The Age of Jefferson 1801-1809

A. Mr. Jefferson as President

Political Beliefs “The government that governs least, governs best” Believed in states rights, not a strong national government U.S. should be an agrarian republic People shouldn’t be dependent on others for their livelihood Wanted to mend political rifts “We are all Federalists, we are all Republicans”

Changes to the office of President Presidential Messages ended Woodrow Wilson next Pres to give addresses Alien and Sedition Acts Reversal Most had expired, but reversed residency requirements & pardoned those convicted Excise Taxes Repealed them The Army, Navy, & Govt Reduced them The White House 1st to live there

Things that remained the same Dealing with the debt Kept Hamilton’s plans in place to pay off the debt Reduced the debt from $87 million to $50 million Tariffs The Bank of the United States

B. John Marshall & the Supreme Court

John Marshall Became Supreme Court Chief Justice in 1801 Appointed by J. Adams Held the position for 34 years Worked to establish the powers of the Judicial Branch Judicial Review

Judiciary Act of 1801 Passed by the Federalists to maintain control over the Judicial Branch 19 days before Adams left office Created new Judgeships and other positions Adams rushed to fill the positions “Midnight Judges” – men who were last minute (literally) appointments by Adams

Marbury v. Madison (1803) William Marbury was one of the Midnight Judges (3/3/01) His commission was supposed to be delivered by the new Secretary of State James Madison Jefferson & Madison were angry about the Midnight Judges Madison refuses to deliver the commission Marbury sues Madison for his job Case goes to the Supreme Court Marshall makes the decision Marbury was entitled to the position, but the Court did not have the power to force Madison to deliver the commission Found parts of the Judiciary Act 1789 unconstitutional

Judicial Review Concept established by the Marbury v. Madison case The Courts have the power to decide the constitutionality of a law Constitutionality is whether or not a law violates the Constitution If it does, it is not a valid law

Samuel Chase An associate justice of the Supreme Court Was a Federalist Jefferson & D-Rs wanted to gain more power in the Judicial Branch Tried to impeach him for his biased opinions Failed – he hadn’t committed any crimes Reassured the independence of the Judicial Branch

C. The Louisiana Purchase (1803)

Louisiana is returned to the French Treaty of San Ildefonso (1800) returned Louisiana to the French American access to New Orleans is put into jeopardy

Napoleon wants to sell Louisiana Failed to regain control of Haiti Wanted to concentrate on Europe

U.S. reasons for Purchasing Wanted to have access to New Orleans Jefferson’s agrarian society needed room for expansion James Monroe sent to Paris to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans Was offered all of Louisiana

The Purchase Problem for Jefferson: Was this constitutional? Federalists argue no, D-R argue yes U.S. paid $15 million for 828,000 square miles

Lewis and Clark (1804-1806) Meriwether Lewis and William Clark sent to explore the territory Sacagawea helped

D. Foreign Relations under Jefferson

Tripolitan War (a.k.a. Barbary War) (1801 – 1805) Barbary States (Algiers, Tripoli, Tunis, & Morocco) Blackmailed countries to pay a tribute for protection from pirates Jefferson refused to continue paying the tribute Pasha of Tripoli declared war Jefferson orders the navy to defend American ships in the Mediterranean Battles ensue Inconclusive results: Barbary states sued for peace U.S. would still pay a tribute for protection U.S. showed military strength

Dealing with the Napoleonic Wars Fighting continues between France & Britain Both sides want to end trade between the U.S. & their enemy: Blockades created France continued seizing American ships Britain continued seizing Britain Impressed American sailors into the British navy British sailors began to desert the Royal Navy for American merchant ships

Chesapeake-Leopard Affair June 22, 1807 HMS Leopard demanded to board the USS Chesapeake to search for deserters Chesapeake refused Leopard fired on the Chesapeake and boarded anyways 3 Americans died Jefferson’s Response: - Forbade Br. ships to dock in American ports. - Ordered state governors to call up as much as 100,000 militiamen.

Embargo Act (1807) Passed in response to Chesapeake-Leopard affair Ended all exports from the United States to foreign nations Passed to pressure Britain and France to recognize American neutrality Problem: It hurt the U.S. more Exports dropped by 80% by 1808 1807: Exports worth $108 million 1808: Exports worth $22 million

Embargo Act (1807) Country thrown into a depression New England hurt the most South & West had crops that piled up Smuggling became common Enforcement was difficult Jefferson had Congress pass harsh enforcement laws Very costly to enforce Congress repealed the Act 3 days before Jefferson left office

Non-Intercourse Act (1809) Replaced the Embargo Act Forbid the export of goods with only Britain and France Remained U. S. policy until 1812 Unexpected Consequences: N. Eng. was forced to become self-sufficient again [old factories reopened] Laid the groundwork for US industrial power Jefferson, a critic of an industrial America, ironically contributed to Hamilton’s view of the US