chapter 6 section 3: the jefferson administration
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 6
Section 3: The Jefferson
Administration
Reducing Government• Changes
–Refused to deliver speeches to Congress- too much like a king
–Asked to be addressed “Mr. President”
–Reduced the amount of taxes paid by the American people & severely cut the size of the federal bureaucracy
• Cut the number in the army by 3,000
• Goal was to limit national government in people’s lives
Jefferson & the Courts
• The Judiciary Acts
–Judiciary Act of 1789
•Created a national court system with 3 circuit courts & 13 district courts, all headed by the Supreme Court
•Court would settle differences between state & federal laws
Judiciary Act of 1801
• Decreased the # of Supreme Court justices & increased the # of federal judges
• Outgoing members of Congress were trying to limit Jefferson’s opportunity to appoint judges to the Supreme Court & leave Federalist judges in office
• Adams filled the posts before leaving office
• Known as midnight judges
• One of Adams’ appointments was John Marshall- sworn in as Chief Justice
–Helped establish many important principles of constitutional law
Marbury v. Madison
• Jefferson tried to deny the appointment of Federalist judges
• Adams appointed William Marbury as justice of the peace for D.C.
• Secretary of State James Madison never delivered the official papers (Ordered by Jefferson)
• Marbury sued Madison- demanding to let him take office
» V.
Judicial Review
• Marshall ruled against Marbury declaring it was against the Constitution for the Supreme Court to give this order to the Executive Branch
• Declared part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional
• Power enables courts to decide whether laws passed by Congress are constitutional
• Allows federal courts to review state laws & state court decisions to determine if they’re keeping with the Constitution
Jefferson’s Progress in the West
• The Land Ordinance of 1800–Northwest Ordinance of 1787-
established a process by which territories could become states
–Land Act of 1800- people were able to buy land in small parcels & on credit
Napoleon & the French
• Gained control from the Spanish of the mouth of the Mississippi River & New Orleans
• French used this control to extract large sums of money from American traders
• Jefferson sent Monroe as ambassador to buy New Orleans for up to $10 million
The Louisiana Purchase
• Napoleon planned on creating a French empire in the Americas
• His attempt to crush a rebellion in Haiti failed, so he changed his mind
• He wanted to sell all the French claims
• Monroe & Livingston offered him $15 million without Congress’ or President’s approval
• Constitution didn’t mention the purchase of foreign lands
• Dramatically increased both national debt & size of the US
The Lewis & Clark expedition
• Began spring 1804
• Goal was to search for river routes to the Pacific Ocean, make contact with the natives, & gather information about the region’s natural resources
• To help with the mission they hired a French Canadian fur trapper & his wife Sacagawea as interpreters
• Reached Pacific Ocean in 1805
The Election of 1804
• 1st term
–Succeeded in lowering taxes, acquiring new territory, & allowed the Alien & Sedition Acts to expire & kept the nation at peace
The Federalist Dilemma
• Only support came from the industrial centers of New England
Hamilton & Burr
• Burr decided in 1804 to run as governor of New York as a Federalist
• Hamilton opposed Burr’s governorship & urged friends & supporters not to support Burr
• Efforts were successful- Burr didn’t even receive a nomination
• Burr was furious
• Summer 1804- Burr wrote to Hamilton & challenged him to a duel
• Hamilton accepted to prove his courage to the nation
Duel
• July 11, 1804
• Both fired shots & Hamilton fell, mortally wounded
• Burr ruined his own political career
–Fled NY to avoid being prosecuted with murder
• Tried with treason in 1807
• Jefferson won a second term
–Defeated Federalist Charles Pinckney with 162 electoral votes to 14
Increasing Tensions in Europe
• The Chesapeake–Jay’s Treaty expired in 1805–Both France & Britain were
harassing trade ships headed for the opposite country
–British kidnapped America sailors to serve in their navies
• 1807- A British ship, the Leopard attacked the USS Chesapeake, inflicting 21 casualties & boarded it to search for deserters from their navy
The Embargo of 1807
• Outlawed almost all trade with foreign countries
• Both countries were largely unaffected
• Many Americans hated the embargo & led to smuggling
• Jefferson was forced to use the navy & federal agents to enforce the law
• Ruined Jefferson’s second term