Download CHAPTER 8 Republican Ascendancy: The Jeffersonian Vision

C H A PT E R 8 Republican Ascendancy: The Jeffersonian Vision
SUMMARY
There were always contradictions within the Republican belief in equality; the most notable
was the exclusion of African Americans. Once in power, Republicans faced problems that
forced them to compromise further the purity of their ideals.
I. REGIONAL IDENTITIES IN A NEW REPUBLIC
This section offers an overview of the most important developments that occurred during the
period from 1800 to about 1820: prosperity, rapid population growth, especially in the
West, and the emergence of sectionalism.
A. Westward the Course of Empire
The growth in the West typified the incredible population growth of the whole nation. Areas
that had been populated by Indians and fur traders became the states of Kentucky,
Tennessee and Ohio. The mix of people in the West led to the creation of a new regional
culture of a rootless, optimistic folk.
B. Native American Resistance
The Indians stood in the way of westward movement and suffered the consequences.
Defrauded and terrorized, some Indians resisted. Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief, took up the
tomahawk, but was decisively defeated. So, too, were the Creeks. For Thomas Jefferson,
and many others, Indian wars were wars of extermination; there could be no coexistence
between whites and Indians.
C. Commercial Life in the Cities
Agriculture and trade, carried on in traditional ways, remained the foundation of the
economy. American shipping enjoyed a spurt of prosperity between 1793 and 1805, but
suffered when England and France restricted America's rights as a neutral nation.
Cities were closely associated with international trade, but still played a marginal role in
the life of the rest of the nation. Industrialization and mechanization were just beginning to
frighten skilled craftsmen.
II. JEFFERSON AS PRESIDENT
Thomas Jefferson personified the contradictions in Republicanism: he despised ceremonies
and formality and dedicated himself to intellectual pursuits; at the same time, he was a
politician to the core. He realized that his success as a president depended on close
cooperation with Congress.
A. Jeffersonian Reforms
Jefferson gave top priority to cutting the federal debt and federal taxes. He trimmed
federal expenses, mainly by slashing military spending. Reduction of the army had the
further benefit of removing a threat to Republican government.
Though badgered by loyal Republicans for political appointments, Jefferson retained only
those bureaucrats he thought competent, no matter what their party. His refusal to purge
Federalists hastened the demise of the Federalist party. Many of its members retired from
public life, and the more ambitious of them, like John Quincy Adams, became Republicans.
B. The Louisiana Purchase
Americans had assumed that they would some day buy or take New Orleans from
Spain, which did not have the military strength to resist the United States. In 1801,
however, France, which could block America's westward expansion or close New Orleans,
bought Louisiana from Spain.
Jefferson sent a mission to France to buy New Orleans. Napoleon, for reasons of his own,
offered to sell all of Louisiana, an area larger than the United States at that time, for only $15
million.
C. The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Even before purchasing Louisiana, Jefferson sent an exploring party into the area (the Lewis
and Clark Expedition). Their report on its economic prospects reaffirmed Jefferson's
desire that it belong to the United States. When he received the French offer, he worried
that Congress might not have the constitutional right to make the purchase, but
Jefferson urged Congress to complete the deal anyway, fearing that Napoleon might change
his mind. He departed even further from Republican principles when he established a
government for the new territory. Because most of the inhabitants were French and
Spanish, Jefferson did not entrust them with self-rule, and the area was governed from
Washington. Nonetheless, the American people thoroughly approved of Jefferson's actions
and reelected him in 1804.
D. Conflict with the Barbary States
Jefferson ended his first term by sending the Navy into the Mediterranean to fight the North
African states who demanded tribute from ships sailing through the Mediterranean.
Although the United States could not defeat the Barbary States, the show of force induced
them to respect American rights. The American people thoroughly approved Jefferson's
actions, foreign and domestic, and reelected him in 1804.
III. JEFFERSON'S CRITICS
The success of Jefferson's first term disguised growing American problems. This section
examines three: Jefferson's attack on the federal court system; conflicts between
Republicans; and the sectional dispute over the slave trade.
A. Attack on the Judges
Before transferring power to the Republicans in 1801, the Federalists created a number
of new circuit courts, filled with loyal Federalists. When Jefferson took office, Congress
repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801, thus abolishing the new courts. The Federalists complained
that this violated the tenure of judges, a right guaranteed by the Constitution. In a related
case, Marbury v. Madison (1803), the Supreme Court ruled that the Judiciary Act itself had
been unconstitutional. As Chief Justice John Marshall intended, the Republicans considered
the ruling a victory and overlooked the fact that the Court had judged the
constitutionality of an act of Congress (judicial review). After their "victory" in the
Marbury case, Republicans pressed their attack on the court system. One judge, certifiably
insane, was impeached and removed from office. Some Republicans now began to fear a
complete destruction of an independent judiciary, an important element in the system of
checks and balances. When Jefferson sought impeachment of a judge who, though partisan,
had committed no crime, Republican unity disappeared. The trial itself made clear that
impeachment could be voted only on narrow political grounds. A Republican Senate refused
to convict, and the attack against the judicial system ended.
B. Politics of Desperation
As the Federalist party waned, so did the need for Republican unity. Jefferson faced
two major defections from his party. One group, called the "Tertium Quids" ("a third
something"), led by John Randolph, stood for an ultra-pure Republicanism. They acquired
a brief popularity when they attacked large grants of land in the Yazoo region of Georgia to
companies that had bribed the state legislature. A later legislature attempted to rescind these
sales, but much of the land was already owned by innocent third parties. The Supreme
Court ruled in Fletcher v. Peck (1810) that the state legislature could not revoke a contract,
even if it had been obtained by bribery. The ruling established the Court's right to nullify
state laws if they violated the Constitution.
C. Murder and Conspiracy: The Curious Career of Aaron Burr
Vice-President Aaron Burr also broke with Jefferson. In 1804 he ran for governor of
New York and tried to enlist Federalist support. He was blocked by Alexander
Hamilton, whom Burr then killed in a duel. Burr fled to the West and hatched a scheme to
invade Spanish territory. His motive for this bizarre scheme is still not known, but
Burr was arrested for unknown reasons and tried for treason. John Marshall ruled that the
Court must follow the very strict criteria the Constitution requires for a conviction of
treason, and Burr went free. Marshall's precedent made it difficult for later presidents to
use the charge of treason as a political tool.
D. The Slave Trade
Congress prohibited the slave trade after 1808, but northern and southern Republicans
disagreed over the issue. Northerners wanted to free any black smuggled into the United
States, but Southerners succeeded in having a law passed that handed such persons over to
state authorities, who could even sell them into slavery.
IV. EMBARRASSMENTS OVERSEAS
When England and France resumed full-scale hostilities in 1803, American commerce was
caught in the middle. The English issued "orders in Council," and Napoleon issued the
Berlin and Milan Decrees, the effects of which were to make American ships
subject to seizure. Jefferson bore these insults because the expense of a war would have
wrecked his financial reforms. This section explains the Embargo, Jefferson's alternative
to war.
A. Embargo Divides the Nation
In 1807, Congress prohibited American ships from leaving port. Jefferson reasoned that
France and England needed American goods so badly that they would quickly agree to
respect American rights. The Embargo, however, proved to be unpopular at home. In
order to enforce it, the government supervised commerce in minute detail, and when
smuggling became commonplace, Jefferson sent in the army. New Englanders especially
resented the Embargo because it destroyed their economy. Worse, it did not hurt England. In
1809, the Embargo was repealed.
B. A New Administration Goes to War
James Madison was selected as Jefferson's successor by a caucus of Republican congressmen.
He won the election of 1808 easily, but was not temperamentally suited to exercise
leadership.
Under the terms of the Non -Intercourse Act, the United States committed itself
to resume trade with England and France if those nations promised to cease their seizure of
American vessels. When a minor English official made such a promise, Madison opened
trade with England, but the English government promptly seized those ships Madison
had put to sea. Congress replaced the Non-Intercourse Act with another law just as poorly
conceived (Macon's Bill Number Two). This time Napoleon promised to observe
American rights, but, when Madison opened trade with France, Napoleon broke his word.
C. Fumbling Toward Conflict
In 1811, the anti-British mood of the country intensified. In the West, the uprising led by
Tecumseh was widely believed to have been the work of British agents. In Congress, a
group of fiercely nationalistic representatives, the War Hawks, demanded a war against
England to preserve American honor.
On June 1, 1812, Madison finally sent Congress a declaration of war. Had there been a
telegraph between London and Washington, the war might not have begun because England
had just suspended the Orders in Council. This confusing preamble typified the war in
general. The vote for war in Congress was close, and nobody seemed to know what the United
States intended to gain from victory.
V. THE STRANGE WAR OF 1812
Americans expected victory even though they were unprepared for war. To ensure that
Republican financial reforms would not be undone, Congress refused to raise taxes.
New England, where the Federalist party was still strong, refused to take an active part in
the war effort. The United States Army was small, and state militias proved inadequate to
fight well-trained veterans.
In 1814, England planned a three-pronged attack on the United States: a march from
Canada into the Hudson River Valley, an amphibious assault on the Chesapeake Bay
region, and occupation of New Orleans. The decisive campaign was in New York State, where
Americans stopped the English on Lake Champlain, near Plattsburg. As a result of this
defeat, England agreed to end hostilities. In the meantime, however, English operations in
the Chesapeake resulted in the burning of Washington and the siege of Baltimore. The British
attempt to take New Orleans actually took place after the peace treaty had been signed, but
there was no way to communicate the news in time to prevent the battle. A ragtag American
army, led by Andrew Jackson, annihilated the English invading force in January 1815.
A. Hartford Convention: The Demise of the Federalists
The resentment felt by New Englanders over the Embargo grew during the Madison
administration. When the war seemed to be going badly for the United States, a group of
Federalists met in Hartford, Connecticut, in December 1814, to recommend changes in the
Constitution that would have lessened the power of the South and the West. Unfortunately for
the Federalists, they met on the eve of the victory of New Orleans and the conclusion of peace.
After these events, the Convention's demands seemed irrelevant as well as disloyal. The
Federalist party never recovered from the Hartford Convention.
B. Treaty of Ghent Ends the War
After the American victory at Plattsburg, the English government decided to end the war
without addressing any of the problems that had started it. Both sides were weary, and the
Senate ratified the treaty unanimously. For Americans, the war succeeded splendidly. They
had won a "second war of independence."
VI. CONCLUSION: REPUBLICAN LEGACY
The Founding Fathers began to pass away around 1830. Jefferson and John Adams died on
the same day, July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after the Declaration of Independence had been
adopted. The last of the Founders, James Madison, died in 1836, in despair that the principles
of the Declaration had not yet been extended to African Americans.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After mastering this chapter, your students should be able to:
1. Describe the condition and advances of the American economy in this era.
2. List the goals of Jefferson as president and evaluate his success in accomplishing them.
3. Explain the circumstances and consequences of the Louisiana Purchase.
4. Describe the background, results, and significance of the Marbury v. Madison decision (1803).
5. List and explain the sources of political dissension with which Jefferson had to contend.
6. Evaluate the success of American efforts to end the slave trade.
7. Explain the reasons for the failure of American foreign policy in preventing the War of 1812.
8. Analyze the causes, conduct, and outcome of the War of 1812.
9. Account for James Madison's ineffectiveness as president.
10. Discuss the reasons for the ultimate demise of the Federalist party during this era.
LESSON SUGGESTIONS

Write a diary of a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Base this on factual
information.

Have students create political cartoons demonstrating US Foreign Policy during the
second Jefferson Administration.

Write the Jeffersonian DBQ available on the Collegeboard (AP) website.


Create a flowchart of the significant contributions made by African-Americans (both free
and slave) and women for this era.
In class debate how Jeffersonian policies may have been both short- and far-sighted.

Create a flowchart of the significant business inventions of this era.

Presidential Multimedia Presentation of Thomas Jefferson. (See Chapter One).

For test review, have students create a crossword puzzle or word find using Chapter Eight
key terms.
ESSAY AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Describe the attitudes and policies that guided white American leaders of the early
nineteenth century in their dealings with Native Americans.
2. Characterize Thomas Jefferson as president. Did Jefferson defend or betray Republican
policies once in office?
3. Analyze the success of political dissension during Jefferson's administration.
4. What were the causes of the War of 1812? How did the United States attempt to avoid war?
Why were these attempts unsuccessful?
5. Who were the winners and who were the losers in the War of 1812? Explain your answer.