Did Jefferson "outfederalize the federalists," as Henry Adams claimed in the late 19th century?

Answer 1

It could be said that Jefferson trod the midle ground. The spirit and content of Jefferson's inaugural address were conciliatory, and so, to a considerable extent, were the policies of his first administration. There was no attempt at wholesale reversal of Federalist policies of the preceding 12 years, and in at least two instances--the Louisiana Purchase and the Embargo Act--he was said to be even more Federalist than the Federalists themselves.

There was, however, an effort to nullify the Federalist attempt to fill the federal judiciary with partisan appointees holding office for life, and there was sufficient turnover in other federal offices to give some substance to the accusation that Jefferson introduced the spoils system. But, in spite of the very bitter controversy of the preceding years, Jefferson's inauguration ushered in no drastic or radical changes.

The acquisition of the Louisiana Territory in 1803 was of incalculable importance, nearly doubling the size of the United States. Jefferson's original plan was to purchase merely a small area at the mouth of the Mississippi River. When Napoleon offered to sell the entire territory, Jefferson saw his chance and took it, even though, as he frankly admitted, he had no constitutional authority to do so. He believed that the purchase would contribute to the security of the United States by removing from the continent a major foreign power and that it would ensure the stability of republican government for generations to come by providing a vast reservoir of land for settlers.

His overwhelming desire to avoid war led to charges of timidity and vacillation, and his Embargo Act (1807) was criticized as inconsistent with the principles of individual freedom and his former opposition to a strong national government. The act was securely based on the power given to the Congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations--a power of which Jefferson approved long before he became president--but the enforcement provisions of the act and its amendments can rightly be questioned as contravening the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable search and seizure.

Answer 2

I don't know about that, but he sure did steal their liberal interpretation of the Constitution when he bought Louisiana.

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