The Hamilton–Jefferson Rivalry The political and ideological rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson significantly influenced the course of American history. Each had a different vision for the future of the young Republic. Hamilton envisioned the nation as an industrial and commercial power with a vigorous national government, whereas Jefferson imagined a nation of self-sufficient farmers in which state government was the center of political power. Both contributed to a debate that has continued in some form or another down to the present. In a letter to James Madison of September 21, 1795, Jefferson characterized Hamilton as “a colossus to the anti-republican party. Without numbers, he is a host within himself.”

Judiciary Act of 1802 After their victory in the 1800 election, Republicans set their sights on reclaiming the judiciary from Federalist control. The new Republican Congress repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801 and passed a new act in its place. The statute restructured the circuit courts, eliminating circuit judges and once again assigning Supreme Court justices to circuit court duties.

Stuart v. Laird (1803) In Stuart v. Laird the Supreme Court upheld the practice of assigning Supreme Court justices to the circuit courts.

Impeachment of John Pickering The removal of Federal District Judge John Pickering marked the first use of impeachment as a political device with respect to the judiciary. Mentally unstable and prone to angry outbursts, Pickering made an easy target for Jeffersonian Republicans bent on reminding Federalist judges that control of the political branches of government had changed. The charges against him fell short of the high crimes or misdemeanors required by Article II of the Constitution, but the Senate convicted him by a vote along party lines of 19–9.

Impeachment of Samuel Chase Jefferson next sought the impeachment and removal of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase, an outspoken Federalist who had presided over several Sedition Act prosecutions of Republicans. After Chase delivered a partisan harangue to a Baltimore grand jury, Jefferson wrote to Representative Joseph Nicholson of Maryland, “Ought this seditious and official attack on the principles of our Constitution and on the proceedings of a State go unpunished, and to whom so pointedly as yourself will the public look for the necessary measures? I ask these questions for your consideration, for myself it is better that I should not interfere.” Nicholson took the hint and assisted in beginning impeachment proceedings against Chase. Like Judge Pickering, Chase was not accused of any high crimes or misdemeanors under Article II of the Constitution. Prosecutors instead urged the Senate to adopt a more flexible standard for conviction, including noncriminal impropriety. The defense replied that this would open the way for politically motivated prosecutions, making it impossible for the judiciary to remain independent of politics. Chase’s acquittal in the end delivered a severe blow to Jefferson’s goal of making the judiciary subordinate to the political branches of government.

Jefferson’s Supreme Court Appointments Jefferson appointed three justices to the Supreme Court. Although loyal Republicans when appointed, they soon fell under the influence of Chief Justice Marshall. In a letter to James Madison of May 25, 1810, Jefferson complained, “the state has suffered long enough . . . from the want of any counterpoint to the rancorous hatred which Marshall bears to the government of his country, & from the cunning & sophistry within which he is able to enshroud himself. It will be difficult to find a character of firmness enough to preserve his independence on the same bench with Marshall.”

The First Barbary War The Barbary states of Tunis, Algiers, Tripoli, and Morocco posed a persistent threat to the commerce of the early Republic. The pirates of the Barbary coast harassed American commerce in the Mediterranean, capturing vessels and holding sailors for ransom until the government paid for their release. Americans were insulated from this threat by Britain during the colonial period, but upon independence the United States was left to fend for itself. One-fifth of the annual budget of the United States was allocated to the payment of tribute under treaties with the Barbary States. As Edward Church, the U.S. consul at Lisbon wrote, “the faith of Pirates—whose only support is plunder, and who have hitherto contemned all those ties and obligations which clash with their interest, and which sometimes bind more civilized Despots, seems to me to be but a feeble dependence on which to place a large Stake.” Church’s words proved prophetic. In 1801, the pasha of Tripoli demanded more money, whereupon Jefferson without consulting Congress, which was not in session at the time, sent a naval squadron instead. His action raised for the first time the issue of the president’s power to commit the United States to armed conflict on his own authority.

The Louisiana Purchase In 1803 the Jefferson administration concluded a treaty with France for the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, doubling the size of the United States. Jefferson explained the significance of the purchase in a letter to John Dickinson of Delaware: “The acquisition of New Orleans would of itself have been a great thing, as it would have ensured to our western brethren the means of exporting their produce: but that of Louisiana is inappreciable, because, giving us the sole dominion of the Missisipi, it excludes those bickerings with foreign powers, which we know of a certainty would have put as at war with France immediately: and it secures to us the course of a peaceable nation.” Shortly after the purchase, President Jefferson commissioned an exploratory of the territory by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark.

The Burr Conspiracy Aaron Burr remains one of the most enigmatic figures of the founding generation. His political career was in many ways the mirror image of Alexander Hamilton’s, an irony further underscored by the fact that Burr killed Hamilton in a fateful duel in 1804. Ostracized by both political parties, Burr headed west to seek his fortune. He solicited funds from the Spanish and British governments and raised an armed force for some sort of military venture. His intentions, however, remain uncertain to this day. Whatever Burr’s plans, he was betrayed by a member of the conspiracy who informed President Jefferson that Burr was conspiring against the U.S. government. Burr was thereupon arrested and charged with treason in a case that set precedents both for the law of treason and the executive privilege of the president. Chief Justice Marshall presided at the trial, and his instruction to the jury on treason law resulted in Burr’s acquittal.

Jefferson’s Views of the Federal Judiciary Thomas Jefferson viewed the federal judiciary as a bastion of arbitrary power in the American constitutional system. Because they were independent of the political branches, he argued, federal judges were not responsible to any higher authority. As a result, he noted in a letter to Judge Spencer Roane of Virginia, “[t]he constitution . . . is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary, which they may twist, and shape into any form they please. It should be remembered, as an axiom of eternal truth in politics, that whatever power in any government is independent, is absolute also; in theory only, at first, while the spirit of the people is up, but in practice, as fast as that relaxes.”

Foreign Relations Diplomatic relations with Spain, France, and Great Britain worsened during the Jefferson administration. Jefferson’s plan to acquire West Florida from Spain backfired when Congress became aware that bribery was involved. And violations of neutrality by American merchants strained relations with both Britain and France. Britain responded by prohibiting American ships from trading with French ports, and France, in turn, prohibited American ships from complying with British restrictions. Tensions with Britain almost led to war when a British warship, the Leopard, opened fire on an American vessel, the Chesapeake, in order to search for alleged deserters from the Royal Navy. Jefferson committed a major blunder in backing the Embargo Act of 1808, which prohibited Americans from trading with European ports. The measure had such a disastrous effect on the U.S. economy that Jefferson was compelled to agree to its repeal in 1809.

James Madison Just as contemporaries regarded George Washington the “Father of his Country” for his role in creating the United States, many also regarded James Madison as the “Father of the Constitution” for his role in its drafting and ratification. But unlike Washington, Madison was not an exceptional president. A brilliant political theorist and an effective member of Congress, Madison lacked the political and administrative skills to govern effectively. His administration was marked by bitter disagreement within his cabinet, and his leadership was ultimately eclipsed by powerful Republicans in Congress.

The War of 1812 As Britain continued seizing American ships and impressing Americans into the Royal Navy, a powerful faction in Congress known as the “war hawks” called for a declaration of war. In the summer of 1812, with a presidential election lying ahead, Madison obliged. The decision won him re-election but almost destroyed the unity of the nation. By 1814, American forces had been routed in Canada, the nation’s capital occupied and public offices burned, and threats of secession made in the New England states that had opposed the war from the beginning. Federalists opposed to the war met at Hartford, Connecticut, to discuss changing the Constitution to ensure that the South and West no longer dominated national politics. But Andrew Jackson’s victory at the Battle of New Orleans changed everything. The war had ended, a glorious victory had been won, and the Federalists who had participated in the Hartford Convention were now denounced for defeatism and disloyalty. It was a blow from which the Federalist party never recovered.

Joseph Story One of Madison’s most important decisions as president was the appointment of Joseph Story to the Supreme Court. Story was a brilliant and influential legal scholar. Although a Republican when appointed to the Court, he became Chief Justice Marshall’s staunchest supporter and collaborator. His mastery of technical detail contributed significantly to the durability of Marshall’s constitutional rulings.

James Monroe and the Era of Good Feeling With the demise of the Federalist party, interparty strife disappeared as the nation experienced for a time what amounted to one-party government. When James Monroe took office in 1817, the nation embarked on what became known as the Era of Good Feeling. The president captured the optimism of the day in his first inaugural address, proclaiming, “Never did a government commence under auspices so favorable, nor ever was success so complete. If we look to the history of other nations, ancient or modern, we find no example of a growth so rapid, so gigantic, of a people so prosperous and happy.”