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Seizing on what Jefferson later called "a fugitive occurrence," Monroe and Livingston immediately entered into negotiations and on April 30 reached an agreement that exceeded their authority - the purchase of the Louisiana territory, including New Orleans, for $15 million. The acquisition of approximately 827,000 square miles would double the size of the United States.

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Why was Lewis & Clark exploration journey so important to westward expansion? 

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Why was Lewis & Clark exploration journey so important to westward expansion? 

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Adventure Is Out There

There are few names in history more synonymous with exploration and discovery than Lewis and Clark. An argument could be made for Captain Kirk and Mister Spock, but beyond that, nobody could challenge the supremacy of these early American explorers.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806) was the two year voyage of discovery across the continent from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back. They weren't the first Anglo-Americans to explore many of these areas since fur trappers had lived in the wilderness for years. However, it was the first expedition into this territory sent forth by the American government, and it paved the way for generations of pioneers.

There and Back Again

The history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition begins with the Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte. With slave revolts in Haiti and war with Britain, France needed money and agreed to sell their colonial territory Louisiana to the United States in 1803, called the Louisiana Purchase. For present-day Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Colorado, and Wyoming, the U.S. paid the equivalent of 15 million dollars. President Thomas Jefferson quickly established a specialized army unit with the purpose of discovering the quickest water route across the continent to connect Eastern commerce to Pacific-coast ports and trade. The unit was called the Corps of Discovery, led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and his friend Second Lieutenant William Clark. The Corps had the goals of mapping the territory, establishing relations with Native American nations, and setting up an American presence on the West Coast.

The Corps left St. Louis and headed up the Missouri River in May of 1804. They followed the river into modern Nebraska and Iowa, where Sergeant Charles Floyd suffered from appendicitis and became the only casualty of the expedition. By the end of August, the Corps reached the Great Plains of the American West.

During this time, they met two dozen Native American nations. Most helped them navigate the area, although the expedition came close to fighting with the powerful Lakota. As winter came, they prepared winter camp in the territory of the Mandan nation, and met a French-Canadian trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau and his Shoshone wife, Sacagawea. Sacagawea proved to be incredibly helpful as an interpreter and to improve relations with the other Native American nations the Corps encountered. In Native American culture, the presence of a woman in the group signified a diplomatic intent, not a war party.

The Corps followed the Missouri river to the Continental Divide near the present-day Montana-Idaho border, and followed the Clearwater, Snake, and Columbia Rivers into Oregon. The Corps spotted the Pacific Ocean on November 7, 1805 and reached it two weeks later.

At the mouth of the Columbia River on the Pacific Ocean, they founded Fort Clatsop and waited out the winter. It was a harsh winter and food ran low, but all of them survived. In March of 1806, they started the trip back up the Columbia River. Near the continental divide, in July, the Corps split into two groups. Lewis took four men to explore the Marias River, and ended up in a fight with men from the Blackfeet nation. Two Blackfeet were killed, and Lewis' group ran over 100 miles that day in fear of retaliation.

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The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Route, Timeline & Facts | Study.com

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There are few names in history more synonymous with exploration and discovery than Lewis and Clark. An argument could be made for Captain Kirk and Mister Spock, but beyond that, nobody could challenge the supremacy of these early American explorers. The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806) was the two year voyage of discovery across the continent from St.

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The Midnight Judges Act is considered as one of the most drastic and partisan laws in American political history. Historyplex explains the summary of this Act, also called the Judiciary Act of 1801, by telling you its definition, significance, repeal, besides other facts.

Did You Know?

The Judiciary Act of 1801 was signed by the second American President, John Adams, and passed in the second session of the country's Sixth Congress.

The United States Constitution has clear rules regarding the structure of the government. Article I explains the structure of Congress (legislative arm of the government), which is authorized to pass laws. Article II deals with the office of the president, who, being the executive branch, has to enforce these laws. Article III gives the rules to establish a federal court system.

While the structure of the US legislature and executive is explained in detail, that of its judiciary, or the federal court system, is not. This is because, the Supreme Court is the only federal court permitted by the Constitution; the question of whether other federal courts can be established or not, and their hierarchical structure, is left to the political establishment. This creates a situation where the judiciary may be exploited to settle political scores, something for which the Judiciary Act of 1801 was intended for. Let us see what the complete purpose of the Judiciary Act of 1801 was.

Definition

The Judiciary Act was a Congressional Act passed in the waning months of the Adams Administration in 1801, that aimed to increase the size and power of the federal court system, and pack it with their own political supporters.

Facts

► The Judiciary Act reduced the strength of the Supreme Court from 6 to 5 justices, which would become effective when the next vacancy arose.

► It increased the number of judicial districts, each having a single district court, from the preexisting 17 to 22.

► Earlier, these districts were clubbed together into 3 circuits - the Eastern, Middle, and Southern circuits. They were doubled to 6, each with a single circuit court.

► The Act stopped the practice of 'riding the circuit', wherein, Supreme Court judges were required to preside over both, the Supreme Court as well as circuit courts. New judges were to be appointed for the latter.

► It created 16 new circuit judgeships, along with more than 40 justices of peace, all of which were to be appointed by the president. It also created many other court-related posts, like attorneys, marshals, and clerks.

► The judges appointed by this Act came to be known as 'Midnight Judges', because it was said that President Adams stayed up right till the midnight of March 3, 1801, signing their appointment orders, since his term was ending at noon the following day.

► The circuit courts' power was increased to hear those civil cases in which federal law was involved, or the country was party to a dispute.

► The Act came into effect on February 13, 1801. However, it lasted little more than a year, when it was repealed by the Jefferson Administration on March 8, 1802.

Significance

Republican Reaction

The Judiciary Act enraged members of the Jefferson Administration, who believed that the outgoing President John Adams was trying to fill all these new posts with his own supporters. Jefferson had defeated Adams in the 1800 polls, but he could not join office until March 4, 1801, which gave Adams and his officials a few more months.

Since the Adams Administration and Congress was dominated by the Federalist party (who believed in a strong national government and court system), they wanted the judiciary to be dominated by the Federalists, who would control the new Jefferson government that was dominated by Republicans (who wanted powerful state governments and courts).

Strengthening of Federal Courts

The main point of contention of the Republican Jeffersonians was the reduction in the size of the Supreme Court, and the creation of newer circuit courts. Since federal judges held positions for life, this meant that Jefferson couldn't appoint a new Supreme Court justice, unless two existing justices either died or retired, or fire the ones Adams had appointed.

Moreover, the Act increased the number of circuit courts in each state, together with their powers, which the Republicans believed, would encourage people to approach them, rather than the state courts. This would empower the federal court system.

Refusal of Appointment

The appointment orders of all judges and officials had to be commissioned by the Secretary of State, after these were approved by the President. While most appointments sanctioned by John Adams received commission, for some reasons, the appointment orders of the justices of Washington county couldn't reach the Secretary's office in time.

When Thomas Jefferson was sworn in, he noticed these pending orders, and asked his Secretary of State John Madison to refuse commission to these Federalist justices. Moreover, when the Act was repealed in 1802, many of the already-appointed judges and officials lost their jobs, as the new judgeships were canceled.

Marbury v. Madison

Most justices accepted the Administration's order refusing them commission quite passively. However, William Marbury, who was to become a Justice of Peace in the District of Columbia decided to sue Secretary Madison, and force him to grant them commission. The Supreme Court ruled that, while the grievances of Marbury and others were justified, it could not force Madison to grant them commission, because it would have to issue a Writ of Mandamus to do this.

Despite being granted the power to issue such writs by the Judiciary Act of 1789, the Supreme Court said that this power was not given to it by the Constitution. Marbury v. Madison thus set the precedent for the power of 'Judicial Review', by which the court can judge if Congressional laws are constitutional or not.

The Judiciary Act of 1801 is remembered today for all the wrong reasons, especially for its partisan nature. However, it paved the way for the Supreme Court's power of Judicial Review, which gave it the power and popularity it is now known for.

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Judiciary Act of 1801: Definition, Facts, and Significance

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The Midnight Judges Act is considered as one of the most drastic and partisan laws in American political history. Historyplex explains the summary of this Act, also called the Judiciary Act of 1801, by telling you its definition, significance, repeal, besides other facts.

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The War of 1812 took place between 1812 and 1815. It was a conflict between Great Britain and the United States which was triggered by British interference in American trade.

The battles of the War of 1812 were fought on both land and sea. The land battles occurred in North America and the naval battles mostly occurred on the Atlantic ocean but a few also occurred on the Pacific.

The war officially came to an end when the Treaty of Ghent was signed in December of 1814 but news traveled slowly in those days so fighting continued into early 1815.

The following is a timeline of the War of 1812:

1793:
♦ On February 1, 1799, France declares war on Great Britain in what comes to be known as the French Revolutionary Wars.

1803:
♦ Great Britain declares war on France in what comes to be known as the Napoleonic Wars.
♦ Great Britain begins to impress American sailors and force them to serve in the British Navy.
♦ Great Britain and France begin to block the United States from trading with the other to prevent supplies from getting into enemy hands.

1804:
♦ On December 2, 1804, Napoleon is crowned Emperor of France following a coup d'etat.

1806:
♦ In January of 1806, Secretary of State James Madison delivers a report discussing British interference in American trade and the impressment of American sailors, fueling anti-British sentiments.
♦ On April 18, 1806, the non-importation act is passed which placed restrictions on British imports.
♦ On November 21, 1806, Napoleon issues the Berlin Decree which forbade the import of British goods into European countries allied with or dependent on France.

1807:
♦ On June 22, 1807, the British ship Leopold fires upon the American ship the Chesapeake, which escalates tensions between the two countries.
♦ On November 11, 1807, Great Britain passes the 1807 Orders in Council, blocking international trade with France.
♦ On December 22, 1807, Thomas Jefferson imposes an embargo on Great Britain and France by closing all U.S. ports to export shipping and places restrictions on British imports.

1809:
♦ President James Madison ends the embargo due its devastating effects on the economy.
♦ On March 1, 1809, the non-intercourse act is signed into law. The act prohibits trade with Great Britain and its allies and with France and the countries controlled by France.
♦ On March 4, 1809, James Madison is inaugurated President of the United States.

1810:
♦ On May 14, 1810, Macon's Bill Number 2 goes into effect. The bill states that if either Britain or France ceased attacking American merchant ships, the United States would end trade with the other, unless that other country agreed to recognize the rights of the neutral American ships as well.

1811:
♦ On November 7, 1811, the Battle of Tippecanoe takes place, which is considered the first battle of the War of 1812.

1812:
♦ In early June of 1812, President James Madison sent a message to Congress in which he listed complaints about British impressment of American sailors, harassment of American merchant ships by British warships and British blockades of American merchant ships bound for European ports.
♦ On June 4, 1812, the House of Representatives voted 79 to 49 in favor of war with Great Britain.
♦ On June 16, 1812, Great Britain suspends the Orders in Council.
♦ On June 17, 1812, the U.S. Senate voted 19 to 13 in favor of war with Great Britain.
♦ On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on Great Britain.
♦ June-August of 1812, riots break out in Baltimore in protest of the war.
♦ On July 12, 1812, U.S. forces under General Hull enter Canada in the first of three failed attempts to invade Canada.
♦ On July 17, 1812, the Siege of Fort Mackinac takes place in Michigan.
♦ On August 5, 1812, the Battle of Brownstown takes place in Michigan.
♦ On August 16, 1812, American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit to the British without a fight.
♦ On August 19, 1812, the USS Constitution defeats the HMS Guerriere.
♦ On October 13, 1812, British General Isaac Brock is killed during the Battle of Queenston Heights in Canada.
♦ On October 13, 1812, Great Britain issues another Order in Council authorizing British military forces to conduct general reprisals against the military forces, merchant shipping and people of the United States. The order is considered a declaration of war.
♦ On November 28, 1812, skirmish at Fort Erie in Canada.
♦ On December 29, 1812, the USS Constitution defeats the HMS Java.

1813:
♦ On January 9, 1813, Great Britain issues a declaration defending its reasons for going to war.
♦ January 18-23, 1813, the Battle of Frenchtown takes place in present-day Michigan.
♦ On January 23, 1813, the River Raisin Massacre takes place in Michigan during which 30 to 60 captured American soldiers are executed by the natives
♦ On February 22, 1813, the Battle of Ogdensburg takes place in New York.
♦ On March 4, 1813, President James Madison is inaugurated for his second term as President.
♦ On April 27, 1813, the Battle of York takes place in present-day Toronto, Canada. The British are defeated and American troops occupy the city for six days, looting homes and setting fire to the shipyard, Government house and the Parliament buildings.
♦ April 28-May 9 of 1813, the Siege of Fort Meigs takes place in northwestern Ohio.
♦ On September 10, 1813, the Battle Lake Erie takes place on Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio.
♦ On October 5, 1813, the Battle of the Thames takes place in Ontario, Canada during which Shawnee Chief Tecumseh is killed.
♦ On November 11, 1813, the Battle of Crysler's Farm takes place in Ontario, Canada.

1814:
♦ On April 4, 1814, Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba off the coast of Tuscany, which ends the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. Great Britain now focuses all of its attention on the war in North America.
♦ On July 5, 1814, the Battle of Chippawa takes place in Ontario, Canada.
♦ On July 22, 1814, the Treaty of Greenville is signed which establishes peace between several native tribes (Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnoese, Senacas and the Miamies) and the United States. It also forms an alliance between these tribes and the Americans against the British in the War of 1812.
♦ On July 25, 1814, the Battle of Lundy's Lane takes place at Niagra Falls in Ontario, Canada.
♦ In August, peace negotiations begin in Ghent, Beligum.
♦ On August 9, 1814, the Treaty of Fort Jackson is signed which establishes peace between the Creek nation and the United States in the Creek War.
♦ On August 24, 1814, the Battle of Bladensburg takes place in Maryland.
♦ On August 24-25, 1814, the British burn Washington D.C., including the White House and the U.S. Capitol building, in retaliation for the burning of York. President James Madison flees the capitol.
♦ On August 27, Fort Warburton, aka Fort Washington, is abandoned by American troops and destroyed to prevent its capture by the British.
♦ August 29-September 2, 1814, the Raid on Alexandria takes place in Virginia.
♦ On September 11, 1814, the British are defeated at the Battle of Plattsburg, aka Battle of Lake Champlain in New York.
♦ On September 12, 1814, the Battle of North Point takes place in Maryland.
♦ September 12-15, 1814, the Battle of Baltimore takes place in Maryland during which Fort McHenry is bombarded by the British.
♦ On September 14, Francis Scott Key writes the first lines of his famous poem, the Star-Spangled Banner after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry.
♦ On November 6, 1814, the Battle of Malcolm's Mills takes place in Ontario, Canada.
♦ November 7-9, 1814, the Battle of Pensacola takes place in Florida.
♦ December 14-January 5, the Hartford Convention meets in Hartford, Connecticut to discuss the delegate's grievances with the War of 1812 and political problems concerning the federal government's increasing power.
♦ On Christmas Eve in 1814, the Treaty of Ghent is signed which officially brings the War of 1812 to an end.
♦ On December 28, the Treaty of Ghent is ratified by the British.

1815:
♦ On January 8-18, 1815, the British are defeated in the Battle of New Orleans in Louisiana.
♦ On February 16, 1815, the Treaty of Ghent is ratified and President Madison declares the war over.
♦ On February 17, 1815, Secretary of State James Monroe presents the signed treaty to the British minister in Washington D.C.
♦ On February 20 - USS Constitution engages the HMS Cyane and HMS Levant, not knowing the war was over.
♦ On April 6, seven American imprisoned sailors are killed and 32 wounded in the "Dartmoor Massacre" at Dartmoor Prison in Devon, England.
♦ On May 24, 1815, the Battle of Sink Hole takes place in Missouri.

To learn more about the War of 1812, check out the following article on the Best Books About the War of 1812.

Sources:
The Historical Register of the United States. Part 1: From the Declaration of War in 1812, to January 1, 1814. T.H. Palmer, 1814.
Encyclopedia of the War of 1812: A Political, Social and Military History. Edited by Spencer C. Tucker. ABC-CLIO, 2012.
"The Sacre or Consecration of Napoleon I." Napoleon.org, Foundation Napoleon, www.napoleon.org/en/young-historians/napodoc/the-sacre-of-napoleon-i/
"War of 1812 Timeline." Civil War Trust, www.civilwar.org/learn/articles/war-1812-timeline
"War of 1812: Timeline of Major Events." PBS.org, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wned/war-of-1812/timeline/
"A Capitol in Ruins." Senate.gov, United States Senate,
www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/A_Capitol_in_Ruins.htm
"The Senate Approves the Treaty of Ghent for Ratification." Senate.gov, United States Senate,
www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Senate_Approves_Treaty_of_Ghent.htm

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The War of 1812 took place between 1812 and 1815. It was a conflict between Great Britain and the United States which was triggered by British interference in American trade. The battles of the War of 1812 were fought on both land and sea.

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The XYZ Affair (1797-1798) involved an American peace delegation in France, three agents of the French Foreign Minister (labeled as X, Y, and Z in President John Adams' initial communications with Congress), and the French Foreign Minister's demand for a bribe from the American delegation. The Affair played a major role in the adoption of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

After the French Revolution of 1789, Britain and France were in almost constant conflict until the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Unfortunately, the new American republic became embroiled in the French/British struggle with enormous implications for domestic politics in the United States.

When France and Britain went to war in 1793, France - the U.S. ally in the American Revolution - hoped for U.S. support. But President Washington believed that the fragile new nation could not afford a war and declared U.S. neutrality. When Britain and the United States signed the Jay Treaty (1794) to maintain the peace between the two nations, France saw that treaty as deeply unfair. (For example, Britain could seize goods from U.S. ships sailing to France if it paid compensation.) By 1796, outraged at U.S. actions, France started seizing American ships trading with Britain (seizing well over 300 by the end of 1798), and the French government refused to receive the new U.S. ambassador to France, Charles C. Pinckney. In response, President Adams called a special session of Congress on May 16, 1797 and asked Congress to support a military build-up for a possible conflict with France. This period is referred to as the Quasi-War with France.

At the same time, Adams decided to send a delegation to France in an effort to maintain the peace. Adams chose Charles C. Pinckney (who was already in Europe), Elbridge Gerry, and John Marshall as the U.S. envoys. Their instructions were to seek to maintain neutrality and commercial relations while not committing the United States to financial support of France.

In late 1797, the American envoys in France found themselves trying to work through three intermediaries - Jean Conrad Hottinguer (labeled X in initial coded communications), Pierre Bellamy (Y), and Lucien Hauteval (Z) - to start negotiations with the French Foreign Minister, Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord. The intermediaries told the U.S. envoys that certain conditions must be met in order for France officially to receive the American diplomats: first, the diplomats needed to apologize for anti-French sentiment in Adams' May 16 speech to Congress. Second, they must give Talleyrand 1,200,000 livres (£50,000 or $250,000); such personal "payments" were seen as a common practice in French diplomacy. Third, the United States must make a large loan to France and pay claims by U.S. merchants against France for ships that France had seized after the Jay Treaty. When news reached Paris of more French victories in the ongoing war in Europe, Talleyrand and the French government began to threaten the U.S. envoys.

On October 22 and November 8, Marshall wrote long dispatches to U.S. Secretary of State Timothy Pickering explaining the situation - dispatches which would play an important role in the coming political explosion. Informal talks continued throughout the winter of 1797-1798, but were fruitless. After repeated efforts to start negotiations without paying a bribe or providing a loan, on April 24, 1798, Marshall sailed for home while Pinckney went to the south of France for personal reasons. Gerry, against the advice of his colleagues, remained in Paris in an effort to engage negotiations, a decision for which he was later heavily criticized.

Across the Atlantic, Thomas Jefferson, Adams' vice-president, believed that the U.S. had dealt unfairly with France. As a result, Jefferson and his allies did not support Adams' actions, particularly preparations for a possible war with France. Jefferson was also skeptical of the peace mission, writing that "The nomination of the envoys to France does not prove a thorough conversion to the pacific system." 1 In November 1797, before news of France's demands for a bribe reached America, Adams asked Congress to take a firm hand with France and to fund stronger military defense, but those plans met considerable resistance from Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans in Congress.

The coded dispatches from Marshall arrived on March 4, 1798, and by March 5, Adams announced to Congress that the mission had failed. As more of the dispatches were deciphered, Adams and his Cabinet were outraged by French actions, but Adams did not want to make the dispatches public because he thought that releasing them would endanger the lives of the American ministers.

On March 19, 1798, Adams asked Congress to arm American vessels, shore up coastal defenses, and manufacture arms. While Jefferson privately criticized Talleyrand's actions, he believed that Adams and the Federalists were over-reacting to the dispatches and conveniently using the incident to encourage a war with France. Jefferson called Adams' message to Congress "insane." 2 In a letter to James Madison, Jefferson indicated that he hoped to stall congressional action for as long as possible. (At the time, Madison was living in retirement at Montpelier while supporting the formation of the new Democratic-Republican Party.) The vice-president explained "if we could but gain this season, we should be saved. the affairs of Europe would of themselves relieve us." 3

Some Republican members of Congress believed that the full dispatches would show that France was ready to negotiate. The Republican press (including James Callender) also wanted full disclosure of the dispatches. On April 2, the House passed a resolution for Adams to publish the dispatches in their entirety. Adams immediately agreed to make them available to Congress since he knew the dispatches would support his calls for a strong defense, and the American ministers were safely out of France. On April 3, he released the correspondence, using X, Y, Z in place of the names of the French agents. He asked Congress to examine the documents behind closed doors. When the dispatches were read in Congress, even many Republicans were appalled by French actions. The Senate quickly voted in favor of publication of the dispatches, and they were soon printed in the newspapers.

This disclosure inflamed public opinion against France, and John Adams' popularity rose. "Millions for defense but not one cent for tribute" became a popular Federalist slogan, and the Federalists increased their majority in the House of Representatives in the 1798 elections, directly contributing to the adoption of the Alien & Sedition Acts (and the Jeffersonian response with the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions).

Although the incident helped drive the military build-up, war was never declared. The French government reversed itself and dropped the demands, and Adams, over considerable opposition from his own party, proposed another peace mission. By late 1800, Adams had forged the Treaty of Mortefontaine with France to restore peace (although word of the treaty arrived in the United States too late to help Adams in the bitterly-contested election of 1800).

As for Jefferson, while he wrote to Madison that the actions of the French "were very unworthy of a great nation...," he insisted that "these papers [the dispatches] do not offer one motive the more for our going to war...." 4 Jefferson was not sure if the French Directory knew of Talleyrand's plot and never liked how the XYZ affair was used for political gain. As late as 1799 he wrote a friend that "you know what a wicked use has been made of the French negociation: and particularly of the XYZ dish cooked up by Marshall, where the swindlers are made to appear as the French government." 5 For Jefferson, it was not easy to shake his romantic notions of his time in France and the early ideals of the French Revolution.

Further Sources

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The XYZ Affair (1797-1798) involved an American peace delegation in France, three agents of the French Foreign Minister (labeled as X, Y, and Z in President John Adams' initial communications with Congress), and the French Foreign Minister's demand for a bribe from the American delegation.

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Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project

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By Nancy Finlay

Our ships all in motion
Once whitened the ocean;
They sailed and returned with a cargo.
Now doomed to decay
They have fallen a prey
To Jefferson, worms, and embargo.
- Broadside printed by Isaiah Thomas, 1814

President Thomas Jefferson hoped that the Embargo Act of 1807 would help the United States by demonstrating to Britain and France their dependence on American goods, convincing them to respect American neutrality and stop impressing American seamen. Instead, the act had a devastating effect on American trade. All vessels under United States jurisdiction found themselves prohibited from making foreign voyages. Trade ships sat rotting at the wharves.

Many leaders of Connecticut's ruling party, the Federalists, made their fortunes in shipping. They had opposed Jefferson from the beginning and considered the embargo both a mistake and a disaster. Some sought to evade the unpopular act, smuggling British goods from Canada using coastal vessels. In open defiance of the law, Jedidiah Huntington, the Federalist customs collector in New London, granted numerous Connecticut vessels "special permission" to make foreign voyages. For its part, Hartford's Federalist newspaper, the Connecticut Courant, missed no opportunity to attack and condemn the embargo and the Republican party which sought to enforce it.

In February 1809, Governor Jonathan Trumbull Jr. called a special session of the Connecticut legislature and declared the embargo unconstitutional. Trumbull was a staunch Federalist, the son of Jonathan Trumbull Sr., Connecticut's last colonial governor, who had continued to serve throughout the Revolutionary War. Trumbull Jr. had been governor since 1797, and in 1809 was serving the last of eleven consecutive terms in that office. (He died in office later in the year.) Republican members of the assembly were shocked by Trumbull's action, calling it "an enormous stride towards treason and civil war."

An End to the Embargo Act of 1807

The embargo ended in March of 1809, when the Non-Intercourse Act reopened trade to all nations except England and France. The effects of the embargo, however, lasted much longer than that. Connecticut's Federalists proved adamant in their dislike and distrust of Jefferson and the Republican party. Their opposition extended to the War of 1812 and to the federal government itself, culminating in the Hartford Convention of 1814, ultimately contributing to the Federalists' downfall.

While the embargo proved a disaster for shipping, it had a positive effect on manufacturing. Connecticut's many streams and rivers provided a good source of waterpower and textile mills began operating as early as the 1790s, using technology smuggled from Great Britain. These small-scale industries were unable to compete with the large British manufacturers, however, until the embargo shut down trade and British imports were no longer readily available.

Other Connecticut industries also prospered under the embargo. These included paper mills, gun factories, blast furnaces and forges, tanneries, and distilleries. By 1810, Connecticut produced nearly $6 million worth of manufactured goods each year, a substantial sum in that period. The state, which had previously been primarily agricultural, was on its way to becoming a center of industry and innovation.
Nancy Finlay grew up in Manchester, Connecticut. She has a BA from Smith College and an MFA and PhD from Princeton University. From 1998 to 2015, she was Curator of Graphics at the Connecticut Historical Society.

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Connecticut and the Embargo Act of 1807 | Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project

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By Nancy Finlay Our ships all in motion Once whitened the ocean; They sailed and returned with a cargo. Now doomed to decay They have fallen a prey To Jefferson, worms, and embargo.

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L.F. Tantillo's Return of the Experiment records the arrival of the Experiment in Albany, New York, after its trip to China. It was only the second American ship to journey to Asia.

No protesting the government? No immigrants allowed in? No freedom of the press. Lawmakers jailed? Is this the story of the Soviet Union during the Cold War?

No. It describes the United States in 1798 after the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

The strong steps that Adams took in response to the French foreign threat also included severe repression of domestic protest. A series of laws known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by the Federalist Congress in 1798 and signed into law by President Adams. These laws included new powers to deport foreigners as well as making it harder for new immigrants to vote. Previously a new immigrant would have to reside in the United States for five years before becoming eligible to vote, but a new law raised this to 14 years.

Charles Willson Peale was one of the great artists of early America. Here, John Adams is captured by Peale's paintbrush.

Clearly, the Federalists saw foreigners as a deep threat to American security. As one Federalist in Congress declared, there was no need to "invite hordes of Wild Irishmen, nor the turbulent and disorderly of all the world, to come here with a basic view to distract our tranquillity." Not coincidentally, non-English ethnic groups had been among the core supporters of the Democratic-Republicans in 1796.

The most controversial of the new laws permitting strong government control over individual actions was the Sedition Act. In essence, this Act prohibited public opposition to the government. Fines and imprisonment could be used against those who "write, print, utter, or publish . . . any false, scandalous and malicious writing" against the government.

Under the terms of this law over 20 Democratic-Republican newspaper editors were arrested and some were imprisoned. The most dramatic victim of the law was Representative Matthew Lyon of Vermont. His letter that criticized President Adams' "unbounded thirst for ridiculous pomp, foolish adulation, and self avarice" caused him to be imprisoned. While Federalists sent Lyon to prison for his opinions, his constituents reelected him to Congress even from his jail cell.

A fight in Congress! This image appeared in Harper's New Monthly Magazine nearly a century after the incident between Lyon and Griswold with the poetic caption: "He in a trice struck Griswold thrice / Upon his head enraged, Sir; / Who seized the tongs to ease his wrongs, / And Griswold thus engaged, Sir."

The Sedition Act clearly violated individual protections under the first amendment of the Constitution; however, the practice of "judicial review," whereby the Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of laws was not yet well developed. Furthermore, the justices were all strong Federalists. As a result, Madison and Jefferson directed their opposition to the new laws to state legislatures. The Virginia and Kentucky legislatures passed resolutions declaring the federal laws invalid within their states. The bold challenge to the federal government offered by this strong states' rights position seemed to point toward imminent armed conflict within the United States.

Enormous changes had occurred in the explosive decade of the 1790s. Federalists in government now viewed the persistence of their party as the equivalent of the survival of the republic. This led them to enact and enforce harsh laws. Madison, who had been the chief architect of a strong central government in the Constitution, now was wary of national authority. He actually helped the Kentucky legislature to reject federal law. By placing states rights above those of the federal government, Kentucky and Virginia had established a precedent that would be used to justify the secession of southern states in the Civil War.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (1798)
These resolutions were passed by the legislatures of Kentucky and Virginia in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 and were authored by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, respectively. The resolutions argued that the federal government had no authority to exercise power not specifically delegated to it in the Constitution.

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The Alien and Sedition Acts [ushistory.org]

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L.F. Tantillo's Return of the Experiment records the arrival of the Experiment in Albany, New York, after its trip to China. It was only the second American ship to journey to Asia. No protesting the government? No immigrants allowed in? No freedom of the press. Lawmakers jailed?

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Looking at the picture right 3-6 sentences on why you think the artist drew this and how does it represent the war? 

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Looking at the picture right 3-6 sentences on why you think the artist drew this and how does it represent the war? 

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it helped people be come better people in everything they do and the government is more safer. Jeffersonian Era was full with a lot of drama we which that up now days. there people leaders not so nice to other leaders from other county's we which that up these days. they had Democritus governments back then we don't have that now. they didn't have a lot of respect for each other back then we change that now.