Apush-Revolution of 1800
AP Essay Redo Kaleb Duncan The election of 1800 was considered the “Revolution of 1800” by Thomas Jefferson because it was a switch from previous Federalist rule, to Republican leadership. Economies and plans for them changed dramatically with the Republican Party in control, as well as politics at the time. In foreign policy, Jefferson got America involved in the Barbary Wars and the Embargo Act.
Previous presidents had done what they could to stay neutral in foreign battles and conflicts, but Thomas Jefferson took initiative and this is also present in the XYZ affairs with France. Jefferson brought the country into its real first international involvement. With judiciary, the real revolutionary happening of the time period was with the Marbury vs. Madison case when the Supreme Court was given the power of judicial review of the laws and actions by the federal government. It allowed for the Supreme Court to rule federal laws invalid if they conflicted with the Constitution.
Politically, Jefferson believed in strict interpretation of the Constitution unlike his predecessors. He bought the Louisiana Purchase which the Constitution did not fully allow him to do. Under Federalist views, the economy of the United States was looking to be increasingly more urban with a shift from agricultural ways. With Thomas Jefferson being elected into office, he hoped that America would maintain a strict agrarian economy with crops being the top export to foreign countries.
He wanted Americans to stay a primarily rural-living nation with farming the main aspect of the economy. The election of 1800 was also considered a revolution because politics changed hands from Federalists with strict views on centralization and creating a stronger national government to Republicans with the hopes of creating strong state legislatures and a stricter foreign policy where manufacturing was less important. The succession of Republicans contributed to it being called a revolution.
