Thomas Jefferson Essay, Research Paper

Not only was he one of our founding fathers, he was also the third

president of the U.S. and the chairman of the Declaration of Independence

committee. Thomas Jefferson was born at Shadwell in Albemarle County, Va. on the

thirteenth of April in 1743. His father, Peter Jefferson, was a wealthy land

owner, but not really high up. He married Jane Randolph Jefferson who was from

one of the first families in Virginia. Thomas Jefferson had a house named

Monticello, which was built on his father?s land,in which he put a great deal

of time. In 1772 he brought Martha Unyles Skelton, his wife, there. He had only

two children who lived through infancy, but he had six altogether. When his wife

died after ten years of marriage he went to Paris to get away from it all. Some

say that in Paris he fell in love with another women and that?s why he always

supported the French, even through the bloody revolution. Jefferson was elected

President in a very close match with Aaron Burr. When the votes were counted

each had seventy-three votes so it had to be decided by the House of

Representatives. Jefferson was obviously declared the winner. He was not a very

outspoken man like his predecessors had been. In fact, he dressed rather casual,

never wore a wig, and disliked public speaking which is probably why he didn?t

address congress in person. He loved Paris and all facets about it. He enjoyed

fine cuisine and wine. Jefferson did not believe in slavery, but did not free

his slaves as had Washington. In his inaugural address, he said they were ?all

Republicans, all Federalists in their devotion to the union,? in an attempt to

bury the differences between his opponents and him. Jefferson, in his inaugural

address, promised: 1. ?equal and exact justice to all men? of every shade of

political and religious opinion; 2. friendship with all nations, but no

alliances; 3. respect for the rights of all states while still presenting the

?constitutional vigor? of the national government; 4. encouragement of

agriculture and commerce; 2 5. freedom of speech, press, and elections 6.

economy and honesty in the management of the country?s finances. Jefferson was

not a dumb man, he knew he had to have a bigger support base. In order to do

this, he followed a moderate course of action to win some Federalists over to

the Republicans side. He wanted to reduce the national debt by reducing the army

and navy. He hand picked only the most brilliant people for his cabinet. His

cabinet included: 1. Secretary of State: The architect of the constitution,

James Madison and; 2. Secretary of the Treasury: A financier from Pennsylvania,

Swiss-born Albert Gallatin. Gallatin, following Jefferson?s ideas, came up

with a budget that made about seventy percent go to paying off the debt which

meant that defense money was cut in half. He also came up with a new five year

naturalization act. The Alien and Sedition Acts and the excise tax, which had

started the Whiskey Rebellion, were repealed. The Bank and tariff were allowed

to continue, though. While Jefferson was in office he was hassled by the Barbary

pirates like every other country. He decided to do something about it. The

Barbary pirates were asking for more and more ?presents,? so Jefferson sent

some warships to tell the pirates off. They got the message, but at a lower

rate. The problem wasn?t really solved until the French captured Algiers in

1830. Jefferson also saw the Mississippi was a very, very important river. He

thought that he would have to deal with Spain, but Napoleon, from France, bought

the Louisiana Territory for his own plans. When Jefferson heard about this, he

sent Monroe and Livingston to just buy the area around the mouth of the

Mississippi, but, when they got there, Napoleon?s plans for invading Haiti

were foiled so he was willing to sell 3 the WHOLE Louisiana area!! Monroe and

Livingston snatched up the deal for $15 million before Napoleon could change his

mind. They could only hope they were supported when they got back. Jefferson

asked Congress to approve the money and showed the strength to go against

everything he?s preached and went for ?broad? construction instead of his

usual ?strict? construction. Congress approved the money and, since they

were already planning an expedition behind Spain?s back, they sent an

expedition to go exploring. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were chosen for

this. They started out in 1804 with about 40 men and hired a guide and

interpreter. They made it to the Pacific and then claimed the land. Pike was

also exploring around this time. When Jefferson came to office he found some

commissions for new judges which Adams had literally signed the night before he

left office. Jefferson refused to give them out and a man named Mar bury, who

was one of the appointees, took them to court. When the supreme court came back

with its decision, it set a precedent that was followed ever since. The supreme

court decided that the law that says that a gov?t official has to hand out the

commissions was unconstitutional. The constitution said nowhere in it that the

supreme court could call something unconstitutional, but Jefferson was happy he

didn?t have to appoint them so he shut his mouth. So, as you can see Jefferson

did a lot of great things as President of the United States. His popularity

didn?t start there though. He was on the committee of the Declaration of

Independence. He wrote several essays on the constitution. So as you can see,

Jefferson was a great man.