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The Jefferson Administration
As you learned previously, Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams in the election of 1800. However, since he and Aaron Burr received the same number of electoral votes, the House of Representatives had to decide who won. Alexander Hamilton convinced several Federalists to cast votes for Jefferson, and he was declared the victor.
Read The Election of 1800 to learn about Hamilton's role in the election, including his tense relationships with Aaron Burr. (And there's more on that rivalry to come!)
After the Election of 1800 was decided, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr were sworn in as the nation's third president and vice president. This deadlock led to the passage of the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution, which called for electors to cast separate ballots for president and vice president.
During his two terms in office from 1801-1809, Jefferson faced many domestic policy issues that challenged his previous ideas about the role of the national government in the lives of American citizens.
Louisiana Purchase
One of Jefferson's greatest achievements was the Louisiana Purchase. In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte of France persuaded Spain to return the Louisiana Territory, which it had received from France in 1762. This worried newly elected President Jefferson, as he feared that a strong French presence so close to the United States' territory might eventually force the US into an alliance with Great Britain.
In an effort to avoid this, Jefferson sent two delegates – James Monroe and Robert Livingston – to France to negotiate a deal for the United States to purchase the port city of New Orleans, as well as give the US control over the western parts of Florida. Before they left for France, Jefferson authorized Monroe to offer between $2 million and $10 million for control of the two properties.
When the delegates they arrived in France, they were surprised to learn that Napoleon wanted to sell the entire Louisiana Territory for $15 million! (This is approximately 4 cents per acre!) Although Monroe and Livingston were not authorized to buy the entire territory nor to spend $15 million, they had no time to consult with the American government. They agreed to the deal and the Louisiana Purchase was made.
Jefferson was concerned that this purchase was outside the constitutional power of the government. However, he submitted the treaty finalizing the purchase to the Senate, and it was approved. This newly gained territory more than doubled the size of the United States!
Read Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase to learn more about this historic purchase.
Corps of Discovery
Jefferson was eager to explore this new territory! In 1803, he appointed Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead the expedition he called the Corps of Discovery Expedition. Setting out in the spring of 1804, Lewis, Clark, and the Corps of Discovery trekked from St. Louis, Missouri, to the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The group was a unit of the US Army established just for this mission. It consisted of several dozen people, including Army officers, enlisted men, civilians (who served as contract boatmen and interpreters), and an enslaved man named York.
Notable Members of the Corps
York, an enslaved Black man owned by William Clark, was an integral part of the expedition. While he worked as an equal member of the Corps of Discovery, he experienced a unique and unprecedented amount of freedom for an enslaved Black man at the time. He carried a gun for hunting, and he cast a vote on where the group should camp for the winter of 1805. York was the first documented Black American enslaved man to cross the continent and reach the Pacific Ocean, as well as to cast a vote west of the Mississippi River.
However, not all privileges were offered to him. All the men of the expedition were paid (according to rank) between $5 to $30 per month. At the end, each enlisted man was granted 320 acres. York, however, was not compensated.
According to historian Darrell M. Millner, "Because race has played such a complex and powerful part in American history, York's story can take us beyond the particulars of the expedition to an exploration of the racial realities and dynamics of American life."
Along the way, Lewis and Clark hired Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trader who knew several Native American languages, and his wife Sacagawea, a Shoshone Native American woman. Sacagawea proved to be a invaluable addition to the expedition. Her main role was serving as an interpreter and diplomat between Lewis and Clark and the Native American tribes they encountered along the way.
Watch the video Meriwether Lewis and William Clark | PBS World Explorers (6:04) to learn more about this expedition.
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Check out the Lewis and Clark Expedition Timeline to follow the expedition’s journey to the Pacific.
This expedition was a great success and paved the way for future settlement of the area. As Jefferson hoped, the group:
- established relations with more than two dozen indigenous nations between Missouri and the Pacific Ocean,
- collected scientific information about the plant and animal life in the area, and
- produced accurate maps and assessments of geography and resources along their journey.
However, they did "fail" in one part of their mission. Jefferson hoped they would find a Northwest Passage, or a water route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As you've learned before, the Northwest Passage doesn't actually exist (but they didn't know this at the time)!
Impact
Jefferson's tenure in office was troubled at times, but the greatest achievement of his presidency was the Louisiana Purchase from France. The territory doubled the size of the United States and began a period of westward expansion that lasted throughout the 19th century.
As a result of the popularity of this decision, Jefferson won reelection in 1804.
Burr and Hamilton
During Jefferson's second term in office, he had to deal with a scandal involving his former vice president, Aaron Burr. Towards the end of his vice presidential term, Burr ran for governor of the state of New York. Burr blamed losing the gubernatorial race on a smear campaign, including unflattering remarks he read in a newspaper made about him by his longtime political rival, Alexander Hamilton. Hoping for publicity, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel.
On July 11, 1804, the two men threw dice to see who would fire first. Although Hamilton won, he fired his shot into the air. Burr then shot Hamilton in the stomach, who died the following day. Burr was charged with murder, but he fled the US before he was brought to trial. Eventually charges were dropped, but Burr never held public office again.
Waning Popularity
The popularity Jefferson had enjoyed for most of his presidency began to fade near the end of his second term because of is handling of a foreign policy crisis. For years, Britain and France had attacked U.S. vessels at sea. Britain had even forced American sailors into impressment, or forced service, in the British Royal Navy. Americans were upset by these actions and called on Jefferson to respond.
Since Jefferson had dramatically reduced the size of the military early in his presidency, he chose to respond to the attacks with a non-military option. He enacted an embargo, which is a ban on exporting products to foreign countries. He believed that the Embargo Act of 1807 would hurt Britain and other European powers, forcing them to honor American neutrality.
However, the embargo economically hurt Americans, who relied heavily upon exports for their livelihoods. The British built up trade relations with South America to make up for the loss of American trade. American ships, on the other hand, sat empty and idle, as international markets for traders and farmers to sell their goods and crops to were no longer available.
Additionally, Jefferson -- who was a strong supporter of limited central government oversight and interference -- had to work very hard to enforce this policy domestically. The embargo enraged the American people!
In 1809, Congress lifted the embargo -- except with Britain and France. This decision tarnished Jefferson's many accomplishments and led to his decision not to seek a third term in office. The situation left Jefferson widely unpopular and the United States without a resolution to the international conflict.
First Barbary War
The only declared war fought during Jefferson's presidency was the First Barbary War. It was also the first war the US fought on foreign soil and seas. For decades, Barbary pirates off the coast of North Africa had been capturing American merchant ships and demanding huge ransoms for their cargo and crews. (The Barbary states were part of the Ottoman Empire at the time, except the Sultanate of Morocco. Now, they are the modern-day countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.)
By the time Jefferson took office, the US had paid $10 million to the Barbary states in 'protection' money for their ships.
In 1801, Jefferson sent ships to the Mediterranean Sea to stop the piracy, including the USS Constitution. Most of the conflict centered in the city of Tripoli, where US warships blockaded and shelled the harbor.
In 1803, Barbary pirates captured and destroyed the USS Philadelphia after it ran aground on a reef.
The First Barbary War lasted from 1801 to 1805, but it wasn't until the Second Barbary War in 1815 (well after Jefferson's time as president) that the US finally achieved victory.
Explore Commander in Chief: Barbary Pirates to learn more about the Barbary Pirates.
Retirement
Thomas Jefferson retired an unpopular figure after his second term as president to his Virginia home called Monticello.
Read Jeffersonian Ideology to review Jefferson's beliefs about democracy.
Recap
Watch Thomas Jefferson | 60-Second Presidents (1:07) for a quick recap of Jefferson's life and presidency.