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LECTURE #7: THE AGE OF JEFFERSON (1800-1816). by Derrick J. Johnson, MPA, JD. The Election of 1800.
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LECTURE #7: THE AGE OF JEFFERSON (1800-1816) by Derrick J. Johnson, MPA, JD
The Election of 1800 • The election of 1800 would determine whether the nation’s political elite could accommodate demands from ordinary citizens for a more active and influential role in determining government policy. • President John Adams stood for re-election, but the Federalists lost popularity over the Sedition Acts. • The Federalists also wrangled between President John Adams and the extreme “High Federalists” led by Alexander Hamilton, who were advocating war with France. Adams’ refusals to give into their demands weakened him with his base supporters. • The Democratic Republicans nominated Thomas Jefferson for President and Aaron Burr for Vice President.
The Election of 1800 • Federalists lost voters for Adams due to the High Federalist’s ideas of war. • Democratic Republicans gained a lot of votes in Philly and NY especially with: artisans, farmers, and entrepreneurs • People became more politically involved and the votes doubled from the 1788 mid-term election from 15% to 40% and in PA and NY over ½ voters participated • Feds. tried to make people not vote for Jefferson by saying he wasn’t religious, but that didn’t change much. • Jefferson defeated Adams with 73 to 65 electoral votes and 41,330 to 25,952 of the popular vote. However, Aaron Burr also received 73 electoral votes, thus causing a tie between him and Jefferson. Per the strictures of the Constitution, the House of Representatives had to decide the winner of the presidential election because there was no candidate to emerge from the electoral college with a majority.
The Election of 1800 • Each state received only one vote and there was complete deadlock. The Federalists supported Aaron Burr was being supported by the Federalists members because they despised Jefferson. Ballots were cast thirty six times, until Alexander Hamilton convinced some Federalists to switch their votes for Jefferson. Although Hamilton had no love loss for Jefferson, he viewed Aaron Burr as being completely unfit to be president. • Thus, Jefferson became the President-Elect and Burr, as the second highest vote getter, became the Vice President-Elect. • The Election of 1800 was significant for several reasons: • The election was the first time where the presidency had to be decided by the House of Representatives in lieu of the Electoral College. • It was the last election before the Twelfth Amendment was ratified, where the second highest vote getter became Vice-President. • It was the first time that an incumbent president was denied a second term and the first time we witness a peaceful transition between one American political party to another. • The nation survived the election without a civil war due to the moderate members of both parties; Adams rejected High Federalist demands to declare war on France.
The Thomas Jefferson Presidency President Thomas Jefferson Born: April 13, 1743 Died: July 4, 1826 Term in Office: (1801-1809) Political Party: Democratic Republican
The Thomas Jefferson Presidency Supreme Court Appointments by President Jefferson William Johnson – 1804 Henry Brockholst Livingston – 1807 Thomas Todd – 1807 States Admitted to the Union Ohio – March 1, 1803 • During his first term, the Democratic-Republican president attempted to win the allegiance and trust of Federalist opponents by maintaining the national bank and debt-repayment plan of Hamilton. • In Foreign policy, he carried on the neutrality policies of the Washington and Adams Administrations. • However, Jefferson strengthened his own political base by reducing the size of the military, repealing the excise taxes, eliminating a number of federal jobs and by lowering the national debt. • Jefferson appointed only Democratic Republicans to his cabinet to avoid the internal divisions that the previous administrations dealt with. • Unlike the Adams Administration, the first term of Jefferson was relatively free of discord.
John Marshall & the Supreme Court • When Jefferson was inaugurated in 1801, virtually every justice in the court system was a Federalist, since they had all been appointed by either Washington or Adams. Several weeks before Jefferson took office, the Congress passed the Judiciary Act, creating a large number of new federal courts. • The act did promise relieve of the Supreme court with 16 new federal judgeships, but a provision to reduce the number of justices on the Supreme Court from 6 to 5 didn’t appeal to Jefferson. • The provision stripped Jefferson of his 1st opportunities to appoint a justice and to perpetuate Federalists’ domination of the judiciary • The act confirmed the Federalist’s retreat into the judiciary stronghold.
John Marshall & the Supreme Court • Jefferson wanted to draw moderated Federalists over to his party • The two parties wouldn’t compromises during Jefferson’s presidency due to judiciary control. • Jefferson believed that talent and virtue were the primary qualifications for judgeship, and Federalists thought the same, but never detected talent or virtue in the Democratic Republicans. • In a series of “midnight appointments” made just hours before he left office, Adams appointed Federalists to all of these positions. • Jefferson’s Democratic Republican allies in the Congress repealed the Judiciary Act immediately and also impeached two Federalist judges. • Outgoing Secretary of State, John Marshall (Thomas Jefferson’s cousin), was appointed Chief Justice by John Adams in 1801. As a Federalist, he often clashed with President Jefferson on many issues.
John Marshall & the Supreme Court • Marshall demonstrated the prosperity of the federal judiciary. • He was a Virginian, but son of a farmer, not an aristocrat • His participation in the revolution made him a Union patriot rather than to any state in particular, embracing the Federalists in the 1790s. • Marshall would eventually out last Jefferson and serve with four other presidents before dying in 1835.
Marbury v. Madison • The first major case to be heard by the Marshall Court was Marbury v. Madison. • Adams appointed Marbury as justice of the peace in District of Columbia. James Madison, the incoming Secretary of State, refused to issue the appointment letter which was signed by Adams. Marbury sued, demanding that the U.S. Supreme Court issue a writ of mandamus, thus forcing Madison to release the letter. • Writing for the Majority of the Court, Marshall stated that the Supreme Court couldn’t issue the writ of mandamus in its original jurisdiction because its power was not granted by the constitution. Thus the writ was not granted by the court. • Next he lectured Madison about his moral duty. Then he ruled that a part of the Judiciary Act of 1801 was unconstitutional. In doing so, the Court established the concept of judicial review. • Jefferson had issues with Marshall’s decision because there was a question of whether the courts alone should have the lone power to make laws unconstitutional.
Westward Expansion: Native Relations • Jefferson’s view of an ideal America was one made up largely of farmers, who would possess a spirit of fierce independence and pride. Based of this view, Jefferson encouraged further expansion westward between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. • Jefferson also stated that the best approach to dealing with the Native Americans would be to show them the benefits of farming. He also viewed farming as a means of incorporating the Native Americans into American society. • However, the Jefferson years mark the genesis of the American Government forcing Native American tribes to sign treaties in which they give up their land with virtually nothing given in return.
Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase • In secret treaties between France and Spain signed in 1800 and 1801, France regained the Louisiana territory. The U.S. Government didn’t hear of this until 1802 and they feared that Napoleon would reassert French control in the Americas. • Concerns increased when, in the last two months of Spanish control, they refused to allow American ships to store products in New Orleans. • Jefferson feared war with France and sent Virginia Governor James Monroe to France. Monroe was under instructions to see if Napoleon would be willing to sell part of the territory to the United States. • Napoleon had been unable to recapture Haiti and needed money to finance his army for his European conquests, so he offered to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States for $15 million. • Jefferson saw this as the perfect opportunity to expand his territory. • Many Northeastern Federalists opposed the Louisiana Purchase because they feared that it would decrease their economical and political power.
Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase • Jefferson and most Americans approved of the deal. Nevertheless, a constitutional problem troubled Jefferson. • Jefferson prided himself as being a strict constructionist in regards to interpreting the Constitution and he rejected Alexander Hamilton’s argument that certain powers are implied. However, in Jefferson’s case, there was no clause in the Constitution that explicitly states that the president could purchase foreign land. • Jefferson had to set aside his personal idealism to act for the good of the country. • Jefferson then submitted the purchase agreement to the Senate who ratified the agreement. • The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States, removed a foreign presence from the nation’s borders, and guaranteed the extension of the western frontier to lands beyond the Mississippi River.
Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase • Jefferson and many others wanted more accurate information about the geography, the peoples, and the economic possibilities of the rest of the continent. In 1804, the Lewis & Clark Expedition began. This expedition of nearly 50 men too two years to complete; despite hardships, they crossed the Rockies and eventually made it to the Pacific Ocean. • The benefits of the expedition were many: • Increased scientific and geographic knowledge. • Improved relations with Natives Americans. • Develop maps and land routes. • Strengthen U.S. claims to the Oregon Territory.
The Election of 1804 • President Thomas Jefferson ran for re-election as the Democratic Republican candidate. The Federalists nominated former Revolutionary War veteran Charles C. Pinckney. • The Federalists feared that the country was being debased by virtually every move Jefferson made. • A group of Federalists called the Essex Junto loudly campaigned against the “decline in public virtue” they saw personified in Jefferson. • Jefferson was vilified and called the “Parisian revolutionary monster.” • Despite the Federalists’ campaigns against him, Jefferson won his re-election in a landslide. Jefferson defeated Pinckney with 176 to 14 electoral votes and 104,110 to 38, 919 of the popular vote.
Aaron Burr: Public Enemy #1? • Aaron Burr was Vice-President, but after the fiasco of the 1800 election, he had no meaningful role in the Jefferson Administration. • Some New England Federalists had spoken of leaving the union after the Louisiana Purchase to form a Northern Confederacy. • The group first targeted Hamilton as their leader. However, after he turned them down, they recruited Burr. • The plan was for Burr to run for Governor of New York and win. Thus, Burr would use his position as a spring board to lead the region away from the union. • Hamilton used his influence within the Federalist Party to discredit Burr and to accuse him of trying to ruin the United States. As a result, Burr lost the election.
Aaron Burr: Public Enemy #1? • Burr, incensed by Hamilton’s interference, had challenged him to a duel in 1804. • Hamilton died in the duel and the Federalists lost their last great leader. • Burr was indicted for murder so he moved to the West. While in Louisiana, he met up with General James Wilkinson, the military governor there. The two plotted to turn Louisiana into an independent nation, with Burr as the leader. Wilkinson betrayed Burr and turned him in. • Learning of Burr’s conspiracy, President Jefferson ordered Burr’s arrest and trial for treason. • Jefferson wanted a conviction of Burr at all costs. However, the presiding judge in the case was Chief Justice John Marshall. • Based on a narrow interpretation of the definition of “treason” and a lack of a witnesses to an “overt act,” a jury acquitted Burr.
Difficulties Abroad: Barbary Pirates • In 1801, Jefferson ordered the navy into action in the Mediterranean against the Tripolitan (Barbary) pirates from North Africa. • The pirates would capture ships and sell the men for slavery; most countries would pay them off. • Washington and Adams would pay the fees in the past, but Jefferson calculated it would be cheaper to go to war. • In 1805 the US made a peace treaty with Tripoli for ½ the price of the “protection” money Washington and Adams use to pay. • Jefferson and Gallatin put economy in front of military and figured the national debt would be freed in 16 years.
Difficulties Abroad: U.S. Impressment Issues • The Napoleonic Wars of Europe that lasted from 1802 until 1815 had a powerful impact on the United States. • American ships were being stopped by French and British ships during this period. The British, however, took it a step further, with the practice of impressments (forcing American sailors into service in the British navy). • When British seized US ships, they forced former British (and American) sailors to fight for Britain again. • Those men had good reason for leaving for the US in the 1st place, due to better pay, living conditions, and supplies; on the Constitution there were 149 former British sailors of 419 • Many ran away and were captured again, some even killing themselves instead of being in the royal navy. • This was embarrassing to the US, especially after US citizens began being taken in too, for a total of 6,000.
Difficulties Abroad: U.S. Impressment Issues • In June, a British warship, HMS Leopard attacked the USS Chesapeake and forced it to surrender. Four men were taken as deserters; this caused an outrage, but while preparing for war, Jefferson suggested the Embargo Act in Dec. 1807. • The act prohibited US ships to trade with foreigners and to go to foreign ports. The effect of the act was disastrous on the U.S. economy. • Jefferson wanted to pressure the British and French to respect the neutrality of the US, it didn’t have the effect he wanted. • Although there was a 50% drop in Britain’s sales to the US between 1807 and 1808, new markets were found in S. America. • There were loop holes in the act, allowing ships that blew off course to stop in European ports if necessary and many suddenly were blow off course. • Napoleon continued to get US ships saying he was helping enforce the act. • The New England area was hit the worst from the depression, and Jefferson, realizing that it was a failure, called for the repeal of the Embargo Act in 1809.
The Election of 1808 • President Thomas Jefferson declined to run for a third term. Instead, he followed the example set by Washington and he retired after two terms. • Jefferson’s protégé and Secretary of State, James Madison ran as the Democratic Republican candidate. • The Federalists nominated former Revolutionary War veteran Charles C. Pinckney. • Madison won his election in a landslide. Madison defeated Pinckney with 122 to 47 electoral votes and 124,732 to 62, 431 of the popular vote. • Despite Madison’s victory, the Federalists gained seats in the congress due to the economic depression.
The James Madison Presidency President James Madison Born: March l6, 1751 Died: June 28, 1836 Term in Office: (1809-1817) Political Party: Democratic Republican
The James Madison Presidency Supreme Court Appointments by President Madison Gabriel Duvall – 1811 Joseph Story – 1812 States Admitted to the Union Louisiana – April 30, 1812 Indiana – December 11, 1816 • Madison’s presidency was dominated by the same European problems that plagued the Jefferson Administration. • Like Jefferson, Madison attempted to engage in diplomacy with Britain. However, unlike Jefferson, Madison’s efforts would eventually break down and he would take the country into war. • Some thought that Madison couldn’t take Jefferson’s shoes, yet he did; he saw that virtue of the people depended on the growth of the agricultural regions. • Madison saw the West Indies as a natural trading partner with the US cause of their need of lumber and grain; British couldn’t fully supply the area and if the US embargoed its trade, the British would be brought to their knees. • The problem was that the act wasn’t coercing anyone. With increased trade between Canada and the W. Indies after 1808.
The War of 1812: The Causes • Seeing that America had actually fallen into an economic depression, Madison in 1808 introduced the Non-Intercourse Act, which opened trade with all countries except England and France. An 1810 act again threaten to cut off trade with any nation that interfered with American ships, which France and England continued to do. • Frustrated by the British’s impressment policy, Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war against Great Britain. • The Federalists argued against the war because they saw the British as potential trading partners and they viewed them as being more “like themselves.” • Madison and his party framed the issue as a matter of the violation of America’s economic and political sovereignty. • A group of pro-war Democratic Republicans, led by Henry Clay, was formed. These party members became known as the “War Hawks.” They saw war with Great Britain as a means to acquire more land.
The Election of 1812 • President James Madison ran for re-election as the Democratic Republican candidate. The Federalists nominated the Mayor of New York, Clinton DeWitt. • Domestically, Madison made the war the centerpiece for his re-election. He suspected that the British were behind the sudden increase in the Native American attacks against western American settlers. • He believed that the British in Canada were arming Native American leader Tecumseh and his tribe. So he authorized General William Henry Harrison in late 1811 to attack Tecumseh’s village. • Madison won his re-election. Madison defeated DeWitt with 128 to 89 electoral votes and 140,431 to 132,781 of the popular vote. • Despite Madison’s victory, the Federalists gained seats in the congress due to the economic depression.
The War of 1812: The Call for War • Based on Madison’s pleas and massive public support, Congress invoked, for the first time, Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution and declared war against the British. • The United States was totally unprepared for war against the British when they passed the declaration. The Americans forces consisted of an army of 6,000 men and a navy of 17 ships. • The American military strategy consisted of a three prong attack: • Destroy the Native American villages. • Defeat the British troops on the ground. • Capture Montreal • The American forces had some successes, however, they eventually retreated on the ground and their ports were blockaded by the British navy. • The first major victory of the war came in the summer of 1813, when William Henry Harrison and his forces defeated the British and the Native Americans at the Thames River (in Detroit), killing Tecumseh.
The War of 1812: The Treaty of Ghent • In 1814, Napoleon was finally defeated, leaving the British with only the United States to focus on. The British began an offensive in New York, and, in August of 1814, a second British army advanced on Washington. Most of the city’s residents had already fled before the British arrived. However, they went ahead and sacked the city anyway. The Whitehouse and the Capitol were burned. • As the British were sacking Washington, D.C., peace negotiations were already underway in Ghent, Belgium. With Napoleon defeated, the issues that put Britain and the United States at odds with each other were no longer pressing.
The War of 1812: The Treaty of Ghent • Madison assessed the situation and he reached the conclusion that America could not win a decisive victory. Furthermore, the British public was against further military actions in the Americas, after fighting Napoleon for a decade. • On December 24, 1814, an agreement was reached. The terms of the Treaty of Ghent were as follows: • A halt of the fighting • The return of all conquered territory to the pre-war claimant. • Recognition of the pre-war boundary between Canada and the U.S. • The Treaty of Ghent did not address the root reasons for the war in that the British made no concessions for impressing the American sailors. The Senate, nevertheless, ratified the treaty in 1815.
The War of 1812: The Battle of New Orleans • On January 8, 1815, two weeks after the Treaty of Ghent was ratified, a major British effort to control the Mississippi River was halted at New Orleans. General Andrew Jackson led the American forces against the British. • Jackson was outnumbered by the British, but his men didn’t run away. They killed the British general along with 2,000 men, while loosing only 13 men. • However, the battle gave political strength to the Federalists to criticize the Madison Administration.
The Hartford Convention • Before the war ended, the New England states came close to seceding from the union. • The Federalists bitterly opposed the war and the Democratic Republican rule of the country. A special convention was held in Hartford in December of 1814 to address the concerns raised by the Federalists. • They wanted a two-thirds vote amendment to invoke Congress’ war powers. • Despite the fact that the moderate Federalists rejected the calls of the radicals to seceded from the Union, the damage to the Federalist Party was already done. • With the victory at New Orleans and the success of the Treaty of Ghent which ended the war, the Federalists were viewed as being unpatriotic by the public.
Legacy of the War of 1812 • The war’s legacy would forever change the United States: • This would be the first time the United States would declare war against another country and the second time the country would survive a conflict against the British. • The events of the war would launch the political careers of William Henry Harrison and Andrew Jackson, both of which will become President of the United States in the future. • The Federalist Party would soon dissolve as a result of their anti war stance.
