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__ Thomas Jefferson __ //Born: April 13th, 1743 in Shadwell, VA// //Died: July 4th, 1826// //Terms of Office: March 1801-March 1809 (Two Terms)// //Vice Presidents: Aaron Burr (First Term), George Clinton (Second Term)// //Political Party: Democratic-Republican (Anti-Federalist)//

Not too many people have shaped the American government as well as Thomas Jefferson. Even before his terms of office he played a vital role as one of the Founding Fathers of our nation. He was given the duty of writing one of America’s most important documents, the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson also was the governor of Virginia and the vice president of John Adams. His education and political intelligence were unprecedented in his time and he used his knowledge to his advantage. Thomas Jefferson would deserve an A for much of his presidency, including important events like the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark Expeditions, and the abolition of slave trade. But the blunder in almost-catastrophic Embargo Act give the 3rd president of the United States a B overall.

Jefferson had two main goals to accomplish during his presidency. The first was to fix America to the way it was meant to be. This was because the likes of John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and the Federalist Party controlled the government from 1797 to 1801, making changes that Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans thought were unconstitutional. One of the first moves that Jefferson made was pardon the innocent citizens affected by the Alien and Sedition Acts. Jefferson released any charged citizens still being punished, replenish any fines, and lower the years of residence to the previous five years. Another move that Jefferson made quickly was the repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801. This act was one of the final laws passed by John Adams and was planned to keep Federalists in control of at least one of the three branches of government. What Jefferson did was remove sixteen benches away from the “midnight judges”, giving more power to the Democratic-Republicans. Other changes he made were repealing the excise tax and eliminating Hamilton’s “standing army” and replacing it with a disciplined militia.

The other two important goals that Jefferson wanted to achieve was creating a democracy and maintaining a peaceful, non-bonded relationship with other countries. Jefferson believed in building a "wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another". He demanded equality throughout the country and abolished the slave trade in 1807. Even at dinner parties he would encourage people to sit wherever because everyone is equal in importance. Jefferson also wanted to avoid war and joining alliances with other countries, especially France and Great Britain. In his inaugural address he guaranteed “honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.” The up-and-coming country could have picked its side it the France/Great Britain debate, but Jefferson always reminded himself on the virtues of fellow Virginian, George Washington, not to join alliances.

For most of Thomas Jefferson’s reign as president his relationship with Congress was good. In the first term Jefferson had similar opinions as Congress, mainly because most of his delegates were also Democratic-Republicans who had the same beliefs and ideals. They would generally pass laws that favored a weaker central government, pro-equality, and paying off national debts by weakening the military and naval forces. However at the start of his second term, Jefferson’s relationship with Congress slowly, but progressively, worsened. One movement that started this trend was when former vice-president Aaron Burr and General James Wilkinson were supposedly going to start a new confederacy in the west, a movement easily shot down when Jefferson heard the news. Then after the Embargo Act many politicians showed doubt in Jefferson and thought he made the wrong decision.

There were many important and successful decisions made by Jefferson during his presidency, but the one that stands alone in its own category is the Louisiana Purchase. In 1803, America was on the brink of battling Napoleon and the French for possession of New Orleans. Being the pacifist Jefferson was he sent James Monroe to Paris to meet with American Robert Livingston to discuss a deal with Napoleon to buy off New Orleans for $10 million. To their shock Napoleon offered them all of Louisiana for $15 million because he was in need of money to fight Britain. At first Jefferson was reluctant to accept because he felt it was unconstitutional, but since some friends believed (or pretended to) that Napoleon might pull the offer Jefferson said yes. This decision might not have seemed life changing at the time, but it goes down as the best bargain in American history, 828,000 square miles of land for about three cents an acre. The deal also led to important follow-up events such as the Lewis and Clark expedition.

With all of the positive choices that Jefferson made during his era, one slip-up almost outweighed them and it was the passing of the Embargo Act of 1807. This law was put forth because of the Napoleonic War over in Europe. American merchant ships were being attacked by the British and French in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Instead of fighting back Jefferson decided to pass the Embargo Act, which prohibited the exports of all American goods. Although the act did avoid war, the American economy took a more devastating hit when thousands of jobs were lost and created a drawback to the economy with exports declining from $108 million to $22 million. Americans began to rebel against the laws and finally in 1809 the laws were reduced and replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act, allowing trade with all the countries except Britain and France. The notorious acts hurt the economy more than it helped the reason Jefferson created the laws in the first place.

The change Jefferson made that made the biggest impact on the future of the United States was the ban of slave trade. The slave trade was a thriving market in the States, especially in the south. Jefferson made this decision because of his feelings on equality in the United States. He was the one that wrote “all men are created equal” and he wanted to live up to it. Although there was still illegal slave trade throughout the country and it was not illegal for the white man to own slaves, it was a giant step in the movement of a slave-free country which began to gain attention in the later 19th century.

With the events that happened in Thomas Jefferson’s presidency I think the country was better off at the end of his term in every aspect but economically, which is why I gave him a good grade but not perfect with a B. Many important decisions and movements were made such as the Louisiana Purchase and the abolition of slave trade. The only major problem was the Embargo Act where it severely damaged the economy, mainly in the large coastal cities.

__Bibliography__ Picture-http://c-pol.com/Fun/Blog/ThomasJefferson.jpg Miller Center-http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/jefferson History Central-http://www.historycentral.com/bio/presidents/jefferson.html The American Pageant