Chapter 11 The Triumphs and Travails of the Jeffersonian Republic, 1800 1812
I. Federalist and Republican Mudslingers Federalist were split into two factions, the Adams faction that had become unpopular because it choose not to go to war with France. It ran up a large public debt planning for war. The Hamilton faction was busy doing everything it could to shoot down the Adams Presidency. The Federalist were busy working to destroy Jefferson with rumors about taking money from a widow and her children and having fathered children with his slave Sally Hemings. (DNA testing has now proved this to be true)
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II. The Jeffersonian Revolution of 1800 Jefferson won the majority of the electoral votes 73-65. Jefferson and his vice-presidential running mate end up with the same amount of votes and the election was thrown into the House of Representative who were still controlled by lame duck Federalist who preferred Aaron Burr over Jefferson. They finally gave in and Jefferson was declared the winner. The Revolution was the fact that there was a peaceful transition of power from the Federalist to the Democratic- Republicans, in most cases in the world at this time a transition like this would have meant some type of bloodshed or war.
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III. Responsibility Breeds Moderation Jefferson in his inaugural address tried to ease Federalist fears made the statement We are all Republicans, we are all Federalist. He did not replace all public servants with his own followers. He was best in small settings like dinner parties where he could work the room. He was not as radical as some had thought he might be when it came to changing the government.
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IV. Jeffersonian Restraint Jefferson showed much restraint in only undoing a few of the Federalist laws. He reduced the time it took to become a citizen from 14 back to 5 years. He also repealed the excise tax that had been championed by Hamilton. With the exception of these two laws, he for the most part left other legislation alone.
V. The Dead Clutch of the Judiciary The Judiciary Act of 1801 was one of the last important laws passed by the expiring Federal Congress. It created 16 new federal judgeships. Jefferson s followers were upset that Adams would appoint Federalist to these lifetime positions. The Republicans would do away with this law. In the case Marbury vs. Madison Chief Justice John Marshall was able to establish the precedent of judicial review. This would allow the Supreme Court to be the branch that would determine whether a law was constitution or not. It would not be decided by the states.
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VI. Jefferson, a Reluctant Warrior When he was elected President Jefferson went about reducing the size of our military. He was fearful that a large military might lead to a dictatorship. He was forced to change his policy when pirates from the North African Barbary States attacked American merchant ships. He sent our navy to defend our merchant ships and was able to win concessions from the attackers from Tripoli. He would come to use the small gunboat that were successful as a part of our Navy.
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VII. The Louisiana Godsend In 1803 Jefferson sends James Monroe and Robert Livingston to France to inquire about purchasing New Orleans. He wanted to keep it out of the hands of the French because he feared Napoleon would be a problem. Napoleon countered by offering to sell all of Louisiana for 15 million dollars. He did this after loosing thousands of troops in Haiti. He wanted to use the money for his plan for Europe. Jefferson approved the deal but he thought that it violated the Constitution. We acquired 828,000 square mile of land for about three cents an acre.
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VIII. Louisiana in the Long View With the Louisiana Purchase America secured the western half of the richest valley in the world and they did it without firing one shot. It also allowed America to not have to deal with foreign entanglements from Europe. It removed the last of the European holding in what would become American soil. Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase. There two and a half year exploration gave us valuable information about what we had acquired.
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IX. The Aaron Burr Conspiracies Aaron Burr Jefferson s first Vice-President who was dropped from the second term ticket plotted with Federalist to try and get New York and the New England states to secede from the Union. Hamilton exposed the plot and was challenged to a duel with Burr. Hamilton met Burr but chose not to fire his gun. Burr hit Hamilton with one shot and killed him. Burr also tried to acquire parts on the Louisiana Purchase but was foiled in his attempts. He was later tried for treason but was acquitted and fled to Europe.
X. A Precarious Neutrality Jefferson wanted to avoid taking side in any conflict between France and Britain. Britain ruled the seas and Napoleon ruled the land in Europe. Under the Orders in Council it made it hard for American merchants to do business with Europe at all. Another problem was the British practice of Impressment or the forcible enlistment of sailors by the British Navy. 6000 US citizens were forced to serve under this program between 1808 to 1811. In the Chesapeake affair a US ship was attacked by the British and forced to limp back to port after being fired on and boarded by the British ship. This could have been grounds for war had Jefferson wanted it.
XI. The Hated Embargo Jefferson in an attempt to force both Britain and France into peaceful coercion set up an embargo in 1807. This Embargo Act he hoped would force those powers into respecting the rights of neutral nations. It failed on a grand scale. Both countries found resources elsewhere and all it did was cause hardship at home for our own economy. Congress repealed the act three days before Jefferson left office and replaced it with the Non- Intercourse Act it allowed for trade with all nations except Britain and France.
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XII. Madison s Gamble James Madison was elected President in 1808. Congress dismantled the Non-Intercourse Act and replaced it with Macon s Bill No. 2 which stated that if either France or Britain would repeal its commercial restrictions the US would restore its embargo on the other nation. Napoleon took Congress up on the deal and Madison reluctantly upheld the Embargo on Britain. He felt that it would end our neutrality and would lead to war.
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XIII. Tecumseh and the Prophet New members of the 12 th Congress made up a group known as the war hawks. Unlike the Federalist before them they were not afraid to become involved in a military conflict. Two brothers from the Shawnee tribe worked to unite all tribes east of the Mississippi to stop the influx of white settlers. Armed conflict between William Henry Harrison and The Prophet made Harrison a hero at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Tecumseh formed an alliance with the British and was killed at the Battle of the Thames. This ended the dream of an Indian Confederacy.
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XIV. Mr. Madison s War By 1812 Madison believed that war with Britain was going to happen. Most westerners felt the only way to stop the Indian uprisings was to do away with the British in Canada. Madison asked Congress to declare war on June 1, 1812. Not everyone was on board with this choice. The New England states were not in favor of Mr. Madison s War and did more to help the British than the American cause.
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