US History

U.S. History Study Guide

Domestic Affairs during the Jeffersonian Era: • The Alien and Sedition Acts were immediately stopped and those convicted under Adams were released. • The federal bureaucracy was reduced and expenses were drastically cut. The size of the army was reduced and the expansion program of the navy was canceled. • The excise taxes were repealed and federal income was limited to land sale proceeds and customs duties. The federal land sale policy was liberalized, smaller parcels were authorized, and less cash was required- policies which benefited small farmers. • The Twelfth Amendment was adopted and ratified in 1804, ensuring that a tie vote between candidates of the same party could not again cause the confusion on the Jefferson-Burr affair. • Following the Constitutional mandate, the importation of slaves was stopped by law in 1808. The New Federal City Washington D.C. had been designed by Pierre L’Enfant and the White House was briefly occupied by the Adams administration. When Jefferson moved in, it was still developing, with muddy streets and muggy summers. Most of its inhabitants moved out when Congress was not in session. Jefferson Administration 1801-1809 Jefferson tried to project an image of democratic simplicity, even walking to his inauguration rather than having a grand entrance. He sometimes appeared casually dressed: nonetheless, he was a brilliant thinker and a sharp politician. He appointed men to his cabinet who agreed with his political philosophy, such as James Madison as Secretary of State and Albert Gallatin to the Treasury. 8.18 Conflict with the Constitution Marbury v. Madison William Marbury, one of John Adams’ last minute appointments before he left office, sued Secretary of State James Madison to allow him to become a justice of the peace in the federal district. John Marshall, as Supreme Court Justice, refused to rule on this request, claiming that the law which gave the Supreme Court jurisdiction over such matters was unconstitutional. Marshall asserted the power of judicial review over federal legislation, a power which has become the foundation of the Supreme Courts checks on the other two branches of government. This moment ensured the strength and stability of the Supreme Court as an authority and Judicial Review where the Supreme Court could declare an act of Congress unconstitutional.

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