Transcript John Adams and the Revolution of 1800

John Adams and the
Revolution of 1800
Future Presidents would heed as gospel
Washington’s warning against “permanent
alliances.” In the case of political parties,
however, Washington was already behind
the times , since political parties were well
on their way to becoming a vital part of the
American political system.
Main Ideas
• Political parties and the factors that divided
them
• The development of sectional specialization
and interdependence
• The conflict between national power and
states’ rights
• Issues and events in Adams’ and Jefferson’s
presidencies
Election of 1796
The United States presidential election
of 1796 was the first contested American
presidential election and the first one to
elect a President and Vice-President from
opposing tickets, exposing a downside to
the original Electoral College system.
• Washington announced he would
not seek a third term. (set
precedence until FDR in the 20th
century)
• Federalists nominated Adams
after some wrangling and Thomas
Pinckney was named as his
running mate.
• The Democratic-Republicans
nominated Jefferson with Aaron
Burr as his running mate.
• Campaigning was bitter, focused
on personalities.
• Adams received 71 electoral
votes, Jefferson received 68
Election of 1796
• The election was close and intrigue almost robbed
Adams of his election: Hamilton induced some
Federalists to withhold their votes from Adams which
would give the presidency to Pinckney; some friends
of Adams learned of this and withheld their votes from
Pinckney).
• Jefferson became vice president since the Constitution
provided for the candidate receiving the second highest
number of electoral votes the vice presidency
• The method of selecting a vice president changed in
1804 with the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment
The Adams’ Presidency Begins
1797-1801
As was customary, Adams stayed in
his home town of Quincy rather than
actively campaign for the Presidency.
He wanted to stay out of what he
called the silly and wicked game. His
party, however, campaigned for him,
while the Democratic-Republicans
campaigned for Jefferson.
• Adams was described by
many as very conservative,
aristocratic, suspicious of
popular government, and
personally cold and
disagreeable.
• Adams had a great deal of
administrative ability, and he
was intelligent and very well
informed; unfortunately,
however, these virtues were
not great political assets.
Adams and the French
Charles Maurice de
Talleyrand
Americans were angered by reports that
U.S. merchant ships were being seized
by French warships and privateers.
Adams sent a delegation to Paris to
negotiate. Certain French ministers
(X,Y,Z) asked for a bribe, including
$250,000 personal bribe to French
foreign minister Charles Maurice de
Talleyrand, and a formal apology for
comments made by President.
Infuriated, Americans proclaimed
“Millions for defense but not one cent
for tribute.”
• The XYZ Affair (1797) angered most
Americans against the French
government and united Americans for a
time behind President Adams.
Hamilton and a group of Federalists
wanted to declare war against France to
produce better relations with Britain;
Adams disagreed.
• Undeclared war with France
From 1798 to 1800 the U.S.
conducted a war with France
-Adams continuously tried to negotiate
a settlement, finally succeeding in 1800
-however, other Federalist actions
during this time aggravated public
opinion and so Adams received little
credit for his accomplishment.
The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798
The Alien and Sedition Acts were
four bills passed in 1798 by the
Federalists in the 5th United
States Congress in the aftermath
of the French Revolution and
during an undeclared naval war
with Britain and France, later
known as the Quasi-War.
Federalists adopted the following:
(1) the Naturalization Act, which increased
from five to 14 the number of years required
for immigrants to qualify for citizenship
(2) the Aliens Act, which authorized the
president to deport any aliens considered
dangerous (Alien Enemies Act – detain
enemy aliens in time of war)
(3) the Sedition Act, which made it illegal
for newspaper editors to criticize the
president or Congress (fines or
imprisonment)
• Purpose of all acts was to stifle opposition
and criticism to Federalist policies
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
(1798-1799)
The Kentucky and
Virginia
Resolutions of
1798 were written
secretly by Vice
President Thomas
Jefferson and
James Madison,
respectively.
• Jefferson and Madison drafted
a series of resolutions which
were passed by the Kentucky
and Virginia legislatures
declaring the Alien and
Sedition Acts to be violations
of the First Amendment,
unconstitutional, and
therefore null and void.
The States’ Rights Argument
• The states were older than the Union and had originally
been sovereign and independent.
• Because the states had created the federal government,
they had surrendered none of their sovereignty to it.
• The federal government must therefore be an agent of
the states, and the states -not the President, Congress, or
Supreme Court - must be the final judges of the limits
of federal power.
• There are no implied powers in the Constitution.
Therefore, since the Constitution nowhere authorizes
such legislation, those acts must be null and void.
Impact of the Kentucky and Virginia
Resolutions
• They were coolly received by most state
legislatures.
• The doctrine of nullification was considered
dangerous.
• The resolutions were effective campaign
documents in the election of 1800.
• The states’ rights argument would re-emerge in
later decades.
The Crisis Over the Alien and
Sedition Acts
• The crisis faded quickly because of two
developments:
(1) The Federalists lost their majority in the
Congress after the election of 1800 (Republican
majority either allowed the acts to expire or
repealed them)
(2) The Supreme Court under John Marshall
asserted its power as the court of last resort in
deciding whether or not a certain federal law was
constitutional
The Election of 1800
During the confusion of
the plot to rob Jefferson
of victory, Alexander
Hamilton said he
supported Jefferson
because he was “by far
not so dangerous a man”
as Burr; in short, he
would much rather have
someone with wrong
principles than someone
devoid of any.
• Federalists gave a lukewarm
endorsement to Adams for reelection.
• Democratic Republicans
enthusiastically endorsed Jefferson.
• Jefferson won a majority of electoral
votes (even though some Federalists
tried to rob him of victory). This fiasco
led to the 12th Amendment.
• The Democratic Republicans gained
control of both houses of Congress.
United States Presidential Election,
1800
Nominee
Party
Home state
Running mate
Thomas Jefferson
Democratic-Republican
Virginia
Aaron Burr
John Adams
Federalist
Massachusetts
Charles Pinckney
Electoral vote
73
65
States carried
8
7
Popular vote
41,330
25,952
Percentage
61.4%
38.6%
The U.S. in 1801
An antique hand-colored map of
the USA from 1801.
• Population – 5.3 million
• Dominated by white, British in
origin, Protestants
• Largest non-British group was
blacks at 1 million
• Half the population was under 17
• Only 300,000 lived in communities
of 2500 people or more (less than
7% of total)
• Largest cities: Philadelphia 70,000
New York 60,000
Boston
25,000
Charleston 18,000
The Jefferson Inauguration
Jefferson taking the
oath of office
• First to be inaugurated in
Washington, D. C.
• Jefferson walked from his
boarding house to the
unfinished capitol on morning
of March 4, 1801 to receive
oath from Chief Justice John
Marshall.
• Adams had already departed
D.C., not wanting to witness
the installation of his political
foe.
Decline of the Federalists
• Federalists failed to win a national election after the
Congressional election of 1798, and disintegrated rapidly as
a national party after 1800.
• The Federalists had a narrow popular base. The country
was 90% agricultural and the Federalist program favored
the Northeastern manufacturing and commercial interests.
This antagonized the Southern and Western agricultural
elements.
• The forcible suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794
made many people afraid that the government under the
Federalists would grow increasingly tyrannical.
• The Alien and Sedition Acts made the Federalists appear to
be the enemies of civil liberties.
The Jeffersonian Period
• While the Federalists feared that the foundations
of social order and good government were about
the crumble, the inauguration of Jefferson was
NOT followed by anarchy and chaos.
• Jefferson’s “radicalism” was of a theoretical
variety, and he did not think any further
“revolution” was immediately necessary.
• Little by little, the Federalist program of favoring
the business classes was transformed. The
Congress would repeal much Federalist
legislation.
Changes by the Democratic
Republican Congress
• Repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801 (John Adams
attempt at reorganizing the nation’s court system)
• Removal of judges
• Excise tax on whiskey repealed
• Alien and Sedition Acts permitted to expire
• Began to reduce the debt
• Reduced the size of a minimum purchase of
government-owned land to 160 acres
Jefferson’s Accomplishments
Painting of Jefferson by
Rembrandt Peale (1805)
During his first term:
(1) Attempted to win allegiance and trust of
Federalists (maintaining national bank
and Hamilton’s debt repayment)
(2) In foreign policy he carried on the
neutrality policies of Washington and
Adams
(3) At the same time Jefferson remained
loyal to his Republican supporters
(reduced size of military, eliminated a
number of federal jobs, repealed excise
tax, and lowered the national debt)
(4) Purchase of the Louisiana Territory
Jefferson’s Expansionist Program
Lewis and Clack were accompanied by a
fifteen-year-old Shoshone Indian woman,
Sacagawea, the wife of a French-Canadian
fur trader. After crossing the Rocky
Mountains, the expedition reached the
Pacific Ocean in the area of present-day
Oregon (which lay beyond the nation's new
boundaries) in November 1805. They
returned in 1806, bringing with them an
immense amount of information about the
region as well as numerous plant and animal
specimens.
• Jefferson showed his interest in the
West in:
* his land policy
* his promotion of the Lewis and
Clark expedition
* attention to Mississippi River
navigation
• Attention was turned to Louisiana
in 1802 when news of French
control of Louisiana and its major
port of New Orleans. Americans
were upset that the right of deposit
at New Orleans had been
rescinded.
The Louisiana Purchase
Ceremony at Place d'Armes, New Orleans
marking transfer of Louisiana to the United
States, 10 March 1804, as depicted by
Thure de Thulstrup.
• In 1803, U.S. Ambassador Robert
Livingston and James Monroe
approached Napoleon with an offer
to purchase West Florida and the
region around New Orleans.
• In what was certainly the “deal of
the century” Napoleon offered to
sell all of Louisiana for $15
million.
• Jefferson would agree to the
purchase even though it was a
huge expenditure and he was
concerned that the Constitution
nowhere authorized the acquisition
of new territory.
The Nation Doubles In Size
Constitutional Interpretation Reversal
• The two parties would gradually adopt the
policies and theories of their opponents.
• The Democratic Republicans took over most of
the original Federalist program, including
acceptance of the doctrine of implied powers.
• The Federalists took over some previously
Democratic-Republican principles: by 1814, some
New England Federalists were discussing
nullification of federal laws and the possible
secession of New England from the Union!
Timeline
• 1796 - John Adams elected second president
• 1797 - XYZ Affair
• 1798 - Alien and Sedition Acts
- Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
• 1800 - Thomas Jefferson elected third president
• 1801 - John Marshall Chief justice
• 1803 - Louisiana Purchase
- Marbury v. Madison
• 1804-07 - Lewis and Clark Expedition
• 1807 - Embargo
- Fulton invents the steamboat
- Aaron Burr conspiracy trial
Key Names, Events, and Terms
• Federalist Era
• Democratic-Republican
Party
• John Adams
• XYZ Affair
• Alien and Sedition Acts
• Kentucky and Virginia
Resolutions
• Revolution of 1800
• Thomas Jefferson
• Louisiana Purchase
• Napoleon Bonaparte
•
•
•
•
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Doctrine of Implied Powers
Doctrine of Nullification
Robert Livingston
Question
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions presented
the argument that
(a) states had the power to organize political parties
(b) Congress had no power to legislate on questions
of immigration
(c) states could nullify acts of Congress
(d) Congress should consult the states before
declaring war
(e) the Constitution should be amended
Answer
C: states could nullify acts of Congress