A Time of Conflict

Conflicts with the British at sea and Native Americans in the West led to

the War of 1812

Defeating the Barbary States• Barbary (Pirate) States

demand tribute from US merchant ships for “protection”– A forced payment from one

country to another

• USS Philadelphia and its 300 man crew are captured by Tripoli pirates

• President Jefferson sends Stephen Decatur to raid Tripoli and burned the Philadelphia.

American Neutrality is Challenged

• Britain & France go to war again in 1803

• American merchants traded with both France & Britain

• France & Britain seize American ships– Impressment: Britain

forces American sailors to serve in the British Navy

Jefferson Responds With an Embargo

• Jefferson orders an embargo against both France & Britain– A government order that forbids foreign trade

• No American ships can sail into any foreign port• American exports fell from $109 million to $25

million– Tens of thousands of Americans lose their job, many

turn to smuggling• The act of illegal importing or exporting goods

• Jefferson’s Embargo is a total disaster for America

Tecumseh & the Prophet

• Tecumseh attempted to create a Native American league to resist the US.– Tenskwatawa: spiritual

leader of the Shawnee

• William Henry Harrison attacked Tecumseh’s league at Tippecanoe River– Tecumseh dream of Native

American unity is destroyed