U.S. History
Chapter 11
“The Age of Jefferson”
1800-1815
Jefferson Takes Control
• Jefferson was the first DemocraticRepublican President, but the party became
known as the Republicans.
• U.S. showed the world that power could be
transferred without using violence.
• March 4, 1801 Thomas Jefferson was sworn
in as the 3rd President of the U.S. in
Washington, D.C.
Thomas Jefferson
More Democracy &
Simpler Government
• Jefferson brought a political & philosophical
change to America
• He wanted a more Democratic Govn’t. Where the
people had the power
• He asked all Americans to unite & work together
• Jefferson approached govn’t with a hands off
policy called laissez-faire
– Laissez-faire meant that the people did what they
wanted and the govn’t played as small a role as possible
Laissez Faire
Cut Spending & Taxes
• Jefferson promised to reduce the national debt
without raising taxes
• He cut govn’t spending drastically and cut taxes
for the people
– Repealed the excise taxes
• Only source of money for the govn’t would come
from tariffs and the sale of Western lands.
• In 1801 Jefferson did not renew the Alien &
Sedition Acts
Conflict with the Judicial
Branch
• Before Federalists lost power, Congress passed the
Judiciary Act of 1801 which increased the number
of federal judges
– John Adams then appointed his “midnight judges”
• When Jefferson took office Republicans repealed
the Judiciary Act of 1801 & attempted to impeach
the federal judges
• One judge was removed and another was
impeached but not removed
John Adams
Stronger Supreme Court
• Jefferson and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall
soon clashed
• Marbury vs Madison – famous Supreme Court case
• William Marbury was commissioned by Pres. Adams as a
justice of the peace in Washington, D.C. (Midnight Judge)
• When Jefferson became President, he told Sec. of State
James Madison not to send Marbury his papers
• Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to force Madison to
issue his papers (Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the Supreme
Court this power)
• The Supreme Court voted unanimously that Marbury had
the right to his commission, but they refused to force
Madison to issue the papers, b/c the Judiciary Act of 1789
was unconstitutional b/c Congress could not give the
Supreme Court such power.
Marbury vs Madison
Judicial Review
• Marbury vs Madison was the first time that the
Supreme Court claimed that it could rule a law
unconstitutional
• This power is called Judicial Review
• Supreme Court could use this as a check against
other branches of government
• This made the Supreme Court stronger than ever
• Jefferson & Republicans disagreed with the idea
of Judicial Review, but they accepted the ruling
Supreme
Court Chief
Justice
John
Marshall
Napoleon & Louisiana
• In early 1800’s many Americans began moving beyond the
Appalachian Mountains to settle.
• Spain owned all lands west of the MS River and it was
called the Louisiana Territory
• In 1800 Spain ceded Louisiana to France
• Pres. Jefferson feared that French leader, Napoleon
Bonaparte, was trying to build an empire in N. America.
He also worried about access to the MS River.
• Robert Livingston and James Monroe were sent to
negotiate to buy New Orleans and West Florida from
France.
– House of Reps. Said that they could offer $2 million, but Jefferson
told them to offer as much as $10 million.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte
Louisiana Purchase
Livingston
James Monroe
Talleyrand
Louisiana Purchase
• While negotiations were going on a revolt broke out in the
French Caribbean colony of Saint Domingue & France
became involved in another war with Great Britain
• These events made Napoleon lose interest in a N.
American empire
• He told Talleyrand to offer the entire Louisiana Territory
to the U.S.
• Livingston would not agree, b/c he was only given
permission to purchase New Orleans & West Florida
• The next day Monroe arrived and agreed to purchase the
property
• U.S. & France signed a treaty in May 1803. U.S. paid $15
million for the Louisiana Territory
• The U.S. doubled in land size overnight
Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Transfer
Louisiana Purchase
Treaty
Louisiana Purchase Controversy
• Jefferson & the Republicans were strict constructionists &
the Constitution didn’t give Jefferson the right to buy the
property.
• Jefferson & his advisers determined that he wasn’t doing
anything wrong, b/c he does have the power to make
treaties with other countries.
• Oct. of 1803 the Treaty was sent to the Senate
• Federalists opposed the purchase b/c they feared it would
strengthen the Southern slave states. They also
complained about the price.
• Most Americans praised the purchase and the U.S. growth
• The Senate approved the treaty and the purchase was final
Louisiana Purchase
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Lewis & Clark
Meriwether Lewis Expedition
& William Clark were asked to explore
the new area
They were to find a path through the Rocky Mts., study the
Native American tribes, and take notes of the land,
animals, and plants
Left St. Louis, Missouri in spring of 1804
April 1805 they made their way to and across the Rocky
Mts. with the help of a Shoshone woman named
Sacagawea.
Expedition reached the Pacific Ocean in autumn of 1805
Returned to St. Louis, MO on Sept. 23, 1806, two years
and four months after it began. They traveled 8,000 miles
The expedition was very successful
Lewis & Clark
Expedition
Lewis & Clark Route
Lewis & Clark
Sacagawea
Election of 1804
• Jefferson easily won reelection in 1804 due to his
popularity from the Louisiana Purchase and the U.S.
prosperous status
• Aaron Burr was no longer V.P. George Clinton was now
V.P.
• Burr left the Republican party and ran for Governor of
New York. He sought Federalist support, but Alexander
Hamilton forcefully campaigned against him.
• Burr lost, but Hamilton still criticized his integrity
• Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. The two met on a July
morning in 1804.
• Hamilton was shot and died the next day.
• Burr became a political outcast
• He was later tried for treason in a conspiracy to create an
empire in the West. He then left the country
George Clinton
Burr & Hamilton
Piracy & War
• Americans battled piracy in the Mediterranean Sea
for years, but in 1801, Tripoli raised the amount of
its tribute (Pirates)
• America refused to pay and Tripoli declared war
on the U.S.
• U.S. navy created a blockade around the port of
Tripoli
• The American ship, Philadelphia, ran aground and
the crew was captured. Lieutenant Stephen
Decatur snuck into the harbor during the night and
burned the ship
• War ended in 1805 but proved that the U.S.
needed a navy, but also that the U.S. would fight.
The Philadelphia
America Stays Neutral
• In 1803 the Napoleonic wars raged in Europe with France
& Great Britain being the largest players.
• Jefferson declared America neutral
• American ships were stopped and seized by French and
British warships
• British still practiced impressment.
• In June 1807 the American warship Chesapeake was
attacked by the British warship Leopard. 3 Americans
were killed and 4 impressed.
– Leopard fired on the Chesapeake killing three men. They then
took 4 crew members (3 were Americans)
• When the Chesapeake returned, Americans demanded war
• Jefferson agreed, but knew that the U.S. could not stand up
to the strongest navy on earth
Embargo & Non-Intercourse Acts
• Jefferson & Congress passed the Embargo Act in Dec. of
1807
– It prohibited American cargo to go to foreign ports
– It was unpopular and hurt the U.S. more than France & Great
Britain
• Congress repealed the Embargo Act and replaced it with
the Non-Intercourse Act
– It allowed trade with all nations except for France & Britain
• Jefferson did not seek a 3rd Presidential term. His Sec. of
State James Madison was elected Pres. in 1808
• 1810 Macon’s Bill No. 2 replaced Non-Intercourse Acts
– Said that if France or Great Britain respected U.S. neutral rights,
U.S. would stop trading with the other nation
James Madison
Madison Heads for War
• As President, Madison planned to stay
neutral in foreign affairs, but had to change
his mind
• Napoleon agreed to respect American
rights, and therefore the U.S. cut off trade
with Great Britain
• The two were getting closer to war
Native American Problems
• West saw constant clashes with Native Americans.
Most were supplied by the British.
• 1808 a Shawnee chief named Tecumseh united
many Native American tribes and formed a
confederation.
• 1811 Americans defeated Natives at the Battle of
Tippecanoe.
• Tecumseh died in 1813 and the confederation fell
apart
Tecumseh and the Prophet
William
Henry
Harrison
Call For War
• Those that supported war with Great Britain were
called War Hawks
• Anti-British feelings were strongest in the West
and the South
– Southerners wanted to take Florida from Spain (British
Ally)
– Westerners wanted to maintain peace in the west
• The British were hurting from the harsh winter of
1811-1812 and the U.S. embargo. They repealed
the orders to interfere with U.S. shipping
• Before Pres. Madison found out about the repeal,
he asked Congress to declare war on Great Britain.
They did on June 18, 1812
War of 1812
• The U.S. was unprepared for war
– Small and inexperienced army
– Navy with less than 20 oceangoing ships (had
to use privately owned ships called privateers)
Canada
• Canada was Britain’s last holding in North America
and a centerpiece of the war
• The Americans suffered many defeats in the Canadian
region and the Northwest Territory
• The American Navy suffered defeats but fought
boldly (USS Constitution ”Old Iron Sides”)
• Americans captured the city of York (capital of upper
Canada) and won a major naval battle on Lake Erie
• In 1813 Gen. William Henry Harrison led 3,500 men
across Lake Erie. They met 600 British and 1,000
Native Americans at the Battle of the Thames
River. Tecumseh was killed in this battle
USS Constitution vs the Guerriere
Battle of Lake Erie
Tecumseh's
Death
Napoleon Defeated
• By 1814 the British had defeated Napoleon and
sent another army to the Chesapeake Bay area
• Aug. 28, 1814 British troops captured Washington
D.C.
• Pres. Madison fled. His wife Dolley saved many
important artifacts
• The British burned Washington just as the
Americans had done the capital of York
The Burning of Washington
Star-Spangled Banner
• The British moved to attack Baltimore
• American troops at Fort McHenry held off the
attack for 25 hours and forced a British retreat
• Francis Scott Key watched the battle from a
prisoner of war ship in the harbor
• He was so moved that he wrote down some words
of poetry on an envelope.
• He set the tune to an old English drinking song and
it became popular
• In 1931 Congress adopted it as the National Anthem
Star Spangled Banner
(The Defense of Fort McHenry)
September 20, 1814
By Francis Scott Key
Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Bombardment of Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry Today
The Tall Ship of Delaware –
Early 19th century ship -
•
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
• And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
• Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner forever shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Battle of New Orleans
• Late 1814 the British planned to attack the U.S.
from the south at New Orleans
• Gen. Andrew Jackson, nicknamed “Old Hickory”,
and his Tennessee sharpshooters were waiting for
them
• The Battle of New Orleans took place on Jan. 8,
1815 and was the greatest victory for the U.S. in
the war
• 2,000 British casualties and only 20 American
• Battle wasn’t necessary, b/c two weeks earlier the
U.S. & Great Britain had signed a peace treaty, but
slow communication prevented anyone from
knowing
Andrew
Jackson
The Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans
Aftermath of the War of 1812
• The war divided the nation
• In Dec. 1814 many New Englanders (mostly
Federalists) met at the Hartford Convention and
discussed forming their own confederation of New
England States.
• The idea fell apart with the signing of the Treaty of
Ghent, which was signed on Dec. 24, 1814 ending the
War of 1812.
• The treaty settled nothing. It simply ended the fighting.
• The United States felt stronger and more patriotic than
ever
Signing Treaty of Ghent