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Thomas Jefferson

Birth: April 13 1743 Died: July 4 1826 Political Party: Democratic-Republican Terms Served: (1801-1809) Vice Presidents: Aaron Burr (1801-1805) George Clinton (1805-1809)

In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” This being probably one of the best known quotes, which was written in the Declaration of Independence. Which our, third, United States President wrote. Thomas Jefferson before serving in the oval office was the author of a book called, “The View of Rights of British America”. This book included many of the ideas that our Declaration of Independence upholds. He also, was elected into the House of Delegates in Virginia and in 1776 was elected into the second Continental Congress. During the Revolutionary War he served as governor of Virginia for two years. During his internship as governor he promoted religious freedom and carried this through to his presidency. Elected in 1801, it was his goal to gain support from the Federalists and to get the United States out from a jaw dropping, 80 million. Which is debt due from he Revolutionary War. Some of the most influential things Thomas Jefferson could have done was, the purchase of Louisiana, cutting the national debt in half, and how he handled the situation with foreign affairs. In 1803 Jefferson had purchased Louisiana. This purchase had cut the debt from 80 million to 57 million. This has to be the most important thing Jefferson has ever done while in his Presidency. This purchase secured land for farmers and for surplus crops and cattle. It also set up the stage for the Lewis and Clark expedition. Also during his first term the military budget was also cut and internal taxes were reduced. Some of Jefferson’s not so good decisions included the Embargo Act which restricted all exports and a lot of imports and enforced legislation. It was a complete failure and was repealed in 1809. But from that can the re-birth of Federalism. In conclusion to Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency a B- was well deserved. He was essential to this countries foundation and making, and is one of our greatest founding fathers.

Works Cited:

Onuf, Peter. "American President: Thomas Jefferson.” Miller Center of Public Affairs.

Sep.2009 http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/jefferson.

“Thomas Jefferson .” Supercomputing ‘94. 13 Sep. 2009

http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/tjefferson.html.