Download Jefferson`s Presidency

Jefferson’s Presidency
Mrs. Ingram
New Policies
• When Jefferson took office, his
followers preached a ‘republican
revolution’ in governmental policies.
• As the first Democratic-Republican elected,
he differed greatly from the Federalists
before him.
• First time power had shifted from one party
to another.
• Jefferson’s main goal was to bring down
federal debt.
• He cut the debt from $80 mil to $59 mil.
John Marshall
• John Marshall became Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court when Jefferson took office.
• In his 35 years, he heard over 1,000 cases and set 4
main precedents that would define his legacy.
• Power of judicial review;
• Federal laws were superior to state laws;
• Believed in the implied powers of the Constitution;
• Believed in limiting the power of state gov to
interfere in business contracts.
• Based on these criteria, is John Marshall more
like a Federalist or a Democratic-Republican?
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
• First court case to assert the power of judicial
review– the power of the judicial branch (i.e.
Supreme Court) to determine what is constitutional
and what is not.
• William Marbury was appointed under John Adams as one
of his ‘midnight judges’– a last minute appointment
before he left office.
• His papers were not delivered by Jefferson’s Secretary of
State, James Madison.
• Marbury claimed the Supreme Court had the power to
order Madison to deliver his papers under the Judiciary
Act of 1801; Marshall disagreed.
• This is the only time Marshall declared a federal law (JA
1801) unconstitutional.
The Nation Expands
• Democratic-Republicans wanted an
economy based on farming, so Jefferson
saw a need for increased area to grow these
crops on.
• Jefferson sought to expand to the Pacific,
first conquering the Louisiana Territory
owned by Spain.
• However, Napoleon had claimed the land
from Spain, making it much more difficult
to claim (Jefferson thought).
• France was willing to sell the land
because they had been unsuccessful at
establishing an empire in the Western
Hemisphere.
Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark
Jefferson purchased the territory from
France for $15 million. He then sent two
men (Meriwether Lewis and William Clark)
to explore the new land.
On their exploration, Lewis and Clark cataloged
flora, fauna, and natural formations (to create
maps).
However, as a Democratic-Republican, this
acquisition went against Jefferson’s
principles.
Jefferson (D-R) believed in a strict interpretation
of the Constitution. There is nothing in the
Constitution that gives the president the power
to purchase land.
Foreign Problems
• Jefferson had to send a small navy to northern
Africa to stop the Barbary pirates from seizing
American ships.
• The U.S. needed overseas markets to sell their
surpluses of goods, but Britain ruled the seas.
• The U.S. adopted a policy of re-export, in which
American ships would bring French goods from
the Caribbean to the U.S. be re-labelled as
American, and sent overseas past the British
blockade.
• The British would not attack the American ships
• The U.S. became Britain’s greatest market
competition, and aided the French economy.
Foreign Problems (cont’d)
• Jefferson also faced the problem of British
ships seizing U.S. merchants and forcing
them to serve in the British military.
• This was known as impressment.
• The problems with the British grew, and
Jefferson knew the U.S.’ navy was not
strong enough to take on Great Britain’s.
• Congress passed the Embargo Act of 1807 in
hopes to ‘starve’ the British trade to the point
where they had to trade with the U.S.
• Great Britain was able to start a successful trade
with South America, so U.S. merchants suffered
most of all.