ate an Empire for Liberty. Jefferson's profound faith in the American people and self-government sustained him through "the extraordinary character of the times" and helped him meet the nation's challenges.2

"The Second Revolution"

Jefferson's Election

To the Republicans, Jefferson's victory in the election of 1800 and the party's triumph in wresting control of Congress from the Federalists symbolized a "second revolution" and the nation's return to a path marked by democratic principles. A "second revolution" was necessary, Jefferson believed, after the Federalists had in the 1790s created an overly large federal government, a huge public

debt that saddled American farmers with

high taxes, an army and navy that threatened to become institutionalized, and a foreign policy too closely aligned with the interests of Great Britain, the former colonial master. Jefferson and the Republicans' charges against the Federalists were overdrawn, of course, and their victory in 1800 can be attributed as much to division in the ranks of the Federalists and to the growing unpopularity of John Adams's presidency as to the accuracy and appeal of Republican political attacks.

In the nearly year-long contest for the presidency in 1800, marked by a series of state battles for party control of a state's electoral votes, partisan tension between Federalists and Republicans ran high. The campaign rhetoric, even to voters accustomed to what passes for political discourse in late-twentieth-century presidential contests, seems unusually bitter and scurrilous. Alexander Hamilton, for example, although not fully committed to the Federalist Adams, predicted disaster

...

fined the choice for President in stark terms: vote for "God-and a religious president or Jefferson-and no God." A New York minister lending his aid to the Federalist campaign warned that Jefferson's election would "destroy religion, introduce immorality, and loosen all the bonds of society."3 Only the election of Adams or his running mate Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, the Federalists insisted, would preserve the future safe, morally sound, and prosperous course for the United States.

The Republicans contributed their share to the condemnatory partisan exchange of the election. They attacked Adams as a monarchist, his supporters as British sycophants, and his administration's policies as "highly alarming and dangerous" to the liberties of the American people. Republican campaign literature hammered on the theme that it was "high time for a change" in the country and that "to return to the best days of Washington's presidency," it was necessary to elect Jefferson. Given the bitterness of the electoral season, Jefferson's election to the presidency assumes greater importance as the nation's first nonviolent transfer of power between rival political parties under the constitutional framework. Jefferson's inaugural address, with its affirmation that "we are all republicans; we are all federalists," was a grand appeal for political moderation at the start of the new administration and for bipartisan support to face the national challenges ahead.4

"This Important Acquisition"
The Louisiana Purchase

As President, Jefferson was responsible for the protection of the existing United States; as a living symbol of the Revolu

designs on the North American continent and the relative weakness of the United States.

The first crisis in the west centered on the city of New Orleans and its strategic location at the mouth of the Mississippi River, the gateway to the huge territory called Louisiana. By 1800 New Orleans and its immediate environs had grown into a thriving center of agriculture and commerce supporting a population of fifty thousand inhabitants. The nation that controlled New Orleans, the port of deposit for the trade of the American west shipped down the Mississippi River, would control the commerce of the interior and influence its future development. Jefferson recognized New Orleans's critical importance and predicted that the day was not far off when "more than half our whole produce and ... more than half of our inhabitants" would depend upon the port.

5

A colony of France until 1763, when it was ceded to Spain, Louisiana was a pawn traded between rival imperial powers. The declining fortunes of the Spanish Empire allowed Jefferson and the United States the luxury to wait patiently for the day when American control would sup

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Religion and a fanatic in politics," was elected President. In sympathetic newspapers and campaign literature, the Federalists mounted an attack on Jefferson for exhibiting a "total imbecility of character" and supporting the violent course taken by the French Revolution. The Philadelphia Gazette of the United States de

responsible for the expansion of the nation's experiment in self-government beyond the seaboard. West of the Appalachian Mountains, however, the successful extension of the American republic did not go unchallenged. Throughout his presidency, Jefferson confronted threats in the west caused by Old World

Bertuchy. North Carolina. Insaresses. South Carolinas Teorgia.

plant the Spanish. This expectation vanished when Spain secretly returned the territory to France in 1800. Now ruled by Napoleon, France was a dynamic imperial power. Worried about possible. French aggression, Jefferson warned that the nation holding New Orleans would become the "natural enemy" of the United States."

When local authorities in New Orleans, still Spanish, withdrew the right of deposit for American goods in 1802 and threatened the trade of the American west, Jefferson and the nation grew increasingly alarmed. Jefferson resisted the war cries of his Federalist opponents and chose to negotiate first. In January 1803 he dispatched James Monroe as special minister to France and Spain to purchase New Orleans and adjacent Gulf Coast territory for two million dollars. By the time Monroe arrived in Paris, France's fortunes had changed. Having decided to wage war for imperial glory in Europe, and afraid he might lose New Orleans to the British, Napoleon was prepared to sell the entire Louisiana territory to the United States. Seeking a city, Monroe was offered the better part of a continent by the French.

In April 1803 French and American representatives in Paris signed a treaty and two conventions to transfer the vast Louisiana territory to the United States for fifteen million dollars. The Senate approved the Louisiana Purchase in October, deflecting serious questions regarding the constitutionality of adding foreign territory to the original union of states. In a January 16, 1804, message to Congress, Jefferson eloquently described the significance of "this important acquisition, so favorable to the immediate interests of our Western citizens, so auspicious to the peace and security of the nation in general, which adds to our country territories so extensive and fertile, and to our citizens new brethren to partake of the blessings of freedom and self-government."7

"This important acquisition" of the Louisiana territory doubled the size of the United States and met its immediate security interests by acquiring New Or

Napoleon in His Study, Jacques-Louis David. Napoleon sold the entire Louisiana territory to the United States in April 1803.

Former Vice President Aaron Burr had plans for a new nation in the west, perhaps with New Orleans as its capital. Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean that "offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent for the purposes of commerce" and to make contact and establish trade relations with Native American societies encountered along the route."

Jefferson requested that Congress fund the expedition under its constitutional powers to regulate commerce. He asked for an appropriation of $2,500, disguised as an appropriation "for the purpose of extending the external commerce of the U.S." to avoid arousing the suspicions of foreign powers or their representatives when an American military expedition surveyed foreign territory. 10 Congress appropriated the money as requested, but the purchase of the Louisiana territory meant that Lewis and Clark set out into American territory in 1804 when they crossed the Mississippi with a party of forty men.

For two years Jefferson eagerly awaited news of the progress of the expedition and anticipated the day when its successful conclusion meant the safe return of the party and the arrival of field notes, specimens, sketches, maps, and journals recorded by the explorers. Adding im

measurably to the nation's understanding of the continental expanse to the west, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Jefferson reported to Congress late in 1806, "have by this arduous service deserved well of their country."

//11

"Guilt Beyond Question"
The Burr Conspiracy

For most of his second term in office, Jefferson and the nation became increasingly occupied by rumors of conspiracy and treason in the west. The apparent threat to the peace and safety of the Union centered on the activities of Jefferson's former Vice President, Aaron Burr. Dropped by the Republicans from the national ticket in 1804, unsuccessful in his bid for the governorship of New York, and under indictment for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel in New Jersey, Burr seemed ready to trade disgrace in the east for glory in the west. Although the exact outlines of Burr's plans are difficult to draw, it appears that he intended to raise an army to wrest Mexico from Spanish control and found a new nation. Depending on the dreams of those in attendance at secret meetings, this creation was envisioned as either a republic or an empire. Burr's plans also may have included adding the American states and territories west of the Appalastates and territories west of the Appalachian Mountains to the new country, with New Orleans established as the capital of this western nation.

In late November 1806, Jefferson received a packet of documents from Gen. James Wilkinson, commanding general of the U.S. Army, who alluded to thousands on the march and charged Burr and his co-conspirators with specific plans to seize New Orleans before attacking Mexico. Wilkinson doctored the documents to exclude damaging references to his name and descriptions of his earlier contacts with Burr. He appeared to be a loyal patriot reporting a threat to the nation. Jefferson received Wilkinson's warning with alarm and commended him to Congress in the highest terms, ascribing to Wilkinson "the honour of a soldier and fidelity

Gen. James Wilkinson, a paid informant for the Spanish, warned Jefferson of Burr's plans in November 1806.

of a good citizen," although Jefferson had heard allegations that Wilkinson was somehow involved with Burr. 12 Today we also know that Wilkinson was a paid informant for the Spanish government and fed information to its officials in Mexico regarding Burr's plans and Jefferson's countermoves.

In actuality, a few hundred men, described by Jefferson as "an unusual number of suspicious characters," had gathered on the Ohio River to support Burr's wild scheme, but the expedition was dealt a crippling blow in December 1806 when their boats and supplies were seized on the order of Ohio Governor Edward Tiffin. 13 Burr was not on the Ohio, and he and a party of men floated down the Cumberland River to join his few remaining supporters. Combining their forces and hoping to attract other followers, Burr's small band of adventurers proceeded down the Mississippi River toward New Orleans.

Jefferson alerted military officials in the west "to be on their guard against surprise" and possible attack on "the vessels, posts, or other objects under their care." He ordered General Wilkinson, who had been occupied with Spanish