Contested Nomination.

Thomas Jefferson's second term was marred by disputes within his party that threatened the nomination of James Madison as Jefferson's successor in 1808. Congressman John Randolph of Virginia objected to several administration measures that he believed deviated from strict republican principles, and he also resented Jefferson's successful interference in congressional affairs. When Georgia ceded its western lands to the federal government in 1802, the Jefferson administration inherited the problem of straightening out fraudulent land claims granted by the Georgia legislature in 1795. In 1804 Randolph vehemently opposed the recommendation of a committee composed of James Madison, Albert Gallatin, and Levi Lincoln that the federal government compensate the owners of the disputed Yazoo land claims, many of whom were northern speculators. In 1806 Randolph broke completely with Jefferson after the president simultaneously denounced Spain and requested that Congress appropriate funds to acquire Florida from Spain with French...