The First Years of the Union (1797-1809): The Coalition Begins to Fragment: The Quids and the Burr Conspiracy

Commentary

Jefferson had been backed into a corner in terms of foreign policy. He fully realized that the US had been manipulated by Napoleon for his own gains. Jefferson was only attempting to make the best of a bad situation in negotiating for the purchase of West Florida. West Florida was valuable to the US in that it was a corridor to the Gulf of Mexico and foreign commerce. The Louisiana Purchase and the subsequent French meddling that turned the US and Spain into antagonistic entities had placed an even higher premium on the territory. In Napoleon's offer, Jefferson saw the opportunity to expand the nation into desired areas peacefully and definitively, without violent conflict. He had almost no choice, unless he wanted to send troops to conquer West Florida, potentially at great financial and human expense.

Though the Quids never effectively split the Republican Party, they were of concern to Jefferson in that they demonstrated the potential for further rifts. John Randolph viewed the plan to purchase West Florida as final evidence that Jefferson had lost his out-of-office ideals and purity. He had earlier become suspicious of Jefferson's influence in Congress. Jefferson entertained Congressmen three or four nights a week at dinner, personally drafted laws, and his cabinet members frequently testified in front of congressional committees. Randolph took all of this to mean that Jefferson had lost touch with his roots in the "country" philosophy of the Republican Party. The plan to buy West Florida was the last straw and he broke with the party. Though many Republicans were skeptical of the plan to purchase Western Florida, few believed Jefferson was steering the party astray, and only about a dozen Republican representatives followed Randolph's lead.

Perhaps even less of a threat to the administration and the nation was the Burr conspiracy, remarkable as one of the most bizarre episodes in American history. While the Burr conspiracy never materialized, it did highlight the existence of subversive elements throughout the Southwest. The Creole population, led by wealthy merchant Daniel Clark, formed the Mexican Association, whose purpose was to plan for the conquest of northern Mexico and to secede from the United States. The Spanish continued to attempt to persuade American citizens to secede, and in fact, James Wilkinson was revealed during the Burr case as a Spanish agent, paid thousands by the Spanish government to encourage secession.

However, Burr could not successfully harness these forces to even make an attempt at secession. Wilkinson readily betrayed him, playing the role of hero to the president and at the same time pleasing his Spanish employers by halting a planned attack on Spanish lands. Other than loyalty from his conspirators, Burr would have needed both foreign aid and an opportunity to seize Texas amidst military interaction between the US and Spain. Neither of these requisites materialized. Though British foreign minister Anthony Merry, a vehement anti-American and anti-Jeffersonian, was in favor of the plan, he could not persuade London to lend its support to the conspiracy. Just as Burr received word that he would not get any aid from Britain, he found out that Jefferson had decided to purchase West Florida, temporarily delaying any military action that might have otherwise been forthcoming. Despite these sure signs of failure, Burr continued his efforts, only to be thwarted before he even had a chance to put his plan into action. Burr remains one of the least well understood political figures in American history.

Previous page The Coalition Begins to Fragment: The Quids and the Burr Conspiracy page 1 Next section Fighting for Neutrality: The Embargo Act