Chapter Nineteen: King Of The World
Chapter Nineteen: King Of The World
By 1804, the United States had just recovered from the Frano-American War that ended just two years earlier. It had just paid off much of its war debt to Britain and negotiated the remainder. It gained Upper Louisiana, but unlike their southern counterparts, the government of the United States wasn't interested in exploring and settling this land beyond the Mississippi River. While there were some on the frontier who were interested in this endeavor, they only numbered a minority nationwide. Regardless, there was something of an era of good feelings at the time caused by American victory in the Franco-American War.
Heading into the Election of 1804, there were numerous territorial changes. The southern half of Northwest Territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio on March 1, 1803. The remainder of the Northwest Territory was transferred to Indiana Territory. The northern border was disputed. The federal definition of the northern border was a line drawn east from the southern tip of Lake Michigan, whereas the Ohio Constitution stated the line should run from the southern tip of Lake Michigan to the western tip of Lake Erie. The confusion over the definitions eventually led to the Ohio-Michigan War 30 years later. Over one year later, Upper Louisiana became designated as the District of Missouri, placed under the jurisdiction of Indiana Territory.
The February 1804 Republican congressional nominating caucus not-so-secretly selected the pair of nominees. Unlike the previous election, the nominating caucus did not meet in secret. Aaron Burr’s nomination was likely, and he, along with. Governor George Clinton of New York was chosen. The Federalist Congressional leaders informally agreed to nominate former Senator and Minister to Britain, Rufus King of New York along with John Jay. They wanted to replicate Adam’s legacy as perfectly as possible and they hoped this would do the trick. Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton's death in July 1804 following his duel with Aaron Burr damaged the latter’s hopes of winning the electoral college, especially in New England and the credibility of the Republican Party as a whole. They attacked the acceptance of Upper Louisiana against those who preached while simultaneously preaching against expansion and big levels of government spending. King’s and Jay’s victory in the Electoral College, during the vote on December 5, 1804, was massive, winning all the states but Kentucky and North Virginia (and some electoral votes from Maryland). While criticism in those two states was expected and prominently visible, they didn’t dare utter a word, remembering what happened last time.
The inauguration of the new president was by the books, and not in a good way. King rode to the Capitol in Philadelphia on horseback on March 4, 1805, dressed in a fine black suit, but most of the crowd had already departed following Adam’s farewell speech. As a result, the inaugural ceremony was modest and appeared anticlimactic. In his speech, he addressed the recent annexation of Upper Louisiana (now Missouri), the Republicans’' diminishing influence and the need for centralization of the press. The reception to the speech was slightly above average. One of the first things he did was restore much of Adam’s early cabinet, including Thomas Pickering, James McHenry, and Oliver Wolcott Jr. as the respective Secretaries of State, War, and the Treasury. The remaining two positions were being rotated in and out with unremarkable and incompetent politicians and were chosen for the purposes of national interest and partisan interest.
After Napoleon's decisive victory at the 1805 Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, Napoleon became more aggressive in his negotiations over trading rights. Across the border, Jefferson then led the enactment of the Embargo Act of 1807, directed at both France and Great Britain. This triggered economic chaos on the entire continent and was criticized by Rufus himself plus the leaders of Britain and France for “violating the protocol set by the Treaty of Ghent by not remaining neutral to intercontinental affairs involving international powers.” Jefferson defended himself by saying that because Britain and France were targeted equally, the SAC did not become belligerent in the affair. Regardless, the Act was abandoned one year later. Domestically, in 1808, King proposed a broad Federal plan to build roads and canals in several states, asking for $20 million, alarming Republicans like Maidson but received near-universal praise among the Federalist majority. He additionally scaled back laws that would’ve gradually given more voting rights to the common white man. This was by far his least popular action and may have cost him re-election on that alone if he ruffled enough feathers and played his cards wrong.
King’s most famous action during his presidency was criminalizing the international slave trade in the USA. King had a long history of opposition to the expansion of slavery and the slave trade. This was both a product of moral conviction combined with New England federalism. As a Congressman, he successfully added provisions to the 1787 Northwest Ordinance which barred the extension of slavery into the borders of the Northwest Territory. During the revolution, the states abolished the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, but South Carolina of the Southern Confederation reopened it after the war, importing more slaves in the last two decades of the 18th century and the first two decades of the 19th century than any other time in its history. His crusade against the slave trade culminated in December 1806, King denounced the "violations of human rights" of the international slave trade, calling on the newly elected Congress to ban it immediately. In 1807, Congress passed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, which King gleefully signed. The act established severe punishment against the international slave trade, including smuggling slaves from across its southern border. It also began the process of formally recognizing Haiti, who indirectly helped the slave independence movement resulting in Napoleon's defeat there in 1803. This would all be effective on January 1, 1808. All of this enraged his southern brethren who were determined to keep their economic status quo, even if it meant importing more slaves to the Americas.
Oddly, Rufus King’s legacy was decidedly mixed. On one hand, he got as much done on his agenda as any other president could have, if not more. On the other hand, he was less remembered than either Washington or Adams before him, in large part from not being remembered from the American Revolution and overshadowed by them at the Constitutional Convention. He was seen as just a face in the crowd compared to the others at the time. Time itself would eventually favor Rutfs King, especially after his death in 1827.
By 1804, the United States had just recovered from the Frano-American War that ended just two years earlier. It had just paid off much of its war debt to Britain and negotiated the remainder. It gained Upper Louisiana, but unlike their southern counterparts, the government of the United States wasn't interested in exploring and settling this land beyond the Mississippi River. While there were some on the frontier who were interested in this endeavor, they only numbered a minority nationwide. Regardless, there was something of an era of good feelings at the time caused by American victory in the Franco-American War.
Heading into the Election of 1804, there were numerous territorial changes. The southern half of Northwest Territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio on March 1, 1803. The remainder of the Northwest Territory was transferred to Indiana Territory. The northern border was disputed. The federal definition of the northern border was a line drawn east from the southern tip of Lake Michigan, whereas the Ohio Constitution stated the line should run from the southern tip of Lake Michigan to the western tip of Lake Erie. The confusion over the definitions eventually led to the Ohio-Michigan War 30 years later. Over one year later, Upper Louisiana became designated as the District of Missouri, placed under the jurisdiction of Indiana Territory.
The February 1804 Republican congressional nominating caucus not-so-secretly selected the pair of nominees. Unlike the previous election, the nominating caucus did not meet in secret. Aaron Burr’s nomination was likely, and he, along with. Governor George Clinton of New York was chosen. The Federalist Congressional leaders informally agreed to nominate former Senator and Minister to Britain, Rufus King of New York along with John Jay. They wanted to replicate Adam’s legacy as perfectly as possible and they hoped this would do the trick. Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton's death in July 1804 following his duel with Aaron Burr damaged the latter’s hopes of winning the electoral college, especially in New England and the credibility of the Republican Party as a whole. They attacked the acceptance of Upper Louisiana against those who preached while simultaneously preaching against expansion and big levels of government spending. King’s and Jay’s victory in the Electoral College, during the vote on December 5, 1804, was massive, winning all the states but Kentucky and North Virginia (and some electoral votes from Maryland). While criticism in those two states was expected and prominently visible, they didn’t dare utter a word, remembering what happened last time.
The inauguration of the new president was by the books, and not in a good way. King rode to the Capitol in Philadelphia on horseback on March 4, 1805, dressed in a fine black suit, but most of the crowd had already departed following Adam’s farewell speech. As a result, the inaugural ceremony was modest and appeared anticlimactic. In his speech, he addressed the recent annexation of Upper Louisiana (now Missouri), the Republicans’' diminishing influence and the need for centralization of the press. The reception to the speech was slightly above average. One of the first things he did was restore much of Adam’s early cabinet, including Thomas Pickering, James McHenry, and Oliver Wolcott Jr. as the respective Secretaries of State, War, and the Treasury. The remaining two positions were being rotated in and out with unremarkable and incompetent politicians and were chosen for the purposes of national interest and partisan interest.
After Napoleon's decisive victory at the 1805 Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, Napoleon became more aggressive in his negotiations over trading rights. Across the border, Jefferson then led the enactment of the Embargo Act of 1807, directed at both France and Great Britain. This triggered economic chaos on the entire continent and was criticized by Rufus himself plus the leaders of Britain and France for “violating the protocol set by the Treaty of Ghent by not remaining neutral to intercontinental affairs involving international powers.” Jefferson defended himself by saying that because Britain and France were targeted equally, the SAC did not become belligerent in the affair. Regardless, the Act was abandoned one year later. Domestically, in 1808, King proposed a broad Federal plan to build roads and canals in several states, asking for $20 million, alarming Republicans like Maidson but received near-universal praise among the Federalist majority. He additionally scaled back laws that would’ve gradually given more voting rights to the common white man. This was by far his least popular action and may have cost him re-election on that alone if he ruffled enough feathers and played his cards wrong.
King’s most famous action during his presidency was criminalizing the international slave trade in the USA. King had a long history of opposition to the expansion of slavery and the slave trade. This was both a product of moral conviction combined with New England federalism. As a Congressman, he successfully added provisions to the 1787 Northwest Ordinance which barred the extension of slavery into the borders of the Northwest Territory. During the revolution, the states abolished the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, but South Carolina of the Southern Confederation reopened it after the war, importing more slaves in the last two decades of the 18th century and the first two decades of the 19th century than any other time in its history. His crusade against the slave trade culminated in December 1806, King denounced the "violations of human rights" of the international slave trade, calling on the newly elected Congress to ban it immediately. In 1807, Congress passed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, which King gleefully signed. The act established severe punishment against the international slave trade, including smuggling slaves from across its southern border. It also began the process of formally recognizing Haiti, who indirectly helped the slave independence movement resulting in Napoleon's defeat there in 1803. This would all be effective on January 1, 1808. All of this enraged his southern brethren who were determined to keep their economic status quo, even if it meant importing more slaves to the Americas.
Oddly, Rufus King’s legacy was decidedly mixed. On one hand, he got as much done on his agenda as any other president could have, if not more. On the other hand, he was less remembered than either Washington or Adams before him, in large part from not being remembered from the American Revolution and overshadowed by them at the Constitutional Convention. He was seen as just a face in the crowd compared to the others at the time. Time itself would eventually favor Rutfs King, especially after his death in 1827.