Unit 4 Flashcards
(29 cards)
The election of 1800: formation of political parties
The presidential election of 1800
provided the first election with a clear choice between political parties.
The Federalist Party stood for a stronger national government and leaned
toward Great Britain in European affairs. The Democratic-Republican Party
emphasized the powers reserved to states and leaned toward the French.
Both parties supported tariffs on imports as a way to raise revenue.
Throughout the 19th century, tariffs would be the largest single source of
revenue for the federal government. The debate on tariffs broke down on
regional lines. Northern industrialists wanted higher tariffs to protect their
companies from foreign competition. Southerners relied on exports of cotton
and other crops. They pushed for lower tariffs in order to encourage trade.
the election fo 1800: results
Determining the winner of the 1800 presidential election
was complicated. According to the original Constitution, each member of the
Electoral College cast two votes for president. The winner became president,
and the second-place finisher became vice president. In 1800, a majority of
the presidential electors cast their ballots for two Democratic-Republicans: one
for Thomas Jefferson and one for Aaron Burr. The two tied for the presidency.
As the Constitution required, the House of Representatives voted to choose
the winner, with each state allowed one vote. They debated and voted for days
before they finally gave a majority to Jefferson. (Alexander Hamilton had urged
his followers to support Jefferson, whom he considered less dangerous and of
higher character than Burr.)
Democratic-Republican lawmakers elected in 1800 also took control of
both the House and the Senate in the elections. So the Federalists had been
swept from power in both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S.
government.
the election of 1800: a peaceful revolution (revolution of 1800)
Determining the winner of the 1800 presidential election
was complicated. According to the original Constitution, each member of the
Electoral College cast two votes for president. The winner became president,
and the second-place finisher became vice president. In 1800, a majority of
the presidential electors cast their ballots for two Democratic-Republicans: one
for Thomas Jefferson and one for Aaron Burr. The two tied for the presidency.
As the Constitution required, the House of Representatives voted to choose
the winner, with each state allowed one vote. They debated and voted for days
before they finally gave a majority to Jefferson. (Alexander Hamilton had urged
his followers to support Jefferson, whom he considered less dangerous and of
higher character than Burr.)
Democratic-Republican lawmakers elected in 1800 also took control of
both the House and the Senate in the elections. So the Federalists had been
swept from power in both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S.
government.
Jefferson’s presidency
During his first term, Jefferson attempted to win the allegiance and trust of
Federalist opponents by maintaining the national bank and debt-repayment
plan of Hamilton. In foreign policy, he carried on the neutrality policies of
Washington and Adams. At the same time, Jefferson retained the loyalty of
Democratic-Republican supporters by adhering to his party’s guiding principle
of limited central government. He reduced the size of the military, eliminated a
number of federal jobs, repealed the excise taxes—including those on whiskey—
and lowered the national debt. However, hoping to avoid internal divisions
that distracted Washington, he appointed only Democratic-Republicans to his
cabinet. Compared to Adams’s troubled administration, Jefferson’s first four
years in office were relatively free of discord.
louisiana purchase
The single most important achievement of Jefferson’s first administration was
the acquisition by purchase of vast western lands known as the Louisiana
Territory. This region encompassed a large tract of western land through which
the Mississippi and Missouri rivers flowed, land little explored by Europeans.
At the mouth of the Mississippi lay the territory’s most valuable property in
terms of commerce—the port of New Orleans.
The Louisiana Territory had once been claimed by France, which then
lost its claim to Spain. But in 1800, the French military and political leader
Napoleon Bonaparte secretly forced Spain to give the Louisiana Territory back
to France. Napoleon hoped to restore the French empire in the Americas. By
1803, however, Napoleon had lost interest in this plan for two reasons:
* He wanted to concentrate French resources on fighting Great Britain
* A rebellion led by Toussaint Louverture against French rule on the
island of Santo Domingo had resulted in heavy French losses.
U.S. Interest in the Mississippi River
During Jefferson’s presidency,
the western frontier extended beyond Ohio and Kentucky into the Indiana
Territory. Settlers in this region depended for their economic existence on
transporting goods on rivers that flowed westward into the Mississippi and
southward as far as New Orleans. They were greatly alarmed therefore when,
in 1802, Spanish officials, who were still in charge of New Orleans, closed the
port to Americans. They revoked the right of deposit granted in the Pinckney
Treaty of 1795, which had allowed American farmers tax-free use of the port.
People on the frontier clamored for government action. In addition to being
concerned about the economic impact of the closing of New Orleans, President
Jefferson was troubled by its consequences on foreign policy. He feared that so
long as a foreign power controlled the river at New Orleans, the United States
risked entanglement in European affairs.
Louisiana Purchase: Negotiations
Jefferson sent ministers to France with instructions to offer
up to $10 million for both New Orleans and a strip of land extending from that
port eastward to Florida. If the American ministers failed in their negotiations
with the French, they were instructed to begin discussions with Britain for
a U.S.-Britain alliance. Napoleon’s ministers, seeking funds for a war against
Britain, offered to sell not only New Orleans but also the entire Louisiana
Territory for $15 million. The opportunity to purchase so much land surprised
American ministers. They quickly went beyond their instructions and accepted
the French offer.
Louisiana Purchase: Constitutional Predicament
Jefferson and most Americans strongly
approved of the Louisiana Purchase. Nevertheless, a constitutional problem
troubled the president. Jefferson was committed to a strict interpretation of
the Constitution and rejected Hamilton’s argument that certain powers were
implied. No clause in the Constitution explicitly stated that a president could
purchase foreign land.
In this case, Jefferson determined to set aside his idealism for the country’s
good. He submitted the purchase agreement to the Senate, arguing that lands
could be added to the United States as an application of the president’s power
to make treaties. Federalist senators criticized the treaty. However, casting
aside the Federalist attacks, the Democratic-Republican majority in the Senate
quickly ratified the purchase.
Louisiana Purchase: Consequences
The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the
United States, removed a European presence from the nation’s borders, and
extended the western frontier to lands beyond the Mississippi. Furthermore,
the acquisition of millions of acres of land strengthened Jefferson’s hopes that
his country’s future would be based on an agrarian society of independent
farmers rather than Hamilton’s vision of an urban and industrial society.
In political terms, the Louisiana Purchase increased Jefferson’s popularity
and showed the Federalists to be a weak, sectionalist (New England-based)
party that could do little more than complain about Democratic-Republican
policies.
Louisiana Purchase: Lewis and Clark Expedition
Even before Louisiana was purchased,
Jefferson had persuaded Congress to fund a scientific exploration of the
trans-Mississippi West to be led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant
William Clark. The Louisiana Purchase greatly increased the importance of
the expedition. Lewis and Clark set out from St. Louis in 1804, crossed the
Rockies, reached the Oregon coast on the Pacific Ocean, and then turned back
and completed the return journey in 1806. The benefits of the expedition were
many: greater geographic and scientific knowledge of the region, stronger U.S. claims to the Oregon Territory, better relations with American Indians, and
more accurate maps and land routes for fur trappers and future settlers.
Jefferson’s Presidency: Judicial Impeachments
Jefferson tried various methods for overturning past Federalist measures and
appointments. Soon after entering office, he suspended the Alien and Sedition
Acts and released those jailed under them. The Federalist appointments to the
courts previously made by Washington and Adams were not subject to recall
or removal except by impeachment. Federalist judges therefore continued
in office, much to the annoyance of the Democratic-Republican president,
Jefferson. Hoping to remove partisan Federalist judges, Jefferson supported a
campaign of impeachment. The judge of one federal district was found to be
mentally unbalanced. The House voted for his impeachment, and the Senate
then voted to remove him. The House also impeached a Supreme Court justice,
Samuel Chase, but the Senate acquitted him after finding no evidence of “high
crimes.”
Except for these two cases, the impeachment campaign was largely a
failure, as almost all the Federalist judges remained in office. Even so, the threat
of impeachment caused the judges to be more cautious and less partisan in
their decisions.
Jefferson’s Reelection
In 1804, Jefferson won reelection by an overwhelming margin, receiving all
but 14 of the 176 electoral votes. His second term was marked by growing
difficulties. He faced a plot by his former vice president, Aaron Burr. The
Democratic-Republican Party split, with a faction (the “Quids”) accusing
him of abandoning the party’s principles. Foreign troubles came from the
Napoleonic wars in Europe.
John Marshall
Ironically, the Federalist judge who caused Jefferson the most grief was one of
his own cousins from Virginia, John Marshall. Marshall had been appointed
chief justice of the Supreme Court during the final months of the presidency
of John Adams. He held his post for 34 years, during which time he exerted
as strong an influence on the Supreme Court as Washington had exerted on
the presidency. Even when justices appointed by Democratic-Republican
presidents formed a majority on the Court, they often sided with Marshall
because they were persuaded that the U.S. Constitution had created a federal
government with strong and flexible powers.
John Marshall Influential Cases: Marbury v. Madison (1803)
The first major case decided by Marshall
put him in direct conflict with President Jefferson. Just before leaving office,
President John Adams made several “midnight appointments” of Federalists as
judges. However, their commissions were not formally delivered before Jefferson
took office. Jefferson wanted to block these appointments, so he ordered the
new secretary of state, James Madison, not to deliver the commissions. One of
the Adams appointees, William Marbury, sued for his commission. The case of
Marbury v. Madison went to the Supreme Court in 1803. Marshall ruled that
Marbury had a right to his commission according to the Judiciary Act passed
by Congress in 1789. However, Marshall said the Judiciary Act of 1789 had
given to the Court greater power than the Constitution allowed. Therefore, the
law was unconstitutional and Marbury would not receive his commission.
In effect, Marshall sacrificed what would have been a small Federalist gain
(the appointment of Marbury) for a much larger, long-term judicial victory.
By ruling a law of Congress to be unconstitutional, Marshall established the
doctrine of judicial review. From this point on, the Supreme Court would
exercise the power to decide whether an act of Congress or of the president was
allowed by the Constitution. The Supreme Court could now overrule actions of
the other two branches of the federal government.
John Marshall Influential Cases: Fletcher v. Peck (1810)
In a case involving land fraud in Georgia, Marshall
concluded that a state could not pass legislation invalidating a contract.
This was the first time that the Supreme Court declared a state law to be
unconstitutional and invalid. (In Marbury v. Madison, the Court ruled a federal
law unconstitutional.)
John Marshall Influential Cases: Martin v. Hunter’s Lease (1816)
The Supreme Court established that it
had jurisdiction over state courts in cases involving constitutional rights.
John Marshall Influential Cases: Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)
This case involved a law of New
Hampshire that changed Dartmouth College from a privately chartered college
into a public institution. The Marshall Court struck down the state law as
unconstitutional, arguing that a contract for a private corporation could not be
altered by the state.
John Marshall Influential Cases: McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Maryland attempted to tax the Second
Bank of the United States, which was located in Maryland. Marshall ruled that
a state could not tax a federal institution because “the power to tax is the power
to destroy” and federal laws are supreme over state laws. In addition, Marshall
settled the long-running debate over constitutionality of the national bank.
Using a loose interpretation of the Constitution, Marshall ruled that, even
though no clause in the Constitution specifically mentions a national bank,
the Constitution gave the federal government the implied power to create one.
John Marshall Influential Cases Gibbons v. Ogden (1821)
Could the state of New York grant a monopoly
to a steamboat company if that action conflicted with a charter authorized
by Congress? In ruling that the New York monopoly was unconstitutional,
Marshall established the federal government’s broad control of interstate
commerce.
Madison’s Presidency: The election of 1808
Ever since leading the effort to write and ratify the Constitution, Madison was
widely viewed as a brilliant thinker. He had worked tirelessly with Jefferson
in developing the Democratic-Republican Party. On the other hand, he was a
weak public speaker, possessed a stubborn temperament, and lacked Jefferson’s
political skills. With Jefferson’s backing, Madison was nominated for president
by a caucus of congressional Democratic-Republicans. Other factions of the
Democratic-Republican Party nominated two other candidates. Even so,
Madison was able to win a majority of electoral votes and to defeat both his
Democratic-Republican opponents and the Federalist candidate, Charles
Pinckney.
The Era of Good Feelings
The period’s nickname suggests the Monroe years were marked by a spirit of
nationalism, optimism, and goodwill. In some ways, they were. One party,
the Federalists, faded into oblivion, and Monroe’s party, the Democratic-
Republicans, adopted some of their policies and dominated politics.
This perception of unity and harmony, however, can be misleading and
oversimplified. Throughout the era, people had heated debates over tariffs,
the national bank, internal improvements, and public land sales. Sectionalist
tensions over slavery were increasing. Moreover, even a sense of party unity
was illusory since antagonistic factions among Democratic-Republicans would
soon split it in two. The actual period of “good feelings” may have lasted only
from the election of 1816 to the Panic of 1819.
The era of good feelings: James Monroe
with no organized political opposition, Monroe represented the growing nationalism
of the American people. Under Monroe, the country acquired Florida, agreed
on the Missouri Compromise, and adopted the Monroe Doctrine.
The era of good feelings: economic nationalism
One outgrowth of the War of 1812 was a political movement to support the
growth of the nation’s economy. Subsidizing internal improvements (the
building of roads and canals) was one aspect of the movement. Protecting
budding U.S. industries from European competition was a second aspect.
Often opinions on these economic issues were based on what appeared best for
one’s section or region.
(monroe period) economic nationalism: tariff of 1816
Before the War of 1812, Congress had levied low tariffs on
imports as a method for raising government revenue. Then, during the war,
manufacturers erected many factories to supply goods that previously had been
imported from Britain. Now in peacetime, these American manufacturers feared
that British goods would be dumped on American markets and take away much
of their business. Congress raised tariffs for the express purpose of protecting
U.S. manufacturers from competition rather than to simply raise revenue. This
was the first protective tariff in U.S. history—the first of many to come.
New England, which had little manufacturing at the time, was the only
section to oppose the higher tariffs. Even the South and West, which had
opposed tariffs in the past and would oppose them in the future, generally
supported the 1816 tariff, believing that it was needed for national prosperity.
