What's up everyone? Today we're taking a look at Jeffersonian America. We're going to cover the period 1800 to 1812 and let's get right into it. So in 1800 there's an election and John Adams is running again for a second term and he's doing a rematch with Thomas Jefferson. And in the election of 1800...
Federalists lost control of both not only the presidency, the executive branch, but also Congress, the legislative branch. And Thomas Jefferson becomes the first Democratic Republican president ever in our nation's history. And some people refer to it as the Revolution of 1800. And it's not a revolution in the sense of violence or radical change. It is the first peaceful transfer of power between political parties. and it really shows the constitutional system was working and power was handed over peacefully.
In fact, Jefferson even says at his inaugural address, we are all Republicans, we are all Federalists, and the nation's going to continue to function, even though political parties are there and power is transferring between one and the other. The Federalists are not going to go away without a fight. In fact, they're going to try to take control of the judicial branch, and they wanted to maintain some grip on power. and Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1801. And what this act basically did is it created new judicial positions, new judge positions that needed to be filled and these are going to be filled with Federalist candidates at the last minute of John Adams'administration. They're called the Midnight Appointments because basically they're filling them with pro-Federalist people and it's an attempt by Adams'administration to put Federalist judges in place before leaving office.
They lost the executive, they lost the legislative, they're trying to maintain control of the judicial branch. And something very important happens when one of the midnight judicial appointees, a guy by the name of William Marbury, sued the Secretary of State James Madison for refusing to deliver his commission. And this is important because it's one of the most important cases in U.S. history. It leads to the case Marbury v. Madison. And here's what happens.
Marbury versus Madison, the Supreme Court decides in 1803 the following. Parts of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was ruled unconstitutional. And you don't really need to worry about all the details there. Super important point. This established the idea of judicial review.
What this means is the Supreme Court has the power to declare federal laws unconstitutional. So the judicial branch, the Supreme Court... determines the meaning of the Constitution. This is a massive expansion of judicial power and it's just one of many decisions that we're going to see with the Chief Justice John Marshall.
He will dramatically increase the power of the federal government. He's going to play a key role. We'll cover some other cases but make sure you know Marbury versus Madison and judicial review.
Now back to Jefferson. How revolutionary was this transfer of political power? How Jeffersonian was Jefferson?
Remember, the Jeffersonian Democratic Republican Party was really created by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. And they believed in a couple of things, such as a strict interpretation of the Constitution, limited federal government. Remember, they were the state rights guys, and they believed in a nation of farmers. So was this a revolution of 1800? Well, Jefferson has some policies.
He eliminated the excise taxes, especially the one on whiskey. He wanted to lower the national debt. He wanted to reduce the size of the military.
He pardoned those who were arrested under the Sedition Act. So he does a lot of things differently, but important to note, he does not dismantle all of the Federalist policies. He keeps the Bank of the United States.
He doesn't mess with that Assumption Plan. In fact, even though he reduces the size of the military, he sends the Navy over to the Barbary Pirates to go... try to fight them off rather than paying tribute.
So Jefferson doesn't undo everything that happened under Washington and Adams administrations. Jefferson's most famous moment comes when he attempted to buy New Orleans and a part of Florida from France. And really some background here is needed. Spain had ended the right of deposit granted in the Pickney's Treaty of 1795, this free use of the port, tax-free use of the port.
They ended that and at At this point, France had taken back control over the Louisiana territory. Napoleon had gotten it back from Spain and he really wanted to establish a new rule. establish or re-establish a French Empire in North America. So Jefferson sends over James Monroe to buy this land for 10 million bucks, that land right there in the blue. Some things happen.
Napoleon offers to sell all of the Louisiana territory for 15 million dollars and this is a huge chunk of land. Couple of reasons why. One, there's a revolution in Haiti, a slave revolt that was not only scaring southern slaveholders in America. it was causing all sorts of havoc for the French. Napoleon needed money to crush this rebellion, and he also needed money in his really intense fight against England that was going on throughout Europe.
So he offers to sell this huge chunk of land to the United States. He abandons his dream of a new French empire in North America, and as a result, we get one of the best real estate bargains ever. Now, important to note, although the Constitution does not say the president could purchase foreign land, it's not in the Constitution, Jefferson supported the deal. And this is really important to note because Jefferson used a loose interpretation of the Constitution and the idea of implied powers to make the deal. Remember, he's a strict interpreter of the Constitution, so he does not follow his principles.
And he does so anyways. He says the president has the power to make treaties. Therefore, this deal can get made and it is made and it's important that it was.
Because the Louisiana Purchase is hugely important. It doubles the size of the United States before the Louisiana Purchase, after the Louisiana Purchase. Huge chunk of land, as you can see. Not only that, it supports Jefferson's vision of an agrarian society of independent farmers.
He wanted a nation of farmers. This potentially can fulfill that vision. So Jefferson feels okay with abandoning his constitutional principles during this deal.
Another important thing about the Louisiana Purchase is it avoided a potential threat, France, along the nation's borders. If Napoleon would have been successful at re-establishing a French empire, this would have been a nightmare for the United States, and so they avoid that. It further weakened the Federalist Party because, keep in mind, this territory is not going to be urban or industrial like Hamilton and the Federalists favored. It's going to be agricultural, and so that's going to be a blow to the Federalist Party, and they're going to oppose the Louisiana Purchase but it's still gonna get done. Lewis and Clark actually lead a scientific exploration of the Trans-Mississippi West.
Lewis was the personal secretary of Jefferson and Clark was an army officer for about two and a half years. Them and a bunch of dudes go exploring, looking at the geography, making scientific studies and really important this begins the start of US claims to the Oregon Territory as they get over to this region. by the end of their expedition and claims to the Pacific Coast which is going to lead us into all sorts of conflict with other nations including Native Americans eventually.
Quick little side story about Aaron Burr. Aaron Burr was vice president during Jefferson's first term of office. He's dropped in the second term when Jefferson's re-elected in 1804 and he starts doing some wild things.
He actually plotted with some radical federalists to secede New England states from the Union. They were going to create their own nation and And Alexander Hamilton helped defeat Aaron Burr in the New York election. There's some personal insults that are exchanged and Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr end up in a duel in which the great Federalist leader, Alexander Hamilton, is killed by Aaron Burr, former Vice President, killing the great Secretary of the Treasury.
At this point, the political career of Aaron Burr is done. He goes on the run. He actually plotted to take part of Mexico from Spain and potentially united with Louisiana territory under his rule.
Eventually he's put on trial for treason, but he is acquitted of the charges. And that's a little just about the crazy of politics back in the 1800s. Now back to the foreign policy drama. Remember, we were trying to maintain our neutrality policies, not only under George Washington, but under John Adams. And the war in Europe...
continued to cause problems for the United States. The Napoleonic Wars were going on and this was a big problem because there were various violations of U.S. neutrality. Impressment was taking place. This was the force enlistment of Americans into the British Navy.
They would actually seize ships, take the men off those ships, and force them into the British Navy. And this was no bueno. France issued the Berlin Decree in 1806 that said they would seize ships that were trying to trade with England.
So many American ships and its cargo were seized by France. England issued their own orders in council in 1806 that said ships that were going to Europe to trade must stop in England first. So once again, U.S. neutrality is being tested. The big moment happens though with an event called the Chesapeake Leopard Affair in 1807. an English ship known as the Leopard attacked an American ship, the Chesapeake. It is attacked right off the coast of Virginia.
In fact, they're demanding surrender of some deserters. There was a refusal by the American ship, and shots are fired. Three Americans are killed. Four others are taken and forced into the British Navy, and there is a huge outcry in the United States.
There's a huge demand for war. A lot of pressure on Thomas Jefferson and Jefferson's response is not to go to war. His response to the Chesapeake incident is to issue the Embargo Act of 1807. This Embargo Act basically said...
All U.S. trade would be banned with all foreign nations. You can't go to any destination to trade. The impact of the Embargo Act was negative.
The U.S. economy plummeted. You can see that right here on this graph. There is a huge decline in the value of not only exports but imports.
And especially in the New England region, because of their reliance on shipping and trade, their economy was hurt the most. There was widespread smuggling to try to evade this. embargo acts but nonetheless it backfired and American interest suffered. Little unintended consequences that happened as a result of the embargo act it helped fuel the Industrial Revolution in the New England region.
Remember Jefferson was more in favor of agriculture, Hamilton was the industrial guy. Well Jefferson's policy helped fuel the Industrial Revolution in America because if no goods are coming in from England or France Americans start making them on their own. and eventually this industrial revolution will only spread.
Just before Jefferson leaves office, he decides to repeal the Embargo Act, and shortly after that, James Madison, his homie, the Secretary of State, becomes president in 1809. The Embargo Act is repealed, and it's actually replaced by something called the Non-Intercourse Act. Get your minds out of the gutter. In 1809, the United States could trade with all nations except France and... England and the whole idea behind this was to shut down trade with the nations that were violating our neutrality.
It didn't do much to help the economy. The economy still sucked. Eventually, the Non-Intercourse Act was replaced by Macon's Bill No. 2. This bill said the U.S. would end its embargo if the country, whether it be France or England, respected U.S. neutrality and freedom of the seas.
So, in essence, we would stop trading with their rival if France agrees to stop violating our neutrality. we'd stop our trade with England. Macon's Bill No. 2 doesn't really work either. France temporarily agrees, but then they start seizing U.S. ships all over again.
An important development happens in 1810 when members of Congress are elected. They take office in 1811, and these guys are known as the Warhawks. These are young congressmen, mainly from the South and the West. So you've got John C. Calhoun right there on the left from South Carolina.
And then, of course, you got the famous Henry Clay from Kentucky. And they take office in 1811. And they are advocates. They advocated for war against England. They got a couple of reasons. They want to stop British harassment of American shipping.
They also want to wipe out Native resistance on the frontier. They feel the British are fueling that resistance by giving them weapons. And they want Canada as a part of the United States. They want to take it from England.
So these guys start pressuring James Madison for war. A little bit about Native resistance on the frontier you should know about. Know about these two Shawnee brothers. You got one, Tecumseh, right there on the left, and his brother, the Prophet, a religious leader. They began to organize a confederacy of tribes east of the Mississippi River.
They were tired of Americans encroaching on their land, and so they're going to resist and organize all the tribes in the region. They have some success, but unfortunately for them, eventually a general by the name of William Henry Harrison, who was governor of Indiana Territory, organized an army and attacked Native resistance in 1811 at the Battle of Tippecanoe. And this is a huge blow for the Native Americans on the frontier.
At the Battle of Tippecanoe, William Henry Harrison becomes a war hero. He'll become president later on, and it's a big blow to Native resistance and a win for American expansion. All of these developments that we've already been covering eventually lead to the War of 1812 being declared. James Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war, and he gets it in 1812, and here are the reasons.
One, England's arming of natives on the frontier. Warhawks really felt that the British were responsible for this resistance. They did get some weapons and aid, but it's rather limited. Two, England's continued... Violations of U.S. neutrality contributed to our decision to go to war, especially the memories and the bitterness over the Chesapeake Leopard affair.
Pressure from war hawks in Congress. Recall, they want more land. They want to protect American honor.
They have their sights on Canada and other territory. And don't forget, the Democratic-Republican Party tended to favor France in this battle over in Europe. And so the war is declared against England.
We'll find out how it turns out next time. Thank you for watching the video. Please click like.
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Peace.