JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY

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JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY

• Chapter 6

The American Nation, 12e, Mark C. Carnes John A.
Garraty
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ELECTION OF 1800

• Election 1800 Republicans won in February 1801
  electoral vote 73 to 65
• Both Jefferson and Aaron Burr had 73 votes
• House of Representatives was deadlocked for over
  35 votes
• Hamilton exerted influence in favor of Jefferson
  (who may have promised to preserve Hamiltons
  financial system and continue Washington-Adams
  foreign policy)
• February 17, 1801, Jefferson became president and
  Burr vice president
• 12th Amendment drafted (ratified 1804) providing
  for separate balloting for President and Vice
  President

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THE FEDERALIST CONTRIBUTION

• March 4, 1801 Jefferson took oath of office at
  new national capital, Washington, DC
• Federalists had been moderate until fear of
  Republican strength led them to attempt
  revolution in 1798
• Failed and led to landslide for Republicans at
  Congressional level in 1800
• U.S. passed test and transferred power and
  changed policy peacefully

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THOMAS JEFFERSON POLITICAL THEORIST

• Jefferson thought human beings basically selfish
• Suspected blacks were inferior to whites
• Felt human race had unlimited potential
• Believed in democracy
• Wanted society to remain one of small independent
  farmers because believed ALL government was a
  necessary evil at best
• Disliked Hamiltons desire to commercialize and
  centralize government and his pro-British
  orientation

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JEFFERSON AS PRESIDENT

• New administration marked by style and moderation
• Positions included
• Against entangling alliances
• For economy in government
• Promised to
• Pay off national debt
• Preserve governments credit
• Stimulate both agriculture and commerce
• Cool partisan passions

Jefferson, Thomas. Charcoal drawing (bust).
59-PP-3 National Archives
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JEFFERSON AS PRESIDENT

• Repealed whiskey and other excise taxes
• Cut military and naval expenditures to balance
  budget
• Naturalization returned to five years
• Sedition and Alien Acts expired in 1801 and 1802
  respectively
• Played down ceremony and formality
• Held stag dinners to get to know congressmen
  personally
• Easily won re-election in 1804

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JEFFERSONS ATTACK ON THE JUDICIARY

• Jefferson had prejudices against
• Kings
• British system of government
• Entrenched judicial power
• Judiciary Act of 1801
• Created 6 new circuit courts, presided over by 16
  new federal judges
• Federalists, in their last days, shamelessly
  appointed partisan politicians
• Jefferson had act repealed
• So angry he held up a number of appointments for
  Justices of the Peace for DC

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JEFFERSONS ATTACK ON THE JUDICIARY

• Marbury v. Madison (1803)
• Resulted from William Marburys petition for a
  writ of mandamus to obtain his commission
• Chief Justice John Marshall ruled
• Marbury by right should have his commission
• But court could not require secretary of state
  James Madison to give it to him since request was
  based on unconstitutional clause of Judiciary Act
  of 1789
• As a result Court did not have the right to issue
  writ of mandamus
• Gave court power to invalidate federal laws that
  conflicted with the Constitution

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JEFFERSONS ATTACK ON THE JUDICIARY

• Jefferson decided to press for impeachment of
  some of more partisan federal judges
• Senate easily removed District Judge John
  Pickering
• Went after associate supreme court justice Samuel
  Chase who had been high handed in handling
  Sedition Act casesacquitted

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THE BARBARY PIRATES

• Lull in European War between France and
  EnglandTreaty of Amiens, 1802
• Barbary Pirates North African Arab states of
  Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli who seized
  ships and crews whom they held for ransom
• Europeans, and Americans, paid them annual
  protection (cheaper than increased shipper
  insurance)
• Pasha of Tripoli raised rates, Jefferson balked,
  pasha declared war May 1801 and Jefferson
  dispatched squadron
• Pirates underwhelmed and USS Philadelphia burned
  after ran aground
• Payment of tribute continued to 1815
• Pasha did agree to new treaty more favorable to
  U.S.

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THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE

• Treaty of San Ildefonso
• Spain gave Louisiana, including all important New
  Orleans, to France
• Napoleon hoped to use Louisiana as breadbasket
  for West Indian sugar plantations
• Jefferson, worried what Napoleon would do, asked
  Robert Livingston
• to seek assurances of U.S. rights in New Orleans
• potentially buy West Florida if France also had

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THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE

• Napoleons plans undermined by rebellion in Saint
  Domingue (Haiti)
• Had been granted personal freedom n 1793
• Rebellion continued and had defeated French by
  1801
• Napoleon sent 20,000 more men
• Jefferson now sought to buy New Orleans
• October 1802 Spanish (had not yet turned over New
  Orleans) revoked American right of deposit
• James Monroe sent to France with offer of 10
  million for New Orleans

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THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE

• When the French force sent to Haiti was wiped out
  by yellow fever, Napoleon reconsidered his plans
  especially as he was now intending to invade
  England
• April 10 told Foreign Minister Tallyrand to sell
  all of Louisiana
• In early May the Americans agreed to buy entire
  area for 15 million
• In U.S. there was concern over constitutionality
  but treaty passed

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THE FEDERALISTS DISCREDITED

• West and South solidly for Jefferson and North
  leaning toward him
• Some in New England, feeling threatened, formed
  Essex Junto in 1804 with intentions of creating
  separate northern confederacy
• Supported Aaron Burr for Governor of New York
• Burr defeated but took offense at comments made
  by Alexander Hamilton during the campaign
• Result was duel on July 11, 1804, in which
  Hamilton was killed

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LEWIS AND CLARK

• Jefferson used 2,500 from Congress to send
  Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the
  Louisiana Purchase
• Scientific and practical interests
• Establish relations with Indians
• The Journey
• Start St. Louis spring 1804
• Stay North Dakota (build Fort Mandan) for winter
• April 1805 headed for Pacific
• Spring 1806 made return trip reaching St. Louis
  by September

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OTHER EXPLORERS

• Thomas Freeman went up Red River but had to
  retreat in face of Spanish
• Lieutenant Zebulon pike explored upper
  Mississippi Valley and Colorado region between
  1805 and 1807
• By 1808 St. Louis fur traders were invading
  Rockies
• By 1812 75,000 people were in southern section of
  purchaseadmitted as Louisiana

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JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY

• Jeffersons moderation calmed fears that rule by
  Republicans would result in a French style
  revolution
• Managed to achieve prosperity without expense or
  infringement on personal liberties
• Order without discipline
• Security without a large military establishment
• Prosperity without regulatory legislation
• Freedom without license

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THE BURR CONSPIRACY

• Jefferson treated Aaron Burr vindictively and
  Burr began to contemplate treason
• Offered British separation of Western part of
  U.S. for 110,000 and support of British fleet
  off mouth of Mississippi
• British ignored but Burr proceeded
• Joined forces with Jeffersons appointed governor
  of Louisiana Territory, James Wilkinson (secretly
  in pay of Spanish)
• 1806 Burr and Wilkinson headed to New Orleans
  with small force
• Wilkinson betrayed Burr to Jefferson
• In partisan trial pitting Jefferson vs. Marshall,
  Marshall favored Burr who was acquitted

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NAPOLEON AND THE BRITISH

• When Napoleon resumed warfare in Europe, it
  stimulated American economy
• Shipbuilding boomed
• Foreign trade doubled between 1803 and 1805
• Balance in Europe by 1807
• British controlled the seas
• Napoleon controlled the continent
• Commercial Warfare
• Berlin DecreeNovember 1806, Napoleon prohibited
  trade with Great Britain
• Orders In CouncilBritain blockaded continental
  ports and barred them from foreign vessels unless
  they stopped first in England and paid customs
  duties
• Milan DecreeDecember 1807, Napoleon an vessel
  that submitted to British search was thereby
  British property and subject to seizure

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NAPOLEON AND THE BRITISH

• Broken voyagesattempts to circumvent British
  maritime regulations by taking goods to U.S.
  before they went to final destination
• 1803-1806 re-export went from 13 million to 60
  million
• Britain in Essex William cases cracked down on
  re-export trade at same time both Britain and
  France were putting limits on direct trade by
  neutrals

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THE IMPRESSMENT CONTROVERSY

• British Law any able bodied subject could be
  drafted by the Royal Navy in an emergency
• In addition to press gangs in British ports and
  the stopping of British merchant vessels, might
  stop NEUTRAL ship and impress British subjects
• British were high-handed and denied
  naturalization rights for Americans claiming once
  British, always British

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THE IMPRESSMENT CONTROVERSY

• At least 10,000 British sailors were working in
  U.S. merchant marine due to better conditions
• Some naturalized U.S. citizens
• Some worked under false papers
• Some admitted were British citizens
• Some were deserters from British Navy
• U.S. government conceded British right to impress
  own citizens but not Americans
• As many as 3 out of every 4 of the at least 5,000
  sailors removed from U.S. ships between 1803 and
  1812 were Americans
• British did return those who could prove
  citizenship (some 3,800)

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THE EMBARGO ACT

• Between 1803 and 1807
• British seized more than 500 U.S. ships
• Napoleon seized more than 200
• June 22, 1807 USS Chesapeake (46-gun frigate)
  stopped by HMS Leopard
• When refused to hand over 4 deserters,
  Chesapeake was fired on and three sailors killed
• Deserters returned and ship limped home
• Attack was violation of international law
• Jefferson ordered British ships out of U.S.
  waters and passed Embargo Act

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THE EMBARGO ACT

• Prohibited all exports
• Jefferson hoped bad effects on U.S. economy would
  be offset by
• Keeping U.S. merchant marine off seas thus ending
  potential injury to themselves and to U.S. honor
• Pressuring Britain France, through the
  withholding of U.S. goods, to moderate policies
• Loses for maritime industry huge
• Massachusetts owned ships were earning over 15
  million
• Foreign commerce was most expansive force in U.S.
  economy

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THE EMBARGO ACT

• Exports fell
• 1807 108 million
• 1808 22 million
• Imports fell
• 1807 138 million
• 1808 less than 57 million
• Other effects
• Prices of farm and manufactured goods reacted
  violently
• Seamen thrown out of work
• Merchants had businesses disrupted

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THE EMBARGO ACT

• Attempts to circumvent
• Smuggle goods into Canada
• Ship out to sea before embargo in place and not
  return until over
• Claim distress in between U.S. ports and have
  to land in foreign ports
• Law allowed merchants with property abroad to
  fetch itsome 800 did
• Juries failed to convict those charged with
  violating act
• Congress finally replaced with Non-Intercourse
  Act which forbade trade only with Britain and
  France though President could restart trade with
  either if country stopped violating American
  rights

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WEBSITES

• Thomas Jefferson
• http//www.pbs.org/jefferson
• Thomas Jefferson Resources Online
• http//etext.virginia.edu/jefferson
• The Jefferson Home
• http//www.monticello.org