Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, is one of the most lauded, revered, and criticized presidents of our nation’s history. These statements might seem like contradictions, but Thomas Jefferson himself was a contradiction. This paper will answer why he fits these contradictory descriptions so well. This paper will do so by examining his presidency and the relationship between his executive actions and the philosophies he held so dear to get there.
By far, the most enduring aspect of Jefferson is the philosophies he held. These philosophies were brought up during his contentious debates against Hamilton during Washington’s presidency. At first, Hamilton prevailed and saw his philosophies become policies. Though, later, Jefferson was able to implement his philosophies himself. These famous philosophies of Jefferson were simple. He envisioned an agrarian democratic society, where the states had an upper hand in terms of federal-state power, and the Constitution was read in a strict sense (i.e. not permitting anything not specifically stated). In terms of foreign relations, Jefferson favored the French. This was not a long-lived love, though, with the many horrible things that happened between the U.S. and the French. These opinions held by Jefferson were opposite Hamilton, and both managed to be the foundations of their own parties: the Democratic-Republicans and the Federalists, respectively. He also hated the thought of the president holding a sense of nobility, as will become evident during his presidency.
Jefferson was elected to be president in 1800. His opponents during the electoral run were Adams, the second president who was a Federalist, and Burr, a fellow Democratic-Republican. The Federalists had...
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Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-TNJSBrFEk
Thomas Jefferson - Mini Biography by BIO | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAt1YLP3T34
[[Websites]]
Thomas Jefferson | http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/thomasjefferson
Thomas Jefferson | http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-jefferson-9353715
Thomas Jefferson | http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/thomas-jefferson-brief-biography
Thomas Jefferson | http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/jefferson.htm
[[Books]]
The Art of Power by Jon Meacham
The Works of Thomas Jefferson in 12 Volumes
Thomas Jefferson Commentaries on War and Religion
The Declaration of Independence
The American Nation: Beginnings Through 1877 by Prentice Hall
The American Pageant
[[TV]]
The History Channel's Ultimate Guide to The Presidents
PBS' The Presidents
However, the author 's interpretations of Jefferson 's decisions and their connection to modern politics are intriguing, to say the least. In 1774, Jefferson penned A Summary View of the Rights of British America and, later, in 1775, drafted the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (Ellis 32-44). According to Ellis, the documents act as proof that Jefferson was insensitive to the constitutional complexities a Revolution held as his interpretation of otherwise important matters revolved around his “pattern of juvenile romanticism” (38). Evidently, the American colonies’ desire for independence from the mother country was a momentous decision that affected all thirteen colonies. However, in Ellis’ arguments, Thomas Jefferson’s writing at the time showed either his failure to acknowledge the severity of the situation or his disregard of the same. Accordingly, as written in the American Sphinx, Jefferson’s mannerisms in the first Continental Congress and Virginia evokes the picture of an adolescent instead of the thirty-year-old man he was at the time (Ellis 38). It is no wonder Ellis observes Thomas Jefferson as a founding father who was not only “wildly idealistic” but also possessed “extraordinary naivete” while advocating the notions of a Jeffersonian utopia that unrestrained
His presidency, as the third president of the United States, started with the Revolution of 1800, the first time political parties sent candidates and campaigned. In his inaugural address, he attempted to unify the two competing political parties: “Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle… We are all Republicans; we are all Federalists.”[3] This quote his reflects Jeffersonian republicanism, which was his views of government. Jefferson implied that in order to best suit the needs of the people, we needed a simple government and to simplify all conflicts in the government. Jefferson held that the common people should control the government. Jefferson had performed the most important act of his presidency in accordance with these beliefs; purchasing the Louisiana territory from France. In 1803, Jefferson doubted whether the Constitution gave him the power to purchase the land Napoleon offered to sell to him. He bought the Louisiana territory, contrary to his own beliefs of strict interpretation of the Constitution,. This more than doubled the size of America, giving America the opportunity to create many more states. The Louisiana Purchase decreased the power of the federal government by increasing the quantity of state governments. Another one of his major accomplishments was clearing the Revolutionary debt the United States incurred. One of Jefferson’s goals as president was to pay off that
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States and viewed the office of the president to be strictly constructed by the constitution. He, like Washington, believed his power as president derived directly from the constitution and the affection of the people. Although he had a Whig theory he made the Louis...
Jefferson’s use of strategies and language is ineffective in making his points and persuading readers of his arguments. Using hasty generalization, begging the question, and insulting language in his analysis is a huge flaw which lessens the credibility of his argument and offenses his readers. Jefferson should use other argumentative strategies and prevent himself from using insulting language in order to convince readers of his arguments.
A Vision Achieved Jefferson envisioned a government that allowed its citizens to exercise inalienable rights. In exact words, he states, “ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” To be more evident, how can we define these “inalienable rights” of “life”, “liberty”, and the “pursuit of happiness?” Have these inalienable rights, achieved Jefferson’s goal? I am convinced, Jefferson’s revolutionary vision of life, liberty, and happiness has at last been achieved in America.
During the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson succeeded in defeating the incumbent, John Adams, and assumed the presidency. In terms of elections though, the election of 1800 itself was a fascinating election in that it a heavily-contested election and was effectively the first time political parties ran smear campaigns against each other during an election. The Republican Party attacked the Federalists for being anti-liberty and monarchist and tried to persuade the public that the Federalists were abusing their power through acts such as the Alien & Sedition Acts and the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion (Tindall and Shi 315). The Federalists, on the other hand, attacked Jefferson for his atheism and support of the French Revolution and warned that his election would result in chaos (316). By the end of the presidential election, neither Adams nor Jefferson emerged with his reputation completely intact. Still, rather than an election between Adams and Jefferson, the election of 1800 ultimately boiled down to a deadlock between Jefferson and his vice presidential candidate, Aaron Burr, who each held seventy-three electoral votes, resulting in the election was sent to the House of Representatives. In the end, the deadlock was resolved only by Alexander Hamilton, whose immense hate for Burr allowed Jefferson to claim the presidency. However, the election of 1800 was more than just a simple presidential election. The election of 1800 was the first peaceful transfer of power from the incumbent party to the opposition and represented a new step in politics, as well as a new direction in foreign policy that would emerge from Jefferson’s policies, and to this extent, the election of 1800 was a revolution.
Jefferson came into office on March 4, 1801 and left office on March 4, 1809. His first term’s vice president was Aaron Burr, and his second term’s vice president was George Clinton. He ran with the Democratic-Republican Party and heavily opposed the Federalist Party. Prior to his election, he had already held many positions in public office; vice president and secretary of state . Because he was preceded only by John Adams and George Washington, Jefferson played a large role in the formation of the character of the American President. For his first inaugural address, according to a reporter, “His dress was, as usual, that of a plain citizen without any distinctive badge of office.” This casual nature showed the American public that he was not a king, but a normal citizen who was there for the people, he was even known as the “Man of the People”. Many other American Presidents used that same style in order to appeal to the public.
In 1801, Thomas Jefferson was elected as the third president of the United States. His election caused turmoil between the two biggest parties at the time: the Republicans and the Federalists. The Republicans finally had more control of the government than the Federalists. Since the American government is democratic, neither one had total control of the government. If one party agreed with a proposition, the other party opposed it. There wasn’t a unity between the two parties. Jefferson’s primary point was to unify the two divided parties, one who believed that Jefferson would bring violence, a weak government, and no peace, in order to progress together while using logos and anaphora in his address.
...sition of the Federalist and wanted to limit their power, he also supported the values of the French revolution. Jefferson was anti Great Britain and he fully supported the southern planters and northern farmers. These examples demonstrate Thomas Jefferson's linear way of thinking, wanting advancement along with directing our nation into exploration and newness. Clearly, Thomas Jefferson symbolizes a strong example of a moving forward as reflected in his ownership of a pair of Chippendale chairs. Thomas Jefferson was a transitional figure that maintained his linear views in both his professional and private life.
It has been said that his particular taking of office had lead to the simplest speech stating that "essential principals" would guide his administration and would support all states with "equal and exact justice to all". And the actual changes of administration were the most peaceful of all, nothing like those previously. Jefferson’s accomplishments were most greatly seen by the ability to simplify the Republican government in the new capital by cutting back the unnecessary branches and less useful positions while replacing Federalists with Republicans. And by the year 1808, Republicans held almost all the government offices. At the same time, Jefferson fought to keep the size of the government from continuously growing.
Thomas Jefferson served as President of the United States during the early 1800s. During his time as President, he made many decisions that affected the future of the US. Among these decisions was the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France. Despite the many significant advantages of The Louisiana Purchase, it posed several significant moral dilemmas for President Thomas Jefferson, namely his perception of the extent of power given to the President in accordance with the Constitution.
The election of the 1800 was said to be the most contested and hard fought election in our history. Each candidate believed that if their opponent had won, then they would have ruined the nation. The election was between of 2nd President of the United States, John Adams, who was running as a federalist and the 3rd President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, who was a Democratic-Republican. And their running mates were, for John Adams, it was Charles Pinckney, who was a United States Ambassador to France and for Thomas Jefferson it was Aaron Burr, who was a United States Senator From New York and the 3rd Vice President of the United States. The period for the election of 1800 took place from October 31 to December 3 1800.
The specific views of Thomas Jefferson were that the powers should be reserved for the states and that agriculture was the type of work that America needed to focus on if they wanted to be a successful country.He was also a believer in letting people choose and govern themselves. If Jefferson were around today he would be considered a republican. On the other hand there was Hamilton who believed in having a big federal government which could help America become an industrial powerhouse.Also Hamilton believed in a national bank and using funding for their national debt, which is why his is called "The Father of National Debt". If Hamilton were around today he would probably be more of a democrat. One can see how these two could have much conflict
Thomas Jefferson is an outstanding role model in terms of public service and remarkable dedication to the improvement of the developing nation because of the sincerity he felt towards civic education and republicanism. The overwhelming amount of literature Jefferson expected students to be covering before going abroad to learn about other cultures and ideas about government. A common goal any functioning governing politic wants to accomplish is revealing the most promising students so that government is comprised of the truly remarkable individuals. “By this means twenty of the best geniuses will be raked from the rubbish annually, and be instructed, at the public expense, so far as the grammar schools go” (Yarbrough, p.122). Jefferson knew
Jefferson was a firm believer that people were good and able to make the best decisions for the country and for what they wanted. Jefferson voiced his opinion saying, “... according to the rules of the Constitution, all will, of course, arrange themselves under the will of the law, and unite in common efforts for the