Kieran+O.+-+TJ+-+FA11

//__**Thomas Jefferson**__ (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826)//

// Political party: Democratic Republican Party //

// Presidency Terms: 1801-1809 (Two terms) //

// Vice Presidents: Aaron Burr (1801-1805); George Clinton (1805-1809) //

As one of the first leaders to come to mind when one thinks of a United States president, Thomas Jefferson played a crucial part in shaping our wonderful country’s history. Thomas Jefferson has earned a solid A- based on his influential role as president of the United States of America. Of the many choices he made in his attempt to strengthen our country’s cultural bonds, the ones that stand out the most are the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the abolition of the slave trade, the executive privilege, and the Embargo Act of 1807.

Thomas Jefferson’s main goal for his first term of presidency was to end the Federalist reign on America and change the focuses of the American government as he implied with both his decisions in office and his known beliefs. Thomas Jefferson’s defeat of John Adams is known as the Revolution of 1800-relating to the defeat of Federalism. Immediately after Jefferson’s election, laws and acts established during Washington and Adam’s terms were repealed, such as the problematic tax on liquor that had caused the Whiskey Rebellion. Another Anti-Federalism change that Jefferson spurred was the Judiciary act of 1802. This act stopped the federalist court system that Adams had been working on from being enacted. Another main goal of Thomas Jefferson was to unify the country and restore peace within its citizens as he stated here in his first inaugural address, “Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things.” Another small and arguably insignificant goal of his term was to create a largely agricultural country, but this plan ultimately failed.

As far as former President Jefferson’s early relationship with Congress goes, there weren’t any disputes that stood out. The people seemed to believe more in the Anti-Federalist beliefs, (due to the previous president, John Adams’, abuse of power with the Alien and Sedition Acts) and therefore had more Anti-Federalist representatives. His second term, however, did not go as smoothly. After 1804, the control of Congress slowly slipped out of his grasp. He found himself dealing with a large revolt in the West that was brought up by two republicans, Aaron Burr and John Randolph. Although this had been getting out of hand, he pulled the reins back in and took up a closer watch on his Congressmen.

Thomas Jefferson made tremendous contributions to spreading culture through the young country of America. One of the most influential parts of his presidency was the Louisiana Purchase. France was low on money and desperate to make a quick buck due to their shortage of money from their current war with England, so Napoleon offered to sell the land of Louisiana to America at a very low price. At this point in time, Louisiana was much larger than it is today. In fact, the land known as Louisiana at the time was almost the size of America back then. Thomas Jefferson actually had to give the offer some thought because it was a huge change for America. Also, it arguably went against the Anti-Federalists beliefs of small government rule, but it could have been seen as giving more land and therefore more opportunity to spread out the federal rule. He accepted Napoleon’s offer and paid the incredibly low price of 11.25 million dollars in return for the extensive 800,000 square miles of new Western land. His economic aid to the French was seen as a hostile move towards the British, as it aided the French in their war. The new land provided foreign interaction between Americans and Indians, new animals, plants, weather, and so on. All of this contributed to the vast array of culture that America has today.

Not only did Jefferson conduct the Louisiana Purchase, but he also was an influential part of more instances contributing to the spread of culture through America. For instance, it was under his administration that the Lewis and Clark Expedition took place. He commissioned the two explorers to map out and venture all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Thousands of gifts of cultural knowledge were returned to him by the adventurers. Another humorous, yet vital piece to American culture was the French fry. Thomas Jefferson was credited with the introduction of French fries to America when he requested that the presidential chef prepare “potatoes served in the French manner.” This Spanish food was introduced to him through the French, but now is known as one of the most American foods. This is clearly an example of how important Thomas Jefferson was to the spread of culture.

Not every president is perfect, however. During his second term, when cracks started to show up in his seemingly impenetrable leadership and patriotism, he made what some would argue to be a poor choice. During the last few years of his second term in office, America was facing a severe issue. The French and British were attacking American trade ships on their way to their attackers’ rivaling nation. Much cargo was seized over the many attacks on innocent trade vessels. Thomas Jefferson had to make a difficult decision about this issue. He decided to forbid all ports in America from both importing and exporting goods with the Embargo Act. His logic was that the French and British would suffer from their trade allies’ absence. Instead, tragedy struck the American economy as that of the British and French flew high. Traders were out of jobs, most of the portside businesses suffered, and there was much less interaction between outside countries causing cultural diffusion. Possibly the worst effect of the Embargo Act was that it cost the government about 16 million dollars in lost customs revenues. In an attempt to fix his mistake, he approved the Non-Intercourse act just before the end of his final term.

Another Intelligent decision that he made was to abolish the slave trade. Although he did it for mostly economic reasons, it affected the lives of nearly everyone from 1808 on. This was the first time a president had made an effort to stop slavery and it influenced the views of many Americans on the slave trade. Jefferson put an end to the trading of humans because it was, in his opinion, in the best interest for the economy of America, and also morally wrong. This was during the Embargo Act and it just made sense to stop this trade along with all of the other types of trade. Slaves were smuggled in until the Civil War, but the slave trade slowed down dramatically. Jefferson believed that everyone should have equal rights. He even offered a freed slave the honorable position as the chef in the Whitehouse. This was a partial contributor to the abolition of slavery in its entirety as well as equal rights for black people. It affected the views of people at the time that then passed their Jefferson-influenced opinions on the subject down through generations. He indirectly started the movement for equal rights for many groups. Even the renowned historic figure and freedom fighter, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. quoted Thomas Jefferson in his famous letter from Birmingham Jail and several other occasions in saying, ‘“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. ”’

Thomas Jefferson was an honest patriot, as well as an influential leader to America. Without his inquisitive behavior, the West may not have developed much at all or even belonged to America. Despite his poor solution to the altercations with the powerful countries of Great Britain and France, he was entirely obliging to the country that needed him. There is no doubt that Thomas Jefferson deserves the grade of A- for his talented leadership of early America.

Works Cited** DeGregorio, William. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee: Barricade. 2005."The History of French Fries."Today I Found Out. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2011. "Quote Details: Martin Luther King Jr.: Now, I say to... - The Quotations Page." //Quotes and Famous Sayings - The Quotations Page//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. . "The History of French Fries." //Today I Found Out//. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2011. . "Thomas Jefferson: Inaugural Address." //The American Presidency Project//. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2011. . "Thomas Jefferson Biography - life, family, death, history, wife, young, son, old, information, born, college."Encyclopedia of World Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2011. .