Lesson 55: The Aaron Burr Conspiracy

After Aaron Burr was president Jefferson's former first-term vice president, he challenged the government's authority by working with a group of radical Federalists who wanted New England and New York to secede from the U.S. 

 Alexander Hamilton thwarted Burr's plans to become the governor of New York after uncovering his secret plans. 

 Burr was so angry that he challenged Hamilton to a duel, which was made illegal in most states.

Hamilton reluctantly accepted the challenge, but refused to kill his opponent. 

 Burr, however, did not hesitate and killed Alexander Hamilton.

Later, Burr decided to try and create his own empire in western America.

 He collaborated with General James Wilkinson, the governor of Louisiana and a spy for Spain, to take over the west and break up the United States.

But General Wilkinson betrayed him and sent a letter to president Jefferson telling him of this conspiracy.

 In 1807 Burr was arrested and put on trial, but there weren't enough witnesses to convict him of his crimes.

Lesson 54: Lewis and Clark

After America bought Louisiana, President Jefferson wanted it to be explored.
He picked his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to lead an expedition into the Louisiana Territory.
 Lewis then picked William Clark, a former army officer, to serve as joint commander.
While on the expedition they met a French fur trapper who was married to an Indian woman named Sacajawea who became their guides and interpreters on the journey.
 Along the way "the group recorded more than 100 animals and nearly 200 plants new to American science."
They also created about 150 maps.
They finished their mission 3 years after it was assigned.

Lesson 53: The Louisiana Purchase

When Napoleon Bonaparte took over France he needed more money and more men to take over Europe.
 Plans for expansion in America were halted and he removed all of his troops.
President Jefferson sent Robert Livingston, the minister to France, and James Monroe to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans and Florida with France.
 What ended up happening along with this was Napoleon offering all of Louisiana to America.
Monroe and Livingston didn't exactly have the authorization to purchase this land, but since Napoleon required an immediate answer, they were unable to send ask the president before making a decision, so they bought the Louisiana Territory for $15 million.

Lesson 52: Election of 1800

Near the year of 1800, many Republicans secretly planned to resist by force if the Federalists stayed in power.  
 The Federalists believed that the country should be ruled by the "best people" not by "uneducated commoners."
 Republicans wanted the states to hold more power than the central government.
  When the elections began, Thomas Jefferson tied for president with Aaron Burr each having 73 votes.  The House of Representatives, which was controlled by the Federalists, had to choose between the two.
 Debates extended into 1801, but eventually the Federalists gave the final vote to Jefferson.

Lesson 51: Alien and Sedition Act

The Alien and Sedition Acts were made up of four laws:
1. "The Naturalization Act lengthened from five to fourteen years the residency requirement for citizenship."
2. "The Alien Enemies Act allowed the president to expel aliens in wartime."
3. "The Alien Act authorized the president to deport or imprison all aliens whom he considered dangerous to the safety of the United States."
4. "The Sedition Act prohibited antigovernment activity. It was illegal to publish or even speak any false, scandalous, and malicious criticism of government officials."
 These acts made the colonists angry with the government because they believed that it was an abuse of power.
 In 1798, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both created resolutions that said these acts did not follow the Constitution, but none of the states approved the resolutions except for Kentucky and Virginia.

Lesson 50: XYZ Affair

After peace was reached with England, France became angry and nearly went to war with it's former ally, America.
 When the French began to plunder American ships, John Adams, the second President of the United States, sent Charles Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry to negotiate peace with France.
 The French Foreign Minister refused to see them, instead he sent three representative agents termed X, Y, and Z to speak to the Americans.  
 The agents said that before they could even get to negotiate, America had to pay them a $250,000 bribe and a $12 million loan.
The Americans refused and returned home where this incident would become known as the XYZ affair.
 Eventually though America and France gained peace through the "Convention of 1800," which annulled the Treaty of 1778 and forgave France for plundering America's ships.

Lesson 49: Washington's Farewell Address

George Washington had been president for 8 years by 1796.  He let the public know that he would be retiring from presidency through the newspapers.

 He encouraged the citizens to be loyal to the United States rather than to a particular political party.

Lesson 48: Federalists and Democratic-Republicans

France and Great Britain went to war again in 1793. The Federalists and Democratic-Republicans of America argued over who they should side with.
  The Franco-American Alliance of 1778 said that the U.S. had to help them in a time of need. So the Democratic-Republicans wanted to aid the French for their help in the Revolutionary war, but the Federalists wanted the President to suspend the treaty in order to keep good trade relations with Britain.
 George Washington issued the "Neutrality Proclamation" which said that the U.S. was not to take either side in the war.

The British did not believe that America was neutral so they began to attack their ships, capturing the sailors.
 The Federalists and Democratic-Republicans were both angered but still disagreed on how to take action.
President George Washington sent the Federalist Chief of Justice John Jay to negotiate peace with Britain and save trade relations there.
 I think that America did take the side of Britain by doing this. I think that they should have sided with France   because they helped America when they needed it, they should have honored the treaty they made.

Lesson 47: Hamiltonians vs. Jeffersonians

Alexander Hamilton was the Treasury Secretary who proposed "The First Report on the Public Credit."
The government was supposed to take on the states' debt.  Hamilton thought that if they did this the states would become more respectful and loyal to them.  He also wanted to create a national bank to print and circulate paper money.
 Thomas Jefferson thought that the states should hold more power than the federal government because they were closer to the people. He believed the national bank exceeded federal authority.
 In the end President George Washington and Congress chose to go along with Hamilton's plans and created the Bank of the United States in 1791.