I.
The Revolution of 1800
a. The Federalist Finale
i. Washington and J. Adams exchange Federalist power
to Jeffersonian Democratic Republicans
ii. Federalists are out of touch: too aristocratic, too
elitist, upper class, and too tyrannical
iii. Washington tried to keep his head above water,
Adams mis-negotiated foreign policy with British and
French
b. Bad politics
i. Electoral college did not account for ties: Aaron Burr
tied, but Adams and Hamilton forced change of votes
in the H of R.
ii. Federalist bad press
c. A transition of power
i. The Revolution of 1800 was the first peaceful
transition of political parties
ii. Indicated the effectiveness of party politics: staying in
touch with the people
d. A redefinition of the presidency
i. Jefferson was simple, frugal, sloppy, and often
distracted
ii. Held state meetings in his pajamas—scandalized
foreign ministers.
iii. Sent messages to Congress, rather than attending
directly—set a precedent, interrupted only by Lincoln,
until T.R.
e. Declarations of goodwill
i. Pardoned “criminals” imprisoned under Alien and
Sedition Acts
ii. Removed excise tax—made Southerners and
westerners (poorer states) much happier
iii. Absorbed many of the Federalist programs: a defined
Cabinet, foreign ministers and ambassadors, a
federally funded navy
f. And some ill-will
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i. Attempted to impeach Federalist supreme court
justices: as a result of “midnight judge” confirmations
(Samuel Chase and William Marbury)
ii. Poor management of pirate looting in the Atlantic
g. The Supreme Court
i. Marbury v. Madison: (1803) The principle of judicial
review, or, just because you don’t like them, doesn’t
mean you can get rid of them.
ii. Establishes the Supreme Court as the impartial, nonpartisan protectors of the Constitution
iii. Depends on strict/loose interpretation
iv. Tests the system of checks and balances/separation
of power and Articles I-III of the Constitution
II.
Jeffersonian domestic policy
a. Strict interpretation of the Constitution
i. No excessive power of any branch of government
ii. Do not overuse “implied powers”
b. The Louisiana Purchase
i. Intent:
1. to create a buffer between Spanish North
America and the United States,
2. to solidify relationships with Napolean and
France,
3. to provide safe economic exchange along the
Mississippi River
ii. The Dilemma
1. Required an initial offering of $10 million, later
purchased for $15 million (3 cents/acre)
2. Napolean needed money to bail out his deficit
spending
3. Napolean forced to deal with L’Ouverture’s slave
rebellion in Haiti
4. None of the land had been charted, and was
overrun with Native Americans
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5. No justification for the excessive use of
Executive Power (contradicted his views of strict
interpretation)
6. Difficult to settle and administer
iii. The purchase
1. $15 million, a deal
2. Doubles the size of the USA
3. Sent Lewis and Clarke, and Zebulon Pike, to
survey resources, waterways, and potential
threat
4. Sparked a new American identity based on
cheap land, settlement, an appreciation of the
frontier, and self reliance
iv. Eradication of Federalist legacy (see above)
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III.
Jefferson’s Foreign Policy
a. France
i. Generally positive
ii. Purchase of Louisiana
b. England
i. Chesapeake affair
ii. Impressments of naval seamen
c. General policy
i. Embargo Act (1807) prevent exportation of goods to
England and France
1. Criticized for being too expensive
2. Underestimated Britain
ii. Later repealed after Jefferson left (Non-Intercourse
Act)
IV.
Overall Evaluation
a. Strengths
i. Modesty, simplicity, innovative, intellectual
ii. Doubled size of the United States
iii. Against tyranny in all forms
b. Weaknesses
i. Ineffective policy maker—foreign and domestic
ii. Didn’t work well with Supreme Court
iii. Reduced military and militia
iv. Unresolved conflict with Britain, France, and the
Pasha of Tripoli/Barbary Pirates.
V.
Madison and the Second War for Independence
a. Background
i. British continued to fortify and station troops on both
sides of the Mississippi River, despite the Treaty of
Paris (1783)
ii. Embargo Act threatened to cut off trade
iii. Petty skirmishes in the Atlantic during Jefferson’s
admin. (Chesapeake affair)
iv. British supported Great Plains Indians
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v. The United States needed to test foreign policy, flex
muscle, and try and gain rich Canadian lands
b. The War of 1812
i. One of the worst fought wars in modern warfare
history
ii. The Americans were poorly prepared (partly because
of a lack of funding and the decreased military under
Jefferson, and poor leadership)
iii. Major engagements
1. Oliver Perry thwarts British navy at Lake Erie
2. William Harrison defeats British at Battle of
Thames
3. Thomas Macdonough challenges and beats
British at Lake Champlain
4. Washington D.C. burned to the ground
iv. Results
1. Andrew Jackson and William Harrison wins
fame by protecting New Orleans (after a long
campaign against the Creek Indians)
2. The British barely lost
3. American navy largely responsible for victory
4. The re-birth of American nationalism
5. Domestic production and manufacturing
increase, spurring American economy
6. Death of the Federalist party after a failed
attempt at secession/bad bargaining during the
Hartford Convention
7. Finalized by the Treaty of Ghent
VI.
Rapid growth
a. Louisiana Purchase
b. Ohio Land Rush/Ohio Fever
i. Cheap land provided to farmers and prospective
settlers—signed a 5 year contract
ii. Attractive to tobacco farmers who had exhausted their
land
c. Land Act of 1820
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d. Florida Purchase Treaty of 1819
i. Due to revolutions against Spain throughout Latin
America, Spain was forced to cede Florida in
exchange for Texas
ii. Andrew Jackson continued success in eradicating
Natives: the beginning of the Trail of Tears, the
forced relocation of Indian Tribes
1. Bio-warfare
2. Proto-reservations
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VII. The Slavery Crisis
a. Underpinnings
i. Constitution forbade the slave trade after 1820.
ii. Slaves account for 3/5 of a person for congressional
apportionment
iii. Loose Constitutional interpretation—nothing forbade
the continuation of the slavery, as an institution.
b. The rise of sectionalism
i. Missouri for statehood
1. Applied for statehood, but as a slave state
2. Denied because of the Tallmadge Amendment
which reaffirmed the end of the slave trade
ii. Problems
1. To allow Missouri as a slave state would upset
congressional balance and set a precedent for
allowing slavery
2. To forbid slavery would deny the South their
livelihood, would cripple the American economic
dependence on raw materials, and would deny
the policy of popular sovereignty
iii. Resolution
1. Missouri Compromise
a. Missouri=slave state
b. Maine=free state
2. Postponed the problem, didn’t settle it (what if
there were an odd amount of states?)
3. The Mason-Dixon Line3630’
a. North=free
b. South=slave
VIII. Improvements
a. The American System
i. Proposed by Henry Clay
ii. Based on the Tariff of 1816, which sought to protect
domestic production by making foreign goods too
expensive
iii. Called for
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1. Strong protective tariffs
2. Proto-Industrialized manufacturing (centered in
the Northeast—like Lowell, Mass.)
3. A federally funded program of roads and canals
to move raw and finished goods, facilitate
communication, and improve settlement.
b. Problems
i. Too expensive
ii. Vetoed by Madison because it was not constitutionally
protected (individual states were req’d to pay)
iii. Opened the question of whether to protect the spread
of slavery into the new territories.
IX.
The Era of Good Feelings
a. A misnomer
i. Plagued by economic woes (Panic of 1819, inflation
skyrocketed with no set currency)
ii. Slavery crisis came to boil with Tallmadge
AmendmentMissouri Compromise
iii. Cheap land and the rapid expansion of the frontier
resulted in more “property holders”, causing
apportionment problems, suffrage issues, and
banking problems
iv. Chronic problems with Natives resulted in forced
relocation, concentration camps, and a programme of
genocide
b. Accurate term
i. More (white men) were gaining access to political
participation, regardless of upbringing, education, or
experience
ii. Land was cheap, fertile, and easily available
iii. POTENTIAL, POTENTIAL, POTENTIAL
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