John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

John Adams: Federalist

Thomas Jefferson: Democratic-Republicans

French

British

Natives

Federalism: strong central government

Democratic-Republicans: states’ individual rights

• The most damaging blow to the Federalists was that John Adams refused to properly fight France. The debt made a lot of new unfavorable taxes, including a stamp tax.

• John Adams was known as “the Father of the American Navy”

• Federalists focused on attacking Thomas Jefferson personally, making Thomas Jefferson one of the first victim of “whispering campaigns”

  ^ accused Thomas Jefferson of robbing a widow of her trust fund and fathering many children with his slave Sally Hemings (true).

• ”The Philosophic Cock” was a political cartoon by Federalist James Callendar depicting Jefferson as a rooster and Sally as a hen.

• New York was the big state to win in the electron

• Jefferson won New York’s votes because of Aaron Burr

• Jefferson and Burr won the same number of electoral votes, and the constitution said ties can only be broken by the House of Representatives. Some Federalists refused to vote allowing Jefferson to win president over Burr.

• Jefferson called his election a “return to the original sprit of the Revolution”

Jefferson’s Mission:

1. restore the republican experiment

2. check the growth of government power

3. halt the decay that had set in under Federalist (John Adams) rule

• Jefferson wanted to ally with Federalist, so in his inaugural address he said “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.” and that we will have “Honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.”

• New Naturalization Law of 1802: reduced the 14 year citizenship requirement to be president to 5 years

• Jefferson hated the excise tax and repealed it. This cost the federal government about $1million a year.

• Jefferson’s presidency led to the 2 party system

• Adams had already appointed Chief Justice John Marshall to the Supreme Court in the last days of his presidency. John Marshall said that he rejected Marbury’s lawsuit for this shelved commissions (by James Madison) because the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional. The act attempted to give the Supreme Court powers that the Constitution didn’t define.

  ^this led to Marbury v. Madison led to “judicial review”- the idea that the Supreme Court alone had the last word period. (Jefferson in the Kentucky Resolutions tried to say its up to the state previously)

• Jefferson stans (pro states rights) got mad at this country-centric decision and tried to impeach Samuel Chase, a Supreme Court justice who was unpopular with Republicans.

• The House of Representatives said sure to impeach Chase, but the Senate said no.

• One of Jefferson’s first actions as president was to reduce the military to a police force of 2500. This had to be reversed because of Pirates of the North African Barbary States.

• Jefferson launched the navy to the “shores of Tripoli”. Success in a Peace Treaty from Tripoli in 1805 for a ransom payment of $60,000. Jefferson then loved the tiny coastal boats “Jeffs” and ordered a “mosquito fleet”.

• Napoleon Bonaparte convinced the king of Spain to give the southern exit of the Mississippi river to France.

• Frenchmen did not agree with the “right to deposit”, aka farmers sail their produce through the MS river.

• Jefferson sent James Monroe to France to speak with Robert R. Livingston.

  ^This was to buy New Orleans. Napoleon said “why not all of Louisiana?” and America said sure i’ll buy it all.

• Toussaint L’Ouverture led a slave revolt on Santo Domingo.

• Mosquitos carrying yellow fever + the slave revolt convinced Napoleon that it just wasn’t worth it to keep Louisiana.

• Napoleon feared Britain taking Louisiana since they were about to be not on good terms. He rather sell it to the USA than have it taken.

• Treaties signed on April 30, 1803, sold Louisiana to the United States for $15 million.

• In 1804, Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to explore this land along with Sacajawea.

• Sacajawea was Shoshoni.

• Madison declared war with a 19-13 vote in congress. The opinions on war were divided.

• Zebulon M. Pike was another explorer who trekked to the “headwaters of the MS river” and later the southern territory. He saw the Colorado Peak and its now named after him.

• Aaron Burr joined Federalist extremist to plot some devious stuff but Alexander Hamilton exposed him. ^Aaron Burr was big mad and challenged Alexander Hamilton to a duel and Burr killed him in one shot (embarrassing).

• Burr was arrested and tried for treason. Chief Justice John Marshall said he didn’t commit treason he just had treasonous intentions. Burr went to Europe and tried to get Napoleon to be nice to Britain so they could invade America.

• Jefferson was reelected in 1804

• at Battle of Trafalgar, Horatio Lord Nelson (British) won against France and Spain. Secured seas.

• at Battle of Austerlitz/Battle of the 3 Emperors, Napoleon won against Austrian & Russians. Secured land.

• Orders of Council: closed European ports under French control to foreign shipping, including America

  *Napoleon got mad and said France must seize every merchant ship they see.

• Impressment: forcible enlistment of sailors. 600 US sailors were impressed by Britain from 1808-1811.

• The Chesapeake was stopped by the British. British killed 3 and injured 18. They took back 4 deserters.

• Embargo Act: 1807, no exports from the US at all. It was Jefferson’s idea of “peaceful coercion”.

• Congress repealed the Embargo act in 1809.

• James Madison took the presidential oath 3 days later in 1809

• Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 (embargo act for just Britain and France) was gonna expire in 1810

• Congress passed Macon’s Bill No. 2, which said if Britain or France take back their commerce restrictions then the US will export to them again. Madison thought it was embarrassing.

• Macon’s Bill gave Britain 3 months to revoke the Orders in Council, they did not.

• democratic-republicans had new young congressmen nicknamed “Warhawks” by the federalist since they wanted a war with old enemies.

• Western Warhawks wanted to get rid of the natives

• the Warhawks won control of the House of Representatives, and elected Henry Clay as speaker

• Shawnee brothers, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa were named “The Prophet”

• Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa fought the pioneers and told the Shawnees to not give up their land

• William Henry Harrison, gov of Indiana, got an army to go to Tecumseh’s HW at the Wabash and Tippecanoe River

• Tecumseh wasn’t there, but the people who were there attacked anyways. They lost and their settlement was burned.

• Tecumseh later died in the Battle of Thames

• “On to Canada, On to Canada” was the Warhawk chant, they wanted to wipe out the native’s friends the French