When George Washington announced he would not
seek reelection in 1796, the nation was more divided than it had ever been. The
battle for power between Republicans and Federalists was the primary
political reality of the period. In 1796, the Federalists were winning this
battle, and controlled Congress, the judiciary, and the presidency under newly
elected John Adams. Adams set out to continue the development of the infant
nation and solidify Federalist power and principles of government. His first
challenge came in the realm of international relations. In response to the
seizure of American ships at sea, Adams began what became known as the
Quasi-war, in which neither the US nor France declared war against one another but
during which the two sides engaged in naval conflict.
In preparation for a possible open war with France, Adams built up the military
through heavy taxes and heavy expenditures. In addition, the Federalist
Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts were drafted to
protect the United States from foreign threats to national security, but their
effect was to imprison or deport immigrants without a fair trial, and to
brutally silence all political opposition. Outraged at the gall of the
Federalists, the population voted overwhelmingly Republican in the election of
1800, in which Thomas Jefferson emerged victorious.
Jefferson would later describe his election in 1800 as a "revolution" because of
the sharp swing in political ideology it signaled in America. Indeed, Jefferson
quickly set about tearing down the remnants of Federalist government, beginning
with the army and the accumulated national debt. One of the most prominent
forums in which he attacked Federalist power was in the judicial system, even
going so far as to support the impeachment of two federal judges.
In 1803 Jefferson engineered the Louisiana Purchase, more than doubling the
size of the US. The Louisiana Purchase may have been the most important event
in the first half-century of American history, immediately opening the West to
exploration and settlement. Lewis and Clark, now legends of American
history, were the most well known explorers of the Louisiana Territory.
However, the Louisiana Purchase also opened the United States to foreign
conflict, as many nations strove to achieve dominance in the affairs of North
America. Shortly after the US took possession of the new territory, disputes
arose with Spain over its borders. In an effort to solve America's territorial
problems, Thomas Jefferson entered into negotiations with Napoleon Bonaparte of
France, who saw in the dispute a chance to strengthen France's influence in
North America and manipulate international affairs favorably.
Jefferson's willingness to engage in international politics with the conniving
Bonaparte spurred some Republicans to leave the party and form a faction known
as the Tertium Quids, which while they did not seriously challenge
Jefferson's power or that of the Republican majority, showed that disunity was a
possibility within the Republican Party and had to be guarded against. Another
challenge to Jefferson and to the nation was the Aaron Burr conspiracy, an
ill-fated attempt by the former vice president to attack Texas and secede from
the Union with settlers from the southwest frontier. These two internal
challenges well in hand, Jefferson was able to turn his attention to increasing
tensions between the US and both Britain and France.
Britain and France, at war with one another, each tried to use the United States
as a pawn with which to harm the other. The United States found itself the
victim of an economic war, its merchant ships seized by both nations and its
neutrality in jeopardy. Jefferson responded in 1807 with the Embargo Act
which isolated the US from the world economically. Though he hoped to force
France, and especially Britain, into respecting US neutrality, the US was the
first nation to give in, lifting the Embargo Act in 1809 with nothing more than
a depressed economy to show for it. Though Jefferson's final endeavor as
president was a distinct failure, he is generally considered a success, and the
Republicans continued to enjoy the support of the majority of the American
people after he left office.
