Rivals and Friends: Presidential Election of 1800
Bitter controversies shape the presidential election of 1800. The candidates are the same as four years earlier-Adams versus Jefferson-but personal attacks during the campaign are unprecedented. In a close race New York emerges as the crucial swing ...
Rivals and Friends: Adams and Jefferson, Rivals and Friends
Noted historians Barbara Oberg, Peter Onuf, and Helena Wall compare the styles, personalities, and accomplishments of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the two men who occupy the presidency from 1796 to 1808. The close relationship between the two du...
Rivals and Friends: Presidential Election of 1796, The
The presidential election of 1796 is the first partisan election in the nation's history. As it unfolds, it is a contest not only between the emerging Republican party and the Federalists, but a battle among the Federalists themselves. When John Ada...
Rivals and Friends: Jefferson's Presidency, Early Years
Just before Jefferson takes office, Congress reduces the number of justices on the Supreme Court by one and expands the number of federal judgeships. Adams takes advantage of his last days as president to appoint a number of Federalists to these new...
Rivals and Friends: Jefferson as Administrator
Jefferson avoids Adams' mistakes in selecting his cabinet, appointing such talented administrators as Albert Gallatin and James Madison who share his views. In his first administration the Republicans control both houses of Congress, and Jefferson b...
Best Laid Plans...: Jefferson's Vision for America
Thomas Jefferson and his Republican followers have an almost idyllic image of the America they would like to promote--families living on farms and in small villages, working together free from government interference and the industrial squalor commo...
Best Laid Plans...: Initial Impact of Louisiana Purchase
The addition of the Louisiana territory doubles the size of the nation. Few Americans, including Jefferson really know what they have bought or what to do with it. Jefferson sends Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and a few dozen men on an historic...
Best Laid Plans...: Events Leading to Louisiana Purchase
When rumors begin to surface that Napoleon Bonaparte is conducting secret negotiations with Spain to regain title to Louisiana, Jefferson is alarmed. A strong European power at the mouth of the Mississippi could have devastating effects on the futur...
Best Laid Plans...: War of 1812
In the summer of 1812 American forces invade Canada through Detroit, but are soon forced to retreat. Fort Dearborn in Chicago is also captured. Harrison leads the counterattack in the West while Andrew Jackson pursues the tribes of the Southwest. Th...
Best Laid Plans...: Madison's Presidency
The election of James Madison as president in 1808 continues the procession of Republican presidents from Virginia, although the Federalists capture an increased number of votes. In his final days in office Jefferson signs a bill that lifts the emba...