American History (early 15th– mid 19th) Essay Example

The history of the American nation has come a long way since the early 15th century to mid17th century. Over these years, there have been several significant events which have shape the US. The American history is very rich and involves a number evens such as the election of Washington, the federalist philosophy, democratic republicans, U.S. Constitution, slavery, nullification and succession, compact theory, election of 1824, Jacksonian democracy, Whigs, war of 1812, second bank of the US, Webster Hayne Debate, Missouri compromise, and market revolution; which shaped the modern-day U.S. This discusses the American history beginning with the election of George Washington as the first president concluding with the presidential election of 1840.
After conquering the revolutionary war, and having set forth strategies for a revolutionary settlement, the Americans had to establish a stable government for it to realize the objectives which informed the American Revolution. The period, 1776 to 1800, was marked by several efforts were put trough to attain the ideals and goals of the revolution. In 1776, a resolution was adopted by congress directing the 13 colonies to institute new governments, although a majority of them had established and even went ahead to enact some constitution. The institution of these governments and the enactment of constitutions presented a splendid opportunity for the democratic colonies to remedy their remonstrations and to achieve their aims for all-inclusive government. These governments paved way for the drafting of a new constitution in 1787 after the articles of confederation which were meant to bind the colonies together turned out to be ineffective. A new constitution was drafted by the convention of delegates and a year later, 1788 it was ratified, becoming the U.S. constitution. The constitution was enacted basing on the compact theory which claimed that the formation of American nation was achieved through a compact by all the colonies individually and that the federal government is consequently a formation of the states. Concordantly, the states should be the ultimate judges of the national government determining if it had overstepped its mandate as guided by the compact. After the ratification of the constitution, the first elections as held in 1789, where George Washington a renowned champion of the American Revolution, the commander of the revolutionary army, and Constitutional Convention’s president, was unanimously elected under the new constitution as the first President of the United States, formerly colonies. During this time, all the revolutionary leaders led by president Washington strongly believed in republicanism, and the 1788 concerns of the antifederalists were assuaged with the passage of the bill of rights as the inaugural amendments to the constitution.
During the enactment of a new constitution, the proponents of the new constitution referred to themselves as the federalists, with federalism used to imply a commitment to a decentralized and loose system of government. Through many perspectives, federalism implied strong central government contrary to what was originally intended. The federalists led by Alexander Hamilton, believed that the constitutions was required to safeguard the independence and liberty which had been established by the revolution. They developed a new political philosophy, focusing more on defending the social advantages of the revolution. However not everyone believed in the powerful central government as a way to defend the gains of the revolution. Thomas Jefferson along with his followers opposed the view, investing their trust in the rights of states and the strict interpretation of the constitution. They considered the country to be a confederation of independent states brought together by common interests. This lead emergence of the democratic republicans as part of the two party system. It is also remarkable to note that though it did not came out as a political party, the Whig movement emerged during the revolution times. The term Whig was derived from a term, which patriots called themselves during the revolution indicating resistance to the king.
Although the two parties were founded on national politics they organized the others and their supporters in each state. Although the two parties were not substantially radical during the reelection of President Washington, the real moment came in 1796, after the retirement of the George Washington. By 1796, almost each state had been monopolized by these parties. In 1796, John Adams, the vice president was supported by the federalists, resulting in his victory over Thomas Jefferson who he later appointed as the vice president. Under the leadership of Adams and Washington the federalists created a strong government although it alienated the citizenry with its policies.
As a result, Jefferson steadily gathered the support of various people who felt oppressed by the federalist leadership and in the 1800 election, leading to his election as the third president. He encouraged westward expansion and agriculture, through the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition. He upheld that America was a harbor of the oppressed, restoring the 5-year residency prerequisite for naturalization. By the time his second term of presidency, Jefferson with the help of the secretary of treasury, he had reduce the national debt significantly. As a lifelong enemy of slave trade, when the expiration of the 20 year ban was running down, Jefferson called upon the congress to criminalize slave trade, considering it as a desecration of human rights, and a limitation on the morality, reputation, and best interests which the young nation had been eager to proscribe.
During the term of Jefferson, there was war between France and Britain. As a result of the US trade practices which involved doing business with France, Britain imposed loose cordon of the American coast. As a result, President Jefferson responded with an embargo, suspending all trade with foreign nations. When James Madison became president in 1808, though he attempted to mend the relations with foreign allies, the British interference with American shipping led to the declaration of war against Britain in 1812. The war wrecked the Federalist Party, opening new positions for generals William Henry Harrison and Andrew Jackson alongside other civic leaders such as John Quincy Adams.
After the 1812 war, America started to proclaim a new form of nationalism. America started to rally around heroes of nationalism, with the election of 1824. This was marked by the hotly contested elections which saw emergence of new party alignments with the followers of Adam’s administration taking the name of National Republicans to indicate the conventional Jeffersonian republicanism. This period saw the emergence of the Jacksonian democracy which led to the emergence of the Democratic Party. This signified a transition from the first system of parties to second system. And in 1828 elections, Jackson won the elections to become the first democrat president. During this time, also there was a public support for a national banking system which saw the authorization of the Second Bank of America. This marked the ear of good feelings.