Madison and Jeffferson

Through the Presidencies of both Jefferson and Madison, the nation had drastic changes. Each of the Presidents showed their views of being loose constructionists of the Constitution by their actions in office. These Presidents helped further the Republican ideas, like a small central government and the support of the lower class farmers. The powers of the Federalist Party slowly diminished as the Republican Party became the overwhelming majority.

Thomas Jefferson made his inaugural address on March 4, 1801. This speech outlined all of his beliefs, which differed from any prior President. He talked about his thoughts on the power of state government, the freedom of religion and the press, majority rule but the protection of minorities, low government budgets, and the want to reduce federal debt. He also said that he wanted to be trade partners with France and to have amity with them, but under no circumstances did he want to have a formal alliance with any foreign nation. Once Jefferson had become President, he moved into the White House. He was the first President to stay in the White House for each of his terms. The White House was not luxurious, but more of a “village”. This is how Jefferson wanted it. Cows grazed in the lawns, hogs ran through the city streets, and the house itself was always littered with “heaps of rubbish”. It stayed this way because the federal government was small and he saw no need to make it grow. It was small because they had little to nothing to do, in light of the fact that the state and local government took primary responsibility for maintaining roads and bridges, supervising the local militias, and providing welfare relief for schools.

Also, when Jefferson took office, only six Republicans had been appointed for over six hundred official positions. Because Jefferson had the power to do so, he replaced over half of them with Republicans. Jefferson placed high priority on decreasing the all spending by the federal government, including the military. He took steps that not only cut the federal budget in half, but cut the military in half, too. It repealed all excise taxes, including the tax on whiskey. His new plan was to rely mainly on import duties for income. Another task that Jefferson had to tackle was the Supreme Court.

The judiciary still remained firmly in the hands of the Federalists. Jefferson’s sour attitude toward the Supreme Court was mainly due to his antagonism of Chief Justice John Marshal, who was also a Federalist. The Federalists passed the Judiciary Act of 1801. This created sixteen new judgeships, which former President Adams filled with Federalists. Adams supposedly stayed up until midnight on his last day in office, signing their appointments. One act of the new Republican Congress was to repeal the Judiciary Act of 1801, eliminating the offices of the “midnight judges”. They, then, tried to remove others by the process of impeachment. This was mostly ineffective because only two were brought to trial and only one was impeached. Jefferson tried a different tactic with William Marbury. In his final days in office, President Adams appointed Marbury to be justice of peace in Washington, D.C. Jefferson told his new Secretary of State, James Madison, to withhold the documents that would finalize Marbury’s position. Marbury then asked the Supreme Court for a court order that would force Madison to deliver the documents. In 1803, the case of Marbury v. Madison was brought forth to Chief Justice Marshal. Marshal and his fellow justices unanimously agreed that Madison must hand over the papers, but that they had no jurisdiction in the issue of court order.

The President was also a great supporter of westward expansion. By 1803, the region of Ohio had enough settlers to be considered its own state. The Louisiana Purchase was also a big step for the Republican Party. A successful republic, in the eyes of Jefferson, was dependent

upon a large property holding. The Louisiana Purchase, he believed, would extend the life of the republic. This is because the majority of the citizens heading west needed land because they were virtuous, independent middle class farmers. The land would provide space for generations to come. Though many people saw this as a great opportunity, some Federalists, mainly from New England, feared the Purchase. They knew as new states appeared in the south and the west, the Federalists would slowly lose its power. A small group of New England Federalists, known as the Essex Junto, drafted a plan to take New England out of the Union. This plan ultimately failed, and, as feared, the Federalists soon lost power. The Louisiana Purchase was viewed as a great success by many Americans because it ended the friction over the Mississippi River and New Orleans. This also helped farmers to get their products onto the market, which in turn, helped eastern merchants prosper. Another plus about the