The Jeffersonian Republic

Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated in 1801 after a real nail-biter of an election against John Adams. His victory essentially wiped out the Federalist party and triggered a new era of Democratic-Republican rule. During his administration, Jefferson reduced government spending and decreased taxes, repealed the Alien and Sedition Acts, remained neutral in the European crisis of the Napoleonic Wars, and secured the Louisiana Purchase, among other things.