Jeffersonian Democracy: 1801-1809

1. Jeffersonian Democracy:1801-1809

2. JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY: Theme 1: Jefferson’s effective, pragmatic policies strengthened the principles of two-party republican government, even though the Jeffersonian “revolution” caused sharp partisan battles between Federalists and Republicans over particular issues.

3. President Thomas Jefferson1801-1809Democratic-Republican

4. Presidential Rankings: C-Span Survey, 2009 29. Zachary Taylor 30. Benjamin Harrison 31. Martin Van Buren 32. Chester Arthur 33. Rutherford Hayes 34. Herbert Hoover 35. John Tyler 36. George W. Bush 37. Millard Fillmore 38. Warren Harding 39. William Harrison 40. Franklin Pierce 41. Andrew Johnson 42. James Buchanan

5. The election (Revolution) of 1800 Dem-Reps did very well in elections- but for president, neither Adams nor Jefferson received a majority- so election goes to House of Reps, still controlled by Federalists. To Block Jefferson- they voted for his “running mate” Aaron Burr (who refused to pull himself out of the election) this went on for 35 rounds until Alexander Hamilton put his weight behind Jefferson (irony since they have been enemies for years) whom he decides is lesser of two evils (Burr will eventually challenge Hamilton to a duel where he will be fatally wounded)

6. 12th Amendment 1804 This VP thing has been a problem- the idea has been to make sure the minority had a voice, instead- it is hampering the gov’t being able to work well. Changed the voting process so Pres/VP ran on a single “ticket” you get both of them

7. JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY Federalist Era is (essentially) over. New ideals are limiting the role of Gov’t, equality, individual liberties, faith in the common man “The Gov’t that governs best is the one that governs least” Where possible, put Dem-Reps in office (despite saying “We are all Republicans, We are all Federalists” in inaugural speech) Albert Gallatin (Sec of Treasury) downsized Federal budget- cut by ½-2/3 . But kept Bank, Tariff, funding at par which had been parts of Hamilton’s plan. Debt fell from $80 m- $57 m, even after Louisiana Purchase Pardoned those convicted under Alien and Sedition Acts

8. “The Providential Detection” (1797-1800) This Federalist cartoon depicts Jefferson about to burn the U.S. Constitution as the American eagle snatches it out of his hand. Meanwhile, Jefferson has works by Voltaire and Paine on the altar of French Revolutionary despotism.

9. John Marshall and The Supreme Court An Early problem for Jefferson is that Judiciary is packed with Federalists. Judiciary Act of 1801 had created a large number of new judges- that Adams was still appointing on his way out the door-(“Midnight Judges”) including John Marshall as chief justice. Argument over “Strict” and “Loose” Construction- how much “Interpretation” would judges have with law?

10. Marbury vs. Madison, 1803 Before Being Supreme Court Justice- Marshall had been Sec of State- it was his job to deliver appointments of Federalist Judgeships- he didn’t get 17 (out of 59) done- left them for new Sec of State James Madison- who refused. William Marbury was one of the 17- sued Madison for withholding appointment. Crisis- what if court ordered delivery and Madison refused? What if Marshall was impeached by Dem-Reps? In his opinion- Marshall said Madison was wrong to withhold, but didn’t matter anyway- b/c Judiciary Act was Unconstitutional. Jefferson/Madison win the battle- Supreme Court wins the war b/c they establish Judicial Review

11. Impeachment of Samuel Chase Jefferson annoyed with idea that court now has final say over the law. Repealed the Judiciary Act- and decided to get rid of Federalist judges where possible- Starting with Samuel Chase. House voted charges- but Senate refused to convict- which ended the attempt to use impeachment to “unpack” the courts Samuel Chase Supreme Court Associate Justice

12. Westward Expansion 1800s saw a real opening of the (mid) west- in 1790 there had been 200k, by 1820 there were 3.9 million. Best way to get good to market- down Mississippi to New Orleans. Pickney’s treaty gave US access- but Spanish violating that agreement in 1800…right before they got conquered by Napoleon…

14. Louisiana Purchase Jefferson sends James Monroe and Robert Livingston to try to buy New Orleans and Mississippi from Napoleon for $10 m. To their shock- Napoleon offers the entire Louisiana Territory, at the Bargain price of $15 m (He needs $$ for war, and is over Americas in general after problems in Haiti)

15. Federalist Opposition Jefferson’s dilemma: He’s a strict constructionist- and NO Where does the Constitution mention the power of the president to double the size of the country….(He thought about proposing an amendment) Irony- the Federalists become the Strict one- feared the added debt….and that The western lands would be Loyal to Dem-Reps

16. The Louisiana Purchase, 1803

17. Significance: Most important land purchase in U.S. History Doubled size of U.S. Guaranteed Mississippi waterway to Gulf of Mexico Paved the way for westward expansion and tragic Indian removal Effectively ended European expansion in North America -- Helped reduce threats on U.S. western frontier Boosted American nationalism

18. Lewis and Clark Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to head “Corps of Discovery” Travelled up Mississippi- guided by Sacajawea. Last look for NW Passage- which they didn’t find, but made extensive notes about geography, flora, & fauna. Encouraged idea of “Manifest Destiny”

19. Zebulon Pike Louisiana Purchase encouraged further exploration, settlement and expansion. Pike explored the headwaters of the Mississippi, then took a lower route where he spotted the mountain that bears his name….

20. Aaron Burr and Secessionist Plots (Essex Junto) New England not happy with this larger country- they feared they would no longer be important. VP Aaron Burr very bitter since 1800- cooked up plot for NE to secede from the union. Hamilton found out and stopped the plot- Burr challenged him to a duel, where Hamilton fatally wounded.

21. Burr fires his fatal shot at Hamilton

22. Burr removed as VP after duel. He then take secession out west and tries to get Louisiana to secede instead. Tried for treason- aquitted (talking/plotting isn’t treason) Flees to Euro where he tried to get Napoleon to invade US.

23. Yazoo Land Controversy 1804 Jefferson’s opponents accused Jefferson of supporting an illegal land transaction in Georgia. (Georgia had sold millions of acres that were supposed to go to federal gov’t to speculators)- and then gov’t paid the speculators inflated prices for the land. Created strife and taint of Jefferson’s honesty during his 2nd term

24. Foreign Affairs European issues had been good for US with Louisiana Purchase, but it was hard to stay out of affairs. US/Eng had strong trade ties, But Jefferson was a “Francophile” and drew us closer to them again. Before he was president, Jefferson was often outspoken about need for gov’t to stay small and out of affairs…found it’s different when you’re the guy

25. Barbary Pirates(1801-1805) Jefferson initially reduced size of military (esp Navy)-saying it was a waste of $$ Barbary Pirates’ “unofficially” controlled Mediterranean shipping- expected nations to pay tribute (we refuse). Attack U.S. shipping -- Pasha of Tripoli declared war on the U.S. in 1801- forcing Jefferson to admit Navy WAS a good idea, expanded it- and sent it to fight (small boats “mosquito fleet”) Four years of fighting- then a treaty where US agreed to pay $60,000 to end attacks

26. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur and Midshipman Thomas Macdonough board a gunboat in Tripoli

27. Theme 2: Despite his desire to avoid international conflict, President Jefferson was forced to deal with foreign-policy dangers related to the Napoleonic Wars .

28. Napoleonic Wars led to harassment of U.S. shipping By 1805, Britain controlled the seas and Napoleon controlled much of the European Continent- BOTH put out declarations that no one could trade with their “Enemy” France Berlin Decree (1806)-- “Continental System”. Order in Council (1806, 1807) Britain began seizing American ships headed for Europe- and impressing American Sailors (over 6000 taken)

29. Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, 1807 British commander of HMS Leopard demanded surrender of “British Deserters” aboard USS Chesapeake INSIDE Amer territorial waters. Leopard fired on Chesapeake, 3 k 18 wounded. US had not been this angry since XYZ- British apologized for “error”, but still Jefferson feels the need to act The U.S.S. Chesapeake was attacked on June 21, 1807, resulting in three U.S. sailors dead and eighteen wounded.

30. Embargo Act (1807) Banned US vessels from sailing to foreign ports. (thinking was that it would force England and France to respect American Neutrality) Doesn’t impact Fr/Eng much- Really hurt US econ- esp New England, which was Federalist territory (they thought Jefferson did it for spite) Illegal trade/smuggling became common Most controversial action of Jefferson’s presidency- storm of outcry led it’s repeal in 1809 as Jefferson was leaving office

32. Harsh enforcement laws led to some talk of secession in New England

33. Non-Intercourse Act (1809) Replaced Embargo- forbid trade only with England and France (gee- that’s 90%) Remained policy until war of 1812 Embargo Failed- had overestimated how much Euro depends on OUR trade. Cost 3x war BUT (silver lining) helped spark Industrial Revolution in US- ironic b/c Jefferson was anti-industrialization

34. Jefferson’s Legacy Expansion became primary goal of Jeffersonians: an agrarian empire (interesting, no other nation had ever combined “expansion” and “liberty” as goals) Creation of non-aristocratic government- retained enormous faith in “common man” Destruction of Federalists by 1816- in part from Hamilton’s death, but also b/c Dem-reps showed willingness to compromise on Federalist ideas Kept U.S. out of war….for a while longer….

35. Madison and the Warhawks James Madison won presidency easily in 1808- inherited foreign affairs mess- near constant pressure to go to war Macon’s Bill #2: allowed trade to resume if either England or France would lift their trade restrictions. (France did quickly, without intending to actually honor, Britain was moving more slowly- so we Embargo)

36. Henry Clay/John C Calhoun Congress has a new, younger group of leaders (NOT the generation of revolution/constitution) lots of them from South and West where population is growing. Henry Clay (Kentucky) Speaker of the House John C Calhoun (South Carolina) Ardent Nationalists- not only offended by England, also want to move all Indians west of Mississippi, and to take Florida from Spain

38. The War of 1812 Fighting actually started in Western lands- and against Native Americans. Some had “assimilated” into American society (became farmers etc…) but there was a growing resistance movement led by Tecumseh Tecumseh and his brother “The Prophet” were calling for Creeks, Shawnees, Cherokees, and Iroquois to “Push back the White Menace” Called for complete separation from whites. Americans assume they are getting help from British

39. William Henry Harrison 1811 Harrison (gov of Indiana) led the army against Indians at Battle of Tippecanoe (last indian battle in the Northwest) Made Harrison a hero. When war of 1812 starts, Indians fight with British War hawks shouting for invasion of Canada to expand our territory and “Punish” British

41. Daniel Webster One of the last Federalists in Congress- (from New Hampshire) Spoke out against getting into a war with England- said it would be bad for New England manufacturing. New England never really supportive of War Why do we declare on Eng and not France? Jeffersonians like France (and Nap is good at schmooze) Visibility of British insults; impressment etc… Lure of expansion and conquering Canada (which New Eng didn’t want, it’s more agrarian lands)

42. Mr. Madison’s War By Spring of 1812 war is virtually inevitable- so Madison asks for declaration (which goes through, but not resoundingly- New Eng doesn’t want this) Official reason was that Britain was violating our neutrality Could easily have been a disaster. We were NOT ready for a war. Our econ is a mess, we don’t have enough officers, and Britain was incredibly powerful (esp their navy, ours is still a joke)

44. Invasion of Canada As before- England is way more concerned about what is going on in Europe (Nap Wars). Americans hoped Fr. Canadians would welcome us as liberators. (not realizing 80% of people in Ontario were former loyalists- we should have focused on Montreal) Strategy was to split Canada W/E- three pronged invasion set off….and were beaten back (though we did win battle of the Thames, and Tecumseh killed there)

45. Naval Battles Main British navy couldn’t bypass Niagra Falls, so Great Lakes became a winnable battle ground. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry built a fleet in the great lakes- capturing the British “fleet” (merchant ships) in Sept 1813. Though at same time we were getting hammered in the Chesapeake

46. War in the South By 1814 Napoleon defeated in Europe- and Britain could focus on US. Prepared a two pronged attack: from the North through the Hudson Valley (we we stop at Battle of Plattsburg, a lot like Saratoga) and Up the Chesapeake- where the British invade and burn Washington DC in August of 1814 (We had burned Canadian capital at York) Baltimore beseiged by navy (Ft McHenry)

48. Battle of New Orleans General Andrew Jackson has been fighting Native Americans on the Gulf Coast- headed west towards New Orleans. (British want mouth of Mississippi- they can then bottle up west) British went with a foolish frontal assault- New Orleans was the largest and bloodiest battle of the war. (2000 British Casualties compared to 70 Americans) Irony Americans called this “the battle that won the war”- but by the time battle fought- treaty of ghent already signed. Made Jackson a national hero- unleashed a wave of nationalism

49. Treaty of Ghent Essentially an armistice- didn’t deal with issues that started war (neutrality etc, though that will become a non-issue with Nap defeated) Both sides just agree to stop fighting Sometimes called “second war for independence” b/c we proved we could stand when threatened- European powers saw that we were NOT a helpless fledgling nation

50. Hartford Convention A group of New England Federalists gathered to discuss their issues/concerns with their declining influence compared to the west. Called for a Const. Amendment that would eliminate 3/5 clause, demand a 2/3 majority in congress to declare war/embargo or admit states, and that you can’t have 2 presidents in a row from the same state. Presented their findings just as tidings from battle of New Orleans coming in….