1800 - Jefferson elected In 1800, the nation had a choice between John Adams, the incumbent, and Thomas Jefferson, the vice president. Adams had lost support through his attempt to remain neutral in the French- British conflict and through the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts. After six days and 36 ballots, the House of Representatives elected Thomas Jefferson the third president of the United States. In his inaugural address, Jefferson attempted to allay Federalist fears of a Republican administration by declaring, “We are all

Republicans, we are all Federalists.”

1801 – Judiciary ActThe Judiciary Act of 1801 increased the number of federal

courts, judgeships, clerks, and marshals. John Marshall was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court. Marshall’s record of achievement began with Marbury v. Madison (1803), in which he vindicated the Court’s power of judicial review (the power to review the constitutionality of federal or state laws or other governmental actions) and

laid the foundations of federal constitutional jurisprudence.

“It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say

what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases, must of

necessity expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each

other, the courts must decide on the operation of each.”

John Marshall in Marbury v. Madison, Supreme Court of the United States. The quotation is carved into the rotunda of the United States

Supreme Court.

1803 – The Louisiana Purchase In 1800, Spain secretly ceded the Louisiana Territory—the area stretching from Canada to the Gulf Coast and from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains—to France, which then closed the port of New Orleans to American farmers. Jefferson, fearing that a French colonial empire in North America would block American expansion, sent negotiators to France with instructions to purchase New Orleans and as much of the Gulf Coast as they could for $10 million. The subsequent 1803 Louisiana Purchase more than doubled

the size of the United States.

1804 – Haitian Revolution Ends Sparked by the revolution in France, in 1791 a slave revolt broke out in the French colony of Saint Dominque. The successful rebellion was the largest slave revolt in the Western Hemisphere and caused great unease in the United States. It gave Haiti independence from France.

1804 – Aaron Burr kills Alexander Hamilton in a duel

Alexander Hamilton, former secretary of the treasury, and Aaron Burr, sitting vice president of the United States, had feuded publicly for years. Their long-standing enmity came to a head in the spring of 1804. Within hours of the duel on July 11, Angelica Schuyler Church, Elizabeth Hamilton’s sister, wrote this letter to her brother Philip Schuyler to break the news: Hamilton “was this morning woun[d]ed by that wretch Burr.”

1804 – Barbary Pirate WarsFor years the US fought a series of limited engagements with the North African kingdoms of Tunis, Tripoli, Algeria, and Morocco. The conflicts came to a crisis point with the 1803 seizure of the USS Philadelphia in Tripoli harbor. In

1804 Lt. William Eaton led a raid to burn the ship and to ransom of the captives. These maritime wars continued until 1816.

1807 – Embargo Act of 1807 In an attempt to avert war, the United States imposed an embargo on foreign trade. The embargo was an unpopular and costly failure. It hurt the American economy far more than the British or French and resulted in widespread smuggling and unemployment.

1807 – Congress votes to end the slave trade Originally circulated in 1805 to educate the public about the treatment of slaves, this broadside entitled “Injured Humanity” was intended to shock readers and called on the conscience of citizens to “reject, with horror, the smallest participation in such infernal transactions.” On March 2, 1807, Congress voted to ban the international slave trade as of January 1, 1808.

1812-1815 – War of 1812 The United States declared war against Britain in 1812 over interference with American shipping and impressment of American seamen. Historian Gordon Wood notes that Jefferson and Madison favored economic sanctions over war, which they feared would give leaders too much power. In fact, Wood says, when finally forced into war, Madison fought it “poorly” so as to not enhance the role of the president.

1813 – Battle of the Thames As the United States expanded into Ohio Territory the soldiers and settlers met with resistance from a number of native groups. Tecumseh, a Shawnee leader, and his brother Tenskwatawa, known as a prophet, forged a confederation to resist white incursions. In 1811, Tenskwatawa’s forces were defeated by General William Henry Harrison in the Battle of Tippecanoe. Tecumseh fought for the British during the War of 1812. He was killed at the Battle of the Thames in October 1813. Most major Indian resistance

to white settlement in the region ended with Tecumseh’s death.