President Thomas Jefferson signs the Embargo Act, prohibiting all American ships from leaving port in an attempt at economic coercion against Britain and France, who are seizing U.S. merchant vessels during the Napoleonic Wars. Jefferson chooses commercial warfare over military confrontation after …
President Thomas JeffersonU.S. CongressNew England merchantsFederalist Partyeconomic-warfarefederal-overreachregional-conflictdemocratic-resistancepolicy-failure
Vice President Aaron Burr shoots former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in an illegal duel in Weehawken, New Jersey, culminating fifteen years of political rivalry and demonstrating how elite honor culture supersedes law and democratic accountability. The confrontation stems from …
President John Adams signs the Judiciary Act of 1801 less than three weeks before the end of his term and the Federalist majority in Congress, expanding the federal judiciary by creating sixteen new circuit court judgeships and reducing the Supreme Court from six to five justices. After losing the …
President John AdamsFederalist PartyU.S. SenateWilliam Marburyjudicial-capturecourt-packinglame-duck-powerinstitutional-manipulationpolitical-corruption
The Federalist-controlled Congress passes the Alien and Sedition Acts, a set of four statutes that restrict immigration and criminalize criticism of the federal government under the guise of national security during tensions with France. The legislation increases the residency requirement for …
President John AdamsFederalist PartySecretary of State Timothy PickeringDemocratic-Republican newspaper editorsCongressman Matthew Lyondemocratic-erosionfree-speech-suppressionpolitical-persecutionauthoritarian-powerinstitutional-capture