Chapter 11: The Triumphs and Travails of the Jeffersonian Republic 1800-1812

Intro:

• Election of 1800 - Jefferson vs. Adams
• Jeffersonians would be confronted w/ a series of opportunities and crises requiring the assertion of federal authority.

Federalist and Republican Mudslingers:

• Federalists damaged: Alien and Sedition Acts = enemies. Hamilton's pamphlet attacking Adams was published. Adams' refusal to fight w/ France.
• All those war preparations for nothing, Adams known as "the Father of the American Navy" (ironically)

The Jeffersonian "Revolution of 1800":

• Jefferson won, largely because Aaron Burr turned NY to Jefferson
• Burr vs. Jefferson went to House - Jeffy won.
• Adams was last Federalist prez.
• Jefferson's mission: restore republican government, to check the growth of government power, and to halt the decay of virtue. "revolutionary"

Responsibility Breeds Moderation:

• Inaugurated 1801 in Washington Dc. Inaugural address - statement of democratic principles
• Jeffy was inconsistent
• Casual, sloppily dressed, good w/ dinner parties

Jeffersonian Restraint:

• Alien and Sedition Acts expired (1801)
• Naturalization Law of 1802 - reduced req. from 14 years back to 5 years of residency
• Persuaded Congress to repeal excise tax - but gov. needed money :(
• Secretary of Treasury: Albert Gallatin - reduced national debt. Kept Hamiltonian framework in tact. Later they actually embraced Federalist economic policy.

The "Dead Clutch" of the Judiciary:

• Judiciary Act of 1801 - last important law passed by Federalist Congress - created 16 new federal judgeships and judicial offices.
• New Dem-Rep Congress repealed act a year later.
• Chief Justice John Marshall shaped legal tradition! He was a Federalist - even after Federalist party had died out.
• William Marbury = justice of DC, sued to save his commission. Marshall own'd Jeff admin.
• Until Marbury vs. Madison 1803 (READ MORE ABOUT THIS IF YOU LOOK UNDER THE OCTOBER 2009 SECTION OF MY BLOG), it was wondered who had the final authority to determine the meaning of the Constitution
• Marshall's "judicial review" - Supreme Court alone had the last word on the questions of Constitutionality.
• Jeffersonians (angry) tried to impeach loud-mouth justice Samuel Chase, but failed.

Jefferson, A Reluctant Warrior:

• Jeffy reduced military to 2500-officer police force. Hoped to gain friends through "peaceful coercion"
• Dem-Reps distrusted large-standing armies ("could lead to a dictatorship")
• N. African pirates. 1801 - Pasha of Tripoli declared war on the US. Jeffy dispatched navy to the shores of Tripoli - 4 years of fighting until treaty of peace in 1805. US payed $60,000.
• Little coast crafts - "Jeffs" or the "mosquito fleet."

The Louisiana Godsend:

• France (under Napoleon) got Louisiana area from Spain.
• Getting Louisiana from Napoleon would probably take brutal warfare and America would need alliances
• Jefferson sent two envoys (James Monroe and Robert Livingston) to buy the New Orleans area for a max of $10 million. If France refused, it would be war, and America would make alliance w/ Britain :O
• Napoleon decided to sell Louisiana because: Louisiana was used to provide food for French Santo Domingo, but that place was an epic fail AND he wanted America to haver power and not be allies w/ the British!
• Robert Livingston (American minister) negotiated and bought Louisiana for $15 million
• Jefferson thought this rapid expanse of the union was unconstitutional, wanted to make an amendment, but no time
• 828,000 sq miles at 3 cents an acre

Louisiana in the Long View:

• Set a precedent for America to acquire foreign territory by purchase.
• Jefferson sent his personal secretary Lewis and army officer Clark to explore N territory. St. Louis -> Rockies -> Pacific Coast.

The Aaron Burr Conspiracies:

• Short term of Louisiana Purchase: vast territory and feeble reach of government raised fears of secession and foreign intrigue.
• Aaron Burr - VP for Jeffy's first term, dropped 2nd term and joined group of Federalists to plot the secession of New England and NY.
• Hamilton exposed and foiled conspiracy (what a champ!)
• Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton didn't shoot and died (he was actually immortal, but fell asleep due to his narcolepsy right when Aaron Burr shot him, he was no wimp. props to Riley for discovering this truth that they leave out of the textbooks.)
• Burr struck allegiance w/ General James Wilkinson (gov of Louisiana territory) (secret agent for Spanish) - planned to separate Western and Eastern US - betrayed, tried for treason, acquitted, fled to Europe, tried to scheme w/ Napoleon.

America: A Nutcrackered Neutral:

• Jefferson reelected in 1804.
• Napoleon declared war w/ Britain - 11 years long
• Britain pwn'd at sea, France pwn'd at land.
• America had no way to trade w/ Britain or France without facing their guns.
• About 6,000 US citizens impressed by "piratical man-stealers" of Britain

The Hated Embargo:

• Warring nations in Europe depended heavily on US raw materials. Jefferson reasoned that if America cut off exports, the offending powers would be forced to respect its rights.
• Congress passed Embargo Act in 1807 - forbade export of all goods from the United States - "peaceful coercion"
• American economy staggered - north AND south suffered. Americans upset at this law.
• Jefferson induced Congress to pass hardass legislation enforcing this law.
• Revived Federalists - nullification.
• Congress repealed Act in 1809, 3 days before Jefferson retired.
• Replaced w/ Nonintercourse Act (yes, the people were still allowed to have sex): reopened trade with everyone but important Britain and France.
• Embargo not continued long enough or tightly enough to achieve desired results.
• New England reopened factories and made new ones.

Madison's Gamble:

• Madison took office in 1809, as the conflict in Europe was roaring to a climax.
• Non-Intercourse Act expired in 1810, and Congress replaced embargo completely w/ Macon's Bill No. 2 - if either Britain or France repeated its commercial restrictions, America would restore embargo to that nation.
• Napoleon hoped US would resume embargo against British.
• Madison accepted French offer - British had 3 months to revoke the Orders in Council and reopen Atlantic to neutral trade. They did not.
• Madison reestablished the embargo against Britain alone.

Tecumseh and the Prophet:

• Congress in 1811 - filled w/ young war hawks. Wanted to fight w/ Britain and new Indians threatening settlement in the trans-Allegheny wilderness.
• Shawnee brothers: Tecumseh and "the Prophet" began to weld together a confederacy of all the tribes east of the Mississippi.
• "Never cede land to whites unless all Indians agreed"
• 1811, William Henry Harrison, gov of Indiana Territory, gathered an army and advanced on Tecumseh's headquarters.
• Shawnees got own'd, "Battle of Tippecanoe," Harrison a hero. Drove Tecumseh into an alliance with the British.

Last Section - REREAD.