JEFFERSON’S
PRESIDENCY
Chapter 9
JEFFERSON’S PRESIDENCY
 Key Topics:
 The development of America’s economy in a world of warring great
powers.
 The role of Jefferson’s presidency and his agrarian republicanism in
forging a national identity.
 The ending of colonial dependency by the divisive War of 1812.
 The nationalizing force of westward expansion.
EUROPEAN COLONIES IN THE EARLY 19TH
CENTURY
 Spain: challenged in its efforts to control New Spain & the
Caribbean.
 Britain: The gov’t of Canada reflected lessons learned in the
colonies.
 Russia: Rapidly expanding presence centered on Alaska and
the Northwest.
What were the most important strengths of the American
economy in the early 1800s?
A NATIONAL ECONOMY
THE NATIONAL ECONOMY
 1800s
 Predominantly rural
 94%of Americans lived in
communities of fewer than
2,500 people
 Crops were grown for home
rather than for sale
 A developing country of raw
materials
THE NATIONAL ECONOMY
 Cotton was the US’s biggest export and dominated the South
and US trade.
 The invention of the cotton by Eli Whitney only increased the
desire to sell more cotton and buy more slaves.
 The Industrial Revolution in England increased the demand for
cotton.
 Trade with Britain and France had declined since the Revolution
& America was intentionally kept out of the West Indian trade
market.
 It was difficult for the US to become an independent trade
partner in a world already dominated by world powers.
THE NATIONAL ECONOMY
 Despite economic
problems in the 1790s, the
American shipping
industry boomed. It
stimulated growth in
coastal cities due to
expanding work
opportunities. As a result,
it increased food
production on farms.
 Expanding Foreign Trade-
The US began trading with
China,. The US began to
build bigger and faster
ships to move more goods
to China. The Clipper was
the best ship during the
era.
THE NATIONAL ECONOMY
 New ships like the Clipper
Ship cut the sailing time in
half. With the increase in
the shipping business,
there was also an increase
in immigration.
The National Economy
Growth of TradeFrench Revolution led to
renewed period of sea
warfare between the British
and French.
Also, US merchants supplied
both sides.
US shipbuilding and growth
of cities increased.
THE JEFFERSON PRESIDENCY
 America’s 3rd President. Served 1801-1809
 Presidency marked a peaceful transition from the Federalists to
the Jeffersonian Republicans.
 Term lacked political bitterness and rivalries that marked plagued
the 1st two presidencies.
 Jefferson demonstrated that a strongly led party system could
shape national policy without leading to dictatorship or revolt.
 Began the Virginia Dynasty (James Madison 1809-1817), (James
Monroe 1817- 1825)
THE JEFFERSON PRESIDENCY
 Republican Agrarianism-
 Jefferson was greatly
Jefferson’s idea of a nation
included:
 Small farms in rural
communities
 Independent farmers
would promote the
common good
 Expansion into the West
influenced by Thomas
Malthus, who warned
against population growth
and poverty. Jefferson
didn’t view this as a
problem due to the ability
to expand our borders.
 He wanted to create a
“Republic of Virtue.”
JEFFERSON’S PRESIDENCY- GOVERNMENT
 Cut all taxes
 Reduced the size of the
army & navy
 Cut government staff
 Tried to eliminate the
national debt
JEFFERSON’S JUDICIARY-MARBURY V.
MADISON
 In one of his last actions, Adams appointed Federalists ,
known as the “Midnight Judges”, to the positions of judges
and other positions in the judiciary.
 Jefferson refused to recognize Adam’s judges and instructed
James Madison, his Secretary of State, not to deliver their
commissions. William Marbury, Adam’s choice for Justice of
the Peace for D.C. led the filed suit against Madison.
 The case Marbury v. Madison became a landmark case for
the Supreme Court and established the power of judicial
review.
JEFFERSON’S JUDICIARY
James Madison
William Marbury
JEFFERSON’S JUDICIARY- MARBURY V.
MADISON
 The question, “ Was the
judiciary independent of
politics?” was the main
issue.
 In 1803, Chief Justice
delivered the decision: The
courts had the
responsibility “to say what
the law is” BUT also the
S.C wasn’t empowered by
the
 Constitution to force the
executive branch to give
Marbury his commission.
 The ruling established the
idea that ONLY the
federal judiciary could
determine what was
constitutional.
 The decision made the
court a nationalizing force.
The Louisiana Purchase
In 1803, Jefferson’s
representatives bought the
entire Louisiana Territory
for $15 million. Napoleon
needed the money to
finance his European wars.
The Jefferson Presidency
The acquisition doubled
the size of the US and it
was the largest peaceful
acquisition of territory in
US History.
Louisiana Purchase
1804-06- The Lewis and
Clark Expedition was the
first to survey & document
nature and the rich
environment of the
territory. The expedition
began in St. Louis & ended
at the Pacific Ocean in
Oregon.
What contradictions in American Indian policy did the confrontations
between Tecumseh’s alliance and soldiers in the Old Northwest reveal? Can
you suggest any solutions to these contradictions?
RENEWED IMPERIAL RIVALRY IN
NORTH AMERICA
RENEWED RIVALRIES IN NORTH AMERICA
 Jefferson insisted the US
have neutral rights to
trade goods in Europe. US
ships got caught in the
middle of British & French
warfare in the open seas &
British soldiers began to
desert their posts and join
American crews. Britain
began impressing
Americans.
 Americans protested
British interference and
the kidnapping and deaths
of American soldiers. As a
result, Jefferson imposed
the Embargo Act.
THE EMBARGO ACT
 1807- Forbade American
ships from sailing to
foreign ports.
 Intended to force Britain
& France to recognize
neutral rights.
 The act was an economic
disaster for the US.
 Exports fell from $108
million in 1807 to $22
million in 1808.
 Smuggling and illegal trading
increased.
 New England merchants
were hit the hardest.
 The policy of “peaceable
coercion” was a failure.
 It had little effect on Br. & Fr.
NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS
 Jefferson’s policy toward
Native Americans included
acculturation, removal or
extinction. Jefferson could
not stop westward
expansion. In response,
natives formed the PanIndian Military Resistance
Movement, which called
for political and cultural
 Unification of the tribes in
the late 18th and early 19th
centuries.
 Native Resistance was a
major cause of the War of
1812.
What were the causes and effects of the War of 1812?
WAR OF 1812
WAR OF 1812 CAUSES
 Chesapeake-Leopard Affair
 Orders of Council
 Embargo Act 1807
 Non-Intercourse Act 1809
 Tecumseh’s War
 War Hawks
 Monroe- Pinckney Treaty
WAR OF 1812
 Battle of New Orleans-A
decisive American victory
over the British in 1815
that ended any British
hopes of gaining control
over the Mississippi River.
Andrew Jackson led the
American troops.
WAR OF 1812
Hartford Convention
 New England states
threatened to secede from
the Union due to the
economic devastation
caused by the Embargo
Act. At the Hartford
Convention, the threat
was ignored as Britain
announced peace.
Treaty of Ghent
 The British agreed to leave
the Western forts but
nothing was settled on
impressment or neutral
rights. The British
abandonment of native
tribes sealed their fate of
extinction, acculturation, &
evacuation.
WAR OF 1812
 Treaty of Ghent The biggest impact of the
war was on national
morale. It forced the
British to stop treating
America as a colony and
convinced Americans they
were independent &
strong.
THE ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS1817-25
 After the end of the War
of 1812, Americans
focused on expansion and
national development. In
1816, the last of the
Virginia Dynasty, James
Monroe was elected
President.
 It is called the Era of
Good Feelings because the
Federalist Party
disappeared which enabled
the Republicans to govern
in a peaceful and
nonpartisan way.
ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS
 The American System- A program of economic
development promoted by House Speaker Henry Clay.
 Included:
 Second Bank of the United States
ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS
ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS
PANIC OF 1819