Was Thomas Jefferson's Election in 1800 a "Revolution?"

            There was a “revolution” in 1800 when Thomas Jefferson was elected to the presidency of the United States. His ascension to the highest office in the Executive Branch did not come by the literal “blood of patriots,” [1] but it was the result of a bloodless rebellion against the Federalist Party and their “Court party” policies.[2] Through the “might wave of public opinion,” President Jefferson was the appointed leader of “the revolution of 1800,” through whom they hoped would restore the “principles of our government as that of 1776.”[3] Jefferson did restore many republican principles during his presidency; however, he also committed some acts that could be considered unconstitutional. In the end, he can also be criticized for not doing more to promote “American synthesis” or what can be defined as “a unique blend of early liberalism, ‘the rights of Englishmen,’ and republican theory.”[4]

            The first decade of the United States government was controlled by the Federalist Party, which had attempted to reinstate the British System of mercantilism based on old world “Court Party” policies.[5] Republican minded Americans and politicians, who favored liberty and limited government, were dismayed at the resurgence of “standing armies, inflationary public debt, and the rigging of markets.”[6] The American people were again being subjugated to internal and external taxes, which led to eruptions like the Whiskey Rebellion. Other controversial issues arose, which began to tear apart the young nation like Jay’s Treaty, the XYZ Affair, the Quasi-War with France, the French Revolution, and the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts.

            Spirited debates were had in the halls of government, in newspapers and pamphlets, and in public forums. As tensions rose in the United States, there were many who believed the great experiment was nearing its end. John Adams feared that some of his party members “desired the destruction of the republic, and ultimately, a new constitution;” while others were spreading whispers of a possible “civil war.”[7]

            The revolution did occur in 1800 and Thomas Jefferson became the third American president without any loss of blood. With the mindset of “a government rigorously frugal and simple,” Jefferson went to work downsizing the Federal government.[8] During his presidency, Jefferson reduced taxes and the size of the nation’s standing army. In his First Annual Message to Congress on December 8, 1801, he informed Congress of how he had already taken steps to down size the Executive Branch: “Among those who are dependent on executive discretion, I have begun the reduction of what was deemed necessary. The expenses of diplomatic agency have been considerably diminished. The inspectors of internal revenue who were found to obstruct the accountability of the institution, have been discontinued. Several agencies created by executive authority, on salaries fixed by that also, have been suppressed.”[9] Jefferson’s reductions in the Treasury Department’s personnel “alone reduced the number of federal employees by more than one-third.”[10]

            Jefferson was also successful in downsizing the State Department when he “reduced the number of foreign missions to three;” but despite the reduction in some government spending and programs, his budget for the Department of the Navy did increase from the Federalist average of $1.3 million to $1.5 million a year.[11] However, the use of a strong Navy to protect U.S. commerce and trade would not be considered unconstitutional; especially, since the Constitution itself states that Congress is “To provide and maintain a Navy.”[12] Where Jefferson could be considered taking unconstitutional action was when he “sent a small squadron of frigates into the Mediterranean” to deal with the Barbary Pirates without the consent of Congress.[13] His purchase of the Louisiana Territory was also an action that overstepped his executive authority, which caused many in New England to call for their States to secede; and again the call was made for succession when Jefferson’s administration enacted an embargo act against England and France.[14]

            As evident, there was great change during Jefferson’s presidency and a new “revolution.” It is true that some actions taken by Jefferson and his administration can be considered unconstitutional, but not as damaging to liberty and the spirit of ’76 as the Federalist Party had done during the time in office. The most disappointing aspect of Jefferson’s presidency was that no action was taken to end the institution of slavery. However, it was the Federalists who pushed for and obtained a new Constitution in 1787, which protected the slave owner in Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3: “No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, But shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labor may be due.”[15] In theory then, Jefferson’s inaction to destroy the institution of slavery was in fact him supporting of the Constitution. So in the end, something that has not changed with the election of Thomas Jefferson is the argument of what is or is not constitutional. This is an argument that has continued to the present day in the United States.

Bibliography

Cogliano, Frank and Cogliano, Francis D. Companion to Thomas Jefferson (2nd Edition). Somerset: John Wiley & Sons, 2011.

Jefferson, Thomas. Master Thoughts of Thomas Jefferson. Edited by Catchings, Benjamin S. New York: The Nation Press, 1907.

Jefferson, Thomas. “Thomas Jefferson: First Annual Message to Congress.” The Avalon Project, December 8, 1801. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/jeffmes1.asp.

Secession, State, and Liberty. Edited by Gordon, David. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers,

           2009.

Stromberg, Joseph R.  “The Election of 1800.” Mises Institute, January 4, 2001. http://mises.org/library/election-1800.

Trask, H.A. Scott. ”Was Thomas Jefferson a Great President? Mises Institute, July 12, 2010. http://mises.org/library/was-thomas-jefferson-great-president.

“U.S. Constitution: Article I.” The Avalon Project, accessed on March 10, 2015. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/art1.asp.

“U.S. Constitution: Article IV.” The Avalon Project, accessed on March 10, 2015. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/art4.asp.

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[1] Thomas Jefferson, Master Thoughts of Thomas Jefferson, edited by Benjamin S. Catchings, (New York: The Nation Press, 1907), 110.

[2] Joseph R. Stromberg, “The Election of 1800,” Mises Institute, January 4, 2001, http://mises.org/library/election-1800.

[3] Frank Cogliano and Francis D. Cogliano, Companion to Thomas Jefferson (2nd Edition), (Somerset: John Wiley & Sons, 2011), 145.

[4] Stromberg, “The Election of 1800.”

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Cogliano, Companion to Thomas Jefferson, 148.

[8] H.A. Scott Trask, ”Was Thomas Jefferson a Great President? Mises Institute, July 12, 2010, http://mises.org/library/was-thomas-jefferson-great-president.

[9] Thomas Jefferson, “Thomas Jefferson: First Annual Message to Congress,” The Avalon Project, December 8, 1801, http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/jeffmes1.asp.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] “U.S. Constitution: Article I,” The Avalon Project, accessed on March 10, 2015, http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/art1.asp.

[13] Jefferson, “Thomas Jefferson: First Annual Message to Congress.”

[14] Secession, State, and Liberty, edited by David Gordon, (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 2009), 135.

[15] “U.S. Constitution: Article IV,” The Avalon Project, accessed on March 10, 2015, http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/art4.asp.