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=//Thomas Jefferson//=

//Born: April 13, 1743 Died: July 4, 1826 First Term: 1801-1805 Vice Presidents: Aaron Burr Second Term: 1805-1809 Vice President: George Clinton Political Party: Republican

Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States. There were many things that the people liked and did not like about him and his leadership. Jefferson served in many other leadership positions before coming president. I think these positions helped in his role of presidency when he goes to that point. I believe all in all Jefferson should get a B+ for his role as President. In order to understand his adult life ill share some background information. Thomas Jefferson was an original Virginia man. He grew up in the middle class of the planter families. He began his years of leadership, first by serving as a representative in the House of Burgesses. The following year he inherited Monticello land from his father. Later Jefferson wrote a political pamphlet, A Summary View of the Rights of British America. This writing focused on the basis of natural rights theory.

Thomas Jefferson was definitely a man of many words, but never speaking. He was no public speaker but if you gave Jefferson a pen his words would flow out. This is the reason he was chosen to be the scribe and write the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was stated as the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, making Jefferson nationally famous.

As president Jefferson had many goal he wanted to accomplish. One of his main goals was to unite the colonies and bring them closer together. He thought country unity was very important. He also was interested in exploring west. He accomplished that but sending Lewis and Clark westward to explore and reach the Pacific Coast. Jefferson also wanted to expand west, which he accomplished with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. As well as expanding west, Jefferson wished to abolish the Alien and Sedition Acts. He also hoped to reduce internal taxes and extinguish public debts. As well as issues to do within the country Jefferson was also very interested in foreign affairs, especially during his second term as president. He wanted to stay at peace with Britain and France during the Napoleonic Wars in 1807.

As president one should have a very good relationship with congress in order to keep the peace. All in all Jefferson’s relationship with Congress was good but it was better during his first term than in his second. In his first term they allowed to have citizens have control and some power. Congress allowed many laws and acts to be passed. One major one was the abolishing of the Alien and Sedition Acts. They also eliminated the tax on Whiskey, which was very unpopular in the west, the elimination of it made the western colonists extremely happy. Jefferson and Congress also passed the Embargo Act when the colonists did not want to go to war with France and Britain. This act caused uproar between colonists, because it prohibited all exports and imports. Thomas Jefferson also concocted a twelfth amendment with congress stating Americans would vote for the President and the Vice President separately. He and Congress also passed a law abolishing the importing of slaves into the United States.

I feel Thomas Jefferson made many great decisions as president. I believe the most positive decisions of his were his persistence to expand west. First off he took place in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Jefferson had to overcome “constitutional scruples” in order to take over the mass amount of land. This land purchase was a very popular event in the eyes of the colonists. Jefferson was also very keen on exploring even further westward, past the newly owned land of the Louisiana Purchase. Thomas Jefferson was so enthused to expand and explore farther west that he hired Lewis and Clark to travel toward the Pacific Coast. Lewis and Clark left in 1803 and returned in 1806 with new information and research.

As well as good decisions, as all political leaders do so, Jefferson made some bad decisions on top of his good ones. I feel the Embargo Act was one of Jefferson’s worst mistakes as president. The Embargo Act was a law passed in December of 1807, which forbade all international trade from American ports. This prohibited all exports and most all imports. Although the act failed it still angered many northerners, who economically suffered, from lack of imports. In January of 1808, the prohibition was extended into the inland waters and the land commerce. This was to halt the skyrocketing of Canadian trade. Eventually Jefferson saw how it was only hurting the nation, so he finally signed an act of repeal in 1809.

Jefferson left a great future for leaders to come. As president he bought much new land to the west, expanding the nation even larger than it was before. As well as purchasing new land to the west he also sent explorers to research the west for further settlement. He also reduced internal taxes and public debts. As well as taxes, Jefferson also abolished the Alien and Sedition Acts as well as the tax oh whiskey, making colonists very happy. Jefferson also overturned the importing of slaves into the United States. Jefferson not only added laws but he also added a new amendment changing the ways for future generations of presidents.

As an overview, Thomas Jefferson was a very good leader and president of the United States. Although Jefferson made some bad decisions, most of his good decisions made up for the bad. With Jefferson as president the United States defiantly grew in size and strengthened as a union. His outstanding work and great decisions landed him with a B+ grade for his presidency.//

Bibliography "3. Thomas Jefferson." The White House. White house government. Web. 15 Sept. 2009.

Goncharov, Sergei N., John W. Lewis, and Xue Litai. Uncertain Partners: Stalin, Mao, and the Korean War. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1993.

"Thomas Jefferson." Web. 14 Sept. 2009.