HERE WAS BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON AUTHOR OF THE

DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE OF THE

STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND

FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

BORN APRIL 13, 1743

DIED JULY 4. 1826

1. Background and Education

• Father: Peter Jefferson

• Like most sons of land owners, he

studied land surveying

• Graduated from William and Mary

University in Williamsburg, VA

• Tall, red-headed, quiet

2. Political Beliefs

• The government which governs least,

governs best

• Strongly favored States Rights as

opposed to a strong national

government

• Believed in a strict construction, or

strict interpretation, of the U.S.

Constitution

• Wanted to end all taxes of any kind

paid by U.S. citizens

3. Accomplishments Prior to

becoming President

• Wrote the first draft of the Declaration

of Independence

• Wrote the Statute of Virginia for

Religious Freedom

• Created the University of Virginia

• Served as an ambassador to Europe

from the United States

4. The Election of 1800

• Democratic-Republican Candidates:

Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr

4. The Election of 1800

• Federalist Candidates:

John Adams and Charles C. Pinckney

4. The Election of 1800

• Adams would have won re-election, perhaps

easily, had Alexander Hamilton not split the

Federalist Party

4. The Election of 1800

• Instead, the Democratic-Republicans

won the election

• Both winning candidates, Jefferson and

Burr, received 73 electoral votes

• Election was settled the House of

Representatives after 35 votes

• Hamilton swings the election to

Jefferson and angers Burr

4. The Election of 1800

• The messed up election pointed out the

need for a Constitutional amendment

regarding the Presidential election

process.

• The 12th Amendment modified the

Constitution so that the President and

the Vice-President are elected using

separate ballots.

4. The Election of 1800

• John Adams, the 1st President to live in

Washington, D.C., leaves before

Jefferson’s inauguration

• Jefferson’s Inauguration takes place on

March 4, 1801 in Washington, D.C.—the

1st done there

• The unfinished White House and

Capitol were just about the only

buildings in town

4. The Election of 1800

• Federalists fear what Jefferson will

say—will he start a new revolution?

• Jefferson, surprisingly, calls for unity—

he states “We are all Republicans, we

are all Federalists.”

• Jefferson DOES NOT propose to

change or destroy the structure of the

federal government.

5. Accomplishments made

during early part of Jefferson’s

1st term • Appointed Albert Gallatin as Secretary of the

Treasury

• Cut military spending

• Reduced the army from 4000 to 2500 men

• Reduced the navy from 25 to 7 ships

• Reduced national debt from $83 million to

$45 million

• Cut ALL internal taxes

5. Accomplishments made

during early part of Jefferson’s

1st term

• Only source of government income:

tariffs and sales of Western land

• Let the Alien and Sedition Acts expire

6. Issues with the Courts

• Marbury vs. Madison: Does William Marbury, one of John Adams’ last minute “midnight judges,” receive his commission to be judge or not?

• Jefferson had James Madison refuse to give the commission to Marbury

• Issue went before the Supreme Court

• Ruling became a precedent—an example for future court cases

6. Issues with the Courts

• With Marbury vs. Madison, the Supreme

Court established the concept of “Judicial

Review” of laws

• Judicial Review means that the Court may

decide if a law is constitutional or not.

• If a law is judged to be unconstitutional, or

goes against the U.S. Constitution, then the

law ceases to be a law.

7. The Louisiana Purchase

• By 1800, the western boundary of the U.S. was the Mississippi.

• The Louisiana Territory, that is all lands west of the Mississippi River which drained into the river, was originally controlled by France.

• As part of losing the French-Indian War, France ceded, or gave, the Louisiana Territory to Spain

7. The Louisiana Purchase

• The Louisiana Territory continued to be

controlled by Spain until 1800.

• A war fought in Europe between Spain

and France ended with a victory for

Napoleon and the French.

• Secretly, the Louisiana Territory was

transferred from Spain to France as a

result of that European war.

7. The Louisiana Purchase

• Jefferson learned that Louisiana Territory was now controlled by France

• French ownership of the Louisiana Territory posed several problems for the U.S.—mainly the French were popular with the Indians and the French presence blocked any sort of westward movement by U.S. citizens into the Louisiana Territory

7. The Louisiana Purchase

• The other major problem involved the

city of New Orleans. New Orleans

controlled all river trade. River trade

came from not only the Louisiana

Territory, but also from the United

States. If France decided to close the

city of New Orleans to U.S. trade, then

the U.S. would suffer great economic

hardship.

7. The Louisiana Purchase

• Jefferson realized the problems

involved with France owning the

Louisiana Territory.

• Jefferson sends Robert Livingston and

James Monroe to buy New Orleans and

West Florida for $2 million from France.

• Livingston and Monroe may spend UP

to $10 million.

7. The Louisiana Purchase

• Despite being more money and more

land than expected, both Livingston

and Monroe quickly agree to the deal.

• The deal poses a personal problem for

Jefferson—is this small government?

Still, Jefferson agrees to the deal.

• Congress debates the issue—lots of

money involved—still, they agree to it.

7. The Louisiana Purchase

• Napoleon experiences slave rebellion

trouble in the French colony of Saint

Domingue located in the Caribbean.

• Napoleon also needs money for

another war with Great Britain. He

decides to sell ALL of the Louisiana

Territory. His price: $15 million ( about

3 cents per acre).

7. The Louisiana Purchase

8. Lewis and Clark

• For a variety of reasons, Jefferson decides to send a military expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory.

• Jefferson’s personal secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, is placed in charge of the expedition. The men on this expediton are called the Corps of Discovery.

• Lewis was to explore the territory, map it, find a water route to the Pacific, make friends with the Native Americans, and drive out all French and/or British traders if possible.

Meriwether Lewis

10. Jefferson’s Reelection

• By 1804, Jefferson was unquestioned success as a President. He was easily reelected.

• Burr decided to run for governor of New York. Hamilton criticized Burr; Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel; Burr shoots and kills Hamilton. Burr’s term as Vice President was not quite over at the time of the duel.

11. Jefferson’s 2nd Term

• Pirates from the Barbary Coast States

in the Mediterranean Sea demand

tribute from U.S. trade ships.

• Jefferson refuses to pay the tribute

• The Barbary pirates from Tripoli

declare war on the U.S.

• Jefferson does not want to fight;

instead, he orders a blockade of the

port of Tripoli.

11. Jefferson’s 2nd Term

• The blockade eventually works. The U.S. forces the pirates to sign a peace treaty which ends all tribute payments.

• The military action is popular in the U.S., but shows the need for a U.S. navy.

• Jefferson puts aside his own personal problems with the government paying for a navy, and the country develops a stronger defense.

11. Jefferson’s 2nd Term

• Great Britain continues its policy of

impressment.

• Impressment is when the British kidnap

U.S. sailors and force them to work as

British sailors.

• The impressment issue becomes a big

deal with the Chesapeake-Leopard

Affair in June 1807.

11. Jefferson’s 2nd Term

• Jefferson deals with the impressment issue by asking for an embargo, or block of trade, against both Great Britain and France.

• Congress passes the Embargo Act of 1807. The main victim of the law was neither Great Britain nor France—it was the U.S. merchants who could no longer trade with either country.

11. Jefferson’s 2nd Term

• The Embargo Act proves EXTREMELY

unpopular and Jefferson’s popularity suffers

as a result.

• Eventually, Congress repealed the Embargo

Act and replaced it with the Non-Intercourse

Act.

• The Non-Intercourse Act was no more

successful than the Embargo Act. American

merchants and shipowners suffered greatly.

• Jefferson leaves office with a loss of respect.

12. Jefferson after the

Presidency

• James Madison, the

author of the

Constitution, a

Democratic-Republican,

and Jefferson’s hand-

picked successor

becomes the next

President.

• Madison leads the

country during the War of

1812.