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unsettled, greatly to the discredit of the country. Party strife was for a short time held in check by the death of Washington at Mount Vernon, December 14, 1799. The whole country mourned for him who was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his fellow-citizens." In Europe his death was regarded as a loss to mankind, and tributes to his worth were published in were published in every civilized country.

168. The New Capital; Marshall. (1801.) — In 1800 the seat of government was moved to Washington on the Potomac, which had been chosen as the site of the new capital. The corner-stone of the Capitol building had been laid by Washington himself in 1791. For many years it was in fact what it had been called in jest, "a city of magnificent distances." Laid out on a very large scale, it was for seventy years only a straggling, ill-built town.

In 1801 Adams appointed John Marshall Chief Justice of the United States in place of Oliver Ellsworth, who had resigned on account of ill health. For thirty-four years Marshall was at the head of the national judiciary, his influence upon his associates was great, and the "Constitution since its adoption owes more to him than to any other single mind for its true interpretation and vindication."

169. Jefferson President. (1801.) — As the time came near for the election of a new President, it was evident that the Democratic-Republicans were in the majority, for the Federalists had fallen greatly in public esteem by their ill-concealed distrust of the people at large, but especially by the passage of the Alien and Sedition acts. The candidate of the Democratic-Republicans was Thomas Jefferson; of the Federalists, John Adams. When the electoral votes were

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FEDERALIST INFLUENCE.

159

counted, it was found that Jefferson and Burr, both Republicans, had a majority of the votes, but that each had received an equal number of votes. There was, therefore, no election, and by the Constitution the House of Representatives had to choose which should be President. The House, which had been elected two years before, had a Federalist majority, but were restricted in choice to candidates of the opposite party;1 on the thirty-sixth ballot for President, Jefferson was chosen, and Aaron Burr became Vice-President.

170. Federalist Influence. The Federalists seldom, if ever, had a real popular majority, and it was due to the great influence of Washington, and the implicit confidence felt in him, and also, no doubt, to the skill of Hamilton and other party leaders, that the party had retained control of the government as long as it did. Short as was this control, it had a great and permanent influence upon the country, for under it our whole system of government was shaped and set in motion. The decisions of the Supreme Court, moreover, which were deservedly much influenced by Marshall, have been mainly on Federalist lines of thought, though there have been some great exceptions, since 1835, the year of Marshall's death.

1 Constitution, Article II. sect. i. [3].

CHAPTER IX.

EXPERIMENTS IN FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC POLICY.

REFERENCES.

General. R. Hildreth, History of the United States, v. Chaps. xvi.xix.; vi. Chaps. xx.-xxiv.; Bryant and Gay, Popular History of the United States, iv. 127-184; J. Schouler, History of the United States, ii. Chaps. v.viii.; T. W. Higginson, Larger History of the United States, pp. 333-380; A. B. Hart, Formation of the Union (Epochs of American History), Chaps. ix., x.; Henry Adams, History of the United States, 1801-1817 (the latest and fullest history of the period), vols. i.-vi.; J. B. McMaster, History of the People of the United States, ii. 535-635; iii.

Biographies. - American Statesmen Series, as in references to chapter VI., and also lives of J. Q. Adams, Clay, Calhoun, Randolph, Webster, and Jackson. In Makers of America Series, lives of Jefferson, Hamilton, and Robert Fulton; James Parton, Life of Aaron Burr.

Special. For Louisiana Purchase: T. Donaldson, The Public Domain, pp. 89-105; D. C. Gilman, James Monroe, pp. 74-93; L. Carr, Missouri, pp. 36-116; C. F. Robertson, Papers of American Historical Association, i. No. 4, 1885; A. Johnston, American Orations, i. 143-169; J. R. Seeley, Expansion of England, First Course, Lecture viii. p. 157 (English edition). For Burr's Conspiracy: Henry A. Wise, Seven Decades of the Union, pp. 34-54; R. Hildreth, History of the United States, v. 594-626; A. B. Magruder, John Marshall, pp. 202-231. For the Embargo: A. Johnston, American Politics, pp. 65-68. For Orders in Council and Berlin Decrees: B. Rand, Economic History since 1763, Chap. vi. For election of Jefferson and of Madison E. Stanwood, History of Presidential Elections, pp. 45–56.

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171. Jefferson inaugurated. (1801.) The inaugural address of Jefferson was awaited with the greatest curiosity, and to the surprise of all it was a calm, dignified document, in which he foretold confidently that the great experiment of government which the people of the United States were

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