War and National Expansion

Mr. Jefferson Gets His Chance

Jefferson as the Big Cheese

• As you might have guessed, Jefferson did things a little differently as President.
• He believed the government should be small and simple.

Jefferson as the Big Cheese

A New Approach to Government

• He believed in a laissez faire approach to the economy.
• Laissez faire means the government should play as small a role as possible in economic affairs.

A New Approach to Government

• Like his economic policies, Jefferson liked a small and simple government.
• Jefferson wanted to cut government spending and reduce taxes.

Keeping the Peace

• Jefferson wanted to change many Federalist policies, like spending on the military.
• He also wanted the Federalists to know they still had rights and a say.

Marbury v. Madison

• One important development while the Big J was President was that the Supreme Court grew in power.
• In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that part of the Judiciary Act was unconstitutional.

Marbury v. Madison

• On his last night in office, Pres. Adams had appointed several “midnight judges.”
• One of these guys was William Marbury.

Marbury v. Madison

• Jefferson ordered Sec. Of State James Madison to hold the commissions of these new Federalist judges.
• Marbury sued, saying that Madison could not hold his commission.

Madison

Marbury v. Madison

• The Supreme Court decided that part of the Judiciary Act was not constitutional, which had given the Court power to hear cases brought against federal officials.

Marbury v. Madison

• The Court said that the Constitution does not give that power to the Supreme Court, so Congress couldn’t either.

Chief Justice

John Marshall

Marbury v. Madison

• This decision established the power of judicial review, or the power to overturn laws made by Congress.
• Judicial review remains an important power of the Court today.

The Louisiana Purchase

• In the early 1800’s France, under the rule of Napoleon, was at war in Europe.
• Napoleon had plans to conquer the world.

The Little Man with Big Plans

The Louisiana Purchase

• Conquering the world takes money though.
• Napoleon, unable to fight a war in Europe and occupy France’s land in North America, began to think about a way out.

The Louisiana Purchase

• At the same time, the U.S. didn’t like to the idea of France having the port of New Orleans.
• New Orleans was very important.

The Louisiana Purchase

• Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to offer to buy New Orleans and western Florida from Napoleon for 10 million dollars.

The Louisiana Purchase

• Napoleon took a day or two to think about it.
• After a revolt in present day Haiti, the territory was of little use to him anyway, and he needed money for his war in Europe.

The Louisiana Purchase

• When the French foreign minister, Charles de Talleyrand met with Monroe and Livingston, he offered to sell all of French Louisiana to them.

The Louisiana Purchase

• In 1803 Robert Livingston and James Monroe purchased all of Louisiana from Napoleon for 15 million dollars.
• The purchase doubled the size of the U.S. and is the largest land deal ever.

Louisiana Purchase: How Big?

• About 885,000 square miles.
• 640 acres equals one square mile.
• How much per square mile?
• How much per acre?

Louisiana Purchase: How Big?

Louisiana Purchase: How Big?

Louisiana Purchase: How Much?

• The U.S. paid $16.95 per square mile, or about 3 cents per acre in 1803.
• That’s about $221.47 per square mile, or about 35 cents per acre in 2009 dollars.
• The average price for farmland in the U.S. is a little over $1,000 per acre now, and can be as high as $3,000 in the Midwest.

Ceremonial Transfer of Louisiana

The Louisiana Purchase

Lewis and Clark

• Jefferson, who was eager to see what was in the vast territory of Louisiana, sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the land. It took them 3 years to reach the Pacific and return.

Lewis and Clark

• Lewis and Clark mapped and observed much in their time in the wilderness, and discovered America’s new land to be full of rich land and natural resources.

Lewis and Clark's Outbound Route Shown in Red, Inbound in Blue

Barbary Pirates and Tripoli

Jefferson did use military force against the Barbary pirates.

Freedom of the seas was important to trade, and Jefferson was willing to fight for it.

U.S.S. Philadelphia 1800-1804

The War of 1812

• In 1812, after years of mounting tensions with Britain over American Neutrality and British impressment of our sailors, Congress declared war on the British.

The War of 1812

• The war is sometimes referred to as the Second War of Independence.

The War of 1812 - Causes

• War between France and Britain. U.S. is caught in the middle again.
• British impressments of American Sailors.
• HMS Leopard attacks USS Chesapeake
• Embargo, Non-Intercourse Acts
• British support of Indians in Northwest Territory.

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HMS Leopard vs. USS Chesapeake

The War of 1812

• During the war, the US army tried to invade Canada, but met defeat.
• The US navy, which tried to prevent the British from trading with anyone in the US proved successful.

The War of 1812

• During the war the British were able to capture the city of Washington, which they burned.

The War of 1812

• The White House and Capitol were burned, but the rest of the city was saved by a strong rain storm.
• The British did not keep Washington.

The Capitol is Burned.

The White House was burned as well.

The War of 1812 - Effects

• In the end, the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, solved little and returned things to the way they were before the war.

The War of 1812 - Effects

• The war also restored our national confidence. We were a world power.