Timeline of the Thomas Jefferson presidency

The presidency of Thomas Jefferson began on March 4, 1801, when Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated as the 3rd president of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1809, after two terms.

• March 4 – Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated as the third president of the United States. This is the first inauguration to take place in Washington, D.C. Aaron Burr is inaugurated as vice president.^[1][2] Jefferson retains Samuel Dexter as Secretary of the Treasury^[3] and Benjamin Stoddert as Secretary of the Navy.^[4]
• March 5 – Jefferson nominates James Madison to be Secretary of State.^[5] He nominates Henry Dearborn to be Secretary of War.^[6] Levi Lincoln becomes Attorney General^[7] and also serves as interim Secretary of State.^[8]
• March 11 – Building regulations in Washington, D.C. are modified to make housing more affordable by lifting the requirement that houses by made of brick or stone.^[2]
• March 12 – Jefferson issues a pardon for David Brown, who had been convicted of sedition.^[2]
• March 16 – Jefferson issues a pardon for James T. Callender, who had been convicted of sedition.^[2]
• March 23 – Jefferson selects William Kilty as a recess appointment to be chief judge of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia.^[9]
• March 31 – Benjamin Stoddert's tenure as Secretary of the Navy ends.^[4]

• April 3 – Jefferson selects David L. Barnes to serve on the District Court for the District of Rhode Island as a recess appointment to succeed Benjamin Bourne.^[9]

• May 2 – James Madison takes office as Secretary of State.^[5]
• May 6 – Samuel Dexter's tenure as Secretary of the Treasury ends.^[3]
• May 9 – Jefferson selects Henry Potter to serve on the U.S. Circuit Court for the Fifth Circuit as a recess appointment.^[9]
• May 14
  • Yusuf Karamanli, the pasha of Tripoli, declares war on the United States. Tripoli had demanded additional payment for protection from piracy, but the United States had refused. This begins the First Barbary War.^[1]
  • Albert Gallatin becomes Secretary of the Treasury to fill the vacancy left by Samuel Dexter.^[3]
• May 20 – Jefferson deploys ships to fight Tripoli.^[2][10]
• May 30 – Jefferson selects Theodore Gaillard as a recess appointment to serve as chief judge of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Fifth Circuit, but Gaillard declines.^[11]

• June 2 – Jefferson arrives at Mount Vernon to express condolences to Martha Washington.^[10] She later describes the experience as painful.^[2]
• June 6 – Jefferson appoints Charles Pinckney as Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain, serving concurrently alongside the incumbent David Humphreys.^[12]

• July 1 – Jefferson selects Dominic Augustin Hall to serve on the U.S. Circuit Court for the Fifth Circuit as a recess appointment.^[9]
• July 4 – Jefferson holds the first public reception at the White House.^[2]
• July 10 – Jefferson appoints William C. C. Claiborne as governor of the Mississippi Territory.^[1]
• July 27 – Robert Smith becomes Secretary of the Navy to fill the vacancy left by Benjamin Stoddert.^[13]
• July 31 – The Convention of 1800 between France and the United States comes into effect after it is ratified by France.^[14]

• September 9 – William Loughton Smith ends his tenure as Minister Plenipotentiary to Portugal. A successor is not appointed and the position will remain vacant until 1810.^[12]

• October 22 – Jefferson selects William Stephens as a recess appointment for the District Court for the District of Georgia.^[9]
• October 24 – The United States signs the Treaty of Chickasaw Bluffs with the Chickasaw.^[15]

• December 6 – Jefferson appoints Robert R. Livingston as Minister Plenipotentiary to France after a vacancy of approximately five years.^[12]
• December 7 – The 7th United States Congress convenes for its first session.^[16]
• December 8 – Jefferson delivers the 1801 State of the Union Address in writing, breaking with tradition of reading it personally, and it is read by the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Following Jefferson, no president will deliver the address in person until Woodrow Wilson.^[1]
• December 17 – The United States signs the Treaty of Fort Adams with the Choctaw.^[15]
• December 18 – David Humphreys ends his tenure as Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain, leaving Charles Pinckney as the sole individual holding the position.^[12]
• December 19 – The Senate passes a resolution declaring the Convention of 1800 fully ratified.^[14]
• December 21 – Jefferson proclaims the Convention of 1800 between France and the United States.^[14]

• January 1 – Jefferson writes to the Danbury Baptists explaining his beliefs on the separation of church and state in the United States.^[10]
• January 6 – Jefferson nominates recess appointments David Leonard Barnes, Dominic Augustin Hall, William Kilty, Henry Potter, and Williams Stephens to continue serving on their respective courts.^[9]
• January 8 – The United Kingdom and the United States negotiate American payment to British citizens per the Jay Treaty and a commission rules that the United States owes £600,000 equivalent to $63,332,143 in 2023).^[1]
• January 26
  • The Library of Congress is established.^[2]
  • The Senate confirms Jefferson's earlier recess appointments and they receive their commissions.^[9]

• February 6 – The United States Congress recognizes a state of war with Tripoli and authorizes merchant ships to arm themselves.^[1]

• March 8 – The Midnight Judges Act is repealed.^[2][17]
• March 16
  • The United States Army is shrunk to its 1796 numbers.^[1]
  • Authorization to form the United States Military Academy of West Point is signed into law.^[1] It is intended to train military engineers.^[17]

• April 6
  • The government repeals its excise taxes on several products, including whiskey.^[1][2]
  • Jefferson nominates Henry Potter, his previous appointment on the Circuit Court for the Fifth Circuit, to the District Court for the Albemarle, Cape Fear & Pamptico Districts of North Carolina|District Court for the Albemarle, Cape Fear & Pamptico Districts of North Carolina.^[9]
• April 7 – The Senate confirms Henry Potter's judicial appointment and he receives his commission.^[9]
• April 14 – The Naturalization Act of 1802 replaces the Naturalization Act of 1798. It reduces the residency requirements for citizenship from fourteen years to five.^[1][2] It also allowed citizenship for anyone under 21 when their parents became naturalized citizenship.^[17]
• April 24 – Georgia cedes the Yazoo lands to the federal government.^[1]
• April 26 – The Senate ratifies the negotiations of the Jay Treaty with the United Kingdom.^[18]
• April 27 – Jefferson nominates Edward Harris to serve on the Circuit Court for the Fifth Circuit.^[9]
• April 29
  • The Judiciary Act of 1802 reduces the number of Supreme Court justices to six and has each Supreme Court justice take a position as the head of a circuit court.^[17] It also relocates the Supreme Court to Washington, D.C.^[2]
  • Annual appropriations of $7.3 million (equivalent to $196,600,000 in 2024) are authorized to pay the public debt.^[17]
  • Edward Harris is confirmed to the Circuit Court for the Fifth Circuit.^[9]
• April 30 – The Enabling Act of 1802 is signed into law, creating a path to statehood for territories organized under the Northwest Ordinance.^[1][19]

• May 3
  • Washington, D.C. is incorporated as a city. The president is granted the power to appoint its mayor.^[1]
  • Edward Harris receives his commission for the Circuit Court for the Fifth Circuit.^[9]
  • The 7th United States Congress adjourns from its first session.^[16]

• June 16 – The United States signs the Treaty of Fort Wilkinson with the Creek people.^[15]
• June 30 – The United States signs two Treaties of Buffalo Creek with the Seneca people.^[15]

• July 1 – The Circuit Court for the Fifth Circuit is abolished.^[9]
• July 4 – The U.S. Military Academy at West Point opens.^[17]
• July 10 – The United Kingdom ratifies the negotiations of the Jay Treaty.^[18]
• July 15 – The negotiations of the Jay Treaty enter into force.^[18]

• August 11 – Spain and the United States sign a convention to resolve financial disputes.^[20]

• September 1 – James T. Callendar publishes an accusation in the Richmond Recorder alleging that Jefferson had children with his own slave, Sally Hemings.^[2] Previously an ally of Jefferson, Callendar felt betrayed when he was not appointed postmaster of Richmond, Virginia.^[10]
• September 2 – William Vans Murray ends his tenure as Minister Resident to the Netherlands. A successor is not appointed and the position will remain vacant until 1815.^[12]

• October 17 – The United States signs the Treaty of Fort Confederation with the Choctaw.^[15]

• December 6 – The 7th United States Congress convenes from its second session.^[16]
• December 15 – Jefferson delivers the 1802 State of the Union Address in writing.^[2]

• January 11 – Jefferson appoints James Monroe as U.S. Minister to France and Spain alongside the incumbent minister plenipotentiaries.^[1][2] He tasks Monroe with negotiating the purchase of New Orleans from France as well as East Florida and West Florida from Spain.^[1]
• January 18 – Jefferson secretly asks Congress to fund commerce negotiations with Indian tribes and westward exploration.^[2]

• February 19 – Ohio is admitted as the seventeenth U.S. state.^[1][2]
• February 24 – The Supreme Court issues its ruling in Marbury v. Madison. It determines that Judiciary Act of 1789 violates the Constitution and is invalidated. This sets a precedent that the Supreme Court has the power of judicial review, although it will not be exercised again until Dred Scott v. Sandford in 1857.^[1]
• February 26 – Borrowed funds are allocated to purchase New Orleans and West Florida.^[21]
• February 28 – The Slave Trade Act of 1803 imposes a $1,000 fine (equivalent to $25,000 in 2024) for each person brought to the United States in the slave trade.^[21]

• March 1 – Jefferson nominates Charles Willing Byrd to a new seat on the District Court for the District of Ohio.^[9]
• March 3
  • The Militia Act of 1803 empowers the president to have state governments raise militias of up to 80,000 men.^[21]
  • The Senate confirms Charles Willing Byrd as a district court judge and he receives his commission.^[9]
  • The 7th United States Congress adjourns from its second session.^[16]

• April 19 – Spain allows American merchants access to New Orleans.^[1][2]
• April 30 – James Monroe and U.S. minister to France Robert R. Livingston sign the Louisiana Purchase. They had originally sought the purchase of New Orleans, but Napoleon offered to sell the entirety of Louisiana. The Federalist Party accuses Jefferson of hypocrisy because he had previously criticized them for taking action that was not explicitly authorized by the Constitution, which the acquisition of territory was not.^[1]

• May 16 – Rufus King ends his tenure as Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom. The position will remain vacant until James Monroe's appointment in August.^[12]
• May 22 – France ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.^[22]
• May 23 – Jefferson sends a Navy commission commanded by Edward Preble to Tripoli.^[1][2]

• June 7 – The United States signs the Treaty of Fort Wayne with the Delaware, Eel River, Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Miami, Piankeshaw, Potawatomi, Shawnee, and Wea peoples.^[15]

• July 4 – The Louisiana Purchase is announced in the United States. Jefferson proposes a constitutional amendment that would authorize the purchase, expel Indian tribes in the area, and forbid settlement north of the 33rd parallel. Congress will reject the amendment in October but authorize the purchase.^[10]

• August 7 – The United States signs the Treaty of Vincennes with the Eel River, Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Piankeshaw, and Wyandot peoples.^[15]
• August 13 – The United States signs the Treaty of Vincennes with the Kaskaskia.^[15]
• August 17 – Jefferson appoints James Monroe as Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom to fill the vacancy left by Rufus King.^[12]
• August 31
  • Meriwether Lewis begins traveling from Pittsburgh on route to join William Clark as co-leaders of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.^[1]
  • The United States signs the Treaty of Hoe Buckintoopa with the Choctaw.^[15]

• October 17
  • The 8th United States Congress convenes for its first session.^[16]
  • Jefferson delivers the 1803 State of the Union Address in writing.^[2]
• October 20 – The Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.^[22][23]
• October 21 – The Louisiana Purchase enters into force.^[22]
• October 31 – Stock certifications totaling $11,250,000 (equivalent to $285,180,000 in 2024) are authorized to pay for the Louisiana Purchase.^[23]

• November 10 – Funding is authorized for the Louisiana Purchase.^[2]
• November 21 – Jefferson appoints Nicholas Battaile Fitzhugh to the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia.^[9]
• November 25 – The Senate confirms Nicholas Battaile Fitzhugh and he receives his commission.^[9]

• December 9 – The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. It ends the practice of selecting the runner-up of presidential elections to be vice president. This followed the difficulty of resolving the 1800 presidential election.^[1][2]
• December 19 – The Bankruptcy Act of 1800 is repealed.^[23]
• December 20 – The flag of the United States is raised in New Orleans to inaugurate the Louisiana Purchase.^[1]

• January 9 – The Senate ratifies a treaty with Spain to resolve financial disputes. The convention had originally been signed in August 1802, and it would not be ratified by Spain until July 1818.^[20]

• February 16 – Stephen Decatur burns the American frigate USS Philadelphia at the harbor in Tripoli, denying it from the state of Tripoli following its capture the previous October.^[1]

• March 12 – Justice Samuel Chase is impeached for using his position for political purposes.^[2]
• March 22 – Jefferson nominates William Johnson to succeed Alfred Moore on the Supreme Court of the United States. He nominates John S. Sherburne to the District Court for the District of New Hampshire ^[9]
• March 23 – The National Bank Act of 1804 authorizes offices of discount and deposit in territories outside of the states.^[23]
• March 24 – The Senate confirms William Johnson to the Supreme Court and John S. Sherburne to his district court appointment.^[9]
• March 26
  • The Louisiana Territory Act establishes the District of Louisiana and the Territory of Orleans from the Louisiana Purchase.^[1]
  • The Land Act of 1804 reduced the lower limit of public land purchases from 320 acres to 160 acres and authorized annual installments.^[23]
  • William Johnson and John S. Sherburne receive their judicial commissions.^[9]
• March 27 – The 8th United States Congress adjourns from its first session.^[16]

• April 17 – Jefferson's daughter Mary Jefferson Eppes dies in childbirth at the age of 25.^[10]

• June 13 – Abigail Adams writes to Jefferson expressing her condolences for the death of his daughter. The two briefly maintain cordial relations until political animosity returns.^[10]
• June 15 – The Twelfth Amendment is ratified in time to establish new procedures for the 1804 presidential election.^[1]

• July 11 – Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shoots Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Burr had been campaigning for the 1804 New York gubernatorial election when he was insulted by Hamilton, prompting him to challenge Hamilton to a duel. Burr is condemned by the public and will flee west after his vice presidency ends.^[1]
• July 12 – Hamilton dies from his gunshot wound inflicted by Burr.^[1][10]

• August 18 – The United States signs the Treaty of Vincennes with the Delaware.^[15]
• August 27 – The United States signs the Treaty of Vincennes with the Piankeshaw.^[15]

• October 24 – The United States signs the Treaty of Tellico with the Cherokee.^[15]

• November 3 – The United States signs the Treaty of St. Louis with the Fox and Sauk peoples.^[15]
• November 5 – The 8th United States Congress convenes for its second session.^[16]
• November 8 – Jefferson delivers the 1804 State of the Union Address in writing.^[2]
• November 13 – The 1804 United States elections take place.^[1] Jefferson runs against Federalist Charles Pinckney in the presidential election.^[2]
• November 18 – John Armstrong Jr. succeeds Robert R. Livingston as Minister Plenipotentiary to France.^[12]

• December 5 – Jefferson is declared the winner of the 1804 presidential election. George Clinton, previously the Governor of New York, is elected vice president.^[1]

• January 11 – The creation of the Michigan Territory, using land of the Indiana Territory, is authorized. Detroit is named its capital.^[23]

• March 1
  • The impeachment of Samuel Chase ends in acquittal.^[2]
  • Jefferson appoints Daniel D. Tompkins to the District Court for the District of New York. Tompkins is confirmed the following day but declines the commission.^[11]
• March 3
  • The District of Louisiana is reorganized as the Louisiana Territory.^[24]
  • Levi Lincoln's tenure as attorney general ends.^[7]
  • The 8th United States Congress adjourns from its second session.^[16]
• March 4 – Jefferson is inaugurated for his second term as president.^[1][10]

• April 7 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition delivers a report on its progress so far and leaves Fort Mandan in present-day North Dakota.^[10]
• April 26 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition reaches the mouth of the Yellowstone River in present-day Montana.^[1]
• April 27 – The United States Marine Corps and Arab mercenaries, led by William Eaton, capture the port city of Derna in Tripoli.^[1]

• May 16 – Jefferson appoints Henry Brockholst Livingston to the District Court for the District of New York as a recess appointment, but Livingston declines the commission.^[11]

• June 4 – The First Barbary War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Tripoli.^[1][2]
• June 12 – Jefferson selects Matthias B. Tallmadge as a recess appointment to the District Court for the District of New York.^[9]

• July 4 – The United States signs the Treaty of Fort Industry with the Delaware, Chippewa, Munsee, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Shawnee, and Wyandot peoples.^[15]
• July 23
  • The United Kingdom invokes the Rule of 1756 to seize American ships in neutral ports.^[1][2]
  • Former Vice President Aaron Burr arrives in New Orleans amid rumors that he intents to form his own country.^[1]
  • The United States signs the Treaty of Chickasaw County with the Chickasaw.^[15]

• August 7 – John Breckinridge becomes attorney general to fill the vacancy left by Levi Lincoln.^[25]
• August 12 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition reaches the Continental Divide in present-day Montana.^[2]
• August 21 – The United States signs the Treaty of Grouseland with the Delaware, Eel River, Miami, Potawatomi, and Wea peoples.^[15]

• September 23 – The United States signs the Treaty of St. Peters with the Sioux.^[26]

• October 25
  • Charles Pinckney's tenure as Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain ends. He is succeeded by George William Erving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.^[12]
  • The United States signs the Treaty of Tellico with the Cherokee.^[15]
• October 27 – The United States signs the Cotton Gin Treaty with the Cherokee.^[15]

• November 7 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition reaches the West Coast.^[1][2]
• November 14 – The United States signs the Treaty of Washington with the Creeks.^[15]
• November 16 – The United States signs the Treaty of Mount Dexter with the Choctaw.^[15]

• December 2 – The 9th United States Congress convenes for its first session.^[16]
• December 3 – Jefferson delivers the 1805 State of the Union Address in writing. He delivers a second message to Congress secretly to inform them he was negotiating additional territorial acquisitions with France and needs funding.^[1]
• December 20 – Jefferson nominates his previous recess appointment Matthias B. Tallmadge to the District Court for the District of New York.^[9]
• December 23 – The Senate confirms Matthias B. Tallmadge to the District Court for the District of New York.^[9]
• December 30 – The United States signs the Treaty of Vincennes with the Piankashaw.^[15]

• January 7 – The United States signs the Cotton Gin Treaty with the Cherokee.^[15]
• January 17 – Matthias B. Tallmadge receives his commission to serve on the District Court for the District of New York.^[9]

• February 21 – Jefferson nominates Pierpont Edwards to the District Court for the District of Connecticut.^[9] He nominates William Cranch of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia to the court's chief judge seat to fill a vacancy left by William Kilty.^[9]
• February 24 – The Senate confirms Pierpont Edwards and William Cranch to their seats and they receive their commissions.^[9]
• February 28 – Jefferson nominates Allen Bowie Duckett to fill the vacancy left by William Cranch on the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia.^[9]

• March 3 – The Senate confirms Allen Bowie Duckett to serve on the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia.^[9]
• March 17 – Allen Bowie Duckett receives his commission for the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia.^[9]
• March 23 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition begins moving east to return to the United States.^[2]
• March 29 – Congress authorizes a commission to plan the Cumberland Road from Cumberland, Maryland, to Weeling, Virginia (present-day West Virginia) to assist transportation to and from the Ohio River.^[27]

• April 12 – The Senate ratifies the June 1805 peace treaty with Tripoli.^[28]
• April 17 – The peace treaty with Tripoli enters into force.^[28]
• April 18 – The Non-importation Act restricts imports from the United Kingdom in response to British seizures of American ships.^[1][2] It is set to take effect on November 15, but enforcement is postponed while negotiations continue.^[27]
• April 19
  • Jefferson nominates Monroe and William Pinkney to negotiate with the United Kingdom and resolve naval conflict between the nations.^[10]
  • Jefferson nominates James Houston to the District Court for the District of Maryland.^[9]
• April 21
  • The office of Superintendent of Indian Trade is established to oversee government trading posts with Native American tribes.^[27]
  • The Enforcement of Counterfeiting Prevention Act establishes penalties for counterfeiting and grants marshals and district attorneys investigative and prosecutory powers.^[27]
  • The Senate confirms James Houston to the District Court for the District of Maryland and he receives his commission.^[9]
  • The 9th United States Congress adjourns from its first session.^[16]

• July 14 – Joseph Hamilton Daveiss writes to Jefferson accusing Burr of inciting rebellion in Spanish territory. This follows about five months of letters from Daveiss expressing concerns about Burr.^[10]
• July 15 – The Pike Expedition begins when Zebulon Pike travels to the present-day Southwestern United States.^[1][2]

• August 27 – Monroe and Pinkney begin negotiations with Lord Holland of the United Kingdom.^[1][2]

• September 23 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition ends when it arrives in St. Louis.^[1][2]

• October 21 – Congress establishes an organizational structure for the military.^[1]

• November 10 – Jefferson selects Henry Brockholst Livingston to serve on the Supreme Court as a recess appointment.^[9]
• November 15 – The Pike Expedition reaches the mountain that will eventually be named Pikes Peak in Pike's honor.^[1]
• November 27 – Worrying that Burr was going to invade and annex Spanish territory, Jefferson issues a proclamation warning the American people not to participate.^[1][10]

• December 1 – The 9th United States Congress convenes for its second session.^[16]
• December 2 – Jefferson delivers the 1806 State of the Union Address in writing.^[2]
• December 12 – Jefferson requests that Congress ban the slave trade.^[1]
• December 13 – Jefferson nominates his Supreme Court recess appointment Henry Brockholst Livingston.^[9]
• December 14 – John Breckinridge, the incumbent attorney general, dies.^[25]
• December 17 – The Senate confirms Henry Brockholst Livingston to the Supreme Court.^[9]

• January 16 – Henry Brockholst Livingston receives his commission to serve on the Supreme Court.^[9]
• January 17 – Burr is captured near New Orleans but escapes.^[10]
• January 20 – Caesar Augustus Rodney becomes attorney general to fill the vacancy left by John Breckinridge.^[29]
• January 22 – Jefferson delivers a message to Congress warning of Burr's activities.^[2]

• February 10 – A survey of the American coasts is authorized.^[27]
• February 19 – Burr is arrested at Fort Stoddert.^[1]
• February 24 – The Seventh Circuit Act of 1807 expands the Supreme Court from six members to seven and reorganizes the federal courts in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee.^[2]
• February 28 – Jefferson nominates Thomas Todd to fill the new seat on the Supreme Court.^[9]

• March 2
  • The importation of slaves to the United States is banned, effective January 1, 1808.^[1][27]
  • The Senate confirms Jefferson's nomination of Thomas Todd to the Supreme Court.^[9]
• March 3
  • The Insurrection Act of 1807 replaces the Calling Forth Act of 1792 in response to Burr's political activity. It authorizes the president to use land or naval forces at his discretion to suppress insurrection.^[2]
  • Thomas Todd receives his commission to serve on the Supreme Court.^[9]
  • The 9th United States Congress adjourns from its second session.^[16]
• March 12 – The Embargo Act of 1807 is signed into law, authorizing the transport of American goods from foreign ports.^[1]

• June 22 – A battle takes place between the British fourth-rate HMS Leopard and the American frigate USS Chesapeake in Chesapeake Bay. the Chesapeake–Leopard affair. The Chesapeake had refused to turn over the British deserters it carried, prompting the Leopard to open fire.^[1][2]
• June 25 – Jefferson calls an emergency cabinet meeting in response to the attack on the USS Chesapeake.^[10]

• August 31 – In his capacity as a circuit court judge, Supreme Justice John Marshall rejects the evidence submitted to prove Burr had committed treason.^[2]

• September 1 – Aaron Burr is acquitted of treason.^[1][2]

• October 7 – James Monroe ends his tenure as Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom. The position will remain vacant until the appointment of William Pinkney the following April.^[12]
• October 15 – Jefferson grants pardons to deserters who return to duty.^[2]
• October 17 – Negotiations with the United Kingdom fail as it declares it will continue in its naval hostilities against the United States.^[1]
• October 26 – The 10th United States Congress convenes for its first session.^[16]
• October 27 – Jefferson delivers the 1807 State of the Union Address in writing.^[2]

• November 10 – The United States signs the Treaty of Fort Clark with the ^[15][30]
• November 11 – The United Kingdom issues the 1807 Orders in Council, which demand that nations trading with France also pay tribute to the United Kingdom.^[1][2]
• November 17 – The United States signs the Treaty of Detroit with the Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Wyandot peoples.^[15]
• November 26 – The United States signs the Treaty of Brownstown with the Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Shawnee, and Wyandot peoples.^[15]

• December 10 – Jefferson announces he will not seek a third term as president.^[2]
• December 18 – The Non-importation Act takes effect.^[10]
• December 17 – France issues the Milan Decree, which demands that nations stop trading with the United Kingdom and threatens to confiscate any ship that pays it tribute.^[1]
• December 22 – The Embargo Act of 1807 is passed as a response to British and French trade policies, banning Americans from engaging in any foreign trade.^[1] It proves unpopular among the American people.^[2]

• January 1 – The importation of slaves is banned in the United States.^[1][2]
• January 9 – The Second Embargo Act expands the restrictions on foreign trade.^[31]

• March 12 – The Third Embargo Act is passed, banning all exportation of good and raising associated penalties.^[31]

• April 17 – France issues the Bayonne Decree, authorizing the seizure of American ships docking in Europe.^[1][2]
• April 19 – Jefferson issues a proclamation ordering the end of insurrection in the area around Lake Champlain, which had erupted in protest of the Embargo Act.^[2][10]
• April 25
  • The Enforcement Act of 1808 places restriction on ships' travel and authorizes searches to ensure no foreign trade takes place.^[31]
  • The 10th United States Congress adjourns from its first session.^[16]
• April 27 – Jefferson appoints William Pinkney as the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom to fill the vacancy left by James Monroe.^[12]

• November 7 – The 10th United States Congress convenes for its second session.^[16]
• November 8
  • The 1808 United States elections take place.^[1][2]
  • Jefferson delivers the 1808 State of the Union Address in writing.^[2]

• December 7 – James Madison wins the 1808 presidential election. George Clinton is elected vice president.^[1]
• December 30 – Jefferson convenes a special session of the Senate.^[2]

• January 9 – The Enforcement Act of 1809 expands federal power to investigate violations of the embargo on foreign trade and allows the president to enforce it through military action.^[31]

• February 3 – The Illinois Territory is authorized, effective March 1.^[2] It is created from the land of the Indiana Territory, and Kaskaskia is named its capital.^[31]
• February 8 – Congress reads the electoral votes for the 1808 presidential election.^[2]

• March 1 – The Embargo Act is replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act, which only bans trade with France and the United Kingdom. The total ban on foreign trade had caused harm to the economy of the United States.^[1]
• March 3 – The 10th United States Congress adjourns from its second session.^[16]
• March 4 – Jefferson's presidency ends and Madison is inaugurated as the fourth president of the United States.^[1]

• Bevans, Charles I. (1968). Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949. United States Department of State.
• Stathis, Stephen W. (2014). Landmark Legislation 1774–2012: Major U.S. Acts and Treaties (2nd ed.). CQ Press. ISBN 978-1-4522-9230-4.