Juli+S.+-+TJ+-+FA09



=Thomas Jefferson= =Alive: (1743-1827)= =Party: Democratic-Republican= =Served: 1801-1809= =Term 1 VP: Aaron Burr= =Term 2 VP: George Clinton=

Thomas Jefferson is known to many today as a “saint” who bettered the government following the presidency of John Adams. He did indeed please the people by ratifying such acts as the Alien and Sedition Acts. However, there were a few things done by him, such as his passing of the Embargo Act, that were unpopular among the people, showing that Jefferson deserves a A-.

One of Jefferson's goals as president was to fix the problems made by his Federalist predecessor. Of this is did a good job, he changed the laws that had been put in place that Americans didn't like, and overall won their favor. He also got rid of all internal taxes and was still able to start America towards being a debt free country.

Jefferson and congress worked effectively together, working as a team to overcome the challenges during his presidency. Together they restored freedom of the press, and scaled down the size of the army and navy despite the war they encountered concerning the Barbary piracy. They also repealed acts such as the Judiciary Act, and as for the Alien and Sedition Act, they lowered the number of years needed to live in the U.S. in order to gain citizenship from 15 to 5. There was a brief time where some Republicans had a quarrel, but Jefferson soon controlled and repressed it.

Perhaps one of the most important things Jefferson did was purchasing from France the whole of the Louisiana territory for fifteen million dollars, almost doubling the size of the United States. Jefferson then established expeditions of this land, the most famous of which being the Lewis and Clark expedition. One of Jefferson's unpopular acts as president was the passing of the Embargo act. The British warship //Leopard// attacked the American ship //Chesapeake// off the Virginia coast because its captain refused to allow the British to board and search for deserters. This then led to Jefferson and his cabinet releasing a proclamation closing American ports to all British ships except those with emergencies or on diplomatic missions. The Embargo Act closed all American ports to foreign trade, allowing only coastal trade. In 1808, it further restricted exports by land. Many merchants and even ordinary citizens were opposed to this.

Thomas Jefferson effected the future of America by being a Democratic- Republican. He introduced America to having a government that was less controlled by the actual government and more by the people than it had been. Today the two main political parties are indeed the Democrats and the Republicans.

After Thomas Jefferson's presidency America was certainly better off. Citizens got to experience his republican ways and they liked it. He deserves the grade of an A- for pleasing the people and purchasing the Louisiana Territory despite the passing of the embargo act.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090906141021AA8sYxe

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/mtjtime3c.html

http://www.answers.com/Thomas%20Jefferson