Jefferson Becomes President Chapter 8, Section 1 Jefferson Becomes President

The Election of 1800 Federalists Democratic-Republicans John Adams and Charles Pinckney candidates Democratic-Republicans Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr Both parties believed that the election outcome was vital to the nation’s survival

The Election of 1800 Campaigning Federalist arguments Unlike today, where candidates travel and give speeches, presidential candidates in 1800 made their arguments in letters and newspaper editorials Federalist arguments Painted Thomas Jefferson as a pro-French radical Warned that electing him would result in violence in chaos Stated that his interest in science and philosophy would destroy organized religion

The Election of 1800 Democratic-Republican arguments Election Results Portrayed John Adams as a royalist Harshly criticized the Alien and Sedition Acts Warned that John Adams would use the newly created American military to limit the rights of the common man Election Results Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied at 73 votes John Adams received 65 votes and Pinckney received 64

The Election of 1800 Result Problems Under the Constitution at the time, the two candidates with the most votes became President and Vice President Because of the tie, the decision went tot the House of Representatives, as per the Constitution House of Representatives was also deadlocked Vote after vote resulted in a tie Thomas Jefferson finally won the election on the 36th vote Marked the first time that one party had replaced another in power in the United States Problems with the voting system led to the 12th Amendment Created a separate ballot for President and Vice President

Jefferson’s Policies Very different from President George Washington and President John Adams Different ideas Both Washington and Adams favored a strong, central government while Thomas Jefferson supported states’ rights Sought to limit the powers of government Different Style Thomas Jefferson was less formal than his predecessors

Jefferson is Inaugurated Americans were excited about Thomas Jefferson People traveled to Washington D.C. to hear his inauguration address to the nation President Thomas Jefferson delivered his speech in a quiet voice Made it clear that he supported the will of the majority Stressed the need for limited government and protection of civil liberties

Jefferson in Office President Thomas Jefferson faced the task of putting his political ideas into practice Selected James Madison as his secretary of state and Albert Gallatin as secretary of treasury Jefferson would benefit from the Democratic-Republican controlled congress Allowed the Alien and Sedition Acts to expire Jefferson lowered military spending and reduced the size of the army and navy Hoped that the money saved would help pay for the national debt

Jefferson in Office Government in 1801 Consisted of only a few hundred people President Thomas Jefferson hoped to keep it that way, believing that the primary functions of the federal government were: Protect the nation from foreign threats Deliver mail Collect Customs Duties Jefferson did realize that some Federalist policies-such as the Bank of the United States-needed to be kept

Marbury v. Madison Even though the Democratic-Republicans controlled Congress, Federalists controlled the federal judiciary Judiciary Act of 1801 Created 16 new federal judgeships filled with Federalists Done just before Adams’s term of office ended Some of the appointments were made so late that the documents that authorized them had not been delivered by the time Adams left office

Marbury v. Madison William Marbury Did not receive his appointment documents until after Adams had left office When Thomas Jefferson took office, William Marbury demanded the documents On Jefferson’s advice, however, the new secretary of State, James Madison, refused to deliver them Jefferson argued that the appointment of “midnight judges” was not valid

Marbury v. Madison Marbury sued, asking the Supreme Court to order Madison the deliver the appointment papers Marbury argued that the Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the court the power to do so John Marshall, a Federalist appointed by John Adams as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, agreed to hear the case Jefferson protested because John Marshall was one of his political rivals

Marbury v. Madison Marbury v. Madison Helped establish the Supreme Court’s power to check the power of the other branches of government The Court’s Opinion The Constitution gave the Supreme Court authority to hear only certain types of cases and Marbury’s request was not one of them. Therefore, the law that Marbury’s cases depended on was declared unconstitutional

Marbury v. Madison By denying Marbury’s case, the Court avoided a direct confrontation with Jefferson’s administration Established the power of judicial review The power to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional