Congress authorizes the building of 188 gunboats, at a cost of not over $852,000 Dec. 18, 1807 Embargo act prohibits foreign com...Dec. 22, 1807 Second and more stringent embargo act (commonly called, reading the title backward, the "O grab me act") merce..... Jan. 9, 1808 Embargo modified; the President au thorized to permit vessels to transport American property home from foreign ports...... . March 12, 1808 Army raised to five regiments of in fantry, one of riflemen, one of light ar tillery and one of light dragoons, to be enlisted for five years...... April 12, 1808 First session adjourns... April 25, 1808 Second session convenes.... Nov. 7, 1808 Sixth Presidential election. Nov. 8, 1808 Territory of Illinois established Feb. 3, 1809 Electoral vote counted in the House Feb. 8, 1809 Embargo act repealed....March 1, 1809 Non-intercourse act forbids commercial intercourse with Great Britain, France, and their dependencies after May 20 March 1, 1809 Tenth Congress adjourns March 3, 1809 June 28, 1809 Great Britain not revoking her "Orders in Council" of 1807, the President proclaims the Nòn-intercourse act still in force towards that country.. Aug. 9, 1809 David M. Erskine, British minister to the United States, recalled, and Francis J. Jackson appointed; arrives September, 1809 [British minister F. J. Jackson left Washington, and from New York asked for his passport. His relations with this government being unsatisfactory, his recall was asked for.] Second session convenes.. Nov. 27, 1809 Committee appointed by the House to inquire into the charge that Brig.-Gen. James Wilkinson had received a bribe from the Spanish government; or was an accomplice, or in any way concerned with the agent of any foreign power, or with Aaron Burr.... . April 3, 1810 General post-office established at Washington under the Postmaster-General April 30, 1810 British and French armed vessels excluded from American waters by act approved ....May 1, 1810 Second session adjourns.... May 1, 1810 March 23, issued.............May, 1810 Napoleon's Rambouillet decree, dated [Ordered the sale of 132 American vessels captured; worth, with their cargoes, $8,000,000.] France proclaims the revocation of the Berlin and Milan decrees, to take effect after ... .Nov. 1, 1810 Third session convenes....Dec. 3, 1810 Recharter of the United States Bank passed by the House, 65 to 64; fails in the Senate, 17 to 17, by the casting vote of the president of the Senate, George Clinton... . Feb. 20, 1811 Eleventh Congress adjourns Francisco Miranda, a native of South America, aiming to overthrow the Spanish power in Caracas, South America, engages a vessel, the Leander, and with about 250 men sails from New York, February, 1806. Although reinforced by some other vessels, and gaining some advantages, the expedition results in failure. The Americans of the expedition captured by the Spaniards, while confined at Carthagena, petition their government for relief, June 9. A resolution requesting the President Charles. March 3, 1811 President, United States frigate, fortyfour guns, Com. John Rodgers commanding, meets the British sloop-of-war Little Belt in lat. 37°, about 40 miles off Cape .....May 16, 1811 venes... Twelfth Congress, first session, con.....Nov. 4, 1811 Gen. William H. Harrison defeats the Indians under the Prophet at Tippecanoe, within the present State of Indiana a Nov. 7, 1811 Brig. Gen. James Wilkinson is tried by general court-martial, convened at Fredericktown, Md., Sept. 2, and acquitted.... .Dec. 25, 1811 Theatre at Richmond burned; the governor and many eminent citizens perish (Virginia)... ..December, 1811 Case of John Henry and the Federalists of New England; papers laid before the Senate by the President.. March 9, 1812 President requested to lay before the Senate any information, which may be communicated without prejudice to the public interest, bearing on the case of John Henry.... .March 10, 1812 Embargo on all vessels in the United States for ninety days..... April 4, 1812 Louisiana admitted as the eighteenth State, to date from April 30; approved April 8, 1812 That part of west Florida west of Pearl River is annexed to Louisiana April 14, 1812 George Clinton, Vice-President, dies at Washington, aged seventy-three President Madison renominated Army raised to twenty-five regiments of infantry, four regiments of artillery, two regiments of dragoons, and one of riflemen; total, 36,700 on paper..June 26, 1812 [For a chronological record of the chief battles and naval engagements between the United States and Great Britain, see WAR OF 1812.] Duties on imports doubled. July 1, 1812 First session adjourns.....July 6, 1812 [This Congress had passed 138 acts in a session of 245 days. In the House Josiah Quincy, of Massachusetts, and John Randolph, of Roanoke, were the leaders in the opposition to the war; Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, in favor of it.] Office of the Federal Republican at Baltimore, Md., attacked by a mob, for denouncing the declaration of war with England..........June 12 and July 27, 1812 On promise of protection by the military, the defenders of the office surrender and are taken to jail. The mob reassemble and break open the jail; kill General Lingan, an officer of the Revolution, and mangle eleven others, leaving eight for dead.... ....July 28, 1812 [Arrests were made, but no one was punished.] ́ Great meeting in opposition to the war April 20, 1812 in New York City; John Jay, Rufus King, Gouverneur Morris, and other prominent citizens in attendance......Aug. 19, 1812 Second session convenes.... Nov. 2, 1812 Presidential election......Nov. 10, 1812 Congress appropriates $2,500,000 to build four 74-gun ships and six 44-gun ships.... .Jan. 2, 1813 Electoral vote counted in the Senate chamber..... ... Feb. 10, 1813 Total strength of the army, limited by Congress, 58,000; according to the returns of adjutant-general, including staff and regimental officers, 18,945 May 18, 1812 [Madison is renominated by the Democratic Republican party under promise of a declaration of war with England.] President sends a war message to Congress... ..June 1, 1812 Report of the minority against the war presented to the House....June 3, 1812 Motion to make the debate public lost June 3, 1812 Territory of Missouri established June 4, 1812 Cartel ship from Great Britain, with Feb. 16, 1813 the survivors (two) of the four seamen A proclamation and circular letter from taken by force from the Chesapeake by the governor of Bermuda is laid before the Leopard in 1807, arrives at Boston, Congress by the President, which recites and delivers the men to the United States a "British Order in Council," providing June 12, 1812 for colonial trade, with instructions to "Orders in Council" abandoned by colonial governors to show special priviEngland.... ...June 17, 1812 leges to the Eastern (New England) States War declared against Great Britain Feb. 24, 1813 (vote in the Senate, 19 to 13; in the Congress passes an act to encourage House, 79 to 49)..... ...June 18, 1812 vaccination.... . Feb. 27, 1813 President vested with the power of re- March 3, 1813 SEVENTH ADMINISTRATION DEMO Henry Clay resigns as Speaker of the Langdon Cheves, of South Carolina, CRATIC-REPUBLICAN, March 4, 1813, to mittee to investigate the Blue Lights March 3, 1817. James Madison, Virginia, President. President. Russia offers mediation between the United States and Great Britain March, 1813 United States divided into nine military districts..... .....March 19, 1813 William H. Crawford, Georgia, appointed to succeed Joel Barlow (dies Dec. 26, 1812) as minister to France.. April, 1813 General Wilkinson takes possession of the Spanish fort at Mobile.. April 15, 1813 Albert Gallatin, Pennsylvania, and James A. Bayard, Maryland, appointed as peace commissioners with John Quincy Adams at the Russian court to negotiate a peace; they sail....... ....May 9, 1813 Thirteenth Congress, first session (extra), convenes.. ....May 24, 1813 Legislature of Massachusetts remonstrates against the continuance of the war July 15, 1813 Congress authorizes the loan of $7,500000.... .Aug. 2, 1813 Congress lays a direct tax of $3,000,000; number of States, eighteen; New York assessed the most, being $430,141.62; Louisiana the least, $28,295.11..Aug. 2, 1813 First session (extra) adjourns Aug. 2, 1813 Second session convenes....Dec. 6, 1813 Embargo established by Congress until Jan. 1, 1815..... Jan. 24, 1814 President transmits to the House a report from the Secretary of War explaining the failure of the army on the northern frontier.... Feb. 2, 1814 Massachusetts forbids the confinement in her jails of persons not committed by her judicial authorities... . Feb. 7, 1814 [The object was to free herself from confining British captives.] Loan of $25,000,000 and an issue of treasury notes for $10,000,000 authorized by Congress. ....March 24, 1814 Brig. Gen. Wm. Hull is found guilty on the second and third charges, and sentenced to be shot (see Jan. 3, 1814) March 26, 1814 [This sentence was approved by the President, but the execution remitted.] Repeal of the embargo... April 14, 1814 Congress authorizes the purchase of the British vessels captured on Lake Erie, Sept. 10, 1813, for $255,000, to be distributed as prize-money among the captors; Com. Oliver H. Perry to be paid $5,000 in addition......... .. April 18, 1814 Congress authorizes the collection and preservation of flags, standards, and colors captured by the land or naval forces of the United States...... April 18, 1814 Second session adjourns.... April, 1814 American commissioners to negotiate a peace with Great Britain: John Quincy Adams and Jonathan Russell, Massachusetts; Albert Gallatin, Pennsylvania; ..Dec. 17, 1813 James A. Bayard, Delaware; and Henry Clay, Kentucky. These commissioners meet Admiral Lord Gambier, Henry Goulbourn, and William Adams, British commissioners, at Ghent, Belgium President Madison orders a general court-martial at Albany, N. Y., upon Brig.Gen. Wm. Hull for the surrender of Detroit..... ..Jan. 3, 1814 An English vessel, the Bramble, under Aug. 8, 1814 a flag of truce, arrives at Annapolis, Md., Creek Indians, by treaty, surrender a with offers of peace.... .Jan. 6, 1814 great part of their territory to the UnitCongress authorizes increasing the army ed States. .Aug. 9, 1814 to 63,000 regular troops, and five years' Banks in the District of Columbia susservice.... ...January, 1814 pend.... ....Aug. 27, 1814 Daniel Webster's first speech in the John Armstrong, Secretary of War, reHouse on the enlistment bill.Jan. 14, 1814 signs.... .Sept. 3, 1814 Nov. 6, 1814 Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, fifth Vice-President of the United States, dies at Washington, D. C., aged seventy Nov. 23, 1814 Hartford Convention meets at Hartford, Conn..... .Dec. 15, 1814 Martial law proclaimed in New Orleans by General Jackson........Dec. 15, 1814 Treaty of peace signed by the commissioners at Ghent............Dec. 24, 1814 Congress levies a direct tax of $6,000,000 (number of States, eighteen) Jan. 9, 1815 [The largest assessment, that of New York State, was $864,283.24; the smallest, of Delaware, $64,092.50.] Congress imposes duties on household furniture and on gold and silver watches Jan. 18, 1815 United States purchases Jefferson's library, consisting of about 7,000 volumes, for the use of Congress, for $23,000 Jan. 26, 1815 General Jackson, at New Orleans, is fined $1,000 for contempt of court March 31, 1815 American prisoners of war at Dartmoor, England, are fired upon by prison guards; five killed and thirty-three wounded, two mortally... ..April 6, 1815 Commodore Decatur sails from New York for Algiers with the frigates Guerrière, Macedonian, and Constellation, one sloop-of-war, four brigs, and two schooners May 19, 1815 Guerrière captures an Algerian frigate of forty-four guns off Gibraltar June 17, 1815 Bill to incorporate the Bank of the Indiana authorized by Congress to form United States is vetoed by President Madi- a constitution and State government April 19, 1816 An act for the relief of the relatives and representatives of the crew of the sloopof-war Wasp, believed to be lost, passed April 24, 1816 Act passed regulating duties on imports April 27, 1816 Congress appropriates $1,000,000 a year for eight years to increase the navy April 29, 1816 First session adjourns.... April 30, 1816 Presidential election held.. Nov. 12, 1816 Second session convenes....Dec. 2, 1816 Indiana admitted into the Union (the nineteenth State)..........Dec. 11, 1816 American Colonization Society formed in Washington, D. C......December, 1816 United States Bank begins operations January, 1817 Congress authorizes the President to employ John Trumbull, of Connecticut, to paint four scenes of the Revolution for the Capitol..... . Feb. 6, 1817 [These paintings are The Declaration of Independence; Surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga; Surrender of Cornwallis; and the Resignation of Washington at Annapolis.] Electoral vote counted.... Feb. 12, 1817 Act dividing the Mississippi territory March 1, 1817 Fourteenth Congress adjourns March 3, 1817 EIGHTH ADMINISTRATION-DEMOCRATICREPUBLICAN, March 4, 1817, to March 3, 1821. James Monroe, Virginia, President. Daniel D. Tompkins, New York, VicePresident. Indians attack a boat on the Apalachicola River, Florida, containing forty men, with women and children, killing all but six men and one woman venes.. Nov. 30, 1817 Fifteenth Congress, first session, con..Dec. 1, 1817 Mississippi (the twentieth State) admitted into the Union......Dec. 10, 1817 General Jackson takes the field against the Florida Indians........ Feb. 19, 1818 Pensions granted, $20 a month to officers and $8 a month to privates who had served nine months or more in the Continental army or navy, on proof of need March 18, 1818 Act establishing the flag of the United States: thirteen horizontal stripes, representing the original States, alternately red and white, with a white star in a blue field, for each State; approved April 4, 1818 General Jackson captures the Spanish fort of St. Marks, Fla...... April 7, 1818 An act to enable the people of Illinois to form a State government, and for the admission of such State; approved General Jackson takes possession of Pensacola.... ...May 24, 1818 Captures the fortress at Barrancas May 27, 1818 Centre foundation of the Capitol at Washington laid..........Aug. 24, 1818 Indians of Ohio cede their remaining lands (about 4,000,000 acres), mostly in the Maumee Valley.........Sept. 27, 1818 Chickasaw Indians cede all land between the Mississippi River and the northern course of the Tennessee River..1818 Treaty with England made..Oct. 20,1818 Second session convenes.. Nov. 16, 1818 Illinois admitted (the twenty-first State).. .Dec. 3, 1818 Memorial from the Territory of Missouri, asking permission to frame a State government, and for admission into the Union... .Dec. 18, 1818 Committee of five appointed by the Senate to inquire into the course of General Jackson in taking possession of Fort St. Marks and Pensacola, and in executing Arbuthnot and Ambrister Treaty with Spain concluded Feb. 22, 1819 Approved by the President. Feb. 25, 1819 [By this treaty Spain ceded to the United States all territory east of the Mississippi called east and west Florida, with adjacent islands, for $5,000,000. Not ratified by Spain until October, 1820.] Senate rejects the proviso of the House on the admission of Missouri, 31 to 7 Feb. 27, 1819 April 18, 1818 First session adjourns.. April 20, 1818 At the capture of the Spanish fort of St. Marks, Jackson secures Alexander Arbuthnot and Robert C. Ambrister, and Senate returns the bill with amendhangs them under sentence of a military ments. House adheres, 78 to 76, and the court..... .April 30, 1818 bill fails... .March 2, 1819 |