CH 10:The Jefferson Era
Main Idea:The government went through changes with the new administration. President Jefferson shrank its size and lowered taxes. The Supreme Court made several landmark decisions as the country developed. Geography continued to influence our conflicts with other countries.
- A NEW PARTY IN POWER
A. The Election of 1800
1. Jefferson and Burr beat Adams and Pinckney
2. …but Jefferson and Burr got the same number of
electoral votes.
a. The House of Reps had to break the tie
b. The 12th Amendment: President and Vice
President are now defined as they run.
B. Jefferson as President
1. Federal income would be from taxes on imports
(customs duties) and sales of land.
2. Marbury v. Madison (1803):
- Jefferson could refuse Adams’ appointments.
- Judicial review was established… the Supreme
Court could decide what was Constitutional or
not.
2. THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE
A. Westward, Ho!
1. The French Threat
a. France secretly agreed with Spain to take charge
of land west of the Mississippi River.
b. The U.S. lost the right to use the river and the
port of New Orleans as the deal was being
finalized.
2. Napoleon and Santo Domingo
a. The French had a plantation colony on Santo
Domingo fueled by slave labor.
b. Under Toussaint l’Ouverture the slaves rose up
and defeated the French colonists and soldiers.
They became the first free Black nation in the New
World. Slave owners in the U.S. were afraid.
c. Napoleon lost interest in the West and sold it…
B. An Expanding Nation
1. The Frenchsold us the Louisiana Territory for 15 million and the U.S. doubled in size immediately.
2. Lewis and Clark
a. We needed to learn about the newly acquired
land. Lewis and Clark were chosen to explore it.
b. The Expedition, 1804
1. Its goals:
a. Map for new fort locations, get plant and
animal specimens.
b. Most importantly: an all-water route to
the Pacific (The Northwest Passage)
2. They made it to the Pacific and back. The
journey inspired many people to move West.
3. Hamilton and Burr Duel1804
A. Hamilton accused Burr of treason (he had
planned for New England to secede from the
Union).
B. Burr challenged Hamilton and they met with
pistols. Hamilton died from his wound the next
day.
3. A TIME OF CONFLICT
A. American Ships on the High Seas
1. Piracy
a. The U.S. had many merchant ships trading
around the world.
b. North African “Barbary” States demanded
“protection money” from passing ships.
c. Jefferson declared war on Tripoli and won free
passage.
2. Neutral Rights
a. France and England were at war
1. They both searched U.S. merchant ships for
munitions meant for the other side (and
deserters)
2. Impressment continued
b. Trade Issues
1. The HMS Leopard stopped the USS
Chesapeake and opened fire when refused
access
2. Embargo Act (1807): banned trade to punish
England, but Jefferson blocked ALL countries.
a. done to block the black market
b. American merchants were outraged
B. War at Home and Abroad
1. War Looms, Broken Treaties
a. Seas: President Madison ended trade
restrictions but the British and French
continued to seize ships
b. The West: White settlers kept moving onto Indian land in the Ohio Valley
1. The Shawnee built up a confederacy of
warrior tribes.
2. The U.S. fought and defeated them at the
Battle of Tippecanoe
2. The War Hawks
a. Republican Congressmen from the South and West supported military spending.
b. The population’s spirit of nationalism (pride)
anddesire for revenge against England led us to declare war in 1812
4. The War of 1812
A. Defeats and Victories
1. Strengths and Weaknesses
a. American army: small and untrained
1. We had underestimated the strength of
England and Native allies.
2. We couldn’t manage an attack on Canada
b. The Navy
1. Heritage of boatbuilding led to ships like “Old
Ironsides.” Armed merchant ships captured many other British ships.
2. We won a large battle on Lake Erie,
preventing an invasion.
3. We marched on Canada and burned their
parliament
2. Defeat of the Creeks
a. General Andrew Jackson won the Battle of
Horseshoe Bend in Alabama.
b. The Creek Nation was broken militarily
B. The British Offensive
1. One Enemy
a. The British defeated France and could focus its might on the U.S.
b. In 1814 they marched on D.C. and burned the
Capitol.
c. However, they were held off in Baltimore
Harbor… our National Anthem was written
about/during the siege.
2. End of the War
a. The British were defeated in Lake Champlain as
they tried to launch an invasion.
b. The Battle of New Orleans- General Jackson was
the hero for holding off the British offensive.