Download Aim: What were the main actions taken during Jefferson*s

Aim: What were the main actions
taken during Jefferson’s presidency?
Do Now: Read the article below and
use it to answer the following
questions:
• 1. According to this
article, what are the
Barbary pirates
doing?
• 2. What do you think
the best way to deal
with these pirates
would be? Why?
The Barbary Wars
• Causes:
– In 1801, on the day of Jefferson’s inauguration,
the Sultan of Tripoli demanded $250,000 in
tribute from the American government (the total
revenue for the government that year was $10
million)
– When Jefferson refused, Tripoli declared war on
the United States, and Jefferson dispatched the
American Navy and Marines to deal with the
problem
The Barbary Wars
• After a daring overland raid by the American
Marines on the city of Derne, Tripoli was
forced to surrender
The Barbary Wars
• Results:
– The battle led to the end of Barbary pirate attacks
on United States ships
– It inspired the second line of the Marine Corps
hymn, “to the shores of Tripoli”
• What precedent does Jefferson’s actions in
the Barbary Wars seem to set about future
American foreign policy?
Jefferson’s Philosophy
• As President, Jefferson would seek to realize his
ideals of a weaker federal government
– He slashes military spending by more than 1/3
– He repealed many unpopular taxes, such as the
Whiskey Tax
– He repealed the Alien and Sedition Acts
– He sought to limit government action to only what
was strictly Constitutional
• Why may some Americans see Jefferson’s
policies as a welcome change?
The Louisiana Purchase
• Throughout the late 1700’s, many Americans
had begun moving West, depending on the
Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans
for trade
• Although the land was technically owned by
Spain, the Spanish military had virtual no
presence in North America
The Louisiana Purchase
• "The day that France takes possession of New
Orleans… we must marry ourselves to the British
fleet and nation."- Thomas Jefferson
• In 1801, Napoleon Bonaparte would sign a secret
treaty with Spain, gaining control over a large
portion of Spanish North America, with Napoleon
intent on establishing a French empire in America
Why would the French under Napoleon be so
much more dangerous than the Spanish?
The Louisiana Purchase
• Jefferson would next send a delegation to France,
under orders to pay as much as $10 million for
the city of New Orleans and a small patch of land
on the Gulf of Mexico
• Napoleon, preparing to go to war with Britain and
already dealing with problems in French
American colonies, had a different plan in mind
What revolution was going on in French America
during the early 1800s?
The Louisiana Purchase
• Eager to get rid of the territory and desperate
for money, Napoleon would present a
counter-offer: all of the French North
American territory for $15 million
• Stunned, the American delegation would
accept the offer without consulting Jefferson
What problem may this deal pose for
Jefferson’s political philosophy, specifically
his understanding of the Constitution?
Effects of the Louisiana Purchase
• Although Jefferson found no justification for
the President to purchase land for the country,
popular enthusiasm for the deal forced him to
find a way, and he labeled the sale a “treaty”
which the Senate then approved
• The Louisiana Purchase would double the size
of the United States for less than 10 cents an
acre, instantly turning the country into one of
the largest in the world
Effects of the Louisiana Purchase
• With all this new territory, what must the
United States now do?
• What philosophy may begin to form thanks
to this land acquisition?