Unit 1
The Jefferson Presidency
Study Guide
Election of 1800
Thomas Jefferson​ ​defeated t​ he incumbent P
​ resident, John Adams.​ Although neither won a
majority of the electoral votes, Jefferson was voted into the office by the House of
Representatives.​Alexander Hamilton is given credit for convincing members of the House
to vote for Jefferson.
Aaron Burr- ​He came in ​second place in the election of 1800 a
​ nd became Thomas
Jefferson’s Vice-President.
Important Facts about ​Thomas Jefferson.
-Candidate from the​ Republican Party
-Believed in​ strict interpretation of U.S. Constitution
-wanted to​ reduce the size of the federal government
-was​ against increasing the size of the Army and Navy
-He was in favor of reducing national authority so that people could rule more through state
government
Problems Jefferson faced while President
Both France and England were interfering with our ability to trade.
Britain was impressing our ships​ ( they were seizing our ships and taking our sailors, t​ hey refused to
trade with our ships,​ and ​they sank many of our ships.
Marbury Vs Madison
What the Case was about
-​James Madison, Secretary of State, was sued by William Marbury​ for not delivering the
commission in a timely manner.
Outcome of the case
- Marbury lost
- Judiciary Act of 1789 w
​ as found to be ​unconstitutional
-
Supreme Court was given the right​ for ​Judicial Review
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark along with others to explore and learn about the
territory known as the Louisiana Purchase.
-Explored many areas including Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and
Montana. (also Idaho, Oregon, and Washington but these three were NOT part of the Louisiana
Purchase.)
What did the United States Gain by buying this territory from France and sending Lewis and
Clark on an expedition?
-​Increased our knowledge about Native American Cultures
-Doubled size of U.S.
-Increased knowledge of plants and animals in the west
ESSAY QUESTION​:
You will be given the political cartoon below a
​ long​ with the quote provided from William Clark.​In a
paragraph you will be asked to ​explain what occurred in the election of 1800​, ​why people were
opposed to Jefferson’s presidency​, and w
​ hat was the impact the he had on our country.
You may use these two sources or any other information we have learned to help you write a
well developed paragraph.
William Clark’s quote”
"At 4 P M we arived in Sight of St. Charles, the party rejoiced at the Sight of this hospita[b]l[e] village plyed thear
ores with great dexterity and we Soon arived opposit the Town this day being Sunday we observed a number of
Gentlemen and ladies walking on the bank, we saluted the Village by three rounds from our blunderbuts and the
Small arms of the party, and landed near the lower part of the town. we were met by great numbers of the
inhabitants, we found them excessively polite.... the inhabitants of this village appear much delighted at our return
and seem to vie with each other in the politeness to us all."
Quote above ...Stated in simple terms.
At 4PM we arrived in sight of St. Charles. The party rejoiced at the sight of this hospitable
village. Moving our oars with great dexterity we soon arrived. This day being Sunday, we
observed a number of gentlemen and ladies walking on the bank. We saluted the village by
firing three rounds from our blunderbuts and the smaller guns we carried in our party. We were
met by large numbers of people who lived in town. They were very polite and appeared
delighted at our return.
I have developed this chart as a way of helping you review many of the issues and accomplishments
that were a part of Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency.
Election of 1800
Why people opposed his
Presidency
Events
Thomas Jefferson vs John
Adams
The Pirates of the Mediterranean
When the electoral votes were
counted, no candidate had won a
majority of the votes. The House
of Representatives had to break
the tie and decide which man
would become President.
The House vote 35 times until
finally Jefferson gained the
unlikely friend, Alexander
Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton disliked
Aaron Burr who had come in
second place in the election. Mr.
Hamilton persuaded his
supporters in Congress to vote
for Thomas Jefferson. They did,
and Mr. Jefferson became our
third president.
Not everyone, supported
Jefferson and his beliefs. He
believed in a weaker central
government and stronger, more
independent state governments.
He hoped that ordinary citizens
would take a bigger role in
government. He believed the
government was spending too
much money. He reduced
spending by decreasing the size
of the army and navy.
Sea pirates from the Barbary States
seized our ships in the
Mediterranean Sea to steal cargo
and kidnap passengers. Thomas
Jefferson agreed to pay money,
called a tribute, so that the pirates
would not raid our ships. When they
demanded more money, he refused
and ordered a blockade of their
ports. One of our ships, the USS
Philadelphia was captured by Tripoli
and we had to burn it to prevent
them from using it against us.
Jefferson believed that if the
government left people alone,
they would create more wealth
and achieve a better society. His
political opponents the
Federalists disagreed.
Problems with Great Britain
Great Britain and France were at
war. Neither country wanted us to
trade with the other. France tried to
cut off our trade and Britain began
the practice of impressment.
President Jefferson urged Congress
to pass The Embargo Act. This hurt
Britain and France, but also the
Unites States as well. Because we
could not continue with a total trade
ban, it was repealed and the
Non-intercource Act was put in its
place. It allowed us to trade with all
nations other than Britain and
France.
Louisiana Purchase
By purchasing this new territory for
15 million dollars Thomas Jefferson
doubled the size of the United
States. Lewis and Clark were sent
to lead an expedition of the area.
These men took careful notes and
created many maps as well as
brought back plant samples to
President Jefferson. This expedition
while not finding a water route to the
Pacific showed that people could
travel overland to the Ocean. We
also gained tremendous knowledge
of this vast territory and formed
good relationships with many native
americans.
It wasn’t long before other explorers
set out to journey through this
territory.