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History 1301
Topic Eight: Jeffersonian American 1801 to 1817
The United States in 1801
For this lecture, we shall look at the shift of power in American politics. After Hamilton and the
Federalists dominated government since the birth of American politics (and before really), the
Election of 1800 was, and still is, called the Jeffersonian Revolution, or the Republican
Revolution (terms not the same). We are deep in the Age of Revolutions, so historians like to see
revolutions everywhere (otherwise, we'd be boring), and there was a values shift from
Hamiltonian to Jeffersonian in the United States. It will be up to you to evaluate the ramifications
of this new "revolution".
In 1801, when Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated as president of the United States, the country
was still undergoing a tremendous population surge. Around seven and a half million
Americans lived in the thirteen states (soon to be fourteen). "United" States might have been a
misnomer however. Americans really identified themselves by state and by region. What's more,
there is a new region to add to the mercantile North and the agricultural South. The West, by
1819, had become an economic and political force. Nine states were added. The Ohio River
ports of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Louisville became major trade centers. The West produced a
new type of American "cultural" hero, the frontiersman....Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. There
was no need for the educated elite such as James Madison on the edge of civilization.
The United States was gradually becoming a more urban country, yet the majority still lived in
the countryside. 85% of Americans worked in agriculture.
In the South, cotton was quickly becoming "king", although tobacco, rice and indigo
were also cultivated. Most of these goods were exported.
In the North, the economy was more diversified, with small family farms that raised food
crops and livestock, some of which was consumed in the U.S. and some sold in overseas
markets. Also in the North were the mercantile interests, the traders, the merchant, he
artisans and the shipping industries that managed the country's import/export
businesses.
The West was mostly agricultural in nature, but it did have important economic centers
along the major rivers, like the Ohio River (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Louisburg). The
West couldn't be characterized as "one" geographical region, however, since the settlers
who moved there took their values and traditions with them (i.e. settlers from New York
to Illinois took different ideals and customs with them than settlers from Georgia to
Mississippi). The West also saw nascent industrial growth in the form of slaughter houses
and whiskey production (which actually drove out rum production in the United States).
The Jefferson Administration 1801 to 1809
Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, already had a distinguished political
record by the time of his inauguration in March of 1801. What puzzles most scholars who study
Jefferson is the great contradiction of his life. This is the man who wrote the Declaration of
Independence, "all men are created equal; they are endowed by their creator with certain
inalienable rights". There is no way to pretty up the fact that Jefferson owned slaves. While the
other pillars of the Revolution such as Washington and Madison had freed their slaves, Jefferson
did not. Furthermore, Jefferson publically stated that "mixing" of the races was to be avoided,
and yet he fathered children with Sally Hemmings, a slave woman who was the half-sister of his
wife Martha Jefferson.
Whatever we might think of Jefferson's personal life, the president fit right into the half-finished,
mosquito infested, rural village that was Washington D.C. The President hated formality: he
walked to his inauguration instead of riding in a coach, he wore plain clothes, he shook hands
instead of having people bow to him. He refused to give balls or formal event, but he did like to
entertain with dinner parties. Jefferson detested giving public speeches (his inauguration
speech was barely audible), but was charming in person. Whatever his lofty ideals, seen in his
writings and letters, he was a politician, and he ran for political office with specific policy goals
that he wanted implemented.
Agenda
- To slash size & cost of federal government: Jefferson felt that under the federalists the federal
govt. had gotten out of hand. To this end, he and his Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin,
took steps to curb fed spending. The size of the military was reduced: a standing army of 3000
soldiers and a navy of only 6 warships. Of course, this was in line with Jeffersonian ideals. A
huge army of at the hands of a tyrannical government could suppress the will of the people.
And with Britain and France at war, a navy could produce hostilities, especially since the job of a
peacetime navy is to protect your country’s merchant marine fleet. And Jefferson was no friend
to commerce. Jefferson also closed all U.S. embassies, except for the ones located in Great
Britain, France and Spain.
The President didn’t leave the U.S. without any military capabilities. He created the Academy at
West Point to train future army officers. Equally important, Jefferson initiated the Army Corps of
Engineers, who in the future was responsible for much of the infrastructure of the new nation.
Furthermore, Jefferson reduced taxes, cut the government budget and fired all federal tax
collectors (since direct taxes had been repealed.) The U.S. would rely on land sales and on
import/export taxes to fund the federal govt.
Agriculture
Jefferson’s vision of the United States was that of a land of yeoman farmers, owning their own
farms and taking part in democracy. To this end, land prices were lowered and credit to
purchase land was easier to obtain. In addition, to encourage immigration, the years of
residence before one could apply for citizenship was lowered from 14 to 5.
War on the Judiciary
During Pres. Adams’ lame duck period Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1801. The Judiciary
Act of 1801 reduced the number of Supreme Court justices to 5, but the number of federal
judges was increased by 16.
There are several political maneuverings going on here. First of all, there was a real need for
more federal judges. As the size of the country increased, more judges were needed to hear
federal cases. On the other hand, since the Judiciary Act of 1801 was passed 5 days before Pres.
Adams left office, Adams frantically used the last days of his presidency to fill those federal
benches with Federalists. The judges are known as the Midnight Appointments. The Midnight
Appointments, however, pale in comparison to President Adams most important judiciary
appointment, Chief Justice John Marshall.
Jefferson, from the day that the Judiciary Act of 1789 was passed by Congress, never approved
of the way the judiciary system worked. He felt that the judiciary system had too much power,
that it was not beholden to the will of the people. After all, federal judges are appointed, not
elected, and there is no limit to their tenure.
In 1801, every federal judge hailed from the Federalists Party. This alarmed Jefferson even
more, since federal judges could unravel his Republican agenda. In response, Jefferson started a
war on the Judiciary branch. The first move was to have the Rep. in Congress repeal the
Judiciary Act of 1801. The constitutionality of this repeal was questionable since it removed
federal judges from their posts; the Constitution states that judges can only be removed for high
crimes and misdemeanors.
The most import SC case arose out of the Judiciary Act of 1801. William Marbury had been
appointed J.P. of Washington, D.C. by President Adams through the Judiciary Act. Marbury
hadn’t received his sealed commission, however, by the time Jefferson became President. Since
Jefferson was waging war on the Judiciary, he instructed his Sec. of State, James Madison, to
withhold Marbury’s Letter of Appointment. Marbury sued, and the case eventually ended up at
the S.C.
John Marshall was the 4th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was also one of the longest
serving Chief Justices (1801-1835), spanning the administrations of five presidents. Hailing from
Virginia, he was related to several of the aristocratic families of that state, including the
Jefferson’s (he was a cousin of Thomas Jefferson.) Although some historians label Marshall a
Federalist, this is really the wrong appellation for him. Marshall was a nationalist, who believed
in a strong central government as defined by the Constitution.
Marshall was the most influential Chief Justice in American history, not only because of his
rulings, but also because, like George Washington and the executive branch, Marshall created a
judiciary that was the equal of the other two branches of government.
Marbury vs. Madison ended up before the Marshall court. Although on the surface it seemed as
if Madison was just being a twit in not giving Marbury his commission, in reality it was really a
showdown between the Executive branch and the Judicial branch. In a brilliant move, Chief
Justice Marshall handed Pres. Jefferson a pyrrhic victory. Marshall lectured Madison about being
a weenie, but the Chief Justice went on to say that the SC had no power to force Madison to
give Marbury his commission. Why? Because the section of the Judiciary Act of 1787 that said
the SC had the power to issue a Writ of Mandamus was unconstitutional. Jefferson had no
choice but to accept the court’s ruling even though in reality he lost. Chief Justice John Marshall
established the SC power of judicial review, the power to declare acts of Congress
unconstitutional. Instead of curbing the power of the judiciary, Marshall increased it.
Jefferson then tried impeachment of federal judges, especially those who were outspoken
against Republican policies. A federal district court judge from N.H., John Pickering, was
impeached and removed from the bench. The conundrum here was that Pickering was an
alcoholic, and probably insane, but he had committed no high crimes or misdemeanors, and so
there was no constitutional reason to impeach Pickering.
Emboldened by the successful impeachment of Pickering, Jefferson decided to bring
impeachment proceedings against Samuel Chase, a Supreme Court Justice. Again, Chase had
committed no high crimes or misdemeanors. He just had the bad taste to criticize Jefferson and
his policies (like calling him an atheist.) Jefferson’s attempt to impeach Chase backfired,
however. Congress was wary of impeaching judges merely because of their political views.
Congress (and the public) also was aware that if Samuel Chase was successfully impeached,
Jefferson’s next target would be Chief Justice John Marshall himself. As it was, Jefferson made
no further attempts on the judicial branch.
Louisiana Purchase
We have talked time and again about Jefferson’s vision of the United States as an agrarian
utopia, where each (white) man owns his own farm, is self-sufficient, beholden to no one (i.e.
not a factory ‘slave’), taking part in universal education & democracy. Think of the phrase,
“Close to the earth, closer to God.” Jefferson really believed this (again, the contradiction that is
Jefferson.)
With this in mind, Jefferson opened negotiations in 1803 with the French to buy the port of
New Orleans and land along the Gulf Coast. This would make it easier for western farmers to
transport their goods to market (down the Mississippi River to New Orleans or over App. Mts. to
east seaports.) At first France refused. Napoleon had dreams of recreating a French Empire in
North America. However, a slave revolt in Haiti and a resumption of hostilities with Great Britain
convinced Napoleon to sell not only New Orleans but all of the Louisiana Territory for ~ 15
million, and the deal was struck.
The purchase of LA Territory doubled the size of the U.S. Overall, Americans approved of this
new acquisition of land (after all, the price came to about .4 cents/acre.) Jefferson had to
wrestle with his conscience, however. A strict constitutionalist, he couldn’t find a provision in
the Constitution that provided for purchasing and assimilating foreign territory and citizens.
Jefferson signed the treaty anyway.
Death of Hamilton
Although Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson had their differences, they were political in
nature. One of the remarkable things about this time period was that, for the most part, these
men that we put on pedestals, that we cast into bronze or carve into marble, put aside their
personal differences so that they could work together politically. There were 55 delegates in
Philadelphia writing the Constitution – do you imagine that they all liked each other personally?
Of course they didn’t. They sublimated their animosity, however, and got the job done.
That didn’t seem to be the case with Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Alexander Hamilton
commented on Jefferson that he didn’t like the politics, but he couldn’t fault the man. Hamilton,
however, distrusted Burr, and publically made his feeling known. Furthermore, Hamilton used
his considerable influence in NY politics to keep Burr from being elected governor. Burr
demanded an explanation and an apology, but Hamilton refused to give one. Burr challenged
Hamilton to a duel, and on July 11, 1804, the duel took place at Weehawken, NJ. Hamilton
deloped (deliberately missed so that honor could be satisfied.) Burr shot Hamilton in the upper
abdomen; it was a fatal wound.
By the way, Aaron Burr was Vice-President of the United States.
It took Alexander Hamilton several agonizing hours to die. Burr was charged with murder in NY
and NJ. Burr fled west. His political career was over.
Foreign Policy 1805 to 1809
“From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli…”
Jefferson refused to pay tribute to the Barbary Pirates in Tripoli, and the U.S. Navy (what was left
of it) blockaded the coast. In 1805 a peace treaty was signed and ended hostilities.
Jefferson’s greatest foreign policy challenge was the fact that Napoleon was having huge
successes in Europe in land battles. Because of this, the British issued the Orders in Council. The
Orders in Council negated the rights of neutral countries to trade with France and her allies. In
addition, British warships would stop American ships and impress (kidnap) American sailors to
serve in the British Navy. ~11k sailors were impressed into the British Navy during this time
period.
The French countered with the Continental system, which, as you can guess, forbade neutral
countries to trade with Britain and her allies. In reality, the British Orders in Council and the
French Continental system were paper blockades; that is, the British and French couldn’t patrol
the whole Atlantic, and northern merchants were making huge profits selling goods to
countries at war. President Jefferson, however, didn’t see British/French policy in that manner.
Jefferson was perplexed. Raised on Enlightenment principles, the president was surprised that
foreign countries wouldn’t recognize the rights of the United States as a neutral country. He
decided to teach both sides a lesson. In 1807 Congress passed the Embargo Act, which forbade
any international trade by any U.S. ship. Jefferson concluded (wrongly) that Britain/France,
deprived of U.S. goods, would quickly change their stance on neutral rights.
The Embargo Act turned into a nightmare for Jefferson. Northerners were furious that their
ships had to stay at home. When smuggling became rampant, and protest broke out, Jefferson
sent the army north to quell unrest and to seize ships caught in violation of the Embargo Act (all
without a trial.) Enough ships were confiscated that the people started calling the act “O Grab
Me” which was ‘embargo’ spelled backwards.
The Embargo Act was repealed in 1809, right before Jefferson left office, but it was replaced
with the Non-Intercourse Act (1809), which stated that the U.S. would not trade with either
Britain or France. The first country to recognize U.S. rights would gain full trade status with the
U.S. again.
Jefferson left the President’s Mansion, tired, embittered and cynical. He wrote his own epitaph,
and it doesn’t mention his being President of the United States. Instead, Jefferson wanted to be
remembered as the author of the Declaration of Independence and the founder of the
University of Virginia.
The Administration of James Madison
James Madison, our fourth president, was quiet and unassuming and short (5’ 4”). He was also
the most brilliant of the founding fathers and the architect of the Constitution. He seemed to
have very little personality, or maybe it just suffered in comparison to his wife “Queen” Dolly
Madison. Dolly Madison had the soul of a Washington hostess and the personality of an army
general. She bullied Congress into giving her money to furnish the presidential mansion. Dolly
gave the first inaugural ball.
President Madison faced the same foreign policy problems that Jefferson did: namely, that
Britain and France didn’t respect the neutrality of the United States during the Napoleonic Wars.
The Non-Intercourse Act was replaced with Macon’s Bill #2. Macon’s Bill #2 reversed course and
restarted trade with the British and the French, but went on to say whichever country
recognized U.S. rights trade would stop with the other country.
Macon’s Bill #2 created all sorts of problems for Madison. Both countries were urged to respect
U.S. neutrality, but of course continued to seize American ships, making Madison look foolish.
Furthermore, Madison was under pressure from a new group of politicians from western states.
This new group, dubbed the War Hawks, pressured Madison to ask for war against Great
Britain. Why? It would be an excuse to remove the natives in the Northwest Territories, who
were allied with the British, and it would be a chance for land expansion, maybe all of Canada
itself. The justification for war was American honor and the seizure of American ships on the
high seas, but it was western politicians who pushed for the war. New England all but refused
to take part in the strange little War of 1812.
War of 1812
The United States declared war on Great Britain in June 1812, just as Britain was repealing the
Orders in Council. Sometimes called the second war for independence, it was really clearing up
the last vestiges of bad feeling between Britain and her former colonists.
For the first years of the war, the British were too occupied with Napoleon to even give much
thought to the American war. It was more American incompetence, financial woes and the fact
that one region of the country refused to participate that worked to British favor. And Canada
was very large (compare it to the troubles the British had holding the thirteen colonies during
the Revolution.)
Napoleon was defeated in 1814, and Britain could turn its full attention to the United States.
The British tried to invade the U.S. through Canada, but were stopped. The next invasion point
was the Chesapeake Bay. The British had more success there, with the ultimate indignity being
the burning of Washington D.C. (it’s after this that the President’s mansion is called the White
House, because the smoke had turned the bricks gray, so they were painted white.) The British
then tried to take the port of Baltimore to establish a base for their navy, but were unable to
take it. This inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner.
Treaty of Ghent
Meanwhile, both sides had tired of the war. American and British envoys met at Ghent, in
Belgium, and a peace treaty was worked out. As it happened, no side ‘won’ the War of 1812.
The Treaty of Ghent merely said that things would go back to the way they were before the
war. The treaty was signed on 25 December, 1814, formally ending the war.
The Battle of New Orleans
Although the war was over, there was still one last battle to fight. The British tried to invade at a
third point: New Orleans. The Battle of New Orleans took place in January 1815, after the war
was over (but no one knew.) The Americans, under their commander Andrew Jackson, won a
huge victory at New Orleans. The Battle of New Orleans allowed Americans to claim that they
won the War of 1812. Andrew Jackson became a national hero.
Aftermath
Nationalism flourished after the war of 1812. People sang the Star Spangled Banner, “Uncle
Sam” became a national symbol, as did the bald eagle. People displayed the American flag. In
the next lecture, we will explore this nationalism and the explosive growth of the United States.