Democratic-Republican Party Dbq

New England Federalists did not have any reason to trust the decisions of the Democratic-Republican party along with Thomas Jefferson or James Madison. In the years spanning from 1805-1812 the presidents belonging to this party created and passed acts and treaties that repeatedly failed and hurt the New England economy. The first plan President Jefferson tried was planned to counteract the trade restriction Britain was imposing on the United States. The United States Congress passed the Non-Importation Acts in 1806. This forbid Britain to import specific manufactured goods to the United States (Malone, Dumas). Later in 1806, President Jefferson asked James Monroe and William Pinkney to negotiate with Britain about the practice of impressment. They were able to finally reach an agreement and the treaty, “defined neutral and belligerent rights in time of war and established terms of trade between the United States and the British Empire” (Hickey 66). Jefferson was very unsettled by the treaty because it did not include clauses to completely stop the impressment. Jefferson and Congress decided to reject the treaty because it failed to include these clauses. Many criticized President Jefferson for this. …show more content…
President Madison asked Congress to declare war against Britain, but France was in the heated mix of the things. Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor, was considered “The Attila of the age” and was highly feared (Watson 8). “The initial protests against the war, particularly in New England, often expressed greater fear of a French alliance than of the war itself” (Hoey, “Federalists Opposition to the War of 1812). Many feared that going to war with Britain would throw America into a French alliance which was threatening which such a strong tyrant, Napoleon Bonaparte. This was one of the many fears among