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Chapter 6, Section 3
The Age of Jefferson
The Age of Jefferson
• Jefferson led the Democratic-Republicans.
•He won the election of 1800 and the party also took control
of Congress and most of the state governments.
• His goal was to steer away from the things the Federalists
did with the government when Washington and Adams were
President.
Good Ideas
• Jefferson wanted to get rid of the Alien and Sedition Acts and taxes
on stamps, land, and alcohol.
• He cut the national debt from $80 million to $57 million.
• He made major cuts to the army and navy.
• He streamlined the government’s bureaucracy
• Made each government department and workers more
efficient.
• Got money for land in the west from families buying federal
land.
John Marshall
 Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
 They were cousins but also political
enemies.
 Marshall was a Federalist and had
been appointed the last minute by
John Adams just before he left office.
 He participated in more than 1,000
court decisions, writing over ½ of
them, more than any of the Supreme
Court Justice ever.
Marshall’s 4 Part Legacy
 Implemented Judicial Review.
 The power to review the acts of Congress and the President to
determine if they were constitutional.
 He made sure federal laws were superior to state laws.
 He broadly interpreted the Constitution.
 Implemented “sanctity of contracts: limited the power of state
governments to interfere with business.
“Midnight Judges”
 Several federal judges were appointed in the last days of John
Adams’ administration.
 They were all Federalists, it is clear that Adams hope to
secure Federalist control of the courts since a DR would be
President (Jefferson).
Marbury VS. Madison
 1st case to assert the power of judicial
review.
 President John Adams was about to
leave office.
 He appointed William Marbury, a
Federalist, a justice for the D.C.
 The incoming Secretary of State, James
Madison, refused to deliver the official
papers of appointment.
 Marbury complained to the Supreme
Court.
 Marshall ruled in favor of Madison
 DR’s were happy because Marbury
would not be in office.
Why this case matters?
 Marbury vs. Madison established the power of judicial
review, ensuring that the Supreme Court had the final
authority to interpret the meaning of the Constitution.
 It also established the judiciary branch as an equal partner in
government.
The Nation Expands
 Jefferson considered defeating Spain in the Louisiana
territory and taking it over.
 In 1801, France’s military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte, had
forced Spain to give him the Louisiana territory, including
the strategic city of New Orleans.
The Louisiana Purchase
 Jefferson offered to buy the
territory from the French.
 1803, Jefferson obtained the
828,000 square miles for $15
million.
 It doubled the U.S.’s size,
extending it west to the
Rocky Mountains.
 He sent Meriwether Lewis
and William Clark to
explore the territory in what
became the Lewis and Clark
Expedition.
British Impressment
 The British navy angered the U.S. By relying on
impressment, or taking American sailors from their ships and
forcing them to serve in the British navy.
 By 1812, about 6,000 Americans had been impressed.
Embargo
 The U.S. Lacked a navy large enough
to challenge the British fleet.
 Jefferson balked at the high cost of building of
bigger navy, which would undermine his policies of
reducing the national debt and keeping taxes low.
 In an attempt to prevent a war, Jefferson persuaded
Congress to declare an embargo; suspending trade
by ordering American ships to stay in port.
 He expected the embargo to starve the British and
close their factories.
 Instead, the British found other markets in South
America.
 The embargo bankrupted American merchants.
 Jefferson lifted the embargo just before he left office.
 http://www.today.com/video/descendants-ofthomas-jefferson-s-slaves-spend-the-night-atmonticello-767796803870