Chapter
8: Jeffersonianism and the Era of Good Feelings, 1801-1824
•
On March 4, 1801, Thomas Jefferson walked to
the Capitol and took the oath of office as president.
–
His actions reflected his belief that the
“pomp and circumstance” in which Washington and Adams had engaged ill-fitted
republican govt.
•
Despite the partisan bitterness of the
election of 1800, Jefferson, in his inaugural address, attempted to conciliate
Federalists by emphasizing the principles on which most Americans agreed: federalism and republicanism
•
The period of 1801 to 1823 would see major
changes:
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1.) The Federalist Party would slowly die out
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2.) the Republicans would be rent by
factionalism
–
3.) United States would double in size
–
4.) sectional strife over statehood for MO
would nearly tear that expanded nation apart
The
Age of Jefferson, 1801-1805
•
Jefferson and Jeffersonianism
–
Thomas Jefferson; intellectual, scientist,
architect, inventor, and statesman, was a complex, contradictory, and gifted
individual
–
Author of the DOI’s bold statement about the
equality of all men, he, nevertheless, doubted that blacks and whites could
live side by side on terms of equality
–
Despite his opposition to racially mixing
black and white blood, his political enemies charged that he himself had
fathered the children of his slave Sally Hemings.
•
Recent DNA evidence from Sally’s male heir
appears to support the story
•
Jefferson distrusted power concentrated in
the federal govt.
–
a danger to republican liberty
•
Preferring that power to state govts.
–
he saw as closer and more responsive to the
people
•
Republican liberty could best be retained by
a virtuous and vigilant citizenry that put the public good ahead of selfish
private interests
–
Educated small farmers
–
Cities and their landless inhabitants were a
potential menace to the republic
Jefferson’s
“Revolution”
•
Jefferson attempted to repeal Federalist
measures that he felt were a danger to the simple republic
–
Parts of Alexander Hamilton’s economic
program
–
The Alien and Sedition Acts
•
He reduced taxes and the national debt
–
Primarily by slashing expenditures for the
army and for the diplomatic establishment
–
In these ways he felt that he was lifting an
economic burden form hardworking farmers
Jefferson
and the Judiciary
•
Jefferson demanded that Congress repeal the
Federalist-sponsored Judiciary Act of 1801 and remove the partisan Federalist
judges that President Adams had appointed in his last hours as president
•
Jefferson had little success with impeachment
of Federalist judges
–
Only one conviction and removal from the
bench
•
The majority in Congress viewed impeachment
process as an inappropriate way to solve the problem of partisan judges
•
Jefferson’s drive to keep additional
Federalists out of the judiciary led to the Marbury v. Madison (1803)
•
The Supreme Court said presidents could
appoint federal judges
•
Marshall used the case to significantly
strengthen the power of the judicial branch
–
He claimed that federal courts had the right
to review laws passed by Congress
•
Judicial review
•
For the 1st time, the Supreme Court declared
a portion of a law passed by Congress unconstitutional
•
Jefferson did not oppose the concept of
judicial review, but he believed that judges should not use it for partisan
purposes
The
Louisiana Purchase
•
Napoleon Bonaparte forced Spain to cede the
Louisiana Territory to France
•
The French action alarmed Jefferson
–
it placed a major European power on the U.S.
border
–
It blocked the gradual expansion of the
U.S.A.
•
The problem became especially pressing in
1802, when Spanish authorities (just before the territory’s transfer to France)
denied western farmers use of the port of New Orleans
•
Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert R.
Livingston to France with a request to buy the city
•
Napoleon countered with an offer to sell the
entire Louisiana Territory for $15 million
–
He was frustrated with uprisings in French
Caribbean colonies
•
Since the Constitution did not explicitly
give the federal govt. the power to acquire new territories and since Jefferson
was wedded to strict interpretation, he briefly thought of first seeking an
enabling amendment to the Constitution
•
His political acumen and desire to make land
available to small farmers, the “backbone of the nation”, won out
•
He submitted the purchase treaty to the
Senate
–
It was quickly ratified
•
April 30, 1803 officially U.S.A. territory
The
Election of 1804
•
Republicans
–
renominated Jefferson for president and
dropped Aaron Burr in favor of George Clinton for VP
•
The Federalist
–
Charles C. Pickney and Rufus King
•
The successes of Jefferson’s first term
–
Doubling the size of U.S.A., maintaining
peace, reducing taxes, reducing national debt
•
Won over many former Federalist voters
•
Overwhelming Republican victory
–
162 to 14 electoral votes
The
Lewis and Clark Expedition
•
Lewis Meriwether & William Clark
•
Jefferson requested funding from Congress for
an expedition across the continent to explore the new Louisiana Purchase
•
They were charged with the difficult task of
opening trade relations with unknown numbers of Indian tribes across the plains
and northwest
•
Brought Americans into contact for the first
time with the Mandan, Hidatsas, Arikaras, and Sioux tribes
•
Left St. Louis in 1804
–
Followed the Missouri, Snake, and Columbia
rivers
–
Crossed the Rockies
–
Reached the Pacific in 1805
•
They would not have returned safely if not
for the priceless guidance and comfort offered by numerous Indian nations along
the trail
•
The Corps of Discovery returned with a wealth
of scientific information (and some misinformation), descriptions, and maps
that stimulated interest in the West
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