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Election of 1800
Jefferson and Burr emerged with seventy-three electoral votes each. Adams received sixty-five. When Burr refused to withdraw in favor of Jefferson, the tie vote in the Electoral College required a deciding vote in the House of Representatives. -
Marbury v. Madison
The Judiciary Act had ensured Federalist control of the judicial system by creating sixteen federal circuit courts and appointing a federal judge for each. The controversial effort to repeal the judgeships sparked the landmark case of the Supreme Court and Marbury and Madison. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the most significant event of Jefferson's presidency and one of the most important developments in American history. It spurred western exploration and expansion, and it enticed cotton growers to settle in the Southwest-- Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. -
Embargo Act
The Embargo Act stopped all American exports by prohibiting U.S. ships from sailing to foreign ports to "keep our ships and seamen out of harm's way." -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
To learn more about the Louisiana territory and its prospects for trade and agriculture, Jefferson asked Congress to fund an expedition to find the most "practicable water communication across this continent." The president then appointed army captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead what came to be known as the Lewis and Clark expedition. -
Battle of Tippecanoe
The Battle of Tippecanoe was a disastrous defeat for the Native Americans, as Harrison's troops burned the village and destroyed its supplies. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 marked the first time that Congress declared war. Great Britain was preoccupied with defeating Napoleon in Europe, and in fact, on June 16, 1812, it had promised to quit interfering with American shipping. -
Treaty of Ghent
In the Treaty of Ghent two countries agreed to return each side's prisoners and restore the previous boundaries. This was godsend for the Americans, since British forces at the time still controlled eastern Maine, northern Michigan, a portion of Western New York, and several islands off the coast of Georgia. -
Hartford Convention
On December 15, 1814, a few weeks before the battle of New Orleans, New England Federalists, frustrated by the rising expense of "Mr. Madison's War," convened the Hartford Convention in Hartford, Connecticut. -
Battle of New Orleans
On December 1st, Andrew Jackson arrived in New Orleans to prepare for a British invasion. When Jackson learned of the British plan to seize New Orleans, he declared martial law and transformed New Orleans into an armed camp as he prepared its defense. -
Missouri Compromise
It introduced an amendment to exclude slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase territory north of latitude 36 degrees 30', Missouri southern border. -
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal in central New York connected the Great Lakes and the Midwest to the Hudson River and New York City. -
Trail of Tears
In 1838, when Martin Van Buren was president, 17,000 Cherokees were evicted and moved west under military guard on the Trail of Tears, an 800-mile forced journey. Some 4,000 refugees, including John Ross's wife, died along the way from exposure, disease, or starvation.