Crash Course 8
● Thomas Jefferson​ runs against John Adams in 1800
● 1800 is the first election where both parties campaign and run for election
● Republicans and Federalists attempt to ensure that vice presidential candidate gets one
vote less than presidential candidate
● Republicans plan to throw away vote but forget
● Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson tie
● House of Representatives decides tie to name Jefferson President
● 12th Amendment passes and simplifies electoral college
● Federalist party all but disappears
● Jefferson keeps slaves and practices racist beliefs
● Gabriel’s Rebellion organized by Virginian blacksmith who hopes to demand abolition
be seizing control of the capital, but the plot is discovered and conspirators are killed
○ Slaves begin to expect liberty
○ Virginia makes anti-abolition laws and makes it more difficult for slaves to gather
or be freed
● Jefferson plans to reduce taxes and military, while reducing government expansion and
making America an agrarian society
○ Jefferson removes all taxes, excepting tariffs
○ Shrinks army and navy
● Limitations on navy inadvertently allow for expansion of Barbary pirates
● Jefferson appoints Republicans to major government positions, but cannot control
supreme court
○ Justices serve for life
● John Marshall​ is fourth chief justice of the US Supreme Court
● Marbury v. ​Madison gives Supreme Court power of judicial review, allowing it to
uphold or invalidate federal and state laws
○ Later expands
​
power through executive actions and ​Fletcher v. ​Peck
● Jefferson proposes strict construction, and reads Constitution as literally as possible to
limit powers of government
● Jefferson increases size of US with ​Louisiana Purchase​ for $250 million adj.
○ Plans to purchase New Orleans from Napoleon, but is given Louisiana Territory
instead
● Jefferson realizes that Constitution does not mention expansion
● Sends ​Louis and Clark​ on exploration of country to Pacific Coast from 1804 to 1806
● Jefferson ensures that each white man has enough land for a farm to ensure independence
● Imposes embargo to punish Britain for blockading France and forbids American ships
from sailing to other countries
​
● Jefferson plans to utilize European manufacturing facilities
● Embargo causes economic crash, and actually ​encourages advancements in domestic
manufacturing
● Unintentionally enlarges federal power
Brinkley Unit 4
Pgs. 198-213
Dollars and Ships, Pg. 198
● Republicans believe that government is spending too much money
● Jefferson administration attempts to abolish internal taxes and lower spending
○ Reduces armed forces, fearing infringement of civil liberties
○ Helps to establish West Point Military Academy
● Jefferson is reluctant to practice appeasement of pirates and the Barbary states
Conflict with the Courts, Pg. 198
● Republicans control executive and legislative branches, but Federalists maintain control
of judicial branch
○ Repeal ​Judiciary Act of 1801​, cancelling Adams’s judgeships
● Federalists Supreme Court reserves right to declare any congressional actions
unconstitutional
● Marbury v. ​Madison is heard by Supreme Court in 1803
○ William Marbury​ is appointed by Adams, but commission is not delivered after
Jefferson becomes president
○ Secretary of state ​James Madison​ refuses to return commision, and case is
brought to the Supreme Court by Marbury
○ Court rules that Congress exceeded authority in the creation of the ​Judiciary Act
of 1789
○ Forces delivery of commision to Marbury
● John Marshall​ is chief Federalist justice until 1835
● Jefferson urges Congress to impeach obstructive judges, including ​Samuel Chase
○ Impeached and brought to trial before Congress in 1805
○ Chase is not convicted due to an insufficient majority vote
● Acquittal establishes that impeachment cannot be used as a political weapon on the
grounds of partisan disagreement
● Judicial branch Marshall remain secure
Jefferson and Napoleon, Pg. 200
● Napoleon​ plans to restore French power in America
○ Hopes to regain control of land to the west of the Mississippi river
○ Secures Louisiana from Spain
● French continue to control West Indies
● Slaves in Santo Domingo revolt, led by ​Toussaint L’Ouverture
○ Rebellion prevented by Napoleon, but indicates stirrings of resistance influenced
by Americans
○ Adams administration initially supported rebellion
● Spain controls New Orleans and closes portions of the Mississippi to American ships
● Jefferson hopes reopen river and win popular support
○ Sends ​Robert Livingston​ to Paris as an ambassador to negotiate the purchase of
the New Orleans
○ Livingston argues for the purchase of the entire ​Louisiana Territory​, and
Napoleon agrees, lacking the resources to claim Louisiana
● Congress expands army to intimidate France
The Louisiana Purchase, Pg. 201
● Although only authorized to purchase New Orleans, Livingston fears Napoleon retracting
his offer
● Louisiana is purchased on ​April 30, 1803​ for $15 million
○ US agrees to grant France certain trading privileges through New Orleans
● Jefferson is pleasantly surprised, but is unsure how to react within the bounds of the
Constitution
● Congress agrees to treaty and appropriates funds
● Louisiana Territory is divided in a similar manner to the Northwest Territory
● Louisiana becomes first state in the region, and is admitted in 1812
Lewis and Clark Explore the West, Pg. 202
● Jefferson plans an expedition to explore western US, even before LA Purchase
● Meriwether Lewis​ and ​William Clark​ are named as expedition leaders
○ Lewis, Clark, and 48 others travel along Missouri River from St. Louis in the
spring of 1804
○ Sacajawea​ guides Lewis and Clark towards Rocky Mountains
○ Expedition arrives on Pacific coast in autumn of 1805
○ Journey ends in 1806 upon their return to St. Louis
● Montgomery Pike​ explores upper Mississippi Valley and Colorado, and attempts to
climb Pike’s Peak
The Burr Conspiracy, Pg. 202
● Jefferson reelected in 1804
● New England Federalists disagree with territorial acquisition
○ Federalists fear expansion and the formation of new states will limit their power
in the East
● Essex Junto​ form extreme Federalist group and argue for the secession of New England
from the Union
○ Propose formation of “Northern Confederacy,” along with New York and New
Jersey
○ Alexander Hamilton refuses to support movement
○ Federalists turn to ​Aaron Burr​, Hamilton’s political rival
○ Burr agrees to secretly support Federalists
● Hamilton accuses Burr of treason, causing him to lose the upcoming election
● Burr challenges Hamilton to a duel
● Hamilton is killed in New Jersey in July of 1804
● Burr flees New York to avoid murder charges and hopes to join an expedition to captured
Mexican territory
● Rumors surface that Burr is planning an armed takeover of New Orleans
● Jefferson accuses Burr and his followers of treason and arrests them, but they are later
acquitted
Conflict on the Seas, Pg. 204
● British trade with America decreases, allowing for increased control of transatlantic trade
● Britain wins key naval battle with France in 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar
○ Napoleon pressures England with Continental System, designed to isolate Britain
from trade
○ Britain responds by blockading European coast
○ Neutral American ships risk being captured by French or British, depending on
which port they sailed through
○ Many Americans consider Britain to be responsible, since they seize US sailors
mid-voyage through ​impressment
Impressment, Pg. 204
● British navy is known for poor working conditions
○ Many sailors are “impressed” into service
● British sailors desert, and some join American navy
○ Britain attempts to combat loss of manpower by searching American merchant
ships and “reimpressing” deserters
○ The British ​Leopard opens fire on the American ​Chesapeake and forcibly
removes sailors in the ​Chesapeake-​Leonard Incident
○ Congress and Americans are outraged and consider a declaration of war
○ Jefferson and Madison push for a peaceful solution
○ Demands the removal of impressment policy
○ Britain compensates US, but does not renounce impressment
“Peaceable Coercion,” Pg. 205
● Jefferson enacts ​the Embargo​, preventing American ships from departing for any port in
the world
● Embargo is widely evaded, but causes an economic depression
● James Madison wins presidency in 1808
● Jefferson realizes that the Embargo is a political liability and ends the regulations shortly
before leaving office
● Congress passes ​Non-Intercourse Act​, reopening trade with the exceptions of Britain
and France
○ All trade later reopened
● Madison proposes an embargo against only Britain after an agreement with France is
reached
The “Indian Problem” and the British, Pg. 206
● Many Native Americans look to England in hopes of limiting American expansion
○ British rely on natives for assistance in the Canadian fur trade
● William Henry Harrison​ promotes westward expansion
○ Appointed governor of Indiana Territory to handle “Indian problem”
● Jefferson proposes that natives either assimilate or migrate westward
○ Jefferson believes assimilation will end conflict
● Harrison uses threats and bribes to pass treaties with natives
● Americans take land from natives by force in the Southwest
● Natives hope to resist, but are unable to in small tribal numbers
Tecumseh and the Prophet, Pg. 207
● Tenskwatawa​ is a native leader known as the Prophet and speaks about the evil of white
culture and purity of native beliefs
○ Unifies multiple tribes to consider joint military efforts
● Tecumseh​ is the Shawnee chief and brother of Tenskwatawa
○ Understands that unified action is the solution to resistance against whites
○ Plans to unite all tribes beginning in 1809
○ Travels to the South, but Governor Harrison takes advantage of Tecumseh’s
absence and attacks the encampment
○ Prophetstown is burned in the ​Battle of Tippecanoe
● Many natives remain active along the frontier borders, attacking white settlements
Florida and War Fever, Pg. 208
● Frontiersmen demand expansion into Canada, while southerners hope for conquest of
Spanish Florida
● American settlers in West Florida seize Spanish fort in Baton Rouge and demand
government annexation
● Voters in frontier regions elect representatives who are eager for war with Britain in 1810
○ Henry Clay​ of Kentucky is elected as Speaker of the House in 1811, and
increases warmongering attitudes among politicians
● Some, including Madison want peace but see a threat to American trade
● Others push for conquest of Canada
● Madison declares war on Britain on ​June 18, 1812
Battles with the Tribes, Pg. 209
● American forces invade Canada through Detroit in the summer of 1812
○ Later retreat in August
○ Multiple failed invasions take place
● Chicago falls to native attacks
● While American navy wins some battles and captures merchant ships, Britain
counterattacks and imposes a blockade around the US
● American forces have some success in the Great Lakes region
● Tecumseh killed in the Battle of the Thames
● Creek tribe begins attacks on white settlers with the aid of Spanish weapons
● Andrew Jackson​ leads attack on hundreds of natives in the ​Battle of Horseshoe Bend
● Army expands into Florida throughout 1814
Battles with the British, Pg. 209
● Napoleon surrenders in 1814, allowing England to prepare to invade the US
● British ships sail up Patuxet River and burn Washington as revenge for the destruction of
the Canadian capital
● Invading troops proceed from Washington on towards Baltimore
● Americans block port with sunken ships, allowing the American defense of the fort
● Battle of Plattsburgh​ forces British forces to turn back from northern New York
● British troops advance on New Orleans and up the Mississippi, but are stopped by a
massive group of well-protected soldiers, led by Andrew Jackson
● Britain and US sign peace treaty shortly before the ​Battle of New Orleans
Revolt of New England, Pg. 211
● Many New Englanders oppose the war, especially in light of American military failures
● Federalists hope for New England to secede in 1815
● Representatives meet at the ​Hartford Convention​ to discuss complaints
○ Propose seven amendments to the Constitution to prevent secession
● Federalists assume that Republicans will have to agree to demands because of war
● Victory at New Orleans weakens talk of secession and deals a major blow to the
Federalist party
The Peace Settlement, Pg. 212
● Peace talks begin ​before fighting
● Americans realize that Britain will see less need to interfere after the defeat of Napoleon
● Britain abandons expansion through Canada and creation of native buffer states
● Treaty of Ghent​ improves American relations with England, along with improved trade
● Postwar treaties force natives to give up additional territory