1815-1850: Government and Politics: Chronology

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1815-1850: Government and Politics: Chronology

IMPORTANT EVENTS OF 1815-1850

1815

5 Jan. The Hartford Convention concludes after considering secession and proposing revisions to the federal Constitution instead.
8 Jan. Gen. Andrew Jackson and a ragtag army of two thousand frontiersmen, freed slaves, Choctaw Indians, and Frenchmen defeat a British army at New Orleans.
3 Mar. Congress authorizes hostilities against the Barbary pirates.

1816

The first postwar Congress charters the Second Bank of the United States and passes an internal improvements bill and the Tariff of 1816.
Nov. James Monroe defeats Federalist Rufus King for the presidency, winning 183 electoral votes to King’s 34.
11 Dec. Indiana is admitted to the Union.

1817

The Rush-Bagot Treaty between the United States and Great Britain limits naval forces on the Great Lakes.
20 Nov. Settlers attack Native Americans in Florida, igniting the First Seminole War. Spain is believed to support the Seminoles during the yearlong conflict.
10 Dec. Mississippi is admitted to the Union.

1818

The Convention of 1818 between the United States and Great Britain sets the border between the United States and Canada at the forty-ninth parallel and establishes joint occupation of Oregon.
Gen. Andrew Jackson invades Florida to suppress the Seminoles. Two British traders are executed for their alleged support of the Seminoles.
3 Dec. Illinois is admitted to the Union, creating a balance of eleven free states and eleven slave states.

1819

Under the Adams-Onis Treaty, Spain cedes Florida to the United States.
14 Dec. Alabama is admitted to the Union.

1820

2 Mar. As part of the Missouri Compromise, Congress prohibits slavery in the Louisiana Purchase north of 36° 30′.
15 Mar. Maine is admitted to the Union.
Nov. James Monroe wins 231 electoral votes of 232 cast for the presidency.

1821

10 Aug. Missouri is admitted to the Union.

1822

Denmark Vesey and others are executed in Charleston, South Carolina, for organizing a slave uprising.

1823

2 Dec. President James Monroe delivers a message to Congress, warning European countries not to colonize or interfere with the Western Hemisphere. This policy comes to be known as the Monroe Doctrine.

1824

30 Mar. Henry Clay defines his “American System” in a speech supporting a protective tariff that would generate revenue to fund internal improvements that would in turn expand the American economy.
Nov. John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William Crawford run for the presidency. Jackson wins the popular and electoral votes but fails to secure an electoral majority, requiring the House of Representatives to determine the winner.

1825

President James Monroe calls for the voluntary removal of Native Americans from the East to lands west of the Mississippi River.
9 Feb. The House selects John Quincy Adams as president. Adams makes Henry Clay his secretary of state. Andrew Jackson supporters charge that Adams and Clay had entered a “corrupt bargain” to steal the presidency from Jackson.
12 Feb. The Creek Indian Treaty is signed, turning over all Creek lands in Georgia to the federal government.

1826

24 Jan. Creek Indians sign the Treaty of Washington nullifying the previous treaty, ceding less land, and allowing them to remain on their lands until 1 January 1827.
4 July On the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both die.

1827

15 Nov. The Creek Indians cede their remaining land in the southeastern United States.

1828

19 May President John Quincy Adams signs the “Tariff of Abominations” into law.
Nov. Andrew Jackson defeats Adams in the presidential election. Jacksons wins 178 electoral votes to Adams’s 83 votes.

1829

4 Mar. Andrew Jackson is inaugurated as president.

1830

Jan. Daniel Webster and Robert Hayne debate the federal tariff in the United Stated Senate.
13 Apr. At the annual Jefferson Day Dinner, in John C. Calhoun’s presence, Andrew Jackson clearly warns against nullification with his toast, “Our Federal Union, it must be preserved.”
27 May President Jackson vetoes the Maysville Road Bill.
28 May Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act to provide money to purchase land from the Creeks, Seminoles, Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Choctaws and to relocate them in present-day Oklahoma and Arkansas.

1831

The federal government forces Black Hawk, a leader of the Sauk and Fox Indians, to move from Illinois into Iowa, allowing white settlers to take over the land.
The Choctaw Indians become the first to walk the “Trail of Tears” to their new home in Oklahoma. Many die from malnutrition, exposure, and cholera.
Seminole Indians in Florida sign a treaty with the federal government to remove them from their land and open it to white settlement.
31 May Congress adjourns before President Andrew Jackson acts on several improvement bills. Jackson thus institutes the concept of the “pocket veto” by refusing to sign legislation before the end of the congressional session.
Sept. The Anti-Masonic Party holds the first modern political nominating convention and selects William Wirt as its presidential candidate.

1832

Nicholas Biddle and Henry Clay attempt to recharter the Second Bank of the United States, forcing President Andrew Jackson to either agree to the bank or veto the charter.
10 July Jackson vetoes the bank charter, claiming the bank is a “monster” because of its exclusive power.
Nov. South Carolina nullifies the tariffs of 1828 and 1832. Meanwhile, Jackson defeats Henry Clay for the presidency, winning 219 electroal votes to Clay’s 49 votes.
Dec. At President Jackson’s request Congress passes the Force Bill to compel South Carolina to abide by federal tariffs.

1833

12 Feb. John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay work out the details of the Compromise Tariff of 1833, revising the list of duty-free goods and reducing duties over nine years.
1 Mar. The Compromise Tariff of 1833 and Force Bill are singed into law.
1 Oct. Secretary of the Treasury Roger Taney begins to deposit government money in “pet banks.”

1834

28 Mar. The Senate votes twenty-six to twenty to censure Andrew Jackson for removing federal deposits from the Second Bank of the United States.

1835

Jan The national dept is paid off.
Nov. The Second Seminole War begins in Florida when some Seminole Indians, led by Osceola, refuse to leave their land, in defiance of an 1832 treaty.
3 Nov. American colonists in Texas adopt a constitution but do not declare their independence from Mexico.

1836

Congress passes the Distribution Act.
Andrew Jackson issues the Spice Circular requiring that federal land purchases be made with gold and silver.
23 Feb.–6 Mar. Mexican troops under Santa Anna besiege the Alamo.
2 Mar. Texas declares independence from Mexico.
14 Mar. The Senate passes a “Gag Rule” thirty-four to six. The rule calls for the receipt and automatic “tabling” of all antislavery petitions, preventing discussion of the issue.
21 Apr. Texans and American volunteers under Sam Houston defeat the Mexican army at the Battle of San Jacinto and capture Santa Anna, who agrees to Texas’s independence.
26 May. The House enacts the “Gag Rule.”
15 June Arkansas is admitted to the Union.
Nov. Democrat Martin Van Buren becomes president after defeating three Whig opponents, Daniel Webster, Hugh Lawson White, and William Henry Harrison. Van Buren secures 170 electoral votes. Webster, his nearest competitor, wins 73 votes.

1837

Canadian officials cross the border and burn a United States ship, the Caroline, for having supplied a group of rebels against the Canadian government.
26 Jan. Michigan is admitted to the Union.

1838

Oct. Indian reaches its height as seven thousand federal troops forcibly remove fourteen thousand Cherokee Indians from Georgia to Oklahoma. Four thousand Cherokees die along the “Trail of Tears.”

1839

4 Dec. The Whigs hold their first national nominating convention.

1840

Nov. Whig William Henry Harrison defeats Martin Van Buren by an electoral vote of 234 to 60. Liberty Party candidate James G. Birney receives 7, 000 votes.

1841

4 Apr. President William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia, and John Tyler assumes the presidency.
16 Aug. President Tyler vetoes the Independent Treasury Act.

1842

The Webster-Ashburton Treaty settles the border between the United States and Canada in the Northeast.
The Second Seminole War ends, at a cost to the United States of fifteen hundred dead and $20 million.

1843

June The American Republican Party is formed in New York City. It grows out of the Native American Association, an anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant organization. The party becomes defunct by 1853.

1844

Feb. A cannon on the U.S.S. Princeton explodes, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur and several others. President John Tyler replaces him with John C. Calhoun.
Nov. Democratic candidate James Polk defeats Henry Clay ad Liberty Party candidate James Birney with 170 electoral votes to Clay’s 105.
Dec. The House and Senate repeal all Gag Rules.

1845

Feb. Congress passes a joint resolution annexing Texas.
1 Mar. President John Tyler signs Texas annexation resolution.
3 Mar. Florida is admitted to the Union.
4 Mar. James Polk is inaugurated as president.
6 Mar. Mexico breaks off diplomatic relations with the United States.
14 June The Bear Flag Revolt in California begins.
29 Dec. Texas is admitted to the Union.

1846

Congress passes the Walker Tariff.
13 Jan. President James K. Polk order Gen. Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande.
8–9 May Taylor defeats a Mexican force at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma.
13 May The United States declares war on Mexico. The A Senate votes 40 to 2 and the House votes 174 to 14 in favor of war.
18 May Taylor invades Mexico.
15 June The Senate ratifies a treaty with Britain fixing the Oregon Territory border at the forty-ninth parallel.
8 Aug. Pennsylvania Democrat David Wilmot seeks to amend an appropriation bill to bar slavery from any territory acquired during the war with Mexico.
12 Dec. the United States and New Granada (present-day Colombia and Panama) sign a treaty that gives the United States a right-of-way across the Isthmus of Panama.
28 Dec. Iowa is admitted to the Union.

1847

22–23 Feb. Taylor’s troops win the Battle of Buena Vista.
9 Mar. American forces under Gen. Winfield Scott land in Mexico at Veracruz.
14 Sept. American forces capture Mexico City.

1848

2 Jan. Peace talks begin between the United States and Mexico.
2 Feb. American diplomat Nicholas Trist signs the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Mexico. The United States receives California, New Mexico (including modern Arizona and Nevada), and Texas to the Rio Grande for $15 Million.
10 Mar. The Senate ratifies the peace treaty with Mexico, thirty-eight to fourteen.
29 May Wisconsin is admitted to the Union.
Nov. Whig Zachary Taylor defeats Democrat Lewis Cass and Free-Soil Martin Van Buren, with 163 electoral votes to 127 for Cass.

1849

Nearly eighty thousand “49ers” food California looking for gold.
4 Dec. In his first annual message, President Zachary Taylor proposes the immediate admission of California as a state, bypassing the territorial stage.

1850

Jan. Henry Clay presents a compromise plan to the Senate in order t end the conflict over slavery in the territory won from Mexico.
4 Mar. John C. Calhoun addresses the Senate, arguing for the expansion of slavery in all western territory.
7 Mar. Daniel Webster responds to Calhoun in the Senate and backs Clay’s compromise plan.
11 Mar. New York senator William Seward replies to Webster’s speech with his “high law” antislavery speech.
31 Mar. Calhoun dies.
19 Apr. In the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, Great Britain and the United States promise not to seek exclusive control of routes across the Central American isthmus.
9 July President Zachary Taylor, an opponent of Clay’s compromise, dies. Vice President Millard Fillmore, who favors the compromise, becomes president.
31 July Clay’s “Omnibus” Compromise is defeated in the Senate.
Aug.–Sept. Illinois Democrat Stephen Douglas separates the various compromise provisions, and the Senate and House vote in favor of each.
20 Sept. President Fillmore signs the final legislation pertaining to the Compromise of 1850. The compromise admits California as a free state, allows the territorial legislatures of New Mexico and Utah to settle the slavery issue on their own, enacts a stronger fugitive slave law, outlaws the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and gives Texas $10 million to abandon its claims to territory in New Mexico.