1. Thomas Jefferson: The 3rd President

2. The Republican Victory
-After the election of 1800 ended in a tie, the
decision for the third president of the U.S.
went to the House of Representatives.
-This process was repeated more than 30 times. Finally, about half of the Federalists simply refused to vote for anybody.
-Thomas Jefferson was finally elected
President.

3. Marbury vs. Madison -When Jefferson took office, some Federalists
chosen by Adams to serve as judges had not
yet received their special commissions.
-Without these forms, they could not begin working as judges.
-Jefferson took advantage of this by ordering
Secretary of State James Madison not to give
out the papers.
-William Marbury was one of the people affected by
this decision. He demanded that the Supreme Court force the
executive branch to hand over his commission.

4. Marbury vs. Madison (cont’d)
-At this time, the chief justice of the U.S. was
John Marshall, a Federalist who had been
appointed by John Adams. Marshall &
President Jefferson argued about many
political issues.
-When Marshall agreed to hear Marbury’s case, Jefferson protested.
-The Supreme Court’s decision surprised many
people, including Jefferson.
-Marshall felt that the Constitution did not allow Congress to give the Supreme Court powers, such as the Judiciary Act of 1789.
-Therefore, the Supreme Court did not have the power to force the federal government to give Marbury his commission.
-Marshall’s ruling established the power of judicial review. This power
allows the Supreme Court to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional.
-As a result, the Court became a much stronger branch within the national government.

5. The Louisiana Purchase
-U.S. leaders became suspicious of Napoleon
when they learned France once again owned
Louisiana.
-Jefferson’s main worry was that the French could interfere with American trade if France controlled the city of New Orleans.
-Jefferson wanted to keep the French from
controlling New Orleans, but he did not want to
start a war.

6. The Louisiana Purchase (cont’d)
-Napoleon wanted to sell Louisiana for a
number of reasons.
-France was at war with England, and he did not want to fight the United States at the same time.
-Instead of more territory, now Napoleon wanted money to buy supplies for his armies in Europe.
-On May 2, 1803, the United States and France
Signed a treaty of purchase. The final price the
United States paid was about $15 million.
-With the Louisiana Purchase, the size of the United
States doubled.