Study Guide

Age of Jefferson and the War of 1812

Chapter 6, Section 4 & Chapter 7, Sections 1-4

The Age of Jefferson (1800-1824)

Facts about Thomas Jefferson:

1.  Jefferson became the 3rd U.S. President in the Election of 1800

2.  Allowed the Alien and Sedition Acts to expire

3.  Repealed the Whiskey Tax and the Property Tax

4.  Cut the number of federal officials (government jobs)

5.  Reduced the budget and size of the army and navy

6.  Cut the national debt by 1/3 over a period of 8 years

7.  Repealed the Naturalization Act making it possible for foreigners to apply for U.S. citizenship after living in the U.S. for 5 years.

8.  Founder and designer of the University of Virginia

Election of 1800 (November)

·  2 Political Parties: Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party

·  Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson defeated Federalist John Adams and became the third President of the United States

Supreme Court Case: Marbury v. Madison

·  Congress and President Adams passed the Judiciary Act of 1801 just before leaving office.

·  This act created 16 new positions in the judicial branch.

·  The 16 new judges were known as the “midnight judges”.

·  The act also reduced the number of Supreme Court Justices from 6 to 5 upon the next vacancy.

What Happened

·  William Marbury, one of the 16 “midnight judges”, was nominated by President Adams only two days before Jefferson took office.

·  Jefferson’s Secretary of State, James Madison, refused to deliver Marbury’s commission.

·  Marbury sued Madison and the case went to the Supreme Court.

In 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall and the Supreme Court ruled that the law Marbury based his case on was unconstitutional.

·  The Supreme Court gains authority

·  This is the first time the Supreme Court declares an act (law) of Congress to be unconstitutional. This became known as the power of judicial review.

·  Judicial Review is the right of the Supreme Court to declare an act of Congress to be unconstitutional.

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

·  Having France as a western neighbor worried many Americans

·  President Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to France to purchase New Orleans

·  The United States and President Thomas Jefferson bought the entire Louisiana Territory from Napoleon and France for 15 million dollars.

·  The Louisiana Territory doubled the size of the U.S.A.

French Dictator Napoleon and the Louisiana Territory

·  Napoleon gained control of the Louisiana Territory from Spain. .

·  Napoleon dreamed of reestablishing a French empire in North America

What ended Napoleon's dream of building an empire in the West?

Why did Napoleon sell the Louisiana Territory?

1.  He needed money to fight the war in Europe.

2.  A slave revolt on the French island colony of Haiti, led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, made it impossible to use as a base for supplying troops in North America

3.  **His inability to re-conquer the Sugar Island of Haiti. He lost 25,000 men.

Lewis and Clark

·  Followed the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean.

·  Collected information on the plants, animals, and native Americans. Drew maps of the rivers and geography.

·  In May of 1804, Lewis and Clark and 43 members of the Corps of Discovery left St. Louis and moved west on the Missouri River.

·  An Indian woman named Sacajawea guided the expedition.

Other Explorers

Zebulon Pike was also given permission to explore territory in the Southwest.

He explored the Missouri, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Rio Grande Rivers.

The Burr Conspiracy

·  Aaron Burr had a plan to take over the Louisiana Territory

·  Contacted the Territorial Governor, Wilkinson with a plan to take the Louisiana Territory from the U.S.

·  Governor Wilkinson told President Jefferson of Burr’s plan

·  Jefferson had Burr arrested and charged with treason

·  Burr fled to Europe

The Barbary States of North Africa

·  The Barbary States of North Africa are Tunisia, Tripoli, Morocco, and Algiers

·  U.S. ships had to pay a tribute (money) to these states so U.S. ships would not be attacked.

·  Tripoli demanded more money and the U.S. refused to pay

·  President Jefferson sent warships into the Mediterranean to protect U.S. ships

·  Tripoli captured the U.S.S. Philadelphia

·  Tripoli and the U.S. went to war

·  Stephen Decatur led 80 marines into the harbor at Tripoli to destroy the Philadelphia, preventing Tripoli from using the ship against the U.S.

·  The U.S. and Tripoli eventually signed a treaty and the U.S. no longer paid a tribute

Britain vs. France and the Effect on the U.S.A.

1.  Economic Warfare - France and Britain both tried to destroy the other’s economy by using a naval blockade to intercept any trade ships. **No neutral trade!

2.  Effect on the U.S.A. - Britain seized (captured) our ships and impressed our sailors. (Took them off the ship and forced them to serve in the British navy.)

·  Embargo Act of 1807 - 1809 - No U.S. ship can trade with any foreign country. This act hurt the U.S. economy more than the economies of France and Britain. Unpopular in America!

·  In 1809, Jefferson replaced the Embargo Act with the Non-intercourse Act that said there could be no trade with Britain or France.

President Madison and the Drift toward the War of 1812

·  The U.S. Congress declared war on Britain in 1812

·  "Warhawks" (those who wanted war) were led by John C. Calhoun of South Carolina and Henry Clay of Kentucky.

Causes of the War of 1812:

U.S. v. British and Indians

1.  Britain's seizure of American ships and impressment of American sailors.

2.  American resentment of Britain dating back to the Revolutionary War.

3.  The American belief that the British in Canada were arming the Indians and inciting them to raid American settlements.

4.  American ambition to annex (take or add) Canada and Florida to the United States.

Military Events of the War of 1812

1.  Fort McHenry at Baltimore - Fort McHenry withstood the British bombardment inspiring Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner.

2.  Battle of New Orleans:

·  The British marched on New Orleans to try and take away the port city

·  The British suffered over 2,000 casualties

·  American forces under Andrew Jackson won the greatest victory of the war.

·  Andrew Jackson became a national hero and later, President of the U.S.

Note: Before the Battle of New Orleans, a peace treaty had been signed in

Europe which ended the War of 1812, however, due to slow methods of

communication, the news of the treaty had not yet reached the

American and British armies.

3.  General William Henry Harrison defeated the British and their Indian Allies led by Tecumseh. Tecumseh was killed and without him the Indian Confederacy collapsed. Indian tribes began to abandon the British.

4.  Treaty of Ghent (1814) was signed in Ghent, Belgium. The treaty re-established the pre-war boundary of the United States and Canada.

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