The third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, was unique in many ways. Unlike his predecessor, John Adams, he served two consecutive terms as President, and was rather successful. Jefferson's presidency was filled with many accomplishments, even if they were just by chance, and he avoided many of the pitfalls that undid Adams. Although he came to power surrounded by controversy, he left the country improved, and it can be said that his presidency was very successful. One of the moves that set Jefferson's presidency up for success was how he did not fire all of Adams's cabinet. Unlike what many people feared, Jefferson becoming the president did not mean a complete upheaval of the government. Instead, Jefferson actually adopted many of the policies of his predecessor that worked and sparingly replaced those employed under Adams with his own men, setting his presidency up for success. One of the key players that he retained was John Marshall, who was a Federalist and briefly served as Secretary of State for John Adams. Jefferson proved to be a capable president who made difficult decisions to lead America, resulting in a successful presidency. He began by adopting the policies of Adam's previous cabinet and building upon the foundation he inherited. Additionally, he expanded the nation's territory and exercised good judgment when spending beyond Congress's approved budget. Furthermore, he made a wise decision to engage the Barbary pirates, demonstrating the power of the new American navy in defending the nation's liberties. Unlike the Federalists, the Jeffersonian-Republicans were large proponents of states' rights and the rights of individuals. They firmly believed in preserving the freedoms of the people by letting them retain power. In preserving the rights of the states, they were in conflict with many of the policies of the Federalists, who wanted a strong central government. This included the idea of a central bank for the entire nation. With a strong central government, the Jeffersonian-Republicans felt that the rich were retaining too much control of the country, not the average American. Thus, they were often seen as the protectors of the lower classes, such as immigrants and farmers. This split in classes resulted in a regional split in the nation, with the Jeffersonian-Republicans receiving most of their support in the South and West of the nation, as opposed to the Federalists, who were supported in New England.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were both strong presidents who kept a stabile nation, but they differed in their methods of doing so. Adams was a federalist so he helped establish a stable government by focusing on forming a strong central government. Jefferson being a democrat-republican worked to establish stability in the US government by promoting state’s rights. They both worked for stability in different but successful ways. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson brought many different viewpoints and strengths after the establishment of the Constitution but they both put the nation’s stability first and wanted to preserve the wellbeing of the people first by Adams ending the Quazi war and Jefferson making the Louisiana Purchase.
John Adams virtually eradicated his chances of easily winning the election of 1800 by defying the hardcore patriotic attitude of many Americans. Through his continued acts, regardless if they were what was best for the country at that particular time or is he believed morally that it was the correct decision, such as approving the Alien and Sedition Acts and helping the British soldiers that were involved in the Boston Massacre, he left no room for himself to take an easy path to the presidency much less any path to the presidency.
Both Thomas Jefferson and George Washington helped to stabilize the American government through their accomplishments during their presidency. The United States’ government would continue to stabilize and grow during the rest of the New Nations
When Jefferson was president, he felt threatened by Federalist ideas on the government. So, he began to restructure those policies until they coincided with the Republican viewpoint and the
Thomas Jefferson’s presidential actions are often less remembered than his work on the Declaration of Independence and his other Revolutionary War contributions, despite their impact on how the United States would, literally, take shape. There were many outcomes from his time in office, the eight years from 1801 to 1809, some good, others less so. Still, I believe that, on the whole, his administration benefited the nation. For one thing, President Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase added hundreds of thousands square miles to the size of the United States. Another, though less direct influence he had was that, in initiating the case of Marbury v. Madison, he unintentionally aided the Supreme Court in gaining the power to exercise judicial review.
The Jeffersonian-Republicans (also known as the Democratic-Republicans) were opposed to the Federalists from before 1801-1817. Leaders Thomas Jefferson and James Madison created the party in order to oppose the economic and foreign policies of Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Party. The Democratic-Republicans supported the French, whereas the Federalists supported the British. Each party had its set of views. The Federalists supported a loose interpretation of the Constitution, a strong central government, high tariffs, a navy, military spending, a national debt, and a national bank (all ideas of the Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton). The Democratic-Republicans opposed all of the said ideas and fought for states' rights and the citizens to govern the nation. Originally, each of these parties stuck to their own views and ideas, but eventually would accept eachother's views and use them as their own.
Before 1801, the Jeffersonian Republicans were usually strict constructionists of the constitution. However during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison they had to adopt some Federalist ideas. In many instances, the two parties completely interchanged their views on the construction of the constitution. During that period of time it was difficult to characterize anyone as a member of either the Federalist or Republican party based on how they interpreted the constitution.
Alexander Hamilton exerted the most influence in the new Federalist Party. He believed that only an enlightened ruling class could produce a stable and effective federal government. The government therefore needed the support of wealthy men. Thomas Jefferson and the Republicans defended more the rights of the common man and an agrarian society with little power from the federal government. His basic principle was "in general I believe the decisions of the people in a body will be more honest and more disinterested than those of wealthy men."
As the young colonies of America broke away from their mother country and began to grow and develop into an effective democratic nation, many changes occurred. As the democracy began to grow, two main political parties developed, the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. Each party had different views on how the government should be run. The Jeffersonian Republicans believed in strong state governments, a weak central government, and a strict construction of the Constitution. The Federalists opted for a powerful central government with weaker state governments, and a loose interpretation of the Constitution. Throughout the years, the political parties have grown, developed, and even dispersed into totally new factions. Many of the inconsistencies and changes can be noted throughout the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
Thomas Jefferson, an educated, well respected career man, served as governor of Virginia, secretary of state, and president of the United States. The Revolutionary era, during the 1770's, proved to be one of America's most victorious times. Despite the casualties the American colonies suffered, they proved to be stronger than their ruling land, Britain, and won the right to be a free land, becoming the United States of America. Living through this difficult turning point in history inspired Jefferson to write "The Declaration of Independence." Once again, nearly two hundred years later, America faced yet another turning point in history.
...nt achievements of Jefferson’s first administration was the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France. The Jefferson reformation was bottomed on fiscal policy; by reducing the means and powers of government it sought to further peace, equality, and individual freedom. In 1804, Thomas Jefferson was reelected, he focused on ending the war.
The federalists view saw the republicans view as a weakness. They insisted on a stronger common government. The federalists had an understanding that there could only be one sovereign in a political system, one final authority that everyone must obey and no one can appeal. They thought this was the only effective way in creating an effective central government. The independent states seemed to think it was clear that each one of them were independently sovereign, although based on history only small countries were suitable for the republican government. With history proving the republicans wrong for trying to create a republican government in the states the federalists were slowly trying to create a stronger central government. There first step was making the sovereign states agree to the Articles of Confederation which established a close alliance of independent states. The federalist central government was referred to as a “confederacy”.
Throughout the period dating from 1801 to 1817, the United States government was primarily controlled by the Jeffersonian Republican party, whereas the Federalist Party began to slowly fade away from public view. The Jeffersonian Republican party, led by Thomas Jefferson, professed to favor a weak central government through the support of more states' rights, "...that the states are independent... to...themselves...and united as to everything respecting foreign nations." (Document A). The Federalists of the United States were known as the loose constructionists, where if there is something which the constitution does not state, then it should be allowed to be done. The Jeffersonian Republicans were known as strict constructionists for their views towards the constitution that if there is anything that is not in the constitution, then it cannot be done. The Jeffersonian Republican party centered many of their political moves on the basis of creating a strong agricultural society with a weakly centralized government where each of the states have more rights to govern themselves, where the Federalist party believed more strongly on industrializing the nation and creating a strong central government. Even though strict constructionism was the idea behind the Jeffersonian Republican party, both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both have evidence against them which can prove that they were not strict constructionists. This is based on different political moves made by these two presidents which are more towards the Federalist side of things opposed to their own Republican and strict constructionist ideas.
Jefferson’s beliefs in local self government created differences between himself and Alexander Hamilton which created the Federalists (Hamilton followers) and the Democrat Republican’s (Jefferson followers).
Thomas Jefferson: President and Philosopher is a special edition of the #1 New York Times bestselling Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by writer Jon Meacham. Jon Meacham is known as the talented author, who is the winner of 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography and Biology for the American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. The book Thomas Jefferson: President and Philosopher holds many historical information about Thomas Jefferson’s itinerary from the beginning to his’s life as the third president of America, then to the rest of his duration. This book also revolves around Thomas Jefferson’s relationships, especially, the relationships between the president and his wife, his possible mistress, his white offspring, and his possible