Age+of+Jefferson

Age of Jefferson - Section 3: What were the successes and failures of the Jefferson administrations?

“Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever persuasion, religious or political.” -Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801

The principle of all men being born equal was a major influence of Thomas Jefferson's administration. He used this quote in his inaugural address to the country in March of 1801. This was an example to the country of how he was committed to providing rights to all men of the new country. Jefferson was a man who believed in treating everyone with the same respect and dignity he would give to his own family. He had no more respect for the rich and powerful of society than for people who were poor and uneducated. He believed that by being human beings every citizen of the new country of America they all deserved the basic right of equality.

“Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle.” -Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801

In his inaugural address, Thomas Jefferson assured the country that all people are entitled to their own opinion of the country. He believed that even though they might have a different opinion of a certain issue, that does not change or affect their principles. He also feels that even though the two Presidents before him had completely opposite opinions, he would try to improve the country, as they had.



ELECTION OF JEFFERSON After having the first two presidents of the United States be a Federalist, it was time for a Democratic republican to become president. Jefferson became president due to unpopular decisions made by John Adams. Adams passed the Alien and Sedition Act, new federal taxes, suspended the expansion of the United States army, and sent more diplomats to France to talk peace. These decisions even angered his own Federalist party members such as Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson ran for president and meant for Aaron Burr to become vice president, however, they tied in electoral votes. Due to no precedence, the House of Representatives had to choose which person was to become president, and which to become vice president. the conclusion was that Jefferson would become president and Burr would become vice president To prevent this from ever happening again, in 1802 the Constitution was amended and forced electors to vote separately for president and vice president. JEFFERSON"S PRESIDENCY During Jefferson's presidency, internal taxes were reduced, causing the United States to rely heavily on taxing imported goods as a source of revenue. Also, Jefferson got rid of the Alien and Sedition Act, which was the hated act passed by John Adams. However, the peak of his presidential career came along with the Louisiana Purchase. Arguably the most successful part of Jefferson's entire presidential career came at the expense of violating his own morals. LOUISIANA PURCHASE Due to slave rebellion in the colony of Saint Domingue, now known as Haiti, Napoleon decides to sell all of the Louisiana Territory. This piece of land would nearly double the size of the United States for a mere 15 million dollars. However, this would go against Jefferson's ideas about interpretation of his government. Before his presidency, Jefferson believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution, meaning that the government was limited to rights explicitly stated in the Constitution. The right for the federal government to buy land is not written in the Constitution, so Jefferson's dilemma became whether or not his own principals were more important than than the prosperity of the country. In the end, Jefferson buys the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon, not knowing that the would be more trouble to come. Vice president, Aaron Burr, was in part of a conspiracy which details are not known. The story goes that Burr wanted to establish an independent republic in the newly purchased Louisiana Territory. Immediately, Jefferson sent a militia to bring Burr back and put him on trial, but Burr was acquitted.

WORK CITED PRIMARY SOURCES Thomas Jefferson Quotes. 2001-2004 by Intersting.com. April 7, 2009.  SECONDARY SOURCES Jefferson's Administration- History of the United States. "History of the United States". 2000-2002 by Jacque Rogers. April 6 2009.  U.S. 11 History Book IMAGE SOURCES Samuel at Gilgal- Thomas Jefferson on Swindling the Future. April 7, 2009. 

LEWIS AND CLARK:

====On May 14, 1804, the mission ordered by president Jefferson was under way. The two men who led the mission were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They were sent by the president to examine and chart the recently purchased "Louisiana Purchase." The 828,000 square mile territory was purchased from the French for about $15 million. The land was a great unknown and the new government wanted to branch out and settle the area. The Army Corps of Discovery sent their best men to go and scope it out. Lewis was Jefferson's secretary at the time, and Clark was once a commanding officer for the army. The reason for the expedition was the expansion of the American fur trade and to further gather knowledge of the geographical layout of the western lands and to find a water route to the Pacific Coast. Jefferson took the liberty of providing the best firearms, food, clothing, and equipment to aid the adventurers in their expedition. The expedition began at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. In St. Louis, the men trained at recruited 45 others to aid them in their journey westward. By October 1804, the group reached the Native American village of Mandan, where they built a fort named "Fort Mandan." Having reached the area with only one casualty, Sgt. Charles Floyd (burst appendix), the group must have felt some relief. They spent the winter of 1804 into 1805 in the fort and he surrounding area. During that time an interpreter was hired named Toussaint Charbonneau. Toussaint brought along his Shoshone wife, Sacajawea who carried their newly born child, Jean Baptiste. On April 7, 1805, Lewis and Clark sent a boat bound for St. Louis containing many samples of herbalore, notes, reports, and maps. During November, 1805, the expedition reached the great Pacific Ocean. They soon built Fort Clatsop and made their place to spend the winter months. On March 23, 1806, after a long winter, the group began the long journey home. The confident group made it’s way southward, towards Marias River. They had a run in with a group of Blackfoot Native American peoples. There was miscommunication between the group and the Blackfoot. Lewis and Clark said that they would provide horses and supplies to the Blackfoot. The Blackfoot chief thought that they were going to supply the Blackfoot's enemy. They were forced to fight and kill 2 of the Blackfoot. When they reached the Mandan villages, they left behind Charbonneau and Sacagawea. On September 23, 1806, the expedition reached their end point back in St. Louis. The two men had achieved their goal and so much more. They had charted the route they traveled for many other adventurers traveling the same way. They found many different types of plants and wildlife that were unknown to the American people for so long. ====

http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/LewisClark2/CorpsOfDiscovery/CorpsOfDiscoveryMain.htm#JeffersonsInstructions http://www.lewisclark.net/
__JOHN MARSHALL'S AFFECT ON THE POWERS OF THE SUPREME COURT__


 * Marshall's Four part Legacy**

Hamilton and Marshall shared many of their political beliefs. Marshall used many of Hamilton's principles when setting precedence relating to the power of the Supreme Court. Four of these precedences drastically impacted the future of the Supreme Court, and helped to further sculpt the relationship between federal and state laws. These multiple precedeces are known as Marshall's Four-Part Legacy. The first aspect of this was Marshall’s decision that the Supreme Court had the power to over look, or reviews any actions of the legislative and executive branch. Marshall decided that the Supreme Court had the right to rule on whether or not these actions were constitutional. Marshall used this power, which came to be known as judicial review, in several key cases that will be explained later. The power of judicial review is essential to our modern Supreme Court, but the precedent began with John Marshall. Marshall also favored loose construction, and interpreted the implied powers of the constitution, much like Hamilton. Marshall also limited the power state and national governments had to interfere or affect privately owned businesses. This was referred to as “the sanctity of contracts”. Finally, Marshall insisted that state laws are inferior to federal laws.


 * Marbury V. Madison**

Mardury V. Madison was one of Marshall’s most influential decisions, because he set a precedent regarding the judicial branches ability to declare laws unconstitutional. On the last night of his presidency, John Adams appointed William Marbury, a federalist, to be a justice for the District of Columbia. However, under Thomas Jefferson’s order, James Madison declined from delivering the appointment papers. Jefferson and Madison both believed that John Adams should not have the power to appoint a judge so late in his presidency. Marbury was so frustrated, that he sued Madison for not delivering the appointment papers. Their case eventually came before Marshall, who took this chance to exercise the power of judicial review for the first time. Marshall ruled in favor of Madison, designating Adams actions unconstitutional and negating the appointment of William Marbury. This was the first time the judicial branch had ruled on the constitutionality of the executive branch's actions. John Marshal insisted that "It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is"(Essential Quotes). Marshal believed that the Supreme Court has the right to determine whether or not the actions of the legislative and executive branch are constitutional. This power later became known as Judicial review, and is still in use today. By establishing judicial review, Marshall gave the Supreme Court final authority over interpreting the meaning of the constitution. Marshall ensured that the powers of the Supreme Court would be equal to that of the Executive and Legislative branches, ensuring the balance of powers in our government.

Aaron Gibbons got Fulton-Livingstone license from a steamboat on a route between New York and New Jersey. New York gave him license because of a monopoly granted Robert Livingstone and Robert Fulton. Aaron Gibbons wanted to operate steamboats with a boating license, the state of New York is willing to give him a license because of Livingstone and Fulton. The out-of-state people are making him pay an additional fee to ride steamboats in their state. “The mind can scarcely conceive a system for regulating commerce between nations which shall exclude all laws concerning navigation, which shall be silent on the admission of the vessels of the one nation into the ports of the other, and be confined to prescribing rules for the conduct of individuals in the actual employment of buying and selling or of barter.” This quote was announced by the chief justice, John Marshall.
 * Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)**


 * [[image:http://www.columbia.edu/cu/alumni/Magazine/images/Fall2002/Marshall.jpg width="224" height="288"]] ||  ||

As seen in this political cartoon, John Marshall established the precedent that allowed the Supreme Court to "referee" the actions of the Executive branch and the Legislative branch.

Work Cited - Images 1. " Marbury v. Madison". __The Big Case.__ 8 April, 2009. /http://keep2.sjfc.edu/class/bnapoli/mste431/grantham/public_html/juds4.htm/ 2. Dorft, Micheal. "Two Centuries of "Columbian" Constitutionalism".__Living Legacies__. 8 April, 2009 http://www.columbia.edu/cu/alumni/Magazine/Fall2002/Justices.html = = Primary Sources

"Essential Quotes by John Marshall." //Primary Source Texts and Expert analysis//. Miles Documetns. 7 Apr 2009