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Essay On The Embargo Act Of 1977 Dbq

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Before the election of 1800, Jeffersonian Republicans steadily advocated strict construction of the Constitution, which meant that they believed that the power of the government was restricted to what was clearly stated in the Constitution. On the other hand, Federalists promoted a lose construction. This meant that the Constitution could be interpreted, based on the implied powers, by the government. However, between 1801 and 1817, the two parties frequently switched their views in order to justify executive decisions. The presidencies of Jefferson and Madison clearly exemplified how inaccurate the characterization of the Jeffersonian Republican and the Federalist parties was between 1801 and 1817. When Jefferson was elected in 1800, he proudly acclaimed his dedication …show more content…

Alexander Anderson created a cartoon in 1808 that depicts the unaccepted Embargo Act that Jefferson put into effect. (Doc C.) However, in passing the Embargo Act of 1807, Jefferson went against his original Republican beliefs. The embargo barred U.S ships from using European ports, during the Napoleonic Wars, which ultimately negatively affected the U.S more than anyone else. Through this act, Jefferson denies the states their constitutionally-given rights, those which he whole-heartedly advocated for in the beginning of his presidency. Also, Jefferson completely ignored his original views when confronted with the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. The Louisiana Territory was a large mass of land acquired from France in 1803. Napoleon wanted to sell the land due to the fact that he no longer saw the possibility of a French Empire in North America, so he planned on selling it to the United States. Jefferson completely agreed to the purchase. However, many saw this as unconstitutional as the Constitution does not explicitly allow the government to purchase foreign

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328 Words | 2 Pages

The United States sought to remain neutral and trade with both the British and the French, but neither wanted the other to have the American supplies. Jefferson wanted to make sure they didn’t go to war because he was afraid that the war between them and Britain would affect Trade rights more than they already were .The Nonintercourse Acts were diplomatic responses by Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison designed to protect American interests and avoid war. They failed, and helped cause the War of 1812 between the U.S. and Britain. Jefferson, by putting the Embargo Act into effect, was trying to engage in peaceful coercion and protect American interests and avoid war, by means of basically stopping US ships from going to Europe until

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168 Words | 1 Pages

Jefferson wanted to stop the shipment of goods, war materials and other things during the time of Napoleonic Wars. Jefferson also hoped that the Embargo act would orevent any possible wars between the United States and other allied countries. The mbargo act was passed in the month of December in 1807 and it did, in fact, prevent all the possible wars. Others thought it was a father of the War

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179 Words | 1 Pages

Jefferson’s election in 1800 marked the first peaceful transfer of power between political parties in U.S. history. This showed that the country could transition power without getting into violence or conflict. Jefferson believed in limited government and states rights, which means that he thought the federal government should have less power and the states should have more. Jefferson's purchase of the Louisiana land in 1803 doubled the size of the United States and expanded executive power by allowing the President to make large land purchases without approval from Congress.

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134 Words | 1 Pages

The Federalists opposed the Louisiana Purchase due to political reasons. In document B it states, “The cowardly wretch at their head [Jefferson]”. This quote displays how low the Federalists thought of Jefferson. The document also states, “an infernal pleasure in the utter destruction of his opponents”, showing that Jefferson is thought of as a man with demonic pleasures against the Federalists. Further reasoning is that if they denied him an amendment to buy Louisiana, he would be stuck in a dilemma.

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F). Establishment of the Embargo act denied France and GBR any access to American ports to make the powerful nations realize lost opportunities and the power of US neutrality. Unless the US found a reliable trade partner besides France and GBR, the Embargo act of 1807 strongly challenged Jefferson’s economic and political view a Nation awaiting bankruptcy. Stating, “The honest payment of our debts and sacred preservation of the public faith; encouragement of agriculture, and of commerce as its handmaid” (Jefferson Doc. A)

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151 Words | 1 Pages

15) Thomas Jefferson believed that if America cut off trade with other countries, then those countries would cooperate with American demands. A problem with this, was when he used American trade to get the French and English to meet their demands by cutting off ALL trade with ALL countries. These were called the Embargo Acts of 1807. The Americans were more greatly affected than the French or British because the French and British did not completely rely on America, but the merchants and traders were pretty dependent on trade with the French and British. The Embargo Acts cut the American gross national product by 5% and weakened the economy.

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1372 Words | 6 Pages

To enforce the Embargo Act, Jefferson sent secret agents aboard ships to prevent any black market trading amongst the people. This undermined the people’s rights and took away the livelihood and freedom of many Americans, which is represented in the image in Document D. In Document B, Jefferson says, “the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.”, Jefferson contradicts his Inaugural Address in Document B when he created the Embargo Act. The Embargo Act, keeping neutrality, ruined the nation’s economy and affected the majority of the US as a whole. Not only did Jefferson disrupt the minority through the use of secret agents hidden aboard ships for citizen surveillance, but he also caused major trouble for the American Economy. According to Document F, just before the Embargo Act was created, a ship by the name of the U. S. S. Chesapeake was

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150 Words | 1 Pages

In conclusion both the Federalist and the Democratic Republicans had strong options about the Alien and Sedition Acts, most of which were different in relation to what was constitutionally right or wrong. John Adams truly tried to do something proper regarding the acts but it sadly backfired when he discovered the citizens of the United States enjoyed their personal freedom. Although I would have managed the Sedition Acts differently I believe this event contributed greatly into the shaping of our government since it was still pretty clear that our Founding Fathers had no idea how to run a nation. This event only lead to the discovery of political parties and the truth about personal opinions regarding the community members of this society.

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468 Words | 2 Pages

In the 1790s, there were two men who had different beliefs regarding how the United States should function. The two men were Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was the leader of the Republican party and Hamilton was the leader of the Federalist party. The political parties were created by Hamilton and Jefferson based on their differences in opinion on how the country should run. For example, Jefferson believed that the government should be self-governed and all of the power should go to the individual states.

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568 Words | 3 Pages

As president of a new country, Thomas Jefferson was forced to assert his authority and make difficult decisions he felt necessary to promote a strong and unified nation. In 1803, he made a decision that created much philosophical controversy at the time, but is said to be one of his greatest achievements as president. Though Jefferson was criticized for abandoning his strict Republican beliefs in purchasing the Louisiana territory, he did not actually desert his political ideals because he took into account his notions of individualism’s necessity to a nation, an agrarian-based society, and the Constitution’s allowance for acquiring new territory. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States which was an essential aspect to the individualism of the country. Jefferson believed vast amounts property was critical to develop Republican citizens because with more land came more independence and responsibility.

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279 Words | 2 Pages

While the supporters of Thomas Jefferson believe that buying foreign land was necessary, those who are against him feel that what he did was unconstitutional. In the source, “Thomas Jefferson to John Breckinridge, 12 August 1803”, the text explains that what Jefferson did was allowed, as it had not mentioned that he couldn’t in the constitution. This controversy is huge, because some people believe that he did not have the right to do so. Jefferson made a point that it wasn’t mentioned in the constitution, so he decided to ratify it and pay for it. Some believe congress did not have the right to authorize this decision.

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1057 Words | 5 Pages

Jefferson’s dilemma in the Louisiana Purchase In April of 1803 Thomas Jefferson was faced with many moral dilemmas in the process of buying the Louisiana territory. Though the price for the territory was beyond generous, Jefferson felt that by purchasing the territory he would be going against his beliefs that the constitution should be followed word for word. The constitution said nothing of the president having the power to purchase land from another government, or to use money of the states for the same purpose (“the moral dilemma”). Another problem was once the land was purchased, there was a fear that it could have been a waste since they had no way to know the layout of the land, and what it would be useful for.

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1072 Words | 5 Pages

The Louisiana Purchase did not go against the constitution and it eventually set the precedent for future administrations. The Purchase seemed unconstitutional as there was no precedent set by any President before Jefferson. No President had ever before tried to purchase land from a foreign power and it was therefore up for debate as to whether the President seemed to have these powers. Jefferson went against his principles by going through with the Purchase, but he understood that if the United States waited too long to make a decision, Napoleon would sell the land to another country. Furthermore, it can be argued that the Louisiana Purchase was the result of pre-existent negotiations between the U.S. and France.

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488 Words | 2 Pages

When offered the land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson accepted, using more power than he was directly given in the Constitution and a loose interpretation of the Constitution. While he believed that this furthered the nation, he worried it was unconstitutional. (C) This betrayed his firm construction and brought about a lot of criticism of his hypocrisy and growing power.

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1055 Words | 5 Pages

Jefferson is known for thinking about the people of his state first, but by purchasing the Louisiana Territory, he goes against the good for the country. Jefferson only wanted to help the people of the Democratic-Republicans and excluded the Federalists. The first reason why I think the purchase of the Louisiana Territory was not a wise decision is because of the finances that the United States had at the time. Another reason is that buying the foreign land, it went against the Constitution. Finally, it will cause further tension between the Federalists and the

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