UNIT 2 LECTURE NOTES
I. ADAMS AND JEFFERSON
A. THE ADAMS PRESIDENCY
1. 1796 ELECTION
- In 1796 American experiences their first contested presidential election
- The Federalists chose John Adams, conservative from Mass who had served as VP
- Democratic Republicans nominated Thomas Jefferson
- In line with custom, neither candidate campaigned in person
o Both stayed home while friends and newspaper editors lobbies for support
- Alexander Hamilton lobbies Federalists to support Thomas Pinckney because he knew he could not manipulate the morally upright John Adams
- Adams wins the election and Jefferson is his VP
2. XYZ AFFAIR
- France regarded Jay’s Treaty as an American-British Alliance
o They broke off diplomatic relations in 1797 and refused to discuss with U.S. until it addressed French grievances
o They soon began an increased effort in seizing American ships trading with Britain
o French ordered that anything on American ships made in Britain would be seized without compensation
- Adams wanted to protect American commerce from French bullying but also knew that they would not survive a war with France
o He also knew French concerns (Jay’s Treaty) were legitimate
- He sends a mission to France, made up of three respected statesmen: Charles Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry
o When they reach Paris, they are left waiting to see the Directory (revolutionary committee of 5 that had replaced the king) and the foreign minster
o Three officials, only named in the correspondence as X, Y, Z discreetly hinted that France would receive them if they paid a bribe of $250,000 and a $12 million loan to France
o The delegates refused, returned home
o News spread and government/public became out rages
o Journalists conjured up the line “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute”
- President Adams asked Congress to prepare for war, French responded by seizing more American ships
- In April 1798 an undeclared naval war began between France and the united States in the Caribbean that lasted for a year
3. ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS
- The XZY affair created a surge of anti-French hostility in America
o This included hostilities towards Democratic Republicans who supported the French revolution
o Many Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, wanted to use the crisis to destroy Republican opposition
o The federalist dominated Congress soon passes several “wartime” measures
o They were passed without Adams consent
- Alien and Sedition Acts
o Series of 4 laws
o First 3 directed at immigrants
o Extended naturalization period from 5 to 14 years
o Empowered the president to detain enemy aliens during war
o Empowered president to deport aliens he deemed dangerous to U.S.
o Fourth Act – the Sedition Act gained the most opposition
o It set jail terms and fines for persons who advocate disobedience to federal law or who printed/spoke false statements about the government with intent to defame
- President never used the powers granted under the Alien Acts, but the Sedition Act resulted in the prosecution of 14 republicans, most who were journalists
- Republicans charged that the Acts violated the first amendment appealed to states for help
- Jefferson and James Madison proposed the Virginia and Kentucky resolves
o Reminded Congress of 10th Amendment which gives powers not mentioned in Constitution to the States
o Constitution was a “compact” between sovereign states and states could nullify federal laws they deemed unconstitutional
o The resolves actually had little effect and was mostly limited to the south
4. PROBLEMS WITH HAMILTON
- Congress also took steps to create a military that would be prepared for war
- Adams wanted a stronger navy, to fight France and because he believed that American’s future as a commercial nation required a respectable navy
- Hamilton led a portion of federalists who instead wanted to focus on the standing army
- Against his own opinion, but at the urging of Washington, Adams had appointed Hamilton as inspector general, which made him de facto commander of the U.S. army
- When Hamilton expanded the Officer corps he excluded republicans and commissioned only his friends
- Hamilton’s’ followers wanted a larger standing army to enforce the Alien and Sedition Acts
- President Adams and other Federalists became convinced that Hamilton were determined to destroy political opponents by force, enter into an alliance with Britain, and impose Hamilton’s designs by force
- Adams is fearful and angry at Hamilton and federalists followers
o Had tried to rob him of presidency
o Passed Alien and Sedition without his consent
o Plans for a larger standing army w/o his consent
o All of this happened due to the war with France
- Adams began looking for ways to declare peace
o In a move he knew would split his party and probably cost him the election of 1800, Adams opens negotiations with France and stalls Hamilton’s army
o In another meeting with France peace was organized and agreed to
5. VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS
- Republicans charged that the Acts violated the first amendment appealed to states for help
o But the Constitution did not outline who had the authority to judge whether acts of Congress violated the Constitution
o Madison and Jefferson believed the states should make that judgment
- Jefferson and James Madison proposed the Virginia and Kentucky resolves
o Reminded Congress of 10th Amendment which gives powers not mentioned in Constitution to the States
o Constitution was a “compact” between sovereign states and states could nullify federal laws they deemed unconstitutional
o The resolves actually had little effect and neither state acted upon the resolutions
6. THE ELECTION OF 1800
- The election of 1800 would be unique
o It would be a rematch from four years earlier
o John Adams vs Thomas Jefferson
o President vs Vice President
o It was also another contest between Federalist who supported a strong central government and Republicans who supported state authority
- Democratic Republicans and Thomas Jefferson approached the election of 1800 more organized and determined than in 1796
o Alien and Sedition Acts helped decrease Federalists popularity
- Republican Campaign:
o Actions of federalists were expensive, unwise, unconstitutional
o Federalists used crisis with France to increase their power and overthrow the American republic
- Federalists:
o Jefferson and radical allies would release the worst horrors of the French Revolution upon America
- End side believes their defeat spells the end of the republic
- Jefferson Wins
o When the electoral votes were counted, Jefferson and his running mate and ally, Aaron Burr had tied with 73 electoral votes
o Adams came in third with 65 votes
o Federalists Congress would have to decide the election between two Republicans
o Jefferson wins
B. THE JEFFERSON PRESIDENCY
1. Jefferson’s Agenda
- Thomas Jefferson entered office with a straight forward agenda:
- Reduce the influence, size, and expense of the National Government
- The government would respect the powers of individual states
- Defend liberties protected by Bill of Rights
- Smaller government that would pay off debts
- To do this he reversed much of what Federalists had done
- This began with his personal style
o Refused to deliver speeches to Congress; seemed to much like an act of a king, they were read by a clerk
o Reduced number of formal activities
o He did not want to destroy federal government or undo everything federalists had done, he just wanted to limit the national government’s presence in people’s lives
2. Reducing Government
- Made the most substantial cuts in the military
o Federalists had built a sizable army and navy preparing for French war
o Legislation passed in March 1802 reduced army to nearly 3,000 men, most of which were assigned to frontier posts
o The goal was to rely on militia for national defense but to maintain a small well trained army as well, also created West Point
- Repealed the parts of Alien and Sedition Acts that had not expired
- during his administration the national debt fell from $80 million to $57 million
3. The Courts
- The most controversial part of Jefferson’s first term was his relationship with the Supreme Court
o The Constitution did not fully explain the role of the Supreme Court
o The Constitution created the Supreme Court but left creation of lesser federal courts to Congress
o First Congress created a system circuit courts presided over by Supreme Court Justices
o Only Federalists had served on Supreme Court under Washington and Adams
- Judiciary Acts (1789):
o This act helped fill in gaps Constitution left out
o Created national court system of 3 circuit courts, 13 district courts
o Headed by Supreme Court which would settle differences between state and federal law
- Jeffersonian Republicans distrusted federal courts
o especially after the January appointment of Federalist John Marshall as chief justice and the Judiciary Act of 1801
o This ensured long term Federalists domination in the courts
- MIDNIGHT JUDGES
o Passed just before Jefferson’s inauguration
o Judiciary Act of 1801 was aimed to limit Jefferson’s ability to appoint judges
o These last minute appointments were known as the midnight judges
o Reduced number of associate Supreme court Justices from 6 to 5 when the next vacancy occurred
o Created a new system of circuit courts by taking supreme court justices off of them
o President John Adams quickly filled these positions before he left office
o This allowed Adams to appoint 16 judges, several marshals and federal attorneys, and justices of the peace
o He worked until 9 o’clock his last night in office commissioning new officers
- Republicans disagreed on how to respond
o Many wanted judges to be popularly elected
o Jefferson replaced marshals with Republicans and dismissed some justices of the peace
o But judges were appointed for life and could only be removed through impeachment
o But he found a solution – abolish their jobs, in 1802 Congress repealed the Judiciary Act of 1802 which did away with the midnight judges
- The Pickering Case
o With federal courts scaled back to their original size, Republicans went after Federalists who were still serving as judges
o As a test of impeachment they first chose John Pickering, a federal attorney in New Hampshire, and a federalist
o Notorious alcoholic and considered an embarrassment
o He was soon impeached by Congress
o On the same day congress also went after Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase, who was much more prominent than Pickering
o His crimes were much less, just mere partisanship and he hated Jeffersonian’s
o Congressman John Randolph took over the prosecution
o He was a radical states rights faction leader
o He accused Jefferson of double crossing southern Republicans to win support in the NE, and moderate republicans doubted the wisdom of the Chase impeachment
o Finally, many Republicans joined with Federalists with Jefferson’s approval and acquitted Chase
4. Marbury v. Madison
- One of the last minute judicial appointments was John Marshall
o Long time federalist leader
o At the time he was serving as Secretary of State
o He was sworn in as Chief Justice on Feb. 4th, 1801
o Served that post for 34 years until death in 1835
o Helped establish many important principles of constitutional law
o Helped build the authority of the Supreme Court
o Committed to federalists idea of national power
5. Marbury v. Madison
- Case arose when Jefferson tried to deny the appointments of Federal judges appointed by Adams
o Adams had appointed William Marbury as justice of the peace in D.C.
o Under orders from Jefferson, Secretary of State James Madison never delivered the official papers assigning Marbury to duty
o Marbury sued Madison, demanding that the Supreme Court let him take office
- Marshall used the case to hand down several important rulings
o First ruling questioned the constitutionality of Jefferson’s refusal to deliver Marbury’s commission helped convince republicans to repeal Judiciary Act of 1801
o The last ruling in Feb. of 1803, laid the basis for the practice of judicial review, Supreme Court’s power to rule on the Constitutionality of Acts of Congress
o By declaring part of the Judiciary Act (Madison’s midnight judges) unconstitutional, it was a larger victory for the Supreme Court
o They had established Judicial Review, which enables courts to decide if laws passed by Congress are Constitutional
o The final decision in Marbury v Madison angered republicans but Jefferson noted that Marshall was less interested in showing power of judiciary than in its independence
6. Louisiana Purchase
- As a strict constructionist, Jefferson opposed strong central government
o However, the westward expansion of America would cause Jefferson to use federal powers
o New Orleans was needed so the west could have access to world markets
o Napoleon had acquired New Orleans from the Spanish
- Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris to purchase New Orleans for $10 million
o However, Napoleon had grown tired of the colonies and wished to rid them
o Needed the money for his war with Great Britain
o Napoleon and Monroe discussed a plan to sell the whole Louisiana Territory for $15 million
- Jefferson faced a constitutional dilemma
- He criticized Federalists when they violated the constitution and he lacked constitutional power to buy territory
- To be gained
o Eliminate foreign threat on American western border
o Ensure American access to interior rives
o Give American farmers enough land to support the republic
C. JEFFERSON’S SECOND TERM
1. The Election of 1804
- His policies made Jefferson an extremely popular president in his first term
o Lowered taxes
o Acquired new territory
o Eliminated France from America
o Began to wipe out a national debt
o Allowed Alien and Sedition Acts to expire