Thomas Jefferson became the third President of the United States in a ceremony held at the nations new United States Capitol in Washington D.C. on March 4, 1801.
Marbury v. Madison
When Thomas Jefferson took office in March of 1801 he found that a number of justices appointed by his predecessor to the newly created District of Columbia court system had not yet taken office. Jefferson ordered the appointments held up. One of the appointed judges, William Marbury, petitioned the Supreme Court to order Secretary of State James Madison to give him his commission. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that though Marbury had a right to his appointment, the Supreme court did not have the authority to order the Secretary of State to issue appointments. Marshall deemed that the clause in the Judiciary Act of 1789 upon which Marbury had built his case was unconstitutional and based his ruling upon that opinion. This was the first time that the Supreme Court had declared a law passed by Congress to be unconstitutional.
War with the Barbary Pirates
The North African states of Tripoli, Morocco, Tunis, and Algiers had long been in the business of seizing vessels in the Mediterranean Sea and holding sailors and passengers for ransom. European nations had avoided these pirate raids through the paying of an annual tribute. This practice was adopted by the United States in 1795. Soon after Jefferson entered office in 1801 he discontinued the payment of tribute. Tripoli declared war on the United States in May of 1801, and Jefferson responded by dispatching a squadron of American warships to the Mediterranean. Four years later, after U.S. forces captured the Tripolitan city of Derna, Tripoli agreed to a peace settlement. The United States did not win the war, it did however gain a better bargaining position as far as the tribute was concerned, as well as rise in its esteem among the other nations of the world.
District Judge John Pickering Impeached
In March of 1803 the Senate impeached District Judge John Pickering of New Hampshire. Pickering was not removed from office for violating the law as required by the Constitution for the impeachment of a federal judge, but for erratic judicial behavior.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase Tried for Impeachment
Early in 1803 associate justice of the Supreme Court Samuel Chase was tried for impeachment. As in the recent Pickering case, the judge on trial had committed no illegal acts which would merit impeachment under the Constitution. Chase had been a staunch Federalist and a critic of the Republican party, and was tried mainly for this reason, and for his behavior in cases relating to the Federalist's Alien and Sedition Acts. Samuel Chase was acquitted of all charges.
Louisiana Purchase
In 1803 President Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to France to buy New Orleans from Napoleon. When Napoleon offered to sell not only New Orleans, but the entire region up to present day Montana for $15,000,000, Monroe and Livingston jumped at the chance without waiting for authorization. The "Louisiana Purchase" more than doubled the territory of the United States.
Lewis and Clark Expedition
In the summer of 1803 President Jefferson commissioned an expedition led by Meriwether Lewis, his private secretary, and William Clark, a young army officer, to explore the American Northwest. On May 14, 1804, Lewis and Clark left St. Louis and embarked on a two and a half year journey that would take them westward along the Mississippi River, overland across the Oregon Territory to the Pacific, and back. Both Lewis and Clark kept detailed logs of their travels to provide the United States government with information on the geography, natural resources, wildlife, and natives of the American Northwest.
Burr-Hamilton Duel
In June of 1804 Vice-President Aaron Burr challenged former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton to a duel. The two men had been long time adversaries. Hamilton believed that Burr had been responsible for a duel which had resulted in the death of his son Philip some years earlier. Burr believed Hamilton responsible for his losing a bid for the governorship of New York earlier that year. On the morning of June 11, 1804 the two men met on the shore of the Hudson in Weehawken, New Jersey. Hamilton fired first, missing his opponent by a few feet. Burr then fired, his bullet hit Hamilton in the right side and entered his liver. Hamilton was taken back to New York City where he died on July 12.
Legislation
Judiciary Act of 1801 Repealed
Congress repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801 in February of 1802. The Act had increased the size of the federal judiciary so that the lame-duck Federalist Congress could fill the newly created positions with Federalist appointees.
Alien and Sedition Acts Repealed
1805-1809 Second Term
Events
Inauguration
President Jefferson delivered his second inaugural address during a ceremony held at the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. on March 4, 1805.
Burr Treason Trial
In 1805 Burr had teamed up with General James Wilkinson, commander of the forces in the Southwest and military governor of the Louisiana Territory, and developed a scheme to establish an independent nation in the west. The two men gathered a force of sixty men on a small island in the Ohio River, and set off downstream towards New Orleans. Before the troops could reach New Orleans, however, Wilkinson wrote a letter to President Jefferson informing him of Burr's intentions. When Burr discovered that Wilkinson had betrayed him, he fled. He was captured in February of 1807 and brought to Richmond, Virginia, where he was tried for treason. After only twenty-five minutes of deliberation the jury acquitted Aaron Burr of all charges.
U.S.S. Chesapeake Attacked
On the morning of June 22, 1807, the U.S. frigate Chesapeake had just left port in Norfolk, Virginia, and was on its way to the Mediterranean for patrol duty when it was stopped by the British vessel Leopard. The captain of the Leopard boarded the Chesapeake and demanded custody of four men believed to be British subjects. When the captain of the Chesapeake refused to turn over the four men, the captain of the Leopard returned to his ship. A few moments later the Leopard opened fire, killing three American sailors. The Chesapeake surrendered, and the four men in question where taken aboard the Leopard. Badly damaged the Chesapeake returned to port.
Legislation
Embargo Act
In response to the continued British harassment of American vessels President Jefferson devised the Embargo Act. The Embargo Act forbade U.S. merchants to trade with any foreign nations. The Act was extremely unpopular, it crippled the American economy just as it was beginning to thrive. President Jefferson did not repeal the Embargo Act until March 1, 1809, three days before he left office. The Embargo was then replaced with the Nonintercourse Act which forbade trade only with the warring nations of Britain and France.
