Thomas JeffersonJefferson Alters the Nation’s Course

Election of 1800

• Thomas Jefferson (D-R) vs. President John Adams (F)• Jefferson defeats Adams by 8 electoral votes but is tied

with running mate, Aaron Burr• House of Representatives called upon to choose• Alexander Hamilton steps in to persuade House to select

Jefferson• Leads to the creation of the Twelfth Amendment- Pres and VP

run on the same ticket• Referred to as constituting “another revolution” • the party in power (Federalist) stepped down after losing the

election

Jefferson’s Presidency

• Jefferson’s philosophy=decentralized power… so what does he do when he steps into office?• Size of the military reduced • Lowered Government Expenses, Cut Taxes• Free Trade w/o Government Control• Reduced the size of the National Bank • National debt decreased• Increased number of federal employees

Jefferson’s Presidency

• Repeals the Alien and Sedition Acts- why?• Increased the power of Agricultural South.• Many Federalists refused to participate in political

campaigns because they did not want to appeal to the common people

• Farmers tended to vote D-R because they represented agricultural interests

The Midnight Judges

• Judiciary Act of 1801- increased the number of federal judges to 16

• Adams filled all the open positions with Federalist judges to try to leave a lasting influence in government• Right before he leaves office he tries

to fill all the positions = Midnight Judges.

• This leads to major issues.. Since not all the paperwork was delivered before TJ took office, he declared the appointments were invalid

William Marbury is one of these judges

Marbury vs. Madison

• James Madison, Jefferson’s Secretary of State, was responsible for delivering papers

• Judiciary Act of 1789 required the Supreme Court to order the delivery of papers

• Marbury sues over dispute…Marbury vs. Madison

• John Marshall, chief justice of the Supreme Court, hands down one of the Supreme Court’s most important decisions and leads to…..JUDICIAL REVIEW

Marbury vs. Madison

• So what happens??• Read the court’s decision and John Marshall’s ruling and

answer these questions:• What was Marbury suing over?• What did Supreme Court rule? Why did they make this

decision?• What lasting effects did this ruling have?

The Court’s Decision

• Supreme court rules against Marbury! Why??• Jefferson was going to ignore the appointment & therefore

ignore the Supreme Court.

• So…The Supreme Court protects their power keeping judicial review.

• Judicial Review- Gives the SC the power to decide which laws are Constitutional.