Unit 3: Thomas Jefferson



Election of 1800:

- Jefferson became president because of electoral vote

- He also won because of the 3/5th compromise that the southern states had for their slaves

- Also the federalists bribed him that they would give him their vote if he

*preserved state and federal power balance

*kept the navy

*kept the National Bank

- He denied at first but later secretly took the bribe

12th Amendment:
People would be nominated as pres. or vice pres.

-After the deadlocks in the election of 1800 was instated before the next election in 1804.

-Seperate ballots for president and vice president.

Jefferson's inaugural address:
He stated that he did not intend to obtain more land for the United States

Similarities and differences between Hamilton and Jefferson:
- Both utilized Hamiltonian Economy; Jefferson expanded Hamiltonian system

- Hamilton was for national bank/ Jefferson against

- Hamilton wanted limited democracy/Jefferson wanted more

- Jefferson wanted free speech and press/Hamilton wanted restrictions

- Jefferson wanted no special favors to business and manufacturing/ Hamilton wanted a protective tariff and that the gov. should assist businesses

'''- Jeff. ~ rule by all/ Ham. ~ rule by "best" '''

Jefferson Views on the French Revolution:
- He was on the side of the French until they abolished slavery

The achievements of Hamilton's financial system:
?

The 'Louisiana Purchase' and its constitutional issues:
- It was bought from France for $15 million (the title to the land, not the land itself. The deal restricted the Native Americans ability to sell their land. i.e. they could only sell their land to the United States.) Even today were still buying the Louisiana Purchase. To know more contact: Robert J Miller Professor of Law at Lewis and Clark College

- The U.S.’s first step to expansion

-Jefferson quickly ratified the treaty believing that all american (or the majority) wanted it, but some of the more partisan Federalists saw this as undermining the constitution.

Barbary Pirates:
- They got into scuffles with America and they were bribing the Americans

- They had a mini war (couple of ships)

- Jefferson didn’t believe in bribing but later he settled for a lower price

- The pirates were in North Africa

Judiciary Act of 1801:
This act was created literally at the very end of John Adams term--as in, the night before his term ended. It reduced the number of Supreme Court Justices from six to five, and it set up six new circuit courts. The issue with this was that Adams staffed the new courts with ONLY Federalists. Obviously, having judges of only one party led to many bias rulings. -->once Jefferson became president, he immediately tried to get rid of these only-federalist-judges; this led to the Marbury vs Madison case.

Marbury vs. Madison:
- John Adams appointed new federalists to court as justices

- The judicial review was created, where the Supreme Court could review and declare something unconstitutional

Slave revolt in the Caribbean and Toussaint Louverture:
-As the title says, there was a slave revolt in Caribbean, a French territory. The slaves won, and France decided to abolish slavery - The Republicans were avid supporters of France, but after the abolition of slavery, they withdrew their support

Essex Junto:
- A federalist group who were against Jefferson becoming president

- They wanted to separate from the U.S.

Hamilton vs. Burr (the duel):
- Aaron Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton, who refused to fire

- Hamilton's reputation was forever ruined

The goals of the Lewis 2 clark Expedition:
- To collect scientific info to shoot but refused

- Explore the Missouri River and its main stream

- Observe/journal latitude/longitude at all points on river

- Find most practical water for commerce - a route on water connecting the east to the west. "The Northwest Passage."

- Make many copies of journals - collect animal and plant specimens.

-To allow the Native Americans to feel safe with the Americans (not really a goal, but important)

The Burr Conspiracy and Aaron burr’s trial:
- Burr and General James Wilkinson (governor of the Louisiana Territory and secretly in pay of Spain) illegally raised a force of some six dozen men

- Wilkinson betrayed Burr to Jefferson and Burr was charged with high treason

- Jefferson hated Burr so he personally sent evidence to the attorney handling the case, while Chief Justice Marshall showed favoritism to Burr

- Final result: blow to Jefferson's prestige, and Jefferson became embittered against Marshall and the federal judiciary

-Just because of this the aaron burr tail was halied for a long time

British Rule of War 1756:
It ruled that Britain would not trade with neutral nations who were also trading with the enemy. It also ruled that Britain would not open trade with any nation during wartime. The rationale behind this rule was that the neutral nation was aiding the enemy.

Impressment:
- The British would take over the American ship and capture the men

- Jefferson was angered when true Americans were captured

Jeffersons foreign policy:'
Is this the Alien and Sedition Acts?

Causes and effects of the Embargo Act:
- Causes ~ Jefferson was sick of the British Impressment so he created the Embargo act with disallowed foreign trade

- Effects ~ there was many illegal trading that occurred

-the economy suffered immensely, jobs were lost, etc.

The Non-Intercourse Act:
- It was an alternate to the Embargo Act which only cut off trade with Britain and France and "authorized the president to end the boycott against either power by proclamation when and if it stopped violating the rights of Americans" (Garraty 192).

Treaty of San Ildefonso:
- Had to do with Spain and France

-Spain gave up Louisiana Purchase to France

Effects of Napoleon’s 'Berlin' and 'Milan' decrees & Great Britains Orders in Council:
- It was part of an economic warfare between Britain and France, it prevented foreign exports

- Berlin Decree ~ Napoleon made “all commerce and correspondence” with Great Britain illegal

- Milan Decree ~ Napoleon countered Great Britain’s orders by declaring any vessel that submitted to the British rules “ to have become English property and thus subject to seizure.”

Jefferson's speculations about race & slavery in "Notes on the State of Virginia"
- He suspectethat blacks were inferior

- That they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous

- That they can’t be educated

- That when they are freed he doesn’t want their genes mixed with whites

- He compares them to the creativity and imagination of the Indians

Additionally,

- The integration of blacks and whites is impossible. Their distinctions are too great and the society will simply not follow through.

- Therefore he suggests deporting them bit by bit.

[Trivia: This actually happened. They were sent to Liberia.

Source: http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=731&issue_id=75 ]

The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and the First Amendment:
Virginia Statute: Written by Thomas Jefferson. This is one of the 3 achievements he left as his epitaph. It was written in 1779 and passed in '86 into state law.

- 1st amendment ~ freedom of speech, religion, and press

Jefferson's personal religious views:
- He was a deist ~ someone who believed God created humans, but that God left humans to figure it out

Religious toleration:
- Religious toleration: government will "put up" with other religions, but will issue a tax in order to support the government's religion (in England, this was the Anglican church).

- Religious freedom: allowing everyone to practice whichever religion they want with no taxes.

- Jefferson was for religious freedom, not religious toleration.

See "Jefferson and Religious Freedom" by Merrill Peterson for more details.

Secularists and sectarians:
- Secularist: Those belonging to the laity or lay people; not clerical or religious

- Sectarians: Those pertaining to a sect; attached to the intersects of a religious denomination. Member in a religion which has separated itself from established religion.

The Plural Establishment of religion:
"Churchmen, forseeing the doom of the old order, hoped to salvage something by creating the broad foundation of a plural establishment. Always before in history the establishment of religion had meant in official saction and support of a single state church. But now, in the course of religious controversy in Virginia, the concept took on a whole new meaning: the civil support of christianity without preference to sect" (page 5 in Jefferson and Religious Freedom) Plural establishment, simply put, means that multiple sects of the same religion uniting

The term “Negro President”:
- It was a term that challenged his public boast that the election of 1800 was a “second revolution” based on the votes of a popular majority.

- He won thanks to the 'slave power', the extra voting power given to southern states thanks to the 3/5 compromise, of the South- if it weren't for them he never would have won, thus the name "Negro President"

- In actual votes John Adams won

- There was no real second revolution

Federal ratio:
- That slaves 5 slaves were worth 3 votes (they couldn’t vote, it was extra votes to their owner)

- The 3/5th compromise

Slave power and its effects:
==- The 3/5 Compromised gave additional legislative representation for states in the South, which meant that laws that were anti-slavery would not be passed, as if the South did not approve, it would not have the percentage required to pass the law. Ergo, slave power. All laws had to either ignore or support the proliferation of slavery. ==

Americas “Civil Religion” and its “sacred documents”:'
- The documents were the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

The 'Kentucky' and 'Virginia' Resolves:
- Jefferson said ~ Kentucky - states should be able to nullify the law in their own state if they don't like it

- Madison said ~ Virginia - A milder version of the Kentucky Resolve. [Citation desparately Needed]

While Madison's resolve was much milder than Jefferson's, they both attacked the Alien and Sedition Acts, claiming them to be unconstitutional. They drafted these acts to prevent federal unconstitutional laws from being passed into individual states, giving states power to declare a law unconstitutional. [Citation Needed]

Jeffersons image: pre- and post-Civil War:
Jefferson's image changed before and after the civil war.

Pre-Civil War: Favored by the North, as he promoted liberty for all - including those with black skin.

Post-Civli War: Favored by the South, who used his words (such as in his Notes on the State of Virginia) against negroes to justify their actions.

Shay’s rebellion and the “tree of liberty”:
- "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." -Thomas Jefferson

- “tree of liberty” is a letter that Jefferson wrote

- Personal liberty & freedom vs. national security & federal government

- O’Brien: says that Jefferson promoted (sometimes extreme) violence in the name of liberty

- Wilson: "'The tree of liberty' -- which the context has defined as 'public liberty,' the thing that is lost when tyranny takes over -- "must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." (Counterpoints 3)

-Shay's rebellion (rebellion against taxes in Massachusettes) frightened the gov't who made proposals to the new constitution that would strengthen the power of the executive branch.

-The rebellion was out of ignorance not wickedness and Jefferson claims that the people are not always well informed.

-

Jefferson as radical – the “wild gas of liberty” and the “Adam and Eve” letter:
- (according to O'Brien) Jefferson was "intoxicated" on the wild liberty, and believed that everyone was free to do what they wanted, whenever they wanted

- His love of liberty was extreme, as shown in the "Adam and Eve" letter:

- “Adam and Eve” letter ~ Jefferson was saying that he didn’t care if the world was obliterated and only two people left in each country, if it occurred because of a fight for liberty (according to Doug Wilson in "Counterpoints" this was an exaggeration of sorts, he may not have meant it literally and was not encouraging the wipeout of the human race in the name of liberty)

- (according to Wilson) Jefferson was interested in "public liberty"- the general freedom enjoyed by all, or natural rights, and was not intoxicated by the "wild gas of liberty" as O'Brien claims

The meaning of the “Declaration of Independence" and its legacy:
- It was intended to be an expression of the American mind ~ life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness

Presentism:
- Is when a historian or person looks at the past through the eyes of the present

- So their interpretation is skewed because they aren’t looking at it from within the time period

Jeffersons accomplishments on his tombstone:
- Author of the Declaration of American Independence

- Of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom

- And Father of the University of Virginia

- Note: He did NOT put that he was the third President of the United States

The “bizarre” kinship arrangement of the Jefferson and Hemings families:


such "bizarre" kinship was fairly common at the time

Sally Hemings’ power over Jefferson:
- He asked her to return to America with him and she refused

- He had to give her special privileges for her to agree

- He promised her that all her children would be freed by the age of 21

- He kept the promise, and freed her children and two other slaves after his death

Jefferson’s views on emancipation, deportation, and miscegenation:
- Emancipation ~ Jefferson believed that there should be no more slave, but once emancipated he believed that no free black belonged in America, so they should be deported after a year

- Deportation ~ Emancipated slaves were allowed to have children, be raised by there mothers, then sent to work once they came of age to pay off their later debts of deportation to Africa. All others had a year to leave or they were unprotected

- Miscegenation ~ this was a double standard, white men didn’t want to have competition between black men. So white women and black men couldn’t be together but black women and white men was ok. (This is what Jefferson proposed, it was rejected)