Meet Mr. Jefferson

“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.” What is Jefferson saying? What does this say about his beliefs and ideas?

Election of 1800 Democratic-Republicans Federalists Thomas Jefferson ran for President Aaron Burr also ran for the Democratic-Republicans The party wanted him to be the Vice President He was from New York He hated Hamilton Why would he be a good pick for Vice President? John Adams ran again for President Charles Pinckney also ran for the Federalist party

Election of 1800 – Results Charles Pinckney – 64 votes John Adams – 65 votes Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson tied with 73 votes each What happens when there is a tie? The vote goes to the House of Representatives Each state gets one vote

Election of 1800 – Results A lot of Federalists wanted to vote for Burr But Hamilton (the leader of the party) convinced them that Jefferson was the lesser evil 12 th Amendment – 1804 Fixes the problem of having a tie for President President and Vice President are now on separate ballots

Jefferson’s Inauguration Very simple Why did he want it to be simple? His speech was surprising “We are all Republicans – we are all Federalists.” What is he saying?

Cabinet Secretary of State James Madison Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin Tried to simplify government How do you simplify government? Reduced the budget Cut the debt in half Reduced the military Cut the staff of the Executive Branch

Jefferson’s Government Stuck with his previous ideas on government What were they? He didn’t want the government to interfere in people’s lives Laissez-faire policy Means that the people should be able to do as they choose

A Man of the People How did Jefferson show he was a man of the people? He opened the President’s House to anyone who wanted to meet with him Didn’t travel with an elegant procession When he was elected, the Federalists thought the country would fall apart under his leadership Why did they think that? They were proven wrong

Louisiana Purchase Jefferson bought all the land the French owned in America 1803 From Napoleon Bonaparte Land from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains Cost $15 million Doubled the size of the United States

Some Controversy Why would some people disagree with the purchase? Some people thought it was extravagant He was usually concerned about money Why did he buy the land? Where did Jefferson get the power to buy land? It’s not specifically in the Constitution Fell under the power to make treaties

Foreign Affairs The war between England and France was interfering with American trade Jefferson decides to place an embargo on trade with both countries What is an embargo? Why would he do this?

Embargo Act Passed December 1807 Prohibited all American ships from leaving the United States Attempt to hurt England and France Hurt America more than it hurt those countries People were out of work Prices of goods dropped Businesses failed Many people went into debt Smuggling became common

Replacing the Embargo Act The Embargo Act made Jefferson very unpopular It was repealed shortly before Jefferson left office It was replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act Allowed the United States to trade with any country except England and France Still was fairly unsuccessful at forcing England and France to stop interfering with American trade

Duel Problems between Burr and Hamilton They had never gotten along Hamilton sided with Jefferson (against Burr) in the election of 1800 Hamilton thought Burr was “unprincipled and dangerous” for the country Burr had previously switched parties Burr held a grudge He challenged Hamilton to a duel Burr shot Hamilton He died the next day