The Presidential Term of Thomas Jefferson - Research Paper Example

4 November The Presidential Term of Thomas Jefferson Introduction: Thomas Jefferson has been renowned as one of the greatest Presidents ofthe United States of America. He was the third President of the United States and served the country with the honour of his Presidency from 1801-1809. Thomas Jefferson formed the Democrat-Republican party and was elected as the third President of the United States from that party. He made significant contributions in the country of United by means of his Presidency. “Thomas Jefferson -- author of the Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, third president of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia -- voiced the aspirations of a new America as no other individual of his era. As public official, historian, philosopher, and plantation owner, he served his country for over five decades.” (Brief Biography of Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson's Monticello 1) The election of President Thomas Jefferson was regarded as the coming of revolution in the United States. Thomas Jefferson initiated many changes and developments in the state of United States. One of the main changes and developments with regard to annexation of different territories was the Louisiana Pact from France in 1803. In domestic affairs Jefferson tried to weaken Federalist influences, especially in the judiciary, and succeeded in limiting the size of government by reducing taxes and the national debt. Other actions taken by Thomas Jefferson were to weaken the federalist influence in the state administration and the machinery. He did this to enable greater participation of people in the State institutions such as the Judiciary, the executive and the legislature. He also pioneered in the reduction of the size of the total number of the people in the Government by reducing the nation al debt of the country as well as scaling down the total taxation in the great country of United States. This heavily contributed to the growth of United States in the early 1800s. (Mannix, Richard 121) Jefferson’s Democratic Views: Thomas Jefferson was by nature a liberal politician who devoted the idea of freedom more than anyone else during his days in the office. Following is a quote from the great man himself on his idea of democracy: “A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities.” (America's Homepage and the Virtual Tour of Washington, D.C 1) The concept of Jeffersonian Democracy was quite prominent at the time of the term of office of Thomas Jefferson in the White House. He believed that the republican ideals of democracy best suited the United States. He envisaged a state where each and every individual would take part in the public duty and would strive to reduce or diminish corruption at every level in the country. The Domestic Policy of Jefferson: Thomas Jefferson was a liberal at heart. His domestic policies included the reduction of national debt by keenly focusing on federalism in the state. In the office of President, Jefferson appointed his own cabinet people and other high level office bearers as he was given the freedom to choose the people he wanted in the Government. Thomas Jefferson was a big supporter of the Lewis and Clark expedition and was instrumental in making it happen since he gave his total commitment for that project. Jefferson released the prisoners under the Sedition Act, which was repealed at the beginning of his Presidency. He took the initiative to remove the Act since according to his vision it was obstructive in nature and did not confine to the principles of free speech in the country. The Judiciary: Thomas Jefferson was quite skeptical of the judges appointed by his predecessors in the judiciary. He said that the ultimate goal of any judge was to maintain the freedom of speech and expression along with the true implementation of Bills of Rights. He evicted judges who were there from the time when Adams was the President of the USA. The Louisiana Purchase: The Louisiana Purchase has been hailed as one of the greatest moves made by a President of the USA in the 19th century. Thomas Jefferson heralded this treaty as a sign of the great things in the future, and how correct he was looking at the context today. The Louisiana Purchase took place in the year of 1803. At the time of his Presidency, Louisiana was a territory under the French Control. The French had acquired the territory from the Spanish in late 18th century, and this territory was fundamental in keeping the trade levels financially high for the French. At the outset Louisiana was a territory of Spain, which it acquired from the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783. However, Napoleon Bonaparte annexed the state of Spain in 1801 and therefore the territory went back into the hands of the French 1801 onwards. That was the same year when Thomas Jefferson became the President of the USA. The areas of New Orleans and Mississippi were west to Louisiana. It was imperative for Jefferson to annex control of Louisiana and New Orleans in order to continue trading with the West coast, which had been closed down by the French. At the time when Bonaparte was fighting a war in Haiti, Jefferson made a smart strategic move to send his men to Bonaparte, inquiring about the purchase of Louisiana. Knowing that Bonaparte was struggling to keep up to his forces, having being desperate for water, food and other ammunition, Jefferson made an offer for the purchase of Louisiana for 15 Million USD, which was understandably accepted by Bonaparte. (Perkins, George B., and Sculley Bradley 32) “His second term, a time when he encountered more difficulties on both the domestic and foreign fronts, is most remembered for his efforts to maintain neutrality in the midst of the conflict between Britain and France; his efforts did not avert war with Britain in 1812.” (Maier, Pauline 2) Acts on Slavery and Relations with Europe: Thomas Jefferson was averse with the concept and notion of slavery. He was a staunch opponent of the immigration of slaves in the United States, and one of the major things he did after the purchase of Louisiana was to abolish the immigration of slavery into the newly acquired territory of the United States. He took an active part in the abolition of Slave Trade in the USA. He called the navy to act on the abolition and to prevent the immigration of slaves in the territory of the United States. The old law to abolish slavery had expired in 1808, and he immediately enacted a new 20-year-old law, which called for the abolition of Slave Trade in the USA. Jefferson did a lot to improve relations with Europe during his tenure of Presidency. However, the Embargo Act passed in 1807 was instrumental in spoiling his public image as he became unpopular and infamous for this Act among the people of the United States. In order to maintain the neutrality of the Unites States from France and England, who were vying for international supremacy at the time, Jefferson brought in the Embargo Act which prohibited any American ship to join forces with either France or England. The Americans were not allowed to trade with the English or French people, and these severely affected states like New England and New Orleans, which depended heavily on the trade with European countries for their growth and development. Smuggling however did not stop in spite the implementation of the Embargo Act, and this propelled Jefferson to send in military action against the American shipments, leading to an outbreak, which was heavily criticized by the populists at that time. (Le, Vine Jess A., and Lawrence L. Hartzell 213) Conclusion: This research paper has tried to project an objective picture of the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson, one of the instrumentalists in shaping the political wisdom of the United States. Surely, there were many actions on his part which were condemned by the people and his critics, and which also lead to the defeat of his party in the subsequent elections after the conclusion of his Presidency. However, he was the pioneer of the Declaration of the Independence and continued to the United States with the flavor of zeal, aggression, expansion and development (University of Virginia Library 1). This spirit was the underlying form in his presidency term. He never let the ball drop and took great strides to expand the financial, territorial and intellectual growth of the USA. He envisioned a country, which would become the trendsetter with times to follow, and looking back as we do now, it can be safely said that the principles with which Jefferson practiced his office term were inspirational in leading the nation to great heights. Works Cited Brief Biography of Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. p.1, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. . Perkins, George B., and Sculley Bradley. The American Tradition in Literature. p.32, New York: Random House, 1985: 32 Print. "America's Homepage and the Virtual Tour of Washington, D.C." America's Homepage and the Virtual Tour of Washington, D.C. p.1, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. . Maier, Pauline. "Jefferson, Real and Imagined." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 July 1997. p.2, Web. 13 Nov. 2012. . Mannix, Richard. "Gallatin, Jefferson, and the Embargo of 1808." Diplomatic History 3.2. p.121. (1979): 151-72. Print. Le, Vine Jess A., and Lawrence L. Hartzell. A Mosaic of America. p.213, Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt, 2002. Print. "Thomas Jefferson." University of Virginia Library. p.1, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. . . Read More