Jeffersonian AmericaJeffersonian Philosophy andOverview of Jefferson’s Presidency

Where we have been…• Exploration and Colonization

▫ 1607 – Jamestown▫ 1620 – Plymouth and Mayflower Compact▫ New England, Middle and Southern Colonies

• Rebellion and Unrest▫ Proclamation of 1763▫ Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Declaratory Act, Townshend Acts,

Quartering Act, Intolerable Acts▫ Sons of Liberty, Sam Adams, Paul Revere, Boston

Massacre, Boston Tea Party, First and Second Continental Congress

• Revolutionary War▫ Lexington and Concord, Declaration of Independence (1776),

Battle of Saratoga, Battle of Yorktown, Treaty of Paris of 1783▫ George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick

Henry Thomas Paine, Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren• Confederation Era

▫ Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation▫ Northwest Ordinance and Land Ordinance of 1785▫ Shays’ Rebellion

• Constitution and Government• Federalist Era

The Death of George Washington • George Washington

died December 14, 1799, after contracting an illness from a ride at Mt. Vernon during a winter storm

• He was only 3 years removed from the presidency

• His death left a hole in the Federalist Party that it could not overcome in 1800

“First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” –Edmund Randolph delivering Washington’s Eulogy

• There is no popular vote at this time

• Electors chosen by the state legislature meet in Philadelphia to choose president

• No single candidate won a majority of electoral votes▫ Results in a tie

between Jefferson and Burr

• The Constitution called for election to be decided by the House of Representatives

Candidate Electoral vote

Thomas Jefferson 73

Aaron Burr 73

John Adams 65

Charles Pinckney 64

The Election of .

Election of 1800• On the 36th vote, with the

encouragement of Alexander Hamilton, the Federalists in the House of Representatives chose Jefferson to be president and Burr, vice-president▫ Led to 12th Amendment in

1803 that called for separate ballots president and vice-president

• Jefferson dressed in regular clothes and walked to the Senate building to take the oath of office

• John Adams, accepted his defeat and quietly left the White House and allowed for a peaceful transition of power from one party to the other

• Thomas Jefferson was more than just a lawyer and politician

• He was an avocational architect, a skilled violinist, amateur scientist, avid horseman and a voracious reader

• Jefferson advised the designers of the city of Washington, D.C. and created his home, Monticello, in Virginia

A Renaissance Man – The Sage of Monticello

Jefferson’s Contradictions• He was born into

wealth and privilege yet he championed the rule by virtue and merit and the life of small farmers

• Thomas Jefferson was a wealthy planter that owned many slaves yet wrote that “all men are created equal”

• Although many southern leaders freed their slaves upon their death, Jefferson did not

Jeffersonian Ideals• Jefferson was

convinced that the future of America rested in the creation of a nation of small independent farmers

• He believed an agrarian population would better support the ideals of a democratic and republican government

• Jefferson feared the result of Americans crowding into cities as had happened in Europe

Undoing Federalist Policies• Jefferson and the

Democratic Republicans believed the federal government should have less power

• Allowed Alien and Sedition Acts to expire▫ Freed people convicted

under the acts

• Abolished many taxes▫ Including the Whiskey

Tax

• Reduced the size of the military especially the Navy

• Reduced national debt using money from tariffs and land sales

Jeffersonian America Overview• Marbury vs. Madison

▫establishment of Supreme Court’s power of Judicial Review

• Louisiana Purchase (1803)▫Doubles the size of the

United States and leads to the Louis and Clark Expedition and the idea of Manifest Destiny

• Foreign Relations▫Problems with Britain

and France continue and will eventually lead to war with England in 1812.