In the period of 1800 to 1810, the power dynamic between the Federalists and Republicans shifted as Thomas Jefferson, the founder of Jeffersonian-Republicans, was elected into office. However, rather than sticking to the ideals that made Republicans such strict constructionists, Jefferson went on to interpret the Constitution rather loosely during his time in office. Thomas Jefferson is quite a complicated character in history as despite writing the iconic and long time debated phrase “all men are created equal,” he himself held many slaves in his Monticello plantation. It is inferred that Jefferson was hopeful that slavery in the south would eventually come to an end, but alas he never lived to see just how deeply the fight over slavery would divide the country. As the population of the United States doubled every generation, Jefferson along with many other influential figures recognized the need for expansion, and thus eyes all over the country looked westward for the future of the nation. Originally, Jefferson only wanted to buy the French territory of New Orleans; the city possessing the mouth of the Mississippi river. If it had not been for revolts in the French territory of Haiti, the impatient Napoleon may have never been quite as keen on purging the idea of a new French Empire in North …show more content…
Jefferson believed that Burr’s trip to the west after the accusations flooded in was an attempt to get Louisiana to secede, when in actuality Burr went westward to find himself in a sense. During the trial for Burr’s treason charges, Chief Justice John Marshall acquitted Burr, ruling that the charges against him were unconstitutional. Burr’s trial made it so that treason could not be used as a political weapon as it frequently had been in