AP® United States History review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/us-history/units/4/4-2)
Unit 4 · Topic 4.2
4.2 The Rise of Political Parties and the Era of Jefferson
Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans won the election of 1800, and power changed hands peacefully. Jefferson bought Louisiana despite doubts about his constitutional authority, while Chief Justice John Marshall's Supreme Court established judicial review and strengthened federal power over the states.
Key terms
- Democratic-Republicans
- Federalists
- Louisiana Purchase
- Marbury v. Madison
- judicial review
- John Marshall
See it on a map: 1803: The Louisiana Purchase
The 'Revolution of 1800'
In the election of 1800, Jefferson defeated John Adams. Because of a flaw in the electoral system, Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr tied with 73 electoral votes each, and the House of Representatives had to choose between them. After 36 ballots it picked Jefferson. The Twelfth Amendment (1804) fixed the problem by having electors cast separate votes for president and vice president.
Jefferson called his victory the 'Revolution of 1800' because the Federalists gave up power peacefully to their opponents. That peaceful transfer between rival parties was a crucial precedent.
As president, Jefferson cut the army, navy and national debt and repealed the whiskey tax, but he kept the Bank of the United States. He also sent the navy to fight the Barbary states of North Africa, which had been seizing American ships, in the First Barbary War (1801–1805).
The Louisiana Purchase (1803)
Jefferson wanted New Orleans, the port that Western farmers needed to ship their crops down the Mississippi. France's ruler Napoleon had regained Louisiana from Spain, but after his army failed to retake Haiti from its formerly enslaved people, and with war against Britain coming, he decided to sell all of Louisiana. The United States paid $15 million for about 828,000 square miles, doubling its size.
Jefferson believed in strict construction, and the Constitution did not mention buying territory. He considered a constitutional amendment but finally approved the purchase as a treaty, deciding the opportunity was too good to lose. The irony is a classic exam point: a strict constructionist used broad federal power.
Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the territory (1804–1806). Guided in part by Sacagawea, a Shoshone woman, they reached the Pacific and brought back maps and scientific information, strengthening American claims to the West.
John Marshall and the Supreme Court
John Marshall, a Federalist appointed by Adams, served as chief justice from 1801 to 1835. His decisions strengthened the Supreme Court and the national government long after the Federalist Party faded.
| Case | What happened | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Marbury v. Madison (1803) | William Marbury sued for a judicial commission that Jefferson's Secretary of State, James Madison, refused to deliver | The Court struck down part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 as unconstitutional, establishing judicial review |
| Fletcher v. Peck (1810) | A state tried to cancel a land sale made through a corrupt deal | First time the Court struck down a state law; protected contracts |
| McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) | Maryland taxed the Second Bank of the United States | The bank was constitutional under the necessary and proper clause, and states cannot tax the federal government |
| Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) | New Hampshire tried to take over a private college | Protected private charters as contracts, encouraging business investment |
| Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) | A New York steamboat monopoly conflicted with a federal license | Congress controls interstate commerce, broadly defined |
Debates that continued
The parties kept arguing over the national bank, tariffs and how much power the federal government should have. The Federalists weakened after 1800 and collapsed after opposing the War of 1812 at the Hartford Convention (4.4). For a time after 1815 only one national party remained, the Democratic-Republicans, but disagreement continued within it and led to the Second Party System of the 1830s (4.7).
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Explaining significance
Short-answer practice: Briefly explain ONE way Supreme Court decisions under John Marshall increased the power of the federal government in the period 1801 to 1835.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Name a specific case and year.
- Step 2: State the ruling.
- Step 3: Explain how it strengthened federal power.
Answer: Model answer: In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the Marshall Court ruled that Congress could create the Second Bank of the United States under the necessary and proper clause and that Maryland could not tax it. This confirmed that Congress has implied powers beyond those listed in the Constitution and that federal law is supreme over conflicting state laws.
Common mistakes
- Saying Marbury won his case. The Court said he deserved his commission but ruled it could not order delivery, because the law giving it that power was unconstitutional.
- Forgetting the contradiction in the Louisiana Purchase: Jefferson, a strict constructionist, used broad federal power to buy it.
- Assuming the Federalists' decline meant Federalist ideas disappeared. Marshall's Court kept them alive for decades.
On the exam
- Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch v. Maryland are the two Marshall cases you should know best: judicial review, and implied powers plus federal supremacy.
- The Louisiana Purchase appears in questions about expansion, about strict versus loose construction and about the Haitian Revolution's effects.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
4 questions on 4.2 The Rise of Political Parties and the Era of Jefferson. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
"But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists. If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it. . . .
Still one thing more, fellow-citizens—a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned."
Source: Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801.
Jefferson's statement "We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists" was most likely intended to
Which action of Jefferson's presidency was most in tension with his commitment to a limited government and a strict reading of the Constitution?
The Supreme Court's decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803) was significant because it
Jefferson's Embargo Act of 1807, which barred American ships from sailing to foreign ports, was meant to pressure Britain and France to respect American neutrality. In practice it most directly
0 of 4 answered