 84 locks, the Erie Canal was the most spectacular engineering achievement at the time -
Panic of 1819
A fall in cotton prices triggered a credit contraction. Commodity prices fell across the board, and real-estate values collapsed, especially around western cities. The Bank of the United States stopped loaning money, asked for payment of all debts and would not honor drafts drawn on its brances in the West and South -
Dartmouth College v. Woodward
New Hampshire legislature tried to amend the charter of Dartmouth College in the direction of greater public control over the private institution. the Court ruled that Dartmouth's original royal charter of 1769 was a contract protected by the Constitution. Therefore, the state of New Hampshire could not alter the charter without prior consent of the college. -
Adams-Onis Treaty Signed
Treaty negotiated between US Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, and the Spanish foreign minister Luis de Onís. The US got Florida and the US government assumed $5 million of financial claims of American citizens against Spain. It also established a new boundary between American and Spanish territory that ran north of Texas and expanded to the Pacific. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
In 1818, Maryland legislature placed a heavy tax on the branch of the Bank of the United States. James McCulloch, the cashier of the bank refused to pay the tax. The Supreme Court chose unanimously upheld the constitutional authority of Congress to charter a national bank and thereby regulate the nation's currency and finances. As long as the end was legitimate "within the scope of the Constitution" -
Missouri Compromise
Congress passed legislation that admitted Maine as a free state and authorized Missouri to adopt a constitution with no restrictions on slavery. Missouri (acquired as part of the Louisiana Purchase) was admitted as a slaveholding state in 1821. The compromise prohibited slavery in the remaining territory of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36° 30' latitude. -
Monroe Doctrine Announced to Congress
Monroe speech to Congress supported the independent nations of the Western Hemisphere against European interference. He also said that the United States would not allow new colonies to be created in the Americas, nor would it permit existing colonies to extend their boundaries. -
Gibbons v. Ogden
Supreme Court decision helped open up the economy to competition. the Court overturned a New York law that had given Aaron Ogden a monopoly on steamboat services between NY and NJ. Thomas Gibbons, Ogden's competitor had a federal license for the coastal trade. The right to compete under the national license, the Court ruled, took legal precedence over Ogden's monopoly. The decision affirmed the supremacy of the national government to regulate interstate commerce.
