JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY
• The Federalist Contribution
– Republicans won election of 1800 because
electors did not distinguish between
president and vice-president
– Jefferson and Burr received same number
of votes; this threw the election into House
of Representatives
– Hamilton, who exerted considerable
influence on Federalist members of
Congress, threw his support to Jefferson;
Jefferson won presidency
– Federalists’ major contribution consisted of
principles and governmental structure set
forth in Constitution
– Federalists established a sound financial
system and encouraged development of a
diversified economy
– in foreign affairs, they sought
accommodation with Britain and took a
cautious approach toward French
Revolution
– Jefferson called his victory in 1800 a
revolution, but real significance of election
was that control of government changed
hands in a democratic and orderly fashion
• Thomas Jefferson: Political Theorist
– Jefferson derived political philosophy from
ideas of Enlightenment and experience as
southern planter
– although he believed humans were
inherently selfish, he also believed
individuals in society could be improved by
the application of reason
– unlike Hamilton, he did not believe that
wealthy had monopoly on talent
– viewed all government as constant threat
to individual freedom
– he relied on democracy and protection of
personal liberties
– Jefferson distrusted Hamilton’s admiration
for British society, his plans to centralize
American government, and his efforts to
aid commerce and development
• Jefferson as President
– he repealed Naturalization Act and allowed
Alien and Sedition Acts to expire, but he
made no attempt to destroy Hamilton’s
financial structure
• Jefferson’s Attack on the Judiciary
– as
Adams’s
administration
expired,
Congress passed the Judiciary Act of
1801, which created a number of new
federal judgeships
– Adams filled new judgeships with
Federalists
– upon
gaining
power,
Republicans
immediately repealed the act
– moreover, not all of the commissions
Adams signed had been delivered
– Jefferson
ordered
undelivered
commissions withheld
– one of Adams,s appointees, Marbury,
petitioned Supreme Court to force new
secretary of state, Madison, to give him his
judicial commission
– in Marbury v. Madison, Chief Justice John
Marshall decided that a clause contained in
Judiciary Act violated Constitution
– even though Marbury had a right to the
commission, the Supreme Court could not
force Madison to give it to him
– case established the power of federal
judiciary to invalidate federal laws
– the Marbury case made Jefferson even
more determined to strike at the Federalistdominated courts
– after obtaining impeachment and
conviction of a clearly unfit district judge,
John Pickering, Jefferson went after
Samuel Chase, an associate justice of the
Supreme Court
– House of Representatives impeached
Chase, Senate found that his actions did
not constitute “high crimes and
misdemeanors”
• The Barbary Pirates
– Jefferson refused to continue policy of
paying tribute to North African pirates to
prevent seizure of American ships, making
United States the only maritime nation to
refuse to pay protection money to Barbary
pirates
– the pasha of Tripoli declared war on United
States in 1801, and Jefferson dispatched a
naval squadron to Mediterranean
– although squadron failed to defeat pirates,
the pasha agreed to a treaty more
favorable to United States
• The Louisiana Purchase
– Jefferson acquired Louisiana Territory,
region between Mississippi River and
Rocky Mountains, from France in 1803 for
$15 million
– Spain had given territory back to France in
1800
– before relinquishing area, Spain revoked
right of deposit at New Orleans
– Jefferson made an attempt to buy New
Orleans
– Napoleon’s need for money to finance his
war in Europe and the failure of French to
put down a slave revolt in Haiti led emperor
to sell all of Louisiana
– Jefferson had doubts about constitutionality
of Louisiana Purchase but decided to go
ahead anyway
– with support of some prominent
Federalists, treaty won ratification in
Senate
• Federalism Discredited
– west and south supported Jefferson, and
his popularity was growing in north
– with addition of new states in west, New
England’s power declined still further
– small group of die-hard Federalists in New
England began to consider secession,
even among Federalists, this group had
little support
– their attempt to gain control of New York’s
state government failed
– as a result of campaign, Burr challenged
Hamilton to a duel and killed him
• Lewis and Clark
– in 1803, Jefferson sent an expedition under
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to
explore Louisiana Territory
– expedition left St. Louis in Spring of 1804
and traveled up Missouri River
– they eventually made it to Pacific coast and
returned to St. Louis in 1806
– Lewis and Clark located passes through
Rocky Mountains, established friendly
relations with several Indian tribes, and
brought back a wealth of information about
territory and inhabitants
• Jeffersonian Democracy
– Jefferson’s policies and talents created
Jeffersonian democracy
– he proved that a democrat could maintain
a stable administration
– by accepting Federalist ideas on public
finance, he contributed to prosperity
among all classes, all of this eroded
support for Federalists
• Domestic Concerns Vex Jefferson
– Despite his popular support, factionalism
within his party disrupted Jefferson’s
second term
– John Randolph, a fanatic supporter of
states’ rights, resented Jefferson’s
accommodations to Federalist policies
– Randolph first clashed with Jefferson over
a bill providing federal relief to victims of
the Yazoo land fraud
• The Burr Conspiracy
– Jefferson’s political assaults on Burr
contributed to the latter’s decision to flirt
with treason
– his intent was to carve out a western
empire for himself
– Burr’s expedition failed when a confederate
betrayed him, Burr was captured and
charged with treason
– Marshall’s narrow construction of treason
led to Burr’s acquittal and increased
animosity between Jefferson and Chief
Justice
• Napoleon and the British
– until 1806, the war between Britain and
France stimulated the American economy;
Americans provided goods and vessels to
the combatants
– Napoleon resorted to economic warfare
against Britain, British retaliated with the
Orders in Council, which blockaded most
continental ports and barred foreign
vessels from them unless vessels first
stopped at a British port and paid customs
duties
– Napoleon then declared that any vessel
submitting to British rules became English
property and therefore subject to seizure
– when war first broke out, the danger of
capture convinced merchant vessels from
belligerent countries to abandon colonial
trade, which fell into American hands
– Americans tried to circumvent restrictions
by transshipping and reexporting colonial
goods as American goods carried on
American ships, British declared such
practices illegal, and thereby threatened
American prosperity
• The Impressment Controversy
– British practice of impressment threatened
America’s rights as a neutral country
– Jefferson and his administration conceded
Britain right to impress British subjects from
American ships
– British also impressed naturalized
Americans and even native-born American
citizens
– Jefferson believed in standing up for one’s
rights but hated the thought of war
– moreover, as a southerner, he was
probably less sensitive to New England’s
interests than he might have been
– in addition, the tiny navy Jefferson
maintained could do little to enforce
American rights on high seas
• The Embargo Act
– when the British fired on an American
warship and impressed three deserters
from it, Jefferson ordered all British
warships out of American waters and
Congress passed the Embargo Act, which
prohibited all exports
– Jefferson hoped embargo would put
economic pressure on Britain and France,
but act severely damaged American
economy
– American merchants resented act and
frequently violated it
– in Jefferson’s last months as president,
Congress repealed the Embargo Act and
replaced it with the Non-Intercourse Act,
which forbade trade only with Britain and
France and authorized president to end the
boycott against either power if it stopped
violating rights of Americans