Part 1 Jefferson Begins His Presidency The Jefferson Era

Jefferson Takes Office In 1801, Thomas Jefferson became the first president to be inaugurated in the new capital of Washington, D. C. The city was located in a wilderness area, and traveling there was difficult. Some people complained about its muddy streets, and its unfinished buildings.

Jefferson felt it was a good thing that the young country should carve its capital out of the wilderness.

Jefferson Had a New Presidential Style He believed in the good sense of ordinary people, and wanted the government to be more democratic. He was less formal, and preferred quiet dinners to the formal parties that his predecessors had given. He shook hands with people instead of bowing.

Easing Federalist Fears Some federalists worried how Jefferson would govern. He did call for an end to the political fighting that had been going on. He said, “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists”. Jefferson did want to change some policies, and make the government smaller and less powerful by cutting the budget and lowering taxes. Jefferson believed in “laissez faire”—let alone.

Jefferson Chose a Cabinet That Helped Him Achieve His Goals Government expenses were cut. The size of the army was reduced, and construction on new naval ships was halted. The unpopular whiskey tax was repealed. People jailed under the Sedition Act were pardoned, and he asked Congress to restore the 5 year waiting period for citizenship. He did keep the Bank of the United States, and also continued to pay off state debts.

A Stronger Supreme Court Before Jefferson took office, Federalists passed a law increasing the number of judges. John Adams appointed Federalists to those positions. John Marshall became the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. His goal was to make the judicial branch as powerful as the other two branches of government.

The “Midnight Judge” The night before he left office, John Adams appointed a judge named William Marbury. Jefferson’s party would not accept this, and Jefferson instructed his Secretary of State, James Madison, to not deliver the official papers confirming Mr. Marbury’s appointment. Marbury sued Madison, and the case went to the Supreme Court.

Marbury Versus Madison In the court case, the Supreme Court ruled against Marbury. John Marshall, the Chief Justice, wrote the decision. Marshall said that nowhere in the Constitution did it say the Supreme Court had the right to rule in a case like this.

Judicial Review The court case Marbury versus Madison helped establish judicial review. This means that the court has the authority to declare laws passed by Congress unconstitutional. This is a very important power that the Court has.

New Orleans & The Mississippi As more and more Americans moved west, they depended on the Mississippi River to ship their goods. Sometimes, the Spanish who controlled New Orleans threatened to close the port to the Americans. In the Pinckney Treaty, Spain agreed to let the Americans store goods in New Orleans.

Napoleon and New Orleans A short time later, Spain gives control of Louisiana back to France. President Jefferson is worried that Napoleon wants a North American empire. In fact, Napoleon was going to use the region to raise food for use in their Caribbean territories. However, a revolt in Haiti kicks the French out, and weakens Napoleon’s interests in North America.

An Important Decision Is Made At about the same time that the Haitian revolt is successful, Thomas Jefferson sent two men, Robert Livingston and James Monroe, to try and buy the port city of New Orleans. They were supposed to offer $2 million for the city, but were authorized to pay up to $10 million for this very important port city.

At first the French are not interested, but after the defeat in Haiti, their dream of empire in North America was hurt. Plus, France needed money for its wars in Europe. They offer the Americans the chance to buy all of Louisiana. At first we offer $4 million, but they said that was too low. How will America respond???