Transcript The Election of 1804

The Election of 1804
1) Thomas Jefferson’s election in 1800 coincided with large
Democratic-Republican gains in both the House and
Senate. The Party gained a commanding majority after the
1802 midterm elections, outnumbering the Federalists by 2
to 1. Alexander Hamilton’s untimely death in July, 1804
only hastened the demise of his own party. Only pockets
of Federalism persisted in the commercial centers of New
England.
The Election of 1804
2) Historians rank Jefferson’s first term as one of the most
successful in Presidential history. Jefferson had doubled
the size of the nation with the vast Louisiana territory,
maintained peace in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars,
retired a substantial portion of the national debt by cutting
government spending, and eliminated many taxes inherited
from John Adams.
The Election of 1804
VS.
3) Jefferson’s Federalist adversary, Charles Pinckney of
South Carolina, had little chance for victory against such a
popular incumbent. Jefferson won over 72% of the popular
vote and took every state except Delaware and
Connecticut. Jefferson’s landslide in the election of 1804
remains the largest margin of victory since the advent of
political parties.
The Election of 1804
4) During the election Democratic-Republican journalist
James Callender turned his energies against the President
and published an account of how Jefferson had previously
financed Callender’s scandalous editorials against
President Adams. When Jefferson denied the claim,
Callender published letters from Jefferson that proved his
involvement. Callender turned on Jefferson when the
President denied his request to serve as the Postmaster
General of Richmond, Virginia.
The Election of 1804
5) Democratic-Republicans
responded by spreading
rumors that Callender had
abandoned his wife when she
was dying of venereal
disease. Callender responded
by writing in the Federalist
newspaper the Richmond
Recorder that Jefferson
“keeps and for many years has
kept, as his concubine, one of
his slaves. Her name is Sally."
Abigail Adams wrote to
Jefferson with a sense of
satisfaction that, “The serpent
you cherished and warmed bit
the hand that nourished him.”
The Election of 1804
6) Sally Hemmings was a slave at Jefferson’s Monticello
plantation and she had several biracial, light-skinned
children that looked strikingly similar to their white master.
Jefferson had inherited most of his slaves when his fatherin-law, John Wayles died in 1773. It is widely believed that
Sally Hemmings was his daughter, making her an
illegitimate half-sister to Jefferson’s wife, Martha Wayles
Skelton.
The Election of 1804
8) Many Jefferson biographers and
historians reject the notion as conjecture.
They point out that Jefferson wrote in 1814
that "[t]he amalgamation of whites with blacks
produces a degradation to which no lover of
his country, no lover of excellence in the
human character, can innocently consent." A
1998 DNA study proved that there was a
genetic link between the Hemmings and
Jefferson lines, however, Thomas
Jefferson could not conclusively be
identified as the father because he did not
have a male heir. Historical records reveal
that Jefferson was present at Monticello
nine months before each of the Hemmings
children were born. After a series of
further studies, the Thomas Jefferson
Foundation that operates Monticello
released a statement in 2000 that said, “it is
very unlikely that any Jefferson other than
Thomas Jefferson was the father of [Hemings'
six] children.”
Jefferson-Hemmings Descendents at Monticello in 1999
The Aaron Burr Conspiracy
VP – 1800-04
VP – 1804-08
1) Thomas Jefferson lost all trust in Vice President Aaron Burr after the
election crisis of 1800. Burr could have settled the matter by removing
himself from the ballot, but his silence convinced Jefferson that he was
conspiring with the Federalists to steal the White House from him. As
a result, Burr was completely disregarded and played almost no role in
the Jefferson administration. Jefferson removed Burr from the
Democratic-Republican ticket during the election of 1804 and replaced
him with George Clinton.
The Burr Conspiracy
2) Burr’s political isolation
led him to switch parties
and he ran for the
governorship of New
York as a Federalist.
Burr was sponsored by a
group of extremist
Federalists that were
plotting the future
secession of the New
England states. Burr
made no promises to
lead New York into
secession, but he never
exposed the treasonous
conspiracy either.
The Burr Conspiracy
3) Alexander Hamilton was alarmed by
the radical faction of his own party
and he wrote to his wayward allies,
“Tell them from ME, at MY request, for
God’s sake, to cease these
conversations and threatenings about
a separation of the Union. It must hang
together as long as it can be made to.”
Hamilton distrusted Burr and
considered him to be the most
dangerous politician in the country.
They had a long-standing feud that
sprouted from their intense rivalry
as New York politicians. Hamilton
used his influence with moderate
Federalists to ensure Burr’s
crushing defeat in the New York
gubernatorial (Governor) election of
1804.
The Aaron Burr Conspiracy
4) Supposedly Hamilton referred to Burr as “despicable” at a
dinner party and his statement was published in the Albany
Register newspaper. Hamilton refused to apologize and
Burr challenged him to a duel. Just before dawn on July
11th , 1804, the two men were separately rowed across the
Hudson River to meet above the cliffs of Weehawken, New
Jersey.
The Aaron Burr Conspiracy
5) The two men walked
twenty paces, turned and
faced one another in
silence. Hamilton
supposedly raised his
pistol and fired into the
air, a few seconds
passed, and Burr took
aim and shot Hamilton in
the lower abdomen above
the right hip. The bullet
ricocheted off his false rib
and lodged in his spine.
Hamilton died the
following day and murder
indictments were issued
for the Vice President of
the United States.
The Aaron Burr Conspiracy
6) In addition to becoming involved in a secessionist plot by
extremist Federalists and killing Alexander Hamilton while he
was still the sitting Vice President, Burr also contacted the
British Minister (ambassador) to the United States and informed
him of his plans to lead a military expedition into the Louisiana
Purchase with plans to detach some portion of the
Southwestern United States. He accepted $1500 dollars for his
plot and requested that the British also provide him with ships.
The Aaron Burr Conspiracy
8) Chief Justice John Marshall
presided over the trial and ruled
that Burr was innocent of treason
because he had not actually
committed an act of war. Not only
did the Constitution describe
treason as an “overt act,” it also
required two witnesses to testify.
Wilkinson was the prosecution’s
lone witness and his testimony
was tainted when he admitted that
the cipher letter was a copy of the
original. Marshall explained,
“merely suggesting war or engaging
in a conspiracy was not enough to
require a conviction.”
The Aaron Burr Conspiracy
9) Burr was acquitted and he
fled to Europe to live in exile
until 1812. There are rumors
that he even tried to seek
audiences with the British
monarchy and Napoleon in
the hopes of sparking a war
on the United States. He
eventually returned to
America and lived under the
alias “Aaron Edwards” in
order to escape his creditors
and his scandalous past.
The Embargo Act (1808)
1) Jefferson’s second term was a considerable
disappointment compared to his first four years
as President. The same European war that had
plagued Washington and Adams now re-emerged
under Jefferson.
The Embargo Act (1808)
2) After Napoleon secured the purchase of
Louisiana, he resumed his bloody war to
conquer Europe. This conflict would continue
for eleven more years and would continuously
threaten American neutrality.
The Embargo Act (1808)
3) In 1805, the British were able to destroy the
French fleets off the coast of Spain in the Battle of
Trafalgar, giving their Navy total control of the
high seas. In the Battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon
defeated the combined armies of Russia and
Austria and took total control of mainland Europe.
The Embargo Act (1808)
4) The British and the French were now separated to their
dominant spheres and were forced to fight an indirect war.
Unfortunately for the United States, this foreboding
development rendered a policy of neutrality useless in the
face of a British naval blockade of Europe. Merchant
vessels were seized and thousands of American sailors
were “impressed” into the ranks of the British Navy
against their will.
The Embargo Act (1808)
6) Appreciating the wisdom of
Washington’s isolationist
stance, Jefferson calmed
American cries for war and
attempted to negotiate with
the British. Instead of war,
Jefferson issued the
Embargo Act of 1808 in
order to cut off all American
trade to Europe. Believing
that Europe was dependant
on American foodstuffs and
raw materials, the Embargo
would force Britain and
France to respect American
neutrality.
The Embargo Act (1808)
7) The Embargo actually had
a crippling economic
impact on American
shipping long before it
was felt overseas.
Federalist New England in
particular suffered under
the constraints of the
Embargo. Many shippers
turned to illicit trade and
smuggling in order to
bypass the hated law.
The Embargo Act
8) Rampant smuggling led
the White House and
Congress to increase
enforcement by raising
fines and issuing harsher
penalties, policies that a
younger Jefferson would
have condemned as
tyrannical acts of an
intrusive federal
government. Congress
eventually responded by
repealing the Embargo Act
in 1809, three days before
Jefferson’s retirement.
The Embargo Act (1808)
9) The day before James Madison’s inauguration as
the 4th President of the United States, Jefferson
wrote, “Never did a prisoner, released from his
chains, feel such a relief as I shall on shaking off the
shackles of power.”
Jefferson and Slavery
1) Thomas Jefferson’s
greatest dilemma was
perhaps the troubling
condition of the AfricanAmerican slaves that toiled
in his plantation fields and
homes. His enlightenment
ideals expressed in the
Declaration conflicted
sharply with the political
reality in late 17th and early
18th century America.
Jefferson and Slavery
2) Jefferson’s views on slavery
fluctuated considerably during his
lifetime and he drifted from
abolitionist stances rooted in moral
indignation to resigned acceptance
rooted in political expediency. In
1781 Jefferson wrote in Notes on the
State of Virginia, “Indeed I tremble for
my country when I reflect that God is
just: that his justice cannot sleep for
ever …The whole commerce between
master and slave is a perpetual
exercise of the most boisterous
passions, the most unremitting
despotism on the one part, and
degrading submissions on the other.”
However, he lamented in 1805, “I have
long since given up the expectation of
any early provision for the
extinguishment of slavery among us.”
Jefferson and Slavery
3) Many dispute whether Jefferson included disenfranchised
groups like women and slaves in the Declaration’s
statement on the self-evident truth of equality and
inalienable rights. It’s hard to imagine that a man of such
enlightened thought and utter faith in the people would
believe that God intended freedom to be anything but
universal.
Jefferson and Slavery
4) Jefferson’s early political
career was tinged with notable
pronouncements against the
institution of slavery. In 1769,
Jefferson introduced a bill in
the House of Burgesses to
emancipate slavery in Virginia
that failed to pass, but the
state legislature did pass his
bill in 1778 to ban the further
importation of slaves into the
state. Jefferson later wrote
that it "stopped the increase of
the evil by importation, leaving to
future efforts its final eradication."
Jefferson and Slavery
5) Jefferson’s first draft of the
Declaration of Independence included
a condemnation of the British crown
for sponsoring the importation of
slavery to the colonies, charging that
the crown. This section was
eliminated from the final draft of the
Declaration after delegates from
South Carolina and Georgia objected.
Jefferson’s experiences with southern
resistance to emancipation led him to
the realization that he couldn’t take
such a radical political stance without
sacrificing his political credibility.
Jefferson and Slavery
Isaac
Jefferson
(blacksmith and
tinner)
7) Jefferson also maintained a
paternalistic attitude toward his slaves
and he often referred to them as his
“extended family,” preferring to think
of himself as their “father” rather than
their “master.” There is no recorded
instance where Jefferson ever
personally resorted to whippings. He
would rather sell off troublesome
slaves than wield the lash. He made
arrangements to have his most adept
slaves educated in trades like cooking,
carpentry, and masonry. Jefferson felt
that common field hands were better
off at Monticello because their lack of
skills would frustrate the enjoyment of
their freedom. He was reluctant to free
anyone unless he believed they could
become self-sufficient.
Jefferson and Slavery
8) As his personal debts mounted,
he became increasingly aware of
how his own livelihood depended
upon the value of slaves and
their labor. Ironically, his
monetary problems coincided
with his attitude that slavery was
too complicated to solve and
would have to be left in the hands
of future generations. “He later
wrote, “as it is, we have the wolf by
the ears, and we can neither hold
him, nor safely let him go…Justice
is in one scale and self-preservation
in the other.” He came to fear the
sectional divide created by
slavery and declared it would be
“the rock upon which the Union will
split.”
Exit Ticket – With a partner
• What was the Embargo Act of 1808? (Ex.
What countries were involved, what were
the results)
• Why would a younger Jefferson been
disgusted with how his government dealt
with the Embargo Act of 1808?