Chapter 6
Section 3
Jefferson Alters
the Nation’s
Course
IDENTIFY the key decisions of the
Jefferson Administration
UNDERSTAND how the new nation is expanding
and changing in the early 1800s
1. Who negotiated a treaty with England in 1794?
A. Thomas Pinckney B. Ben Franklin C. John Jay D. John Adams
2. Who negotiated a treaty with Spain in 1795?
A. Thomas Pinckney
B. Ben Franklin
C. John Jay D. John Adams
3. Who won the election of 1800?
A.
C.
John Adams
Alexander Hamilton
B. James Madison
D. Thomas Jefferson
4. Louisiana was purchased from which country?
A. Britain
B. France
C. Spain
D. Holland
5.
What insult almost resulted in war between France and the US?
A.
C.
Sectionalism
XYZ Affair
B. Alien and Sedition Acts
D. Nullification
Election of 1800
Thomas Jefferson Virginia Dem.-Rep. 73 52.9%
Aaron Burr New York Dem.-Rep. 73 52.9%
http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/
John Adams Massachusetts Federalist 65 47.1%
“Revolution of 1800”
• Jefferson defeats Adams, 73 to 65 electoral votes
• Aaron Burr delivers New York, Federalist stronghold,
to Jefferson
• South and West are Jeffersonian, growing in power and
population
• Jefferson and Burr tie. Federalists attempt to give Pres.
to Burr, delaying action in the House of Reps for months,
taking 35 ballots in all.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
Power had successfully
changed hands in the new republic.
Federalists Lose Power
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
Federalists provide period of conservatism that
allows for consolidation of revolutionary gains.
However, Federalists are unable to adapt
aristocratic ideals into appeal to the “common”
majority of voters.
Jefferson Administration
• Virtues practiced are Frugality, Simplicity,
Equality – avoid monarchical appearances
• Political Moderation and Restraint -employed to
ease Federalist fears
• Reduced the size of govt. and pursued “free
trade”
• Increases Southern influence on govt., esp.
Virginia’s
• Did not employ excessive patronage, many
Federalist appointees retain positions
The Struggle for the Court
• Judiciary Act of 1801 = Adams tries to pack the
court with Federalist judges
• Midnight judges= the Federalist appointees,
including John Marshall as Chief Justice
KEY FACT: Appointments were signed but not
delivered.
DEBATE: Are the appointments of Adams now
binding on Jefferson?
Marbury v. Madison
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Establishes the principal of
JUDICIAL REVIEW = the ability of the Court to declare an
act of Congress or the President unconstitutional.
“ The critical importance of Marbury is the assumption of several
powers by the Supreme Court. One was the authority to declare
acts of Congress, and by implication acts of the president,
unconstitutional if they exceeded the powers granted by the
Constitution. But even more important, the Court became the
arbiter of the Constitution, the final authority on what the
document meant. As such, the Supreme Court became in fact as
well as in theory an equal partner in government, and it has
played that role ever since.”
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/9.htm
Jefferson Administration
Was the incident of the “midnight justices”
and Marbury vs. Madison a Failure or Success?
For Jefferson?
WHY?
For the Federalists?
WHY?
For the Supreme Court? WHY?
Federalists Continue to Lose Power
• Hamilton attacks Adams, splitting Federalist Party
• Adams/Federalists lose election of 1804
• Hamilton seeks to prevent Burr from becoming Gov.
of New York in 1804
• 7/11/1804 Hamilton fights Aaron Burr in a duel,
and is killed.
• Burr kills Federalist leadership, and his own career
• Federalists fade
Jefferson and Louisiana
1800-1810: Population in the Ohio Valley grows. Daniel
Boone clears the Wilderness Road.
1800: Spain cedes trans-Mississippi/LA to France
1802: US loses right to deposit in New Orleans
1803: Jefferson sends envoys to Napoleon
4/30/1803: Frances sells LA for $15 million
Why did Napoleon sell?
What was the constitutional issue at hand for Jefferson?
Who got more than they bargained for?
Meriwether Lewis & William Clark
• Seeking a Northwest Passage and boundaries of new LA
territory
• 1804-1806: 2 and ½ year journey, 50 men in Corps of
Discovery
• Navigated the Missouri, crossed the Rockies, went down the
Columbia River to the Pacific and back
• Received help from many Native Americans during their
journey, esp. Sacajawea, a Shoshone woman who served as
interpreter and guide
• First Americans to cross the North American continent.
• Demonstrated the viability of an overland passage to Pacific
• Opened the West to settlement
Louisiana Purchase of 1803
•
•
•
•
Avoided war with France and Spain
Avoided entanglements with Great Britain
Vast tracts open for farming for growing population
Western expansion favors Jefferson & Republicans,
gains loyalty of Western US
• Federalists decline further
• Establishes practice of “acquisition by purchase”
• Establishes power of the President to make treaties
Meriwether Lewis & William Clark
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sought (but did not find) a Northwest Passage
Want to establish boundaries of the new LA territory
1804-1806: 2½ year journey of 50 men(Corps of Discovery)
Navigated the Missouri, crossed the Rockies, went down the
Columbia River to the Pacific and back
Received help from many Native Americans during their
journey, esp. Sacajawea, a Shoshone woman who served as
interpreter and guide
First Americans to cross the North American continent.
Demonstrated the viability of an overland passage to Pacific
Opened the West to settlement
The Missouri Breaks
Decision Point