Jeffersonian Era: Choosing between His Principles and Domestic Affairs

Thomas Jefferson held firmly to his principles and ideals but the practical reality of leadership forced Jefferson to make decisions for the best interest of the country. When Jefferson was elected adjustments had to be made to the economy and new acts had to be composed in an effort to the United States safe. Events would take place in America where Jefferson would have to determine if should follow his principles or abandon them in domestic affairs. Jefferson was a pacifist at heart, and did his best to keep the United States out of foreign conflicts and entangling. His ideals were peaceful but at points he would have to violate these ideals. Jefferson envisioned a land of agriculture and where government would have minimal power over the Americans lives but that would not be the case. America would need a powerful and intelligent leader at this time.
When Jefferson was elected president adjustments had to be made to the economy and new acts had to be composed in an effort to the United States safe. When Jefferson first became president he had no intentions of remodeling the government to make it into a republican government. Jefferson made small reforms to the government so that both the republicans and federalists could coexist amiably. A small reform that Jefferson created was removing the excise tax. Hamilton had put the tax in place to help lower national debt. But Jefferson viewed that it only bred bureaucrats and put an unnecessary burden upon the farmers. By removing the excise tax it cost the federal government about a million dollars a year. Other than the excise tax, Jefferson kept the Hamiltonian system intact. After the Incident on the U.S. frigate, the Chesapeake the american people were unified in their outrage a...

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... U.S. to any foreign nation. The reasoning behind the embargo was to keep American ships out of harm’s way by not sending out to sea would stop further impressments and incidents like the Chesapeake. This act exhibited Jefferson’s peaceful coercion yet this act made him very unpopular. He thought this act would keep U.S. out of the European war. Another event that questioned Jefferson personal ideals against reality was the North African Barbary States pirates. The pirates were looting the U.S. ships before Jefferson had came to office the federalist had been paying the pirates off not to steal their supplies but Jefferson refused. The leader of the pirates declared war against the Americans, Jefferson reluctantly sent the ill-equipped navy to Tripoli where fighting continued for four years until a peace tray came about where the American paid the pirates $60,000.