Andi Meyer

Chapter 11 - The Triumphs and Travails of Jeffersonian Republic

Presidential contest of 1800 was first with political parties (john Adams vs. Thomas Jefferson)
I. Federalist and Republican Mudslingers
 In the election of 1800, the Federalists had a host of enemies stemming from the Alien and
Sedition Acts. (Many were Jeffersonian)
 Hamilton was robbed of war with franc so he wrote a private pamphlet attacking the president;
Jeffersonian got hold of it and printed it publicly
 The Federalists had been most damaged by John Adams’ not declaring war against France.
They had raised a bunch of taxes and built a good navy, and then had not gotten any reason to
justify such spending, making them seem fraudulent as they had also swelled the public debt.
(all dressed up and nowhere to go) John Adams became known as “the Father of the American
Navy.”
 Federalists also launched attacks on Jefferson (earliest whispering campaign), saying that he
had robbed a widow and her children of a trust fund, fathered numerous children with his slaves
(which turned out to be true), called him an atheist (he was a Deist), and used other
inflammatory remarks.
II. The Jeffersonian “Revolution of 1800”
 Thomas Jefferson won the election of 1800 by a majority of 73 electoral votes to 65, and even
though Adams got more popular votes, Jefferson got New York.
 The 3/5ths clause was decisive in his victory because the south got more votes which they gave
to Jefferson This caused him to be called a negro president and an embodiment of slave power
 But, even though Jefferson triumphed, in a technicality he and Aaron Burr tied for presidency.
 The vote, according to the Constitution, would now go to the Federalist-dominated House of
Representatives. Hateful of Jefferson, many wanted to vote for Burr, and the vote was
deadlocked for months until a few federalists refrained from voting
 Election was a revolution, but not in the sense of massive popular upheaval of political system
 A change of 250 votes in NY would have made Adams president
 What Jefferson means was his election represented a return to the original spirit of revolution
 He thought Hamilton and Adams had betrayed the original mission and Jefferson thought he
was supposed to:
 Restore republican experiment
 Check growth of government
 Halt decay of virtue that started under federalist rule
 Revolution was peaceful and orderly transfer of power on basis of election that was accepted by
all parties
 Remarkable achievement for young nation
III. Responsibility Breeds Moderation
 On March 4, 1801, Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated president in the new capital of
Washington D.C.
 Believed customary pomp did not befit his democratic ideals so he walked to capital on foot
instead of in carriage
 In his address, he declared that all Americans were Federalists;
all were Republicans, implying that Americans were a mixture. He also pledged “honest
friendship with all nations, entangling alliances
with none.”
 Jefferson was simple and frugal, and did not seat in regard to rank during his dinners (pell-mell)
(which insulted British prime minister who had been precedent among federalists) He also was
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unconventional, wearing sloppy attire, and he started the precedent of sending messages to
Congress to be read by a clerk.
 There were two Thomas Jefferson’s: the scholarly private citizen who philosophized in his
study, and the harassed public official who discovered that bookish theories worked out
differently in practical politics. (Consistently inconsistent)
 First party turn over in American history
 Jefferson also dismissed few Federalist officials and those who wanted the seats complained.
He wanted to stick with his conciliatory inaugural address and showed moderation
 Jefferson had to rely on his casual charm because his party was so disunited still. Opposition to
federalists was only thing holding them together, so as federalists faded so did republican unity
IV. Jeffersonian Restraint
 Jefferson pardoned those who were serving time under the Sedition
Act, and in 1802, he enacted a new naturalization law that returned the years needed for an
immigrant to become a citizen from 14 to 5.
 He also kicked away the excise tax, but otherwise left the Hamiltonian system intact. Left the
country one million dollars less a year
 The new secretary of the treasury, Albert Gallatin (Swiss born and French accented) “watchdog
of the treasury”, reduced the national debt substantially while balancing the budget.
 Didn’t attack bank of U.S. and instead later rechartered a bigger bank and boosted protective
tariff
 By shrewdly absorbing the major Federalist programs, Jefferson showed that a change of
regime need not be disastrous for the exiting group.
V. The “Dead Clutch” of the Judiciary
 The Judiciary Act, passed by the Federalists in their last days of Congressional domination in
1801, packed 16 newly created judgeships with Federalist-backing men, so as to prolong their
legacy. “Midnight judges” cause these judges would serve till death and be pro federalist
 Republican congress repealed the judiciary act of 1801, they also wanted to get rid of marshal
 Chief Justice John Marshall, a cousin of Jefferson, had served at Valley Forge during the war,
and he had been impressed with the drawbacks of no central authority, and thus, he became a
lifelong Federalist, committed to strengthening the power of the federal government.
 Marbury v. Madison (1803): William Marbury had been one of the “midnight judges” appointed
by John Adams in his last hours as president. He had been named justice of peace for D.C., but
when Secretary of State James Madison decided to shelve the position, Marbury sued for its
delivery. Marshall dismissed the case, avoiding a direct political showdown, but he said that the
Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional, thus suggesting that the Supreme Court could
determine the constitutionality of laws (AKA, “judicial review”).
 This magnified the authority of the court and made the supreme court the final authority in
determining the constitutionality of laws instead of states as Jefferson had tried to get in
Kentucky
 In 1804, Jefferson tried to impeach the tart-tongued Supreme Court justice, Samuel Chase,
started in house and passed to senate but when the vote got to the Senate, not enough votes
were mustered, and to this day, no attempt to alter the Supreme Court has ever been tried
through impeachment. “Judge breaking”
VI. Jefferson, a Reluctant Warrior
 Reduced military to police force
 People thought it was penny pinching but he didn’t want it because of republican beliefs
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 He hoped to avoid war and alliances and set example for world, forswear military force and win
friends though peaceful coercion
 Large standing army invitation to dictatorship, navy not as feared but little point
 However, the pirates of the North African Barbary States were still looting U.S. ships,
 Previous federalist admins. Had been forced to buy protection
 And in 1801, the pasha of Tripoli indirectly declared war when he cut down the flagstaff of the
American consulate.
 Non-interventionalist Jefferson had a problem of whether to fight or not, and he reluctantly
sent the infant navy to the shores of Tripoli, where fighting continued for four years until
Jefferson succeeded in extorting a treaty of peace from Tripoli in 1805 for $60,000. (Ransom for
captured Americans)
 Jefferson fascinated with small gun boats (jeffs or mosquito fleet) only one gun, one ended up 8
miles in land in corn field after hurricane which made federalists laugh
 The small, mobile gunboats used in the Tripolitan War fascinated Jefferson, and he spent
money to build about 200 of them (these boats might be zippy and fast, but they did little
against large battleships). The years eventually showed building small ships to be a poor
decision.
VII. The Louisiana Godsend
 In 1800, Napoleon secretly induced the king of Spain to cede the Louisiana territory to France.
 Then, in 1802, the Spaniards at New Orleans withdrew the right of deposit guaranteed by the
Pinckney Treaty of 1795. Such deposit privileges were vital to the frontier farmers who floated
their goods down the Mississippi River to its mouth to await oceangoing vessels.
 These farmers talked of marching to New Orleans to violently get back what they deserved, an
action that would have plunged the U.S. Into war with Spain and France.
 When it was under Spain it was no problem, they would seize it when the time was right, but
under France and napoleon they would have a dark and bloody future
 Jefferson was pacifist and ant entanglement and they would need help to win if they went to
war
 In 1803, Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris to join regular minister Robert R. Livingston to
buy New Orleans and as much land to the east of the river for a total of $10 million, tops.
 If negotiations failed they were to open negotiations with Britain
 Instead, Napoleon offered to sell New Orleans and the land west of it, Louisiana, for a bargain
of $15 million, thereby abandoning his dream of a French North American empire.
 This abandonment was due failure to recapture Santo Domingo, - rebellion in Haiti of ex slaves ,
led by Toussaint L’Ouverture, which had been unsuccessful, but had killed many French troops
due to yellow fever. Only need New Orleans to supply food to island, with no island, no need for
New Orleans. The decision to sell Louisiana was also because Napoleon needed cash to renew
his war with Britain.
 The Louisiana Purchase was finalized on April 30, 1803.
 Jefferson had a dilemma, since the Constitution said nothing about purchasing foreign land, but
on the other hand, this deal was simply too good to pass up! (Strict constructionist vs.
democratic visionary) form an empire of liberty
 After considering an amendment, Jefferson finally decided to go through with the deal anyway,
even though nothing in the Constitution talked about land purchases. Jefferson had been a
strict interpreter of the Constitution, but he was now using a loose interpretation.
 He had wanted to pass an amendment to the constitution but during that time napoleon might
withdraw the treaty, so it was submitted to the senate
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 The Senate quickly approved the purchase with Jefferson’s urging, and the Louisiana Purchase
doubled the size of the United
States. This was the biggest bargain in history averaging 3 cents per acre.
VIII. Louisiana in the Long View
 Valley of democracy was great agrarian republic
 The purchase created a precedent of acquisition of foreign territory through purchase. Be
incorporated into union as equal states
 Imperialism with democratic state, Washington government agreed to accept legal code based
on French civil law rather than British common law
 With no more enemies in the new world America could separate itself from the old world
 In the spring of 1804, Jefferson sent William Clark (a young army officer) and Meriwether Lewis
(Jefferson’s personal secretary) to explore this new territory. Started up the “great muddy”
(Missouri river) Along with a Shoshoni woman named Sacajawea, the two spent 21/2 years
exploring the land, marveling at the expanses of buffalo, elk, deer, antelope, and the landscape
and went all the way to Oregon and the Pacific before returning.
o Scientific observations
o Maps
o Knowledge of Indians in regions
 Lewis was lucky, he ran into teenage Blackfoot Indians who stole his horses and was almost
killed
 Other explorers, like Zebulon Pike trekked to the headwaters of the Mississippi River in 1805-06
and ventured to the southern portion of Louisiana, Spanish land in the southwest, and sighted
Pike’s Peak.
IX. The Aaron Burr Conspiracies
 Louisiana Purchase expanded fortune and power of federal government in long term, in short
term it raised fear of secession
 The Federalists now sank lower than ever and tried to scheme with Aaron Burr to make New
England and New York secede from the union; Hamilton found out and exposed the conspiracy.
Burr challenged him to a duel and Hamilton was killed
 Burr went out west to make alliance with James Wilkinson, governor of Louisiana territory and
secret agent of Spanish crown
 Their plot was to separate western u>S. From the east and expand into Mexico and Florida
 Burr and his men were to float down the river and meet Wilkinson’s army at Natchez
 Jefferson learned of plot and Wilkinson betrayed burr and fled to new Orleans
 Burr tried for treason but chief justice marshal said they needed proof of treason, not just
intentions
 He was acquitted and fled to Europe where he tried to get napoleon to join Britain in invasion of
America
X. A Precarious Neutrality
 In 1804, Jefferson won with a margin of 162 electoral votes to 14 for his opponent, but this
happiness was nonexistent because in 1803, Napoleon had deliberately provoked Britain into
renewing its war with France. (11 years long)
 For 2 years the us was the main neutral carrier and enjoyed good commercial pickings
 Battle of Trafalgar: horatio lord nelson beat French and Spanish fleets off coast of Spain and
ensured England’s supremacy of seas
 Battle of Austerlitz (Battle of the Three Emperors): napoleon beat Austrians and Russian armies
and ensured mastery of land
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 As a result, American trade sank as England and France, unable to hurt each other (England
owned the sea thanks to the Battle of Trafalgar while France owned the land thanks to the
Battle of Austerlitz), resorted to indirect blows.
 In 1806, London issued the Orders in Council, which closed ports under French continental
control to foreign shipping, including American, unless they stopped at a British port first.
 Likewise, Napoleon ordered the seizure of all ships, including American, which entered British
ports.
 Impressments (illegal seizure of men and forcing them to serve on ships) of American seamen
also infuriated the U.S.; some 6,000 Americans were impressed from 1808-11.
 In 1807, a royal frigate confronted the U.S. frigate, the Chesapeake; about 10 miles off the coast
of Virginia, and the British captain ordered the seizure of four alleged deserters. When the
American commander refused, the U.S. ship received three devastating broadsides that killed 3
Americans and wounded 18. In an incident in which England was clearly wrong, Jefferson still
clung to peace.
XI. The Hated Embargo
 In order to try to stop the British and French seizure of American ships, Jefferson resorted to an
embargo. His belief was that the only way to stay out of the war was to shut down shipping.
 Jefferson thought Britain and France relied on American goods (it was really the opposite;
Americans relied on Europe’s goods).
 Also, the U.S. still had a weak navy and a weaker army.
 The Embargo Act of late 1807 forbade the export of all goods from the United States to any
foreign nation, regardless of whether they were transported in American or foreign ships.
(Peaceful coercion)
 The net result was deserted docks, rotting ships in the harbors, and Jefferson's embargo hurt
the same New England merchants that it was trying to protect.
 The commerce of New England was harmed more than that of France and Britain.
 Farmers of the South and West were alarmed by the mounting piles of unexported cotton,
grain, and tobacco.
 Illegal trade mushroomed in 1808, where people resorted to smuggling again especially along
Canadian border
 Finally, coming to their senses and feeling the public’s anger, Congress repealed the act on
March 1, 1809, three days before Jefferson’s retirement and replaced it with the Non-
Intercourse Act, which reopened trade with all the nations of the world, except France and
England.
 However, this act had the same effect as the Embargo because America’s #1 and #2 trade
partners were Britain and France.
 Thus, economic coercion continued from 1809 to 1812, when war struck.
 The embargo failed for two main reasons: (1) Jefferson underestimated the bulldog British and
underestimated their dependence on American
goods and (2) he didn’t continue the embargo long enough or tightly enough to achieve
success.
 Latin American republics opened ports and compensated for American cargo
 Even Jefferson himself admitted that the embargo was three times more costly than war, and
he could have built a strong navy with a fraction of the money lost.
 During the time of the embargo, the Federalist Party regained some of its lost power.
 However, during this embargo, resourceful Americans also opened and reopened factories, and
thus, the embargo helped to promote industrialism—another irony since it was Jefferson who
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was committed to an agrarian, while it was his archrival Alexander Hamilton who was
committed to industry.
XII. Madison’s Gamble
Jefferson happy to retire after 2 terms of “splendid misery”
 After Jefferson, James Madison took the oath of presidency on March 4, 1809, short, bald, and
not a great speaker.
 In 1810, Congress adopted a bargaining measure called Macon’s Bill No. 2, which while
permitting American trade with the entire world, also promised American restoration of trade
to France and/or England if either dropped their commercial restrictions. If England opened
trade with America then America would continue embargo with France or vice versa
 Napoleon had his opportunity: in August of 1810, he announced that French commercial
restrictions had been lifted, and Madison, desperate for recognition of the law, declared France
available for American trade.
 England was in control of oceans and felt no need to bargain, America should not be allowed to
trade with anyone but England
 Of course, Napoleon lied, and never really lifted restrictions, but meanwhile, America had been
duped into entering European affairs against Great Britain.
XIII. Tecumseh and the Prophet
 The western politicians also cried out against the Indian threat on the frontier. These young,
aggressive Congressmen were known as “War Hawks.”
 War hawks also wanted to wipe out new Indian threat as whites moved west and Indians were
pushed further out
 Thus, two Shawnee brothers, Tecumseh and the Prophet, decided that the time to act was
now, created confederation of all tribes east of Mississippi and gathered followers, urging them
to give up textile clothing for traditional buckskin garments,
 They foreswore alcohol so they could better fight the palefaces
 Arguing eloquently for the Indian’s to not acknowledge the White man’s “ownership” of land,
and urging that no Indian should cede control of land to whites unless all Indians agreed.
 Battle of Tippecanoe: On November 7, 1811, American general William Henry Harrison
governor of Indiana advanced upon Tecumseh’s headquarters at Tippecanoe, killed the
Prophet, and burned the camp to the ground.
 Discredited the prophet and drove Tecumseh to alliance with Britain
 Tecumseh was killed at the Battle of the Thames in 1813 and the Indian confederacy dream
perished.
XIV. Mr. Madison’s War
 British armed Indians and war hawks bushed madisonto declare war
 Felix Grundy of Tennessee had three brothers killed by Indians, said that only way to remove
Indian menace is to wipe out Canadian base
 War hawks chanted “on to Canada”
 Turned to war to restore confidence in republican experiment
 Needed war to prove republican system as having force and duration worthy of enterprise
 New England, which was still making lots of money, damned the war for a free sea, and
Federalists opposed the war because (1) they were more inclined toward Britain anyway and
opposed Corsican butcher napoleon (2) if Canada was conquered, it would add more agrarian
land and increase Republican supporters.
 New England federalists lent money and supplies to Canada and England which allowed
invasion of New York
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 America had to fight new and old England

Chronology
Jefferson wins presidency
Judiciary act of 1801
Naval war with Tripoli
Reviled naturalization law
Judiciary act of 1801 repealed
Marburg vs. Madison
Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson reelected
Impeachment of justice chase
Lewis and Clark
Treaty with Tripoli
Pikes exploration
Burr treason trial]
Chesapeake
Embargo act
Madison president
Non intercourse act replaces embargo
Macon’s bill no 2
Napoleon falsely repeals blockade
Madison reestablishes non import with Britain
Battle of Tippecanoe
US declare war on England