The Aftermath of the War of 1812

                The Aftermath of the War of 1812

Introduction

The War of 1812 can be seen as the last act of the drama of American independence. The threats from external powers had now gone, and the United States had revealed sufficient political maturity to  make internal collapse of the republican experiment extremely unlikely. British signed several treaties with the United States. At the end of the war, particularly after the battle of New Orleans, many Americans expressed great confidence in the future of their country. Some historians used to call the years after the war ‘The Era of Good Feelings.’ If there was such an era, it was short-lived, as many conflicts accompanied the growth of the United States over the next half century, the worst of them leading to civil war.

1. Politics

By the end of the war, the United States had become virtually a one-party state. The Republican party had absorbed all but a remnant of the Federalist party. Jefferson, Madison and James Monroe, the first three presidents of the century were all Republicans. Monroe’s Secretary of State was John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams!

Despite the one-party state, there were political issues:

• Discussion about the role of government and the development of a unified, efficient, national economy. (These two questions are intertwined.) In 1815, Henry Clay outlined (and President Madison endorsed) his so-called American System: a new Bank of the United States (the first had been allowed to lapse in 1811); a protective tariff; federal funding of communications (‘internal improvements’). First two enacted, but Madison vetoed the third, saying it would need a constitutional amendment. Bank to be private, but hold government money. The bank (the BUS) was rather irresponsible with money and helped bring about the Panic of 1819 which caused much bankruptcy (and unpopularity for the bank and banks in general).

• Slavery was another issue which caused political division. Slavery was expanding, especially south-westwards. Invention of the cotton gin made cotton very profitable (cotton output quadrupled, 1800-16) and encouraged the growth of the ‘Peculiar Institution.’ By 1819, 11 free and 11 slave states, but Missouri applied to join as a slave state. After two years of political wrangling (mostly of free versus slave states), Missouri accepted as slave state; Maine separated from Massachusetts and admitted as free state, and agreement reached that there would be no more slavery north of 36 degrees 30’. The settlement was known as the Missouri Compromise. The debates revealed that the South now saw slavery as a permanent feature.  

1. The Growth of Democracy

After the War of 1812, the United States became more democratic, but this democracy recognised only white adult males. Several new states (like Maine and Illinois) adopted manhood suffrage; older states revised their Constitutions – Connecticut in 1817 gave vote to all white male taxpayers over 21(as did New York in 1821); Massachusetts to male taxpayers (1820). Maryland and South Carolina also more democratic.