John Adams was elected the second president of the United States in 1796. During his presidency, he averted war with France through negotiations. However, his signing of the Alien and Sedition Acts damaged his popularity and he lost reelection in 1800 to his vice president, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson sought to reduce the power of the federal government and reverse some Federalist-era policies. His Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States. Jefferson also sent the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the new western lands.

1. John Adams
• John Adams, Vice President under
Washington was victorious in the
election of 1796. Thomas
Jefferson, who had the second
most votes, became the Vice
President
• John Adams was the first President
to live in the White House. He also
had to avert a full scale war with
France.
• Adams would only be president 1
term before he would be defeated
by his own Vice-President, Thomas
Jefferson, in 1800.

2. XYZ AFFAIR
• President John Adams sent peace envoys to France to deal
with some diplomatic problems. After weeks, 3 men (later
called X, Y, and Z) ask for a bribe and for the US to “loan”
France $10 million.
• When Adams, Congress and the American people found out,
they were furious. Congress cancelled its Treaties with
France and prepared for war. America and France began
fighting an “Undeclared War” on the ocean. The U.S. was
very successful, and by 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte had
taken control of France. He wanted peace with the US.
• The Agreement of 1800, secured peace for the US and
France to travel on the oceans.

3. N
spa
ew
r
pe
W
r
ite
r
m
lia
l
Wi
,
n
ua
D
o
ed
s
ccu
A
f
e
n
tio
i
ed
S
ALIEN AND SEDITION
ACTS 1798
•1798 the Federalist controlled
Congress passed the Alien and
Sedition Acts, despite
opposition of the Democratic
Republicans.
• It now took, 14 years to become a citizen instead of 5,
which hindered much of the immigrant's Republican
voting power. It also made it illegal for ANY person to
speak against the government (SEDITION).
• Jefferson and Madison fought against these acts. By the
time, Jefferson became President in 1800, the law was
weak enough to be eliminated.

4. Peace with France
•The two political parties were arguing and “fighting”
for power at home. Adams attempted to make peace
with France, even though it made him many enemies
in both parties.
•France and the U.S. signed the Agreement of 1800
which led to peace on the oceans. Adams felt that
avoiding this war was his most important act as
President.

5. This Presentation accompanies 8th Grade United States History Textbook: The
Jefferson Era 1800-1816, Chapter 10

6. Election of
1800
•In election of 1800, old
friends, Jefferson and
Adams, insulted and
criticized each other
the likes of which the
country had never seen.
•Jefferson was
eventually the winner
of the election, but it
was so close that bitter
and often insulting
campaigns became a
part of American
politics that still remain

7. Thomas Jefferson
DemocraticRepublicans
John Adams
Federalist
The Election
of 1800
• The election was one of
the closest contests
between a Federalist
and a DemocraticRepublican.
• Each party accused the
other of endangering
the Constitution and
the American republic.

8. Aaron Burr
Thomas Jefferson
• Jefferson & Burr, both from the Democratic-Republican Party were
running for President and Vice-President respectively. However, they
both received 73 votes. According to the Constitution, The House of
Representatives had to chose between the two.
• The Democratic-Republicans wanted Jefferson to be President but
would not hold a majority in the House for months. The Federalist
controlled House of Representatives had to decide.
• The Federalists were divided. Some feared Jefferson & wanted to back
Burr, others however, found Burr to be very unreliable. Alexander
Hamilton did not like Jefferson, but thought he would do more good for
the country than Burr.

9. • The House voted 35 times without determining a winner.
Finally, Hamilton and other Federalist decided to put their
support behind Jefferson. On the 36th ballot, Jefferson finally
won the presidency.
• Aaron Burr, who would become vice-president, blamed
Hamilton and would never forget his insult.
• In 1804, Aaron Burr challenged Alexander Hamilton to a duel.
Hamilton went to the duel but resolved not to fire. Burr,
however shot Hamilton, who died the next day.
• The 12th Amendment was ratified in 1804 after the election of
1800 took place. This amendment changed the way the
president and vice-president would be elected.

10. The “Twelfth Amendment”
• The “Twelfth Amendment” changes the
procedure of electing the President and
Vice President.
• Presidential candidates also choose their
own vice presidential candidates.

11. • No other President in our nation’s history has ever matched
Jefferson in the variety of personal achievements.
• Best known as the primary author of the Declaration of
Independence, Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the
United States. He was a man of many talents--an architect, an
inventor, a scientist, and a collector of books and artifacts of
American history. He could read more than five languages and
was the U.S. minister to France for several years.

12. • Musician – Jefferson loved music and played the violin.
• Author – Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and
Notes on the State of Virginia, which became a classic.
• Politician – Jefferson served as ambassador to France, Secretary
of State, leader of the Republican party, Vice President, and
eventually President.
• Reader – Jefferson was an eager reader. He had one of the best
libraries in America (it is now the core of the new Library of
Congress).
• Inventor – Jefferson invented the dumbwaiter, storm windows,
and a seven-day clock
• Architect – Jefferson designed his home, Monticello, Washington
D.C., and the University of Virginia.
• Farmer – He was a gentleman farmer, even in the white house.
• Lawyer – He received a law degree from the College of William
and Mary

13. • One of Jefferson’s first orders of business was to reverse some of
the Federalist policies. He believed the federal government
should have less power than it had under the Federalists.
• Jefferson urged Congress to allow the Alien & Sedition Act to
expire and he released any persons convicted under these laws.
• Jefferson repealed many taxes while destroying the finance
system set up by Hamilton.
• Jefferson reduced the number of federal employees and the size of
the military
• Jefferson tried to reform the federal government so that it would
have a more limited role in people’s lives.

14. • Jefferson’s problem area was
the Judiciary Branch.
• Before John Adams left office
he appointed many Federalists
to the Court including John
Marshall as the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court.
• Although a distant relative of
Jefferson’s, Marshall was a
Federalists and disagreed with
Jefferson many times.
• One of the most important
decisions to come out of the
Marshall Court was Marbury v.
Madison (1803)

15. • William Marbury was named as a justice of the peace for the
District of Columbia. He was supposed to be installed into
this position by the Secretary of State James Madison.
• Madison refused to install him, and Marbury sued.
• The Supreme Court said that the law under which Marbury
was suing was unconstitutional, that is, it was contradictory
to the Constitution.
• This court case established the principal of Judicial Review.
This principal states that the Supreme Court has the final
say in interpreting the Constitution.
• By establishing Judicial Review, Marshall helped create a
lasting balance among the 3 branches of government.

16. • In 1800, when Americans talked about the “West,” they meant the
area between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River.
• Thousands of people were beginning to settle into this territory.
• Although the Mississippi River was the western boundary there was
a lot of activity going on west of this point.
• The U.S. began to show great interest in this area.

17. New Orleans
Napoleon
• “There is on the globe one
single spot the possessor of
which is our natural and
habitual enemy,” Jefferson
wrote about New Orleans.
• This spot changed
ownership and eventually
was held by France and
Napoleon. Napoleon had
plans to eventually colonize
the American territory.
• France needed money to
help finance its fights with
Britain and with
revolutionaries in one of its
colonies in the West Indies.
• Napoleon offered the entire
Louisiana Territory to
Jefferson .

18. April 30, 1803 –
The Louisiana
Purchase was
approved for $15
million – about 3
cents per acre.
The Purchase
doubled the size
of the United
States.

19. • To explore the newly
acquired Louisiana
Territory, the Corps of
Discovery became the
first scientific
expedition. The
explorers were
expected to return with
detailed information
about the land, plants,
animals, and Indians.
Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark were
chosen to lead this
expedition.

20. The Lewis & Clark expedition started in St. Louis and
traveled along the Missouri River by way of shallowbottomed riverboats. They brought back large amounts of
information about the west and reinforced the American
claim to the Pacific Northwest. They were aided by a
Shoshone Indian, Sacajawea, who served as a guide and an
interpreter.
Lewis & Clark’s Route

21. • Zebulon Pike, an army officer, led an
expedition through the southwest for
scientific reasons and to find the source
of the Arkansas and Red Rivers.
• Pike’s expedition followed the
Arkansas River to the Rocky
Mountains where he spotted the Rocky
Mts. Peak, now known as Pikes Peak.
• He headed south hoping to run into the
Red River, instead he missed it and
went all the way to the Rio Grande,
which is in Spanish Territory. They
were arrested by Spanish troops.
• After being released by the Spanish, he
returned with valuable information of
the Great Plains and the Rio Grande
River Valley.

22. • France and Britain were again at war in 1803. Each
tried to prevent the other from getting food and
supplies.
• Both Britain and France began to seize American ships.
Britain also began to step up the impressment, or
kidnapping of American sailors to work on British ships.
• When Jefferson was re-elected in 1804, he could not
ignore the British and French attacks.
• Jefferson wanted to avoid war, but how could he enforce
European nations to respect the rights of American
ships at sea.

23. • Instead of declaring war, Jefferson
•
asked Congress to pass legislation
that would stop all foreign trade.
• The Embargo Act of 1807, banned
American ships from sailing to any
foreign port and closed American
ports to foreign ships. Americans
went without imported goods,
farmers lost foreign customers,
and sailors and shipbuilders had
little work. Many merchant ships
began to ignore the Embargo act
and sailed for Europe risking
seizure.
This became a major issue in the
election of 1808. Jefferson
declined to run for a third term
and passed the presidency on to
James Madison. Madison won the
election and passed the NonIntercourse Act of 1809. This
allowed American ships to trade
with any foreign country except
Britain or France. This became in
time no more effective then the
Embargo Act.

24. • James Madison was a
•
Democratic Republican from
Virginia and the 4th President of
the U.S.. He was known as “The
Father of the Constitution”. The
War of 1812 occurred while he
was in office.
Dolley Madison hosted many
White House functions.
During the British attack in
1814, she rescued state papers
and George Washington’s
portrait.

25. • British support of the Indians in the Northwest, including
Tecumseh, against the Americans led to leaders on the frontier
calling for war against the British. These westerners were called
War Hawks.
• Tecumseh led a confederation of Indians against William Henry
Harrison at the Battle of Tippecanoe. The Indians were crushed
and Tecumseh’s dream of an Indian Confederation was
destroyed.
• Urged on by the War Hawks, Congress declared war on the
British.

26. • Britain did not really want to
go to war with the U.S.
because it was still involved in
another war with France. The
War was fought in two phases.
• President of the U.S, James
Madison, asked Congress for
a declaration of war and got it
on June 18, 1812.
• The U.S. military was weak
when war was declared.
Remember, the DemocraticRepublicans had reduced the
size of the military

27. • The British conducted limited war because they were still
fighting Napoleon in Europe.
• In spite of its small size, the U.S. Navy rose to the challenge.
• The Battle of Lake Erie was the most important battle of
this phase. Naval Commander Oliver Hazard Perry led the
fight, and is famous for saying “We have met the enemy, and
they are ours”.

28. • The war in Europe was over so the British turned their
full attention to America. The British invaded
Washington D.C. and burned the White House and the
Capital. This act was revenge for when the Americans
attacked York, a city in Canada, burning several
governmental buildings.
The capital building after it was burned

29. • The British
attacked Ft.
McHenry at
Baltimore,
Maryland. It was
at this battle that
Francis Scott Key
was inspired to
write the Star
Spangled Banner.
Held prisoner on a
British ship,
Francis Scott Key
watched the allnight battle. At
dawn he was
thrilled to see that
the flag still flew.

30. The “Star Spangled
Banner,” inspired by the
flag that flew over Ft.
McHenry, continues to
move Americans. Francis
Scott Key’s song enjoyed
widespread popularity for
more than 100 years before
an act of Congress made it
the national anthem in
1931.

31. Andrew Jackson became a hero when he
defeated the British at the Battle of New
Orleans. He lost 71 men compared to the
2,000 the British lost
The war had
already ended with
the Treaty of
Ghent, although
neither side knew
it .

32. WAR
Increase
American
Patriotism
Weakened
Native
American
Resistance
U.S.
Manufacturing
Grew