1. The Jefferson Era

2. Election of 1800 In the election of 1800:
Federalists: John Adams & Thomas Pinckney
Democratic-Republicans: Thomas Jefferson & Aaron Burr
Jefferson and Burr tied with 73 electoral votes each. In the case of a tie, Congress decides the winner.
Alexander Hamilton encouraged Congress to vote against Burr. Jefferson won, Burr was Vice- President.
Shortly after this election, the 12th amendment required that president and vice-president run on the same party ballots.
Aaron Burr believed that Hamilton stole his victory.

3. Less Federal Government
Thomas Jefferson drastically reduced the power and size of the government. He believed in a laissez-faire style of government (let the people do as they choose.)
He felt the nation should be made up of small, independent farmers.
Under Jefferson, the government ended the unpopular Alien & Sedition Acts.
He also reduced the federal debt by cutting the army by 1/3 and the navy from 25 to 7 ships.
He also repealed the whiskey tax. He only taxed imports.
Jefferson believed the federal government should be limited to the following jobs:
Deliver the mail
Collect customs duties
Conduct a census every ten years

4. Judicial Review
The Judiciary Act of 1801 was passed by the Federalists before Jefferson took office. Adams appointed many Federalist judges, including John Marshall as the new chief justice of the Supreme Court, in order to shut Jefferson out.
William Marbury’s commission was not delivered on time. He took his case to the Supreme Court.
In the case of Marbury v. Madison, John Marshall ruled that the Congress had overstepped its authority.
He extended the power of the Supreme Court at the expense of the states when he established three principles of judicial review:
Constitution is the supreme law of the land
In conflicts with any other laws, the Constitution wins
The job of the Judicial Branch is to uphold the Constitution

5. There’s More Land out There
1803
During the early 1800s, many settlers loaded everything they had into Conestoga wagons (especially their rifles and axes) and headed west.
For these settlers, the Mississippi River and New Orleans were vital for shipping goods.
In 1802, Spain denied Americans access to these resources.
In a secret agreement, Spain gave the Louisiana Territory back to France. Napoleon was trying to establish an empire in Europe.
Thomas Jefferson was worried and sent Robert Livingston to France to offer $10 million for New Orleans. Napoleon countered with $15 million for all of Louisiana. This was too good to pass up.
Jefferson wasn’t sure, because the Constitution didn’t say anything about purchasing land from other countries.
But he was so excited about land for farmers, he found a loophole allowing for treaties.
In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was done and it immediately doubled the size of the U.S.

7. Lewis and Clark
Jefferson wanted to know more about Louisiana. He assigned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to assemble a crew in They were later joined by a Shoshone woman named Sacagawea.
The expedition left from St. Louis with these goals:
Find a water route that stretched across the continent
Establish good relations with Native Americans
Describe the plants, animals, and landscape they saw
After Lewis and Clark returned from their journey, many settlers were eager to move west.

8. Not a Bowl of Cherries
Zebulon Pike was sent to explore the Southern half of the Louisiana Purchase.
He searched for the source of the Arkansas and Red Rivers. He was captured by Spain after ending up at the Rio Grande. On his way back through the Great Plains, he described the area as a desert.
Many Federalists disagreed with the LA Purchase. They, along with Aaron Burr, threatened to secede.
Hamilton had never trusted Burr and was now worried about secession. When Burr lost his bid for NY governor, he blamed Hamilton.
Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel in 1804 where he shot and killed Hamilton.

9. Some good… some bad
There were three long-lasting effects of Lewis & Clark and Pike’s exploration:
Accurate Maps: Lewis & Clark created more accurate maps that helped settlers move west.
Growth of the Fur Trade: Boosted interest. Hunters and trappers added to knowledge.
Mistaken View of the Great Plains: Pike said that because there were no trees, it was a desert and useless to farmers.

10. Will problems with Britain ever end?
Jefferson easily won re-election in The country was doing well. But trade required free sailing.
When Britain and France went to war in 1803, they soon lost patience with American neutrality. They began to stop and search American ships.
Britain desperately needed sailors for its navy. They claimed the right to search for deserters. Some of the sailors they took were deserters, but most of them were American citizens. This was called impressment.
British ships would wait for American ships outside of ports. They attacked the Chesapeake after the captain refused to allow them to search his ship. The British killed three sailors and wounded 18.

11. Itching for a fight
Americans were outraged with Britain. They urged Jefferson to declare war. Jefferson decided to fight back- but not with war.
He passed the Embargo Act of This banned imports and exports to and from ALL foreign countries. He hoped to hurt Britain financially.
The results were disastrous. Britain traded with other countries, while Americans suffered financially.
The act was soon repealed and replaced with another act that only prohibited trade with Britain and France.
Jefferson decided to leave office after two terms. James Madison was elected president in 1808.
Madison said he would trade with whichever country stopped interfering with trade. Napoleon agreed first, but he lied.
Americans were angry. But they didn’t know who to go to war against: Britain or France?