Tag Archives: Robert Smith

3.18 – The Boys Are Back in Town

June 1, 202003 - Thomas JeffersonAlbert Gallatin, Alexander Hamilton, Chancellor Robert Livingston, Congress, East Florida, France, Gideon Granger, James Callender, James Madison, James Monroe, John Breckinridge, John Quincy Adams, John Randolph of Roanoke, John Wayles Eppes, Levi Lincoln, Louisiana, Martha Jefferson Randolph, Nathaniel Macon, Robert Smith, Sally Hemings, Samuel Harrison Smith, slavery, Spain, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Mann Randolph, Timothy Pickering, West Florida, William Branch Giles, William Duane, Wilson Cary Nicholaspresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1801-1803

Though the Louisiana Purchase Treaty had been concluded, President Jefferson understood that didn’t mean it was a done deal, and he and his administration got to work in the latter half of 1803 on getting the treaty ratified by the Senate and in pushing through legislation to carry through the purchase. However, they also had to contend with increased criticism in the press and with a gnawing concern in many minds, including that of the President, that there was nothing in the Constitution that said the United States could in fact acquire new territory. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “William Plumer, head-and-shoulders portrait, right profile” by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin [c. 1806], courtesy of Wikipedia

Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band

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3.17 – Sailing in New Waters

May 24, 202003 - Thomas JeffersonAlbert Gallatin, Anthony Merry, Barbary States, Edward Preble, Henry Dearborn, John Wayles Eppes, Lewis Harvie, Martha Jefferson Randolph, Meriwether Lewis, Robert Smith, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Mann Randolph, Tobias Lear, US Navy, William Clark, William Eatonpresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1802-1803

Despite some early successes, the US naval efforts against Tripoli languished in 1802 and early 1803, and with the cost of maintaining a squadron in the Mediterranean climbing, President Jefferson and his administration had to consider alternates in both leadership and approaches to tackle the situation. Meanwhile, various young men in Jefferson’s life moved into new roles in 1803, and the President’s personal and political realms began to overlap in new ways. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “Dutch Ships off Tripoli” by Reinier Nooms [c. mid 17th century], courtesy of Wikipedia

Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band

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3.06 – To Limited Arms

November 3, 201903 - Thomas JeffersonAaron Burr, Albert Gallatin, Alexander Hamilton, Barbary States, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Congress, Democratic-Republican Party, Edward Livingston, Federalists, George Clinton, Gideon Granger, James Madison, John Beckley, John Jay, Levi Lincoln, Meriwether Lewis, New York, Robert Smith, Samuel Smith, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Mann Randolph, US Navy, Washington DCpresidencies

Year(s) Discussed: 1795-1801

Jefferson managed to get a permanent Secretary of the Navy just in time for Commodore Dale’s naval squadron to engage in combat in the Mediterranean. In addition to that key post being filled, the administration was able to make some additional structural decisions during the final months of 1801 in time for the new congressional session in December. Meanwhile, a new opposition was organized by a key Federalist leader to ensure that Jefferson’s first annual message would not go unquestioned. Sources used for this episode can be found at http://presidencies.blubrry.com.

Featured Image: “U.S. Schooner Enterprize Capturing the Tripolitan Corsair Tripoli, 1 August 1801” by William Bainbridge Hoff [1878], courtesy of Wikipedia

Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band

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Presidencies of the United States

A journey through presidential history from the beginning to the present day

Tag Archives: Robert Smith

3.18 – The Boys Are Back in Town

3.17 – Sailing in New Waters

3.06 – To Limited Arms