The Revolution Defined The Jeffersonian Revolution of 1800 Continuing the Virginia Dynasty The Revolution of 1800 is basically the results of the Presidential Election that took place in 1800. It was a contest between several candidates representing the two political parties that had developed in the years since Washington had left office - the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans Main Candidates The Candidates Thomas Jefferson Aaron Burr John Adams (the sitting President) & a Federalist Thomas Jefferson (the sitting Vice- President & a Democratic-Republican) Aaron Burr (a Democratic-Republican) Charles C. Pinckney (a Federalist) John Jay (a Federalist) John Adams Key Party Differences Results (by state) Federalists strong central gov t loose interpretation of the Constitution Pro-British large peacetime military favored aid to business favored tariffs supported by northern businessmen & large landowners Democratic-Republicans weak central gov t strict interpretation of the Constitution Pro-French small peacetime military favored agriculture opposed tariffs supported by small farmers, skilled workers & plantation owners 1
Results Overall The Decision Electoral Vote: Jefferson: 73 Burr: 73 Adams: 65 Pinckney: 64 Jay: 1 Points to Remember Remember each Elector casts two ballots (one for president and one for vice) but there is no distinction between the two. The person with the greatest number of electoral votes is president (still needs a majority) In a tie (or no majority) the election is decided by the House of Representatives Technically, the House could have put Aaron Burr in the White House instead of Jefferson even though he was the Vice- Presidential candidate The House was controlled by the Federalists (for a few more months) who preferred Burr A few Federalists, who were wary of Burr, withheld their votes and the proper person was elected The Revolution of 1800 Jefferson described [the election] as being "as real a revolution in the principles of our government as that of 1776 was in its form; not effected indeed by the sword, as that, but by the rational and peaceable instrument of reform, the suffrage of the people." It was a revolution in the sense that power changed hands - but peacefully - as the Constitution intended The Jeffersonian Democracy Political Battles, Foreign Policy and the Louisiana Purchase Political Conflict: The Judiciary The Supreme Court was dominated by Federalists (all had been appointed by George Washington or John Adams) Many judges had been appointed just prior to John Adams leaving office (so called midnight judges ) Chief Justice John Marshall was one of these midnight judges. John Marshall (1755-1835) Hero of the XYZ Affair From rural VA Served as Chief Justice 1801-1835 One of the few remaining Federalists 2
Marbury v. Madison (1803) William Marbury was appointed as a justice of the peace as one of the midnight appointments by John Adams However, his commission was not delivered before the presidential transition took place James Madison, the new president s Secretary of State, refused to deliver the commission Marbury v. Madison (cont.) Marbury sued, asking for a writ of mandamus that would force Madison to deliver the commission (to do his job) The case was heard by the Supreme Court in 1803 and Chief Justice John Marshall delivered the unanimous opinion Marbury v. Madison: The Ruling Marbury s commission was legal and a writ of mandamus could be issued (Madison would have to deliver the commission) However, the Constitution had not authorized the Court to issue writs. Moreover, the Judiciary Act of 1789 (which had given the Court this power) was unconstitutional Marbury v. Madison: Results Since the act under which Marbury was to receive his commission was unconstitutional, he wouldn t receive it (a victory for the Democratic-Republicans) BUT, this ruling affirmed the Court s authority to review the constitutionality of acts of Congress (a Federalist victory) Basically, it authorized judicial review More battles with the Judiciary Jefferson did not trust the (now powerful) unelected judiciary which was dominated by the Federalists He encouraged a campaign to rid the Court of Federalist judges, especially Supreme Court justice Samuel Chase In 1804, impeachment charges were brought against Chase (and others) which were approved by the House Impeachment? Once the House impeaches, the Senate holds a trial to determine guilt or innocence Evidence proved that Chase was guilty only of partisanship and using his freedom of speech - not the high crimes and misdemeanors he was indicted for Senate didn t convict & Chase stayed a justice Jefferson grudgingly accepted an independent judiciary that was controlled by the Federalists 3
Foreign Policy - Battles Abroad Jefferson did not believe in a large military and reduced the army to just 2500 and the navy to just a handful of ships However, raids on merchant shipping by Pirates of the North African states (Barbary Pirates - named for the Barbary Coast) Previous presidents had purchased protection from these raids (paid tributes) Barbary Pirates Jefferson remembers the American position of millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute in the French crisis over the XYZ affair but pays anyway (but less) In 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli demanded an increase in the amount of protection money or he would attack American shipping Jefferson refused and American ships were attacked Building a Navy Jefferson reluctantly sent the tiny navy to the shores of Tripoli to protect American interests A peace treaty was finally reached in 1805, ending the conflict Most importantly, the Navy was gaining valuable experience & would continue to battle various groups of Barbary Pirates until after the War of 1812 Foreign Policy: Louisiana When Jefferson came to office, Louisiana was owned by Spain In 1802, it came to light that Napoleon and the King of Spain had negotiated to transfer the Louisiana territory to France - including New Orleans The right of deposit (granted by the Pinckney Treaty of 1795) was revoked Purchasing Louisiana Americans had come to depend heavily on New Orleans port and the access it granted to the Atlantic Ocean for western farmers Early y in 1803, Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris to negotiate to purchase the city of New Orleans (and some surrounding land) for a maximum of $10 million If he failed, he was to go to Britain and negotiate an alliance that could resist French occupation of New Orleans (using the British navy & army) Napoleon s Surprise As Napoleon s dreams of the conquest of the European continent were proving to be more difficult than originally imagined, he surprised Robert Livingston (the regular minister to France - until Monroe arrived) with the offer to sell all of Louisiana Livingston acted before Monroe even arrived and agreed to buy all of the Louisiana territory for $15 million 4
The Territory Implications The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the United States The over 600 million acres were purchased for a little less than 3 cents an acre However, Jefferson - a strict constructionist - had a problem: the Constitution did not authorize the president to purchase land for the country. Could he do this? Implications He justified that it was necessary to protect and defend the US (from the possibility of war with France) and benefited the US by opening so much more land to settlement. He changed his own personal beliefs for the good of the country But, the US needed to see exactly what they had purchased and began preparing for an expedition to explore their new lands Creating an Expedition Jefferson appointed Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to head an expedition to explore (and map) this vast new territory Meriwether Lewis William Clark Goals of the Expedition Negotiating with Indians To map the new territory To see what resources were present - including new flora and fauna To see if the Missouri River connected to other rivers (or itself connected to) the Pacific Ocean Negotiate peaceful relations with Indian tribes in the area 5
Artifacts Replica of William Clark s compass used on the journey Silver peace medal given to Native Americans by Louis and Clark Transversing the Rivers Lewis and Clark often used Native technology to continue on the expedition - such as these bearskin boats Sacajawea (1787?-1812?) A Shoshone Indian who was married to Toussaint (hired to be the expedition guide) She was very useful as a translator since she was from the region near the headwaters of the Missouri River Gave birth just before the trip (and brought her son along) Also useful in negotiations since her brother was chief of a tribe near the Snake River (ID) Results Set out from St. Louis in 1804 following the Missouri River Crossed the Rocky Mountains and eventually came to the Pacific Ocean in present day Oregon Returned to St. Louis (dividing the party) in 1806 Results - the data Route of Expedition Lewis and Clark brought back detailed drawings and information about their journey including these drawings and descriptions. 6
Maps - Before Maps - After United States in 1810 Impact of Lewis & Clark - Trails References Most images from the American History CD-Rom 1996 by Instructional Resources Corporation Barbary Pirates image from http:\\earlyamerica.com/review/2002_winter_spring/terrorism.htm Map images from the Multimedia Collections Westward Expansion CD 2001 by Teacher Created Resources, Inc. 7