Chapter 9: An Agrarian Republic
(AKA The Era of Jefferson)
Mr. Logan Greene
AP United States History
West Blocton High School
Chapter Objectives
• What did Thomas Jefferson achieve as
President?
• What challenges did James Madison face
as President?
• What were the consequences of the War of
1812?
• How did nationalism increase during the
Era of Good Feelings?
• What was the Missouri Compromise?
Jefferson as President
• Jefferson’s rise to the presidency with the
election of 1800 was seen as “revolution”
since it handed power from one party to
another
• Where as the Federalists believed in
industry and trade Jefferson wished for
the United States to be an agrarian or
farming nation
Jeffersonian Reforms
• Jefferson was unpretentious and
considered himself an “everyday” man
• He wanted the government to seem less
monarchical and more accessible
• Jefferson also quickly removed the
remnants of Federalist policies
• As well, Jefferson wanted to remove
Federalist officials still in power
Marbury v. Madison
• Thomas Jefferson ignored the Judiciary Act of 1801 and
began removing judges appointed by John Adams
• This came to a head with the case of Marbury v. Madison
concerning a “midnight appointment” by John Adams as
he left the presidency
• The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall
ruled that a section of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was
unconstitutional
• This created the precedent of Judicial Review that allows
the Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional
The Louisiana Purchase
• Jefferson got lucky when it came to foreign affairs
• Jefferson attacked Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean
easing American shipping in that area
• In 1800 Napoleon Bonaparte signed a secret treaty
returning the Louisiana Territory to Spain
• Jefferson offered to buy New Orleans to help American
shipping, in response Napoleon offered all of Louisiana to
help fund his possible war with Britain
• Despite not knowing if he had the constitutional power to
purchase land Jefferson could not resist and doubled the
size of the United States for 3 ½ cents an acre (15
million)
Florida and the West
• Republican’s wanted more land to bolster
the plantation system of the South
• Jefferson failed to negotiate for West
Florida from the Spanish
• Jefferson’s VP Aaron Burr pushed for an
invasion of the territory
• Upon being ejected from politics after
killing Alexander Hamilton Burr attempted
to lead a separatist government in the
West
Embargos and the Presidency
• By 1807 war becoming inevitable with Britain as America
tried to stay neutral in the growing European Napoleonic
conflict
• The British Royal Navy was impressing American sailors
(forcing them to change sides and become sailors in the
Royal Navy)
• The Chesapeake Incident highlighted the growing issues
– The USS Chesapeake was a US Frigate that was
stopped by a British ship and ordered to submit to a
search
– The British ship Leopard opened fire and killed 7
Americans after the Chesapeake refused
– Jefferson closed ports and demanded compensation
but avoided war
The Embargo Act of 1807
• Jefferson passed the Embargo Act of 1807
barring all American shipping until Britain
and France lifted restrictions on neutral
trade
• This had the effect of infuriating the North
and Secretary of State Madison was forced
to abandon the Embargo during the
election of 1808 to ensure a victory
Madison and the Coming War
• Madison attempted to stave off the war
with Britain by adjusting economic
sanctions and dealing with Britain’s strong
arm tactics
• Despite this by November 1810 Madison
had to reinstate non-importation against
Britain and the two countries were again
teetering on the brink
Natives and the Frontier
• As settlers continued to pour into the West Natives grew
increasingly angry
• The Pan-Indian Resistance Movement showed Natives
were beginning to throw aside tribal differences and unite
to fight the whites
• The Indians leaders Tecumseh and his brother Prophet
began leading a movement for Natives to not leave, albeit
peacefully
• However, the movement intensified into the Battle of
Tippecanoe between the natives and the US lead by
William Henry Harrison
• Tecumseh now joined with the British after the American
victory
Moving to War
• The issues with Natives pushed a group of
Southern and Western politicians to call
for war garnering their title as War Hawks
• By the summer of 1812 Madison was out
of tricks and was losing control of the
government
• A divided congress declared war on
Britain, unprepared and totally
outmatched
The War of 1812
• We will cover the War of 1812 in detail on
Tuesday 
The Era of Good Feelings
• With the election of James Monroe to the
presidency in 1817 the country entered the
Era of Good Feelings
– This was a time highlighted by no party
conflict
• The economy boomed as the country
recovered from the War of 1812
Second Bank of the U.S.
• In time the Republicans appreciated
Alexander Hamilton’s economic sense
• In 1816 they created the Second Bank of
the United States to control the national
economy
• The republicans also passed the protective
tariff of 1817 to help protect American
industry against cheap European imports
• Lastly they passed a bill paying for
massive internal improvements sponosred
by John C. Calhoun
The Judicial Branch Powers UP
• Under Chief Justice John Marshall the
Supreme Court drastically increased its
power
• Fletcher v. Peck (1810)
– Overturned a state law violating legal contracts
• Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1817)
– Prohibited states from interfering with
corporations
• McCullough v. Maryland (1819)
– Defended the right of the federal government
to create a national bank and enforced the
elastic clause
The Continent
• Under Secretary of State John Quincy
Adams (two guesses on who his dad was)
the US secured its land
– Rush-Bagot Agreement demilitarized the
border with English Canada
– The Anglo-American Accords formalized the
border with English Canada
– The Trans-Continental Treaty of 1819 annexed
East Florida and recognized the US conquest
of East Florida from Spain
The Monroe Doctrine
• Although most likely written by Quincy
Adams the Monroe Doctrine became the
most lasting memory of James Monroe’s
presidency
• Monroe basically told Europe that the
Americas were off limits for any
colonization and in the same vein the US
would not interfere in the internal affairs of
European states
The Panic of 1819
• In the period immediately following the
War of 1812 the US economy exploded
• The bubble burst in 1819 as cotton prices
collapsed
• Banks stopped loaning money and the
economy floundered
• As well, the Panic made Southerners
nervous as they saw an all powerful federal
government that could interfere with their
most precious commodity…..slaves
The Missouri Compromise
• Missouri’s possible entry to the US caused
a rift
• Northerners wanted Missouri to be free
and Southerners wanted it to be slave
• A deadlock ensued until Henry Clay
intervened in 1820 with the Missouri
Compromise
• Maine entered as a free state while
Missouri entered as a slave state and the
Louisiana territory north of Missouri would
be free
The Election of 1824
• Monroe stepped down after his second
term so the 1824 election pitted John
Quincy Adams against Andrew Jackson
• None of the candidates had a majority of
electoral votes so the election would be
decided in the House of Representatives
• Adams won with help from Henry Clay
• Clay was immediately named Secretary of
State
• Jackson called it a “Corrupt Bargain”
Chapter Objectives
• What did Thomas Jefferson achieve as
President?
• What challenges did James Madison face
as President?
• What were the consequences of the War of
1812?
• How did nationalism increase during the
Era of Good Feelings?
• What was the Missouri Compromise?