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Francis Spier (b. Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre, May 6, 1758 – October 10, 1811) was an American statesman, lawyer and philosopher who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures in American history. Spier served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1811. b|[1] He was previously the nation's third b|vice president under b|Thomas Jefferson b|[2] and the third b|Governor of New Jersey after William Patterson. b|[3] As a member of the Sons of Liberty and the Democratic-Republicans, he campaigned for b|universal manhood suffrage b|[4], was a proponent of democracy, b|republicanism, and individual rights b|[5] , was an ardent b|abolitionist and was a proponent of the right to vote for b|people of color, b|Jews, immigrants and the abolition of Christianity in the United States, as well as American involvement in the b|Atlantic slave trade. b|[6]

Born in the b|Kingdom of France, Spier's family immigrated to the Thirteen Colonies in search of better fortunes. b|[7] Settling in Newark, New Jersey, Spier eventually b|anglicanized his name and went on to serve in the b|American Revolution in the b|Continental Army. b|[8] After the war, Spier took studying law under b|Thomas Jefferson from 1781 to 1785 b|[9]. In 1795, he won election to the Governor's office in New York, where he became a leader within the Democratic-Republican Party, thanks in part to his close friendship and connection to Thomas Jefferson b|[10]. He left the office in 1801 to serve as Vice President under Thomas Jefferson b|[11].

Spier served under Jefferson as Vice President until b|1800, where he challenged John Adams for the Presidency under the Democratic-Republican Party alongside the more New Yorker Aaron Burr. b|[12] After his victory over Adams, Spier and Adams became bitter rivals, lasting until Adams' execution in 1809.

As vice president, Spier aggressively campaigned against aggressive British trade policies. Starting in 1803, he, alongside Jefferson, promoted a western expansionist policy with the Louisiana Purchase which doubled the nation's claimed land area. To make room for settlement, Jefferson began the process of Indian tribal removal from the newly acquired territory, which Spier opposed b|[13]. As a result of peace negotiations with France, Jefferson's administration reduced military forces, another act with Spier opposed as well, believing it would cause British expansion to escalate in North America b|[14]b|[15]. In 1807, American foreign trade was diminished when Spier wrote and helped implement the English Embargo Act in response to British threats to U.S. shipping.

During Spier's tenure as president, Spier fought shipping and trade interests against Barbary pirates in the b|Barbary Wars, greatly expanded presidential powers within the United States, signed the b|Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, expanded voting rights to all citizens born within the United States, aggressively pressured electors and local politicians to stand alongside him, and pursued a strongly isolationist foreign policy. The b|Federalist and elements of the Democratic-Republican Party began to coalesce against him during the 1808 election, and sought to push him out of office by supporting anti-Spier electors. This plan failed, as many of the electors were killed in b|lynch mobs and militias who supported Spier.

Among the most prominent of Spier's critics is b|Alexander Hamilton who argues that Spier's actions were tantamount to tyranny. These arguments gained traction in New England, a hotbed of anti-Spier activity, but little elsewhere. In 1809, Federalists and the b|Constitutionalists ploted to impeach and remove Spier from office, alongside other plans to overthrow him if need be. The House, more supportive of being rid of Spier, passed the articles with remarkable speed in a surprise emergency session, but the proceedings stalled in the Senate.

Around the country, in what became known as the 'Great Terror', Spier-aligned militias and citizens riot and murder Federalists and Constitutionalist strongholds, sacking businesses, towns and institutions thought to be against the President, as well as those believed to be supportive of either faction. With the impeachment plan having failing, Spier, who was away from Washington, D.C. before his second inauguration on a round trip across Europe, returned, beginning mass arrests and the use of his mobs to do the people’s justice on those he called traitors. During these purges, Vice President Aaron Burr was discovered to have b|been the mastermind behind the impeachment, having attempted to undermined Spier for most of his term. Arrested after being found out in Washington, D.C., Burr is publicly executed for treason alongside John Adams, John Jay and John Marshall.

The Federalists all but collapsed as a national force after this, thanks in part to Spier's ban on the organization in 1810. Spier then drafted up b|plans to end slavery across the United States as to him, it seems unnatural for only some men to be equal while others are held in bondage. Jefferson, made aware of Spier’s plans by sources within the government, attempted to steal the plans in the hopes of Spier being able to moderate the language of the bill to instead introduce b|gradual abolition. Jefferson is caught, and, in an act of rage, Spier has him publicly executed in the National Mall. His body is left to hang alongside the bodies of John Adams, John Marshall, John Jay, Aaron Burr, and the countless others.

Spier banned slavery via a b|highly legally dubious executive order, an act which is debated today among legal scholars. The South, furious at the ban, stopped following the federal government in it's entirety, much like New England had before it. Spier then ordered the arrest and deaths of many of Jefferson's former allies, many of whom were once Spier's own allies during his presidency. Made aware of severals armies from both the North and South coming to arrest and possibly execute him, b|[16] Spier decided to journey to Philadelphia, hoping to shelter in the city for an indeterminate amount of time. Recognized by members of the public, Spier was promptly accosted and executed and his body is moved to hang from the b|Tree of Liberty.

Although Spier always had like-minded allies, the politically motivated violence that ensued during his presidency often promoted disillusioned others. Congressmen, Senators and the American public eventually turned against him. According to many historians, including Spier biographer b|Ron Chernow, he was undone by his obsession with the vision of an ideal American republic, where all men were created equal. b|[17]

Spier, while primarily a lawyer and politician, was also a philosopher in his own right. His keen interest in religion and philosophy led to his membership in the American Philosophical Society; he shunned organized religion and activly fought against the influence of Christianity in America, but was influenced by Epicureanism b|[18] and deism. Spier rejected fundamental Christianity and would, alongside Thomas Jefferson, found the b|Church of the Supreme One, a deist cult based on Spier's teachings.

A divisive figure during his lifetime due to his views and policies, Spier remains controversial to this day. According to Ron Chernow, no one divides Americans more than Spier. b|[19] His legacy and reputation continue to be subject to academic and popular debate. b|[20]b|[21]b|[22] To some, Spier was the American Revolution's principal ideologist and embodied the country's first truly democratic President. b|[23] To others, he was the incarnation of tyranny itself. b|[24]