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The Jeffersonian Age
The Election of 1800
• The presidential candidates
1. Federalist: John Adams
2. Republican: Thomas Jefferson (Writer of the D.O.I.)
• The tie between Jefferson and Burr occurred because according to the constitution, the
person who received the highest number of votes would be president and the second
highest would be vice president.
• Deadlock resolved by the 36th vote and it would be the first time one political party
replaced another political party.
• Amendment passed as a result of the tie: the 12th Amendment.
• Amendment established that electors would vote separately for president and vice
president.
Jefferson Charts a New Course
• Jefferson’s first goal as president: limit the federal government power over states and
citizens.
• The reforms Jefferson made to meet his goal:
 Reduced the number of people in government
 Shrink the military
 Eliminate all federal taxes inside the country
 Let the Alien and Sedition acts expire
• Federalist policies Jefferson did not reverse:
 Continued to have the U.S. repay its national debt.
 Did not fire most of the federalist officeholders, as long as they did a good
job and were loyal.
 Believed that the Bank of the United States should be kept.
The Supreme Court and Judicial Review
• In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court ruled the Judiciary Act of 1789 was
unconstitutional because the Supreme Courts powers came from the Constitution not
congress.
• This decision established Judicial Review, or the authority of the Supreme Court to
strike down unconstitutional laws.
Westward Expansion and the Louisiana Purchase
Importance of access to the Mississippi River: few roads; farmers depended on the river
to move their farm products.
Importance of Pinckney’s Treaty: guaranteed the Americans the right to ship their goods
down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, and then to store it there until transferred to
an ocean – going ship sailing back to Europe.
Jefferson’s fear about the transfer of Louisiana to France: That Napoleon intended to
make France the first power in America and that if he controlled Louisiana the westward
expansion of the United States would be blocked.
The Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson’s proposed deal: buy the city of New Orleans from the French.
Situation in France at the time:
 Revolution led by Touissant L’ Overture in Haiti, would limit France from
defending Louisiana in a war.
 France and Britain were about to go to war and so Napoleon needed
money.
France’s offer: Buy the entire Louisiana territory for $15 million (about $0.04 an acre)
Jefferson’s dilemma: The constitution did not state that a president can buy land from a
foreign country.
Resolution to the dilemma: He did have authority because as president he can make
treaties, so he could have the senate approve this treaty for purchase of the Louisiana
territory.
Exploring the West
Reasons for Lewis and Clark’s expedition (besides checking for a waterway between the
Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean:
 To find out about the resources to the west (ex. Geography, plant, animals,
etc.)
 Make contact with the Native Americans in the Louisiana Territory
 Make a claim of the land west of the Rocky mountains
• Route to Pacific: No water only route; Travel started in St. Louis and up the Missouri
River, across the Great Plains, then across the Rocky Mountains, then to the Columbia
River to the Pacific Ocean.
• Result: The American people having new awareness of the rest of the continent.
• Route of Pike’s two Expeditions: (1) West to the Rocky Mountains stuck at one spot
and turned around (Pike’s Peak); (2) Arkansas River to the Rio Grande in Spanish New
Mexico
• Result: His report of the Spanish borderland created a lot of interest in this region for
Americans.
Challenges Faced by the United States
Barbary Pirates
• Why they were a threat: stole property and enslaved sailors
• Some nations responded by paying tribute (money for protection to leave the ships
alone)
• How Jefferson responded: Stopped paying tribute and sent warships to protect the
American Ships.
American Neutrality Challenged
• Causes: War between Britain and France leads to restrictions on U.S. trade.
• Actions taken by Britain and France:
 Cut off the others foreign trade by seizing American ships.
 Britain began impressment (make the American sailors captured work for
the British Navy).
• U.S. response: The Embargo Act – A stop to all foreign trade.
• Results of embargo:
 American exports fell from $109 million to $25 million, American crops
declined and farmers and planters lost money
 Americans outraged by the embargo; greatest in New England where
merchants depended on foreign trade; some even started to smuggle
goods.
 Tens of thousands of Americans lost their jobs.
• Congress repealed Embargo Act in 1809, and replaced it with the Non-Intercourse Act
which prohibited trading with Britain, France and their colonies only.
Native American Unrest
• Cause of unrest: rapid westward settlement
• Effects on Native Americans:
 exposed to new deadly diseases
 took over large parts of their hunting grounds
 drove away animals as farmers cleared forests for planting
 Native Americans population decreased
 The power of Native American leaders declined
• Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa urged Native Americans to:
 Preserve traditional ways
 Resist further settlement
 Stop fighting each other
 Organize into a league
• U.S. response to unrest: Sent William H. Harrison, the governor of the Indiana
Territory, with 1,000 soldiers against Shawnee on the Tippecanoe River and defeated the
Indian tribes there.
The Move Toward War
The President during the War of 1812 was James Madison (He was elected twice in 1808
and 1812.
The two main reasons Americans wanted to go to war with Britain were the arming of the
Native Americans and impressment of American Sailors.
Supporters of the war were called War Hawks and they were mostly from the south and
west.
New Englanders opposed the war because they thought it would hurt American trade.
Early Days of the War
The war did not come at a good time for Britain because they were still at war in Europe
with France.
Near the start of the war, the British Navy set up a blockade of the American coast.
The U.S. warship that won an early battle was the USS Constitution “Old Ironsides.”
The War in the West and South
The three areas that the Americans wanted to start their invasion of British Canada were:
 Detroit
 Niagra Falls
 Hudson River Valley
U.S. General William Hull invaded Canada from Detroit, and then retreated thinking he
didn’t have enough soldiers to fight successfully. Then British General Isaac Brock
surrounded Hull’s Army and forced surrender of 2,000 troops (A huge defeat for the
Americans).
The U.S. naval commander Oliver Perry won an important battle on Lake Erie. U.S.
General William Henry Harrison won the Battle of Thames against the British and Native
Americans where Tecumseh was killed.
Andrew Jackson defeated the Creeks in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
The Treaty of Fort Jackson ended the Creek war and gave up millions of acres of Native
American land.
Final Battles
In 1814, the British could send more troops to fight the war the United States because
they had defeated the French and Napoleon.
During an attack on the nation’s new capital Washington D.C. in 1814, British troops
burned several government buildings including the White House.
During the British attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Francis Scott Key wrote the
words to “The Star Spangled Banner.”
The Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812, and returned all territory conquered in
battle.
Before news of the war’s end reached the U.S., General Andrew Jackson led the U.S. to
victory in the Battle of New Orleans.
Federalists met at the Hartford Convention, where some suggested New England
Secede (withdraw) from the U.S.
They called this Mr. Madison’s War, and it promoted several consequences including:
 Intense patriotic feelings
 Broke up power of Native American groups
 Lack of imported goods, forced Americans to manufacture more of their
own goods.