powerpoint presentation - thomas jefferson academy/smith/thomas_jefferson...success as a president....

Thomas Jefferson

USA: 3rd President

1. Background and Education

• Father: Peter Jefferson

• Like most sons of land owners, he studied

land surveying

• Graduated from William and Mary

University in Williamsburg, VA

• Tall, red-headed, quiet

2. Political Beliefs

• The government which governs least,

governs best

• Strongly favored States Rights as opposed

to a strong national government

• Believed in a strict construction, or strict

interpretation, of the U.S.Constitution

• Wanted to end all taxes of any kind paid

by U.S. citizens

3. Accomplishments Prior to

becoming President

• Wrote the first draft of the Declaration of

Independence

• Wrote the Statute of Virginia for Religious

Freedom

• Created the University of Virginia

• Served as an ambassador to Europe from

the United States

4. The Election of 1800

• Democratic-Republican Candidates:

Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr


• Federalist Candidates:

John Adams and Charles C. Pinckney


• Adams would have won re-election, perhaps

easily, had Alexander Hamilton not split the

Federalist Party


• Instead, the Democratic-Republicans won

the election

• Both winning candidates, Jefferson and

Burr, received 73 electoral votes

• Election was settled the House of

Representatives after 35 votes

• Hamilton swings the election to Jefferson

and angers Burr


• The messed up election pointed out the

need for a Constitutional amendment

regarding the Presidential election

process.

• The 12th Amendment modified the

Constitution so that the President and the

Vice-President are elected using separate

ballots.


• John Adams, the 1st President to live in

Washington, D.C., leaves before

Jefferson’s inauguration

• Jefferson’s Inauguration takes place on

March 4, 1801 in Washington, D.C.—the

1st done there

• The unfinished White House and Capitol

were just about the only buildings in town


• Federalists fear what Jefferson will say—

will he start a new revolution?

• Jefferson, surprisingly, calls for unity—he

states “We are all Republicans, we are all

Federalists.”

• Jefferson DOES NOT propose to change

or destroy the structure of the federal

government.

5. Accomplishments made during

early part of Jefferson’s 1st term

• Appointed Albert Gallatin as Secretary of

the Treasury

• Cut military spending

• Reduced the army from 4000 to 2500 men

• Reduced the navy from 25 to 7 ships

• Reduced national debt from $83 million to

$45 million

• Cut ALL internal taxes

5. Accomplishments made during

early part of Jefferson’s 1st term

• Only source of government income: tariffs

and sales of Western land

• Let the Alien and Sedition Acts expire

6. Issues with the Courts

• Marbury vs. Madison: Does William Marbury, one of John Adams’ last minute “midnight judges,” receive his commission to be judge or not?

• Jefferson had James Madison refuse to give the commission to Marbury

• Issue went before the Supreme Court

• Ruling became a precedent—an example for future court cases

6. Issues with the Courts

• With Marbury vs. Madison, the Supreme

Court established the concept of “Judicial

Review” of laws

• Judicial Review means that the Court may

decide if a law is constitutional or not.

• If a law is judged to be unconstitutional, or

goes against the U.S. Constitution, then

the law ceases to be a law.

7. The Louisiana Purchase

• By 1800, the western boundary of the U.S. was the Mississippi.

• The Louisiana Territory, that is all lands west of the Mississippi River which drained into the river, was originally controlled by France.

• As part of losing the French-Indian War, France ceded, or gave, the Louisiana Territory to Spain


• The Louisiana Territory continued to be

controlled by Spain until 1800.

• A war fought in Europe between Spain

and France ended with a victory for

Napoleon and the French.

• Secretly, the Louisiana Territory was

transferred from Spain to France as a

result of that European war.


• Jefferson learned that Louisiana Territory was now controlled by France

• French ownership of the Louisiana Territory posed several problems for the U.S.—mainly the French were popular with the Indians and the French presence blocked any sort of westward movement by U.S. citizens into the Louisiana Territory


• The other major problem involved the city

of New Orleans. New Orleans controlled

all river trade. River trade came from not

only the Louisiana Territory, but also from

the United States. If France decided to

close the city of New Orleans to U.S.

trade, then the U.S. would suffer great

economic hardship.


• Jefferson realized the problems involved

with France owning the Louisiana

Territory.

• Jefferson sends Robert Livingston and

James Monroe to buy New Orleans and

West Florida for $2 million from France.

• Livingston and Monroe may spend UP to

$10 million.


• Despite being more money and more land

than expected, both Livingston and

Monroe quickly agree to the deal.

• The deal poses a personal problem for

Jefferson—is this small government? Still,

Jefferson agrees to the deal.

• Congress debates the issue—lots of

money involved—still, they agree to it.


• Napoleon experiences slave rebellion

trouble in the French colony of Saint

Domingue located in the Caribbean.

• Napoleon also needs money for another

war with Great Britain. He decides to sell

ALL of the Louisiana Territory. His price:

$15 million.

8. Lewis and Clark

• For a variety of reasons, Jefferson decides to send a military expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory.

• Jefferson’s personal secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, is placed in charge of the expedition. The men on this expediton are called the Corps of Discovery.

• Lewis was to explore the territory, map it, find a water route to the Pacific, make friends with the Native Americans, and drive out all French and/or British traders if possible. Meriwether Lewis

8. Lewis and Clark • Lewis selects Lt. William Clark as a

co-commander. The army refuses

to recognize co-commanders so

Clark remains a lieutenant.

• The men of the Corps of Discovery

are told that Clark is a Captain and

a co-commander of the expedition.

• Lewis and Clark, along with the

other members of the Corps of

Discovery, depart St. Louis on May

14, 1804 and travels upriver.

• They stop for the winter of 1805 in

the Mandan villages and create Fort

Mandan.

William Clark

8. Lewis and Clark

• At Fort Mandan, Lewis and Clark hire the French

trader Toussaint Charbonneau as an interpreter

and guide. The true prize was Charbonneau’s

2nd wife, Sacagawea and Sacagawea’s newborn

infant son.

• Charbonneau proves useless. Sacagawea,

while not a guide, does prove helpful: no war

party would travel with a woman and young

child. Sacagawea’s presence eases tensions

between Corps of Discovery and the Indians.

8. Lewis and Clark

• The Corps of Discovery reach the Pacific Ocean on November 7, 1805. Clark writes: “Ocean in view! O! The joy!”

• The first American vote involving an African-American (York), a female (Sacagawea), and men of several different nationalities takes place to decide where to stay for the winter.

• The Corps of Discovery create Fort Clatsop and spend the 1806 winter on the Pacific coast. They experience problems with the natives.

8. Lewis and Clark

• The journey becomes a race down the

Missouri River. Lewis and Clark arrive in

St. Louis on September 23, 1806.

• They traveled almost 8,000 miles along

the journey. They mapped the entire

distance using “line of sight”

approximations. They were off by only 4

miles.

9. Zebulon Pike

• Zebulon Pike also explores

the western territory.

• Pike reaches the Colorado

area and finds the mountain

which now bears his name:

Pike’s Peak.

• Pike then moves south into

the Spanish territories which

eventually become Texas

and Mexico.

10. Jefferson’s Reelection

• By 1804, Jefferson was unquestioned success as a President. He was easily reelected.

• Burr decided to run for governor of New York. Hamilton criticized Burr; Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel; Burr shoots and kills Hamilton. Burr’s term as Vice President was not quite over at the time of the duel.

11. Jefferson’s 2nd Term

• Pirates from the Barbary Coast States in

the Mediterranean Sea demand tribute

from U.S. trade ships.

• Jefferson refuses to pay the tribute

• The Barbary pirates from Tripoli declare

war on the U.S.

• Jefferson does not want to fight; instead,

he orders a blockade of the port of Tripoli.


• The blockade eventually works. The U.S. forces the pirates to sign a peace treaty which ends all tribute payments.

• The military action is popular in the U.S., but shows the need for a U.S. navy.

• Jefferson puts aside his own personal problems with the government paying for a navy, and the country develops a stronger defense.


• Great Britain continues its policy of

impressment.

• Impressment is when the British kidnap

U.S. sailors and force them to work as

British sailors.

• The impressment issue becomes a big

deal with the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair

in June 1807.


• Jefferson deals with the impressment issue by asking for an embargo, or block of trade, against both Great Britain and France.

• Congress passes the Embargo Act of 1807. The main victim of the law was neither Great Britain nor France—it was the U.S. merchants who could no longer trade with either country.


• The Embargo Act proves EXTREMELY

unpopular and Jefferson’s popularity suffers as a

result.

• Eventually, Congress repealed the Embargo Act

and replaced it with the Non-Intercourse Act.

• The Non-Intercourse Act was no more

successful than the Embargo Act. American

merchants and shipowners suffered greatly.

• Jefferson leaves office with a loss of respect.

12. Jefferson after the Presidency

• James Madison, the author

of the Constitution, a

Democratic-Republican,

and Jefferson’s hand-

picked successor becomes

the next President.

• Madison leads the country

during the War of 1812.

12. Jefferson after the Presidency

• Jefferson renews his friendship with his long-term friend and political rival, John Adams.

• Jefferson and Adams exchange tons of letters with each other.

• Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both die on the same day: July 4, 1826. It was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence which both men help write.

powerpoint presentation - thomas jefferson academy/smith/thomas_jefferson...success as a president....

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