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
President Thomas Jefferson issues a proclamation warning that an unlawful military expedition against Spanish Mexico is being planned, marking the beginning of federal response to the Burr Conspiracy—a treasonous plot by former Vice President Aaron Burr to either invade Spanish territories or detach …
Aaron BurrGeneral James WilkinsonPresident Thomas JeffersonChief Justice John Marshallelite-corruptiontreasonjudicial-protectionaccountability-crisisinstitutional-capture
The U.S. Senate approves the Louisiana Purchase treaty by a vote of 24-7, with President Thomas Jefferson abandoning his strict constructionist constitutional principles to complete the acquisition of French territory despite acknowledging the Constitution grants no explicit power to purchase …
President Thomas JeffersonTreasury Secretary Albert GallatinU.S. SenateNapoleon BonaparteFranceconstitutional-conflictexecutive-powerstrict-constructionpolitical-hypocrisyterritorial-expansion