Jefferson s Justifications: - PDF Free Download

Jefferson s Justifications: Does the Constitution authorize me to purchase land? How to handle the French Revolution? What to do with the Barbary States? The Foreign & Domestic Policies of Thomas Jefferson http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/mr-educator-a-social-studies-professional

Jefferson s)justifications) Foreign Affairs Although Thomas Jefferson came to power determined to limit the reach of the federal government, foreign affairs dominated his presidency and pushed him toward Federalist policies that greatly contrasted with his political philosophy. The first foreign episode involved Jefferson's war with the Barbary pirates. For the previous century or so, Western nations had paid bribes to the Barbary states, which would later become Morocco, Algeria, and Tunis, to keep them from harassing American and merchant ships. When the Pasha of Tripoli (king) raised his demands in 1801, Jefferson refused to pay the increase, sent warships to the Mediterranean, blockaded the small nation, and tried unsuccessfully to promote a palace coup in Tripoli. This was one of the first covert operations in American history. The war ended with agreements that involved one last payment of tribute to Tripoli. Prior to being elected, President Jefferson planned to eliminated the navy he believed, that since the United States was so far from angry Europe nations, that it was costly and unnecessary. Jefferson's action on this matter caused him to rethink the need for a well-equipped navy and halted his move to reduce the force to a mere token size.! Doubling the Nation's Size: The Louisiana Purchase When Jefferson learned that Spain had secretly ceded Louisiana to France in 1800, he instructed his ministers to negotiate the purchase of the port of New Orleans and possibly West Florida. Jefferson strategically made this move in order to insure that American farmers in the Ohio River Valley had access to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River the river was a key to the farmers' economic well-being, as they needed a vent for their surplus grain and meat. Having the Emperor Napoleon's driving interests for world domination next door was not an attractive prospect; thus, Jefferson acted swiftly. To his surprise, Napoleon, needing funds to finance a new European war with England, offered to sell Jefferson most of the land from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. His price of $15 million amounted to approximately four cents per acre for 828,000 square miles, doubling the size of the nation. Although Jefferson understood that the U.S. Constitution said nothing about the purchase of foreign territory, he set aside his strict interpretation ideals to make the deal Congress approved the purchase five months after the fact. Jefferson then outfitted a 25 man expedition to explore the new lands. Led by his secretary, Meriwether Lewis, and Army Captain William Clark, these adventurers took two and one-half years to cover 8,000 miles. They traveled up the Missouri River, across the Continental Divide, and down the Columbia River to the Pacific before retracing their steps to St. Louis. The expedition is considered one of the great exploratory quests in human history.

Jefferson s)justifications) Navigating Trade and Impressment Disputes Several weeks after buying Louisiana, Napoleon declared war on Great Britain. At first, the European fighting benefited the United States since Americans functioned as the merchants carrying supplies to both warring powers. Consequently, between 1803 and 1807, total U.S. exports jumped from $66.5 million to $102.2 million. The keep their French opponents from having access to American trade, the British navy began seizing American ships with cargoes bound for Europe and impressing (to force someone to serve in an army or navy) American sailors into the Royal Navy. Tensions between Britain and the US mounted, and in the summer of 1807, the British warship Leopard fired on the American naval frigate Chesapeake, killing three Americans, when the ship refused boarding orders. Cries for war erupted throughout the nation. Jefferson banned all British ships from U.S. ports, ordered state governors to prepare to call up 100,000 militiamen, and suspended trade with all of Europe. He reasoned that U.S. products were crucial to France and England and that a complete embargo would bring them to respect U.S. neutrality. By spring 1808, however, the Embargo Act that Jefferson pushed through Congress had devastated the American economy. American exports plummeted from $108 million to $22 million. Jefferson had severely underestimated how much American merchants relied on foreign trade. Economic desperation settled upon the northeastern states. Finally, Jefferson backed off in the last months of his administration, and Congress replaced the Embargo Act with the Non-Intercourse Act, which banned trade with England and France but allowed it with all other countries. Eventually, the trade war would propel America into a fighting war with England, known today as the War of 1812, during the administration of Jefferson's successor, James Madison.!

Type%of%Policy Event What%creates%this% situation? Jefferson's%Response? Effect%of%Jefferson's% Decision? Change%in%Jefferson's% thinking? Jefferson's Justifications Foreign%%Policy Domestic%Policy Foreign%Policy War!with!the!Barbary!States The!!Purchase!of!the!Louisiana!! Territory The!!Embargo!!Act *For!years,!Barbary!States!(Algeria,! Tunisia,!Morocco)!were!paid!bribes!by! the!us!government!to!keep!pirates! from!harassing!sailors.!!the!king!raised! the!bribe!payment,!jefferson!refused! to!pay!it. *!Spain!secretly!gives!land!back!to! Napolean!of!France!in!1801.!Jefferson! send!messengers!to!negotiate!purchase! of!new!orleans!and!west!fl *France!declares!war!on!England!and! US!follows!neutrality,!as!before.!! However,!Britain!starts!impressing!US! soldiers!to!keep!supplies!from!france *!Jefferson!refused!to!pay!the!bribe,! sent!warships!to!blockade!the!nation *Nervous!about!Napolean's!desire!for! growth!and!world!domination,! Jefferson!sends!messengers!to! negotiate!the!buying!of!new!orleans! and!w.!fl! *Jefferson!orders!an!embargo!with!all! of!europe.!!no!us!merchants!can! trade!with!any!european!country *!MiniPwar!ended!when!agreement! was!paid!to!tripoli!king,!this!was!the! last!payment!of!tribute.!!this!was!first! covert!operation *Napoleon!offers!to!sell!entire! Louisiana!tract.!!Jefferson!purchases! 828,000!square!miles!of!land,!doubling! size!of!us *Embargo!devastates!economy,! exports!fall!tremendously.!!eventually! he!creates!nonpintercourse!act!(only! England!and!France!were!banned) *!Underestimated!need!for!a!national! Navy.!!Previously!thought!Navy!a! waste!of!resources. *!Jefferson!knows!Constitution!says! nothing!about!president's!power!to!buy! land.!his!"strict"!interpretation!of! Constitution!becomes!more!loose. *!Jefferson!underestimated!effect!of! foreign!trade!on!us!merchants.! Realized!the!US!needed!foreign!trade! to!survive.