Meet Mr. Jefferson
“I would rather be exposed
to the inconveniences
attending too much
liberty than those
attending too small a
degree of it.”
•What is Jefferson saying?
•What does this say about his
beliefs and ideas?
Election of 1800
Democratic-Republicans
Federalists
 Thomas Jefferson ran for
 John Adams ran again for
President
 Aaron Burr also ran for the
Democratic-Republicans
President
 Charles Pinckney also ran for
the Federalist party
 The party wanted him to be
the Vice President
 He was from New York
 He hated Hamilton
 Why would he be a good pick
for Vice President?
Election of 1800 – Results
 Charles Pinckney – 64 votes
 John Adams – 65 votes
 Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson tied with 73 votes
each
 What happens when there is a tie?
 The vote goes to the House of Representatives

Each state gets one vote
Election of 1800 – Results
 A lot of Federalists wanted to
vote for Burr
 But Hamilton (the leader of the
party) convinced them that
Jefferson was the lesser evil
 12th Amendment – 1804
 Fixes the problem of having a
tie for President
 President and Vice President
are now on separate ballots
Jefferson’s Inauguration
 Very simple
 Why did he want it to be simple?
 His speech was surprising
 “We are all Republicans – we are all Federalists.”
 What is he saying?
Cabinet
 Secretary of State
 James Madison
 Secretary of the Treasury
 Albert Gallatin

Tried to simplify
government
 How do you simplify
government?




Reduced the budget
Cut the debt in half
Reduced the military
Cut the staff of the
Executive Branch
Jefferson’s Government
 Stuck with his previous ideas on government
 What were they?
 He didn’t want the government to interfere in people’s
lives


Laissez-faire policy
Means that the people should be able to do as they choose
A Man of the People
 How did Jefferson show he
was a man of the people?
 He opened the President’s
House to anyone who
wanted to meet with him
 Didn’t travel with an elegant
procession
 When he was elected, the
Federalists thought the
country would fall apart
under his leadership
 Why did they think that?
 They were proven wrong
Louisiana Purchase
 Jefferson bought all the
land the French owned
in America
 1803
 From Napoleon
Bonaparte
 Land from the
Mississippi to the Rocky
Mountains
 Cost $15 million
 Doubled the size of the
United States
Some Controversy
 Why would some people disagree with the purchase?
 Some people thought it was extravagant


He was usually concerned about money
Why did he buy the land?
 Where did Jefferson get the power to buy land?


It’s not specifically in the Constitution
Fell under the power to make treaties
Foreign Affairs
 The war between England and France was interfering
with American trade
 Jefferson decides to place an embargo on trade with
both countries
 What is an embargo?
 Why would he do this?
Embargo Act
 Passed December 1807
 Prohibited all American ships from leaving the United
States
 Attempt to hurt England and France
 Hurt America more than it hurt those countries





People were out of work
Prices of goods dropped
Businesses failed
Many people went into debt
Smuggling became common
Replacing the Embargo Act
 The Embargo Act made Jefferson very unpopular
 It was repealed shortly before Jefferson left office
 It was replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act


Allowed the United States to trade with any country except
England and France
Still was fairly unsuccessful at forcing England and France to
stop interfering with American trade
Duel
 Problems between Burr and
Hamilton
 They had never gotten along
 Hamilton sided with Jefferson
(against Burr) in the election of
1800


Hamilton thought Burr was
“unprincipled and dangerous” for
the country
 Burr had previously switched
parties
Burr held a grudge
 He challenged Hamilton to a
duel
•Burr shot Hamilton
•He died the next day