Keith+-+TJ+-+SP09

= Thomas Jefferson =

Full name: Thomas Jefferson (Born April 13, 1743 - died July 4, 1826)

Political Party: Democratic-Republican

Terms of Office: March 4, 1801 - March 3, 1809

Vice Presidents: Aaron Burr, 1801-1805; George Clinton, 1805-1809

As the author of the Declaration of Independence, the former governor of Virginia, and the former minister to France, Thomas Jefferson had a great deal of experience under his belt when he took the oath of office on March 4, 1801; his accomplishments as President of the United States were equally monumental. Because of these accomplishments as president, Jefferson deserves a grade of an A-. Most of his deeds as president were greatly beneficial to the relatively new country, but others were considerably trivial at best - out of those poor deeds, however, some good arose.

After Jefferson's election, he firstly sought to undo the damage done by the previous Federalist presidents. John Adams and George Washington had left behind such laws as the Alien Act and the federal tax on liquor, which led to the Whiskey Rebellion during the Washington Administration, which in turn was supported by Republicans at the time. He was largely successful in this mission - Jefferson allowed the Alien Act to lapse and repealed the liquor tax, as well as dealing with other troublesome laws; he was, however, hampered by his debt to the Federalists incurred during the tiebreaker between himself and Aaron Burr for the presidency. Jefferson was a definitive man of the people - his wish for a smaller government was outlined in his presidential agenda, sometimes referred to today as "Jeffersonian democracy". This goal was accomplished by his reduction of the American military, which he believed an economic drain on the United States, as well as the lowering of taxes. Overall, Jefferson was a success in what he believed to be the good of the people.

Jefferson was lucky with his relationship with Congress - during his presidency, the singular founders of the Federalists, John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, were unable to perform their duties. Alexander Hamilton had been shot and killed in a duel with Aaron Burr, and John Adams had simply retired after Jefferson's inauguration; no other man was able to step up and assume control of the party. With the Federalists in disarray and most Republicans on his side, Jefferson and Congress disputed very little. In fact, during both of his terms, Jefferson did not exercise his power to veto Congress's bills even once. His relationship with Congress was certainly one of the best out of all the presidents'.

The Jefferson Administration was marked by a number of successes, the most notable of which would arguably have to be the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Though Jefferson hesitated at first due to the possible unconstitutionality involved, he quickly agreed to buy the great mass of land from France. It (very) effectively doubled the size of the United States and led to the exploration of the land by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, another accomplishment of Jefferson's presidency. Jefferson remained skeptical of the legality of the purchase, but it was nevertheless lauded by the general public. Jefferson's greatest negative impact on the country was the Embargo Act of 1807, which prevented American ships from entering foreign ports, and foreign ships from entering American ports. Jefferson hoped that the loss of trade this act placed on other countries - namely France and Britain, who commonly harassed U.S. ships - would force them to allow those ships to be in peace. This backfired, however; foreign countries benefited from the act, while the United States suffered heavy monetary loss. Some manufacturers did benefit from the act, since it stopped most foreign competition, but in essence the embargo was a failure.

Outlining the importance of Jefferson's decision, the Louisiana Purchase directly impacted the lives of America's posterity, in addition to it being a brilliant move on his part. First and foremost, it allowed Americans to venture further into the western part of North America - these pioneers would become the first Americans to settle the west, carving their own niches in the world. It also facilitated the exploration of the new territory; Jefferson tasked Meriwether Lewis and William Clark with this monumental mission. In addition to exploring the newly gained land, Lewis and Clark established agreements with the natives inhabiting the land and wrote ethnographies of those same natives. In purchasing the vast territory of Louisiana, Jefferson sealed the fates of countless Native Americans, perhaps dooming them all. However, he also created goals for a great many American people - to settle the west.

There is very little doubt of America's situation at the end of Jefferson's presidency - it was bigger and better. Bolstered by the newly acquired Louisiana territory and Jefferson's diplomatic victories, a new era was about to dawn in America's future. Thomas Jefferson's grade of an A- reflects this because of his remarkable decision-making and diplomacy skills, and although some of his decisions were unfortunate for the country, there was some good to be found in all of them. Ultimately, Jefferson's landmark decisions paved the way for America's destiny: to be one of the greatest countries on Earth.


 * Sources **

http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/tjefferson.html - Biography of Thomas Jefferson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson- Thomas Jefferson on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Thomas_Jefferson- Thomas Jefferson's Presidency on Wikipedia __The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents__ by William A. Degregorio = =