GROWTH OF THE NATION 1800 - 40
I. Jefferson's Administrations (Third President)
A. Jefferson the Man

  1. Played the violin beautifully
  2. Composed his own epitaph - "Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of Independence, of the statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, a Father of the University of VA."

B. First Term -- Domestic Issues

  1. Jefferson's Inauguration speech, 4 March 1801, the first held at Washington, stressed the need for a government of limited powers, economy in the national administration, support of state governments in all their rights, acquiescence in majority decisions, the preservation of civil liberties, and peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none .
  2. Jefferson's Cabinet
    a. Secretary of State - James Madison (VA)
    b. Secretary of Treasury - Albert Gallatin .
  3. Changes in the Federal System
    a. Alien and Sedition Acts were not renewed and those imprisoned by them were pardoned.
    b. Military Changes
    (1) The Army was demobilized.
    (2) Naval expansion was halted and cuts were made beyond those authorized by the previous Federalist congress, although the navy was not completely dismantled.
    (3) Because proper military training was deemed essential, the Military Academy at West Point (NY) was created (formally opening on 4 July 1802).
    c. Changes in the Financial Structure
    (1) Jefferson promised to reduce the national debt, believing that a large debt was undesirable, and took steps to cut spending , reducing it from $80 to $45 million by
    (a) reducing the diplomatic corps;
    (b) reducing the tribute paid to the Barbary pirates;
    (c) curtailing elaborate parties and government receptions.
    (2) Jefferson changed the sources of revenu e when he eliminated excise taxes, a move which made him popular in the west, relying on import duties instead.
    (a) Revenue was derived also from the sale of western lands which previously had been increased to $2 per acre;
    (b) The price per acre was reduced from $2 to $1.25 with the minimum lowered from 640 to 80 acres in easy-to-pay annual installments.
    (3) Jefferson altered the appropriations system
    (a) Federalists favored general appropriations for each department, granting lump sums which department heads spent at their own discretions.
    (b) Jefferson and Gallatin shifted to a more specific appropriations system -- each Department received a designated amount for pay, upkeep, provisions, etc., which gave more authority to Congress.
    d. Changes to a simpler tone of Government
    (1) Jefferson made the government more accessible by allowing anyone to attend public government party and function.
    (2) He had his invitations addressed as "Mr. Jefferson" rather than "Mr. President."
    (3) He walked to his own inauguration.
    (4) He sent messages to Congress, giving each House a written version, (breaking the precedent established by Washington and Adams who addressed Congress in person) , a practice followed until Woodrow Wilson in 1913.
  4. Judicial Struggle
    a. Judiciary Act of 1801
    (1) The number of Supreme Court justices was reduced to five, and the number of lower courts was increased just prior to Jefferson's inauguration.
    (2) Although the action was justified, Adams exploited this for political purposes by making several midnight appointments (of Federalist judges and court officials)
    b. Marbury vs Madison February 1803
    (1) Jefferson ordered Madison to withhold from William Marbury the signed and sealed commission of his appointment by Adams as justice of the peace of the District of Colombia.
    (a) Marbury sued for a writ of mandamus to make Madison deliver his commission.
    (b) Jefferson and Madison argued that the Supreme Court did not have the authority to issue a writ of mandamus, even if Marbury were due his commission.
    (c) Marbury's suit was dismissed by Chief Justice Marshall, which avoided an open struggle with the executive branch responsible for the enforcement of the writ.
    (d) In doing so, Marshall for the first time established the principle by which the high court could hold an act of Congress unconstitutional.
    (e) Marshall ruled that Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which empowered the court to issue such a writ, was unconstitutional and invalid.
    (f) By doing so, Jefferson, not having to deliver the commission, did not challenge the court's authority to declare acts unconstitutional.
    (2) Judiciary Act of 1802 replaced the 1801 act by returning to six supreme court justices, and fixed a single annual term for the high court.

C. First Term -- Foreign Policy - Tripolitan War 1801-05

  1. The practice of paying tribute to pirates along the North African Barbary states, established by the British, was continued by Washington and Adams, to protect American shipping in the area.
  2. When the Pasha of Tripoli increased his demands for tribute and Jefferson refused, Tripoli declared war
  3. Jefferson, although opposed to a navy, decided to resist and the US navy employed a vigorous blockade which brought the war to an end.
  4. A favorable-treaty with Tripoli was signed in 1805, although the US paid tribute to other Barbary States until 1816.

D. Jefferson's Nationalism

  1. Background
    a. Jefferson, a strict constructionist, did not believe that the federal government could take certain actions without such actions being specified in the Constitution.
    b. In reality, however, it was not easy to change a previous administration completely or to alter it radically, but each succeeding president must build on previous ones.
    c. Jefferson left the basic established Federalist' precedents in tact.
    d. In fact some actions caused his nationalism to overcome his states' rights views.
  2. Louisiana Purchase 1803
    a. Background -- Treaty of San Ildefonso (October 1800)
    (1) In 1762, France had ceded Louisiana to Spain, but at Napoleon's insistence,the province was returned secretly to France after France promised not to sell the area to the US (Spain hoping to create a buffer state between its southern empire and the growing American colossus).
    (2) In an effort to keep the transfer a secret, Spain still administered the province, although the US soon learned of the transfer to France.
    (3) The US was concerned about the right of deposit in New Orleans, and the affect French control might have over the American usage of the Mississippi
    b. Negotiations for New Orleans
    (1) Robert R. Livingston , US Minister to France, was instructed by Jefferson to negotiate for a tract of land to use for a port or to obtain an irrevocable right of free navigation and the right of deposit in New Orleans.
    (2) James Monroe joined the negotiations (January 1803) with authority to offer $2 million for West Florida and New Orleans (as agreed by Congress) and if needed, as much as $10 million
    (3) A serious slave revolt in Haiti and the resumption of hostilities with Great Britain, for which France needed cash, led Napoleon to abandon his hopes of a renewed New World empire and offer to sell the US the entire province.
    (4) When the American envoys agreed to a price of $11,250,000 plus the settlement of $3,750,000 owed by France to US citizens for the entire province, they exceeded their instructions.
    c. Result
    (1) The purchase of Louisiana doubled the area of the US with a tract of 828,000 square miles (140% over the area of the 13 original states) between the Mississippi and Rocky Mountains, although exact boundaries were not defined between Spanish territory and Louisiana;
    (2) Because the Constitution made no provision for purchasing and assimilating foreign territory, this issue perplexed Jefferson, who in principle was a strict constructionist, but adopted a broad view here, while Federalists, normally more broad, took a strict interpretive view;
    (3) The Senate approved the treaty by a vote of 24-7 (20 October 1800);
    (4) C.C. Claiborne was named territorial governor;
    (5) Louisiana (1812) became the first state to come out of the Louisiana Purchase.
    d. Its exploration -- Lewis and Clark Expedition
    (1) Jefferson commissioned an expedition by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to cultivate friendly relations with the Indians and to search for a water route to the Pacific.
    (2) They left St. Louis on 14 May 1804 and returned in September 1806, proving the feasibility of an overland route to the Far West and stimulating Western settlement and commerce.

E. Northern Confederacy Scheme 1803-04 -- the Essex Junto

  1. Many Federalists feared that states carved from the Western territories would eventually alter the political power balance in Congress, allowing Southwestern agrarian and frontier interests to rise over northeastern commercial and industrial interests.
  2. Some anti-French Federalists, led by Senator Timothy Pickering (Mass) [called the Essex Junto ] considered establishing a Northern Confederacy of five New England states, NY and NJ.
  3. The plan hinged on Burr's election as governor of New York, but Hamilton's opposition to the plan and to Burr's election resulted in his defeat for Governor in April.
  4. As a result of remarks allegedly made by Hamilton against Burr (described as "a dangerous man, and one who ought not to be trusted with the reins of government"), Burr demanded an explanation from Hamilton which led to a duel in July 1804.
  5. Burr-Hamilton Duel 11 July 1804 In Weehawken, NJ
    a. Although Hamilton did not believe in dueling, he believed that the government would collapse under the leadership of Jefferson and the nation would turn to a strong man to save it, as France had turned to Napoleon Bonaparte.
    b. Wanting to be the strong man, Hamilton, not wanting to appear cowardly, agreed to duel
    c. Although Hamilton deliberately missed, desiring honor not harm, Burr's aim was on the mark and Hamilton was mortally wounded, dying several hours later.
  6. The Burr-Pickering alliance disintegrated completely when Burr fled.

F. Impeachment of Pickering and Chase 1804

  1. Jefferson's struggle with the Federalist judiciary led to the impeachment and removal of Judge John Pickering, Federal district judge in New Hampshire, as unfit, and to the impeachment but acquittal of Judge Samuel Chase from Maryland.
  2. This last attempt backfired and the Republicans stopped their campaign against Federalist judges, proving that unpopular judges cannot be removed for unsound reasons.

G. Election of 1804 -- first with separate ballots for President and Vice-President under Amendment 12

  1. Candidates
    a. Republicans used for the first time a regular caucus of members of Congress.
    (1) Jefferson, popular after the Louisiana Purchase, was unanimously nominated for reelection
    (2) The tie between Burr and Jefferson had tainted Burr with Jefferson's supporters who then nominated George Clinton (NY) for vice-president.
    b. Federalists, still strong in New England and having lost their leading candidate, Hamilton, nominated Charles Cotesworth Pinckney for president.
  2. Results
    a. Jefferson received 162 of 176 electoral votes, carrying all of New England except CN
    b. Vice President - George Clinton 162, Rufus King 14.

H. Jefferson's Second Term 1805-08 -- Domestic Issues

  1. National Road (or Cumberland Highway ) Constructed 1811-18
    a. Because internal improvements were not authorized in the constitution, who should pay for them, public funds of the state or Federal government or private investment.
    b. Although Jefferson would have preferred a constitutional amendment to settle the issue, because this Congressional authority was not specified in the Constitution, he knew he would not get one and therefore supported such a project.
    c. Congress eventually authorized funding for a road beginning in western MD through southern PA to Wheeling (in Western) VA across the Appalachians, eventually extending through OH and IL.
    d. Additional Exploration -- LT Zebulon M. Pike explored for the sources of the Mississippi, and later explored Colorado and New Mexico, sighting a peak 15 November 1807 that bears his name.
  2. Burr "Conspiracy" and Trial 1804-07
    a. His political career, having ended after his defeat for NY governor and the death of Hamilton, Burr approached Anthony Merry , British Minister to the US, seeking $500,000 and the loan of a navy to work to separate the Western states from the US.
    b. Although the British never did fund him, the Spanish gave him a small amount.
    c. Burr, conferring with Gen James Wilkinson , commander of US forces in the Mississippi Valley and Governor of LA, organized a military expedition in OH (60-80 men) before leaving for TN
    d. Wilkinson warned Jefferson who issued a proclamation advising citizens not to participate in an illegal expedition against Spanish territory.
    e. As the expedition moved down the Mississippi, Burr learned that Wilkinson had betrayed him and tried to flee to Spanish Florida before being arrested in Alabama.
    f. Although originally held for organizing an illegal expedition against Spanish territory, he was indicted for treason, but Chief Justice Marshall's definition of treason was so strict that Burr received an acquittal.
    g. Burr went into exile in Europe, supporting various schemes, to escape prosecution for murder in NY and NJ (where dueling was illegal) and for treason in OH, KY, MS and LA.
    h. He returned to New York and practiced law until his death in 1838.
  3. African Slave Trade Ban (1808)
    a. The Constitution forbade interference with the slave trade for twenty years.
    b. Jefferson recommended that Congress stop the importation of slaves into the US.
    c. Congress forbade the bringing in of slaves into the US after 1 January 1808.

I. Second Term -- Foreign Policy -- Continued Problems with Britain and France

  1. Problems with France
    a. Resumption of the Napoleonic Wars 1803
    (1) Napoleon emerged supreme on the Continent of Europe but not at sea.
    (2) Britain's overwhelming naval superiority made its interference with US commerce the more serious violation of neutral rights.
    (3) Both sides tried to restrict trade with the other by neutral nations.
    b. French Actions Against Neutral Nations
    (1) France's Berlin-Milan Decrees (1805) closed all European ports to trade with Britain.
    (2) French privateers began to seize all ships bound for England.
  2. Problems with Britain
    a. British Counter Measures
    (1) Between 1804-05, Britain's West Indian policy was designed to destroy neutral commerce with French and Spanish colonies in America that furnished staples to Napoleon's army.
    (2) Britain countered French decrees with Orders in Council , blockading all trade with France or its allies, closing all ports not open to the British flag.
    (3) Britain began to seize any ships headed for French ports, forcing American ships into British ports, where both ships and cargo were sometimes seized.