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Essay On Thomas Jefferson's Campaign Of Liberty

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The election of 1800, being the first election where both parties ran candidates and actually campaigned, featured Thomas Jefferson, the Republican, against John Adams, the Federalist. With Jefferson coming out victorious, his election into presidency showed that Americans wanted more democratic politics where common people were free to express their opinion. However, Jefferson’s campaign of liberty was a bit questionable because of its limitations. While Jefferson campaigned for liberty, only a fraction of the men were able to vote and absolutely no liberty was offered to the slaves. Though he wanted to foster freedom, Jefferson owned slaves of his own and took land from the Indians. Jefferson advocated for small government, but expanded federal …show more content…

An example of this would be the Lousiana Purchase. Jefferson worried that French control of that port city endangered American commerce on the Mississippi River. Shutting down American access to New Orleans would cause American settlers, west of the Appalachian Mountains, to lose all access to eastern markets. So when an unexpected offer arose offering not just the city of New Orleans but land stretching all the way from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains for $15 million, the American delegation jumped at the offer. Though they lacked confidence that a purchase of this sort was even constitutional, the offer was simply too good to refuse. Now doubling the size of the United States, Jefferson advanced his grand vision of a republican America. The purchase guaranteed America's agricultural future by providing the farmland necessary to ensure that America would remain a nation of farmers. The acquisition of this territory played to Jefferson's vision of an expanding "empire of liberty." When facing a dilemma of whether to stick with a strict interpretation of the Constitution or adopt a loose interpretation to expand the United States and gain access to the Mississippi River, Jefferson leaves the ideals of a Republican behind and goes for the

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In the 1800’s, Thomas Jefferson campaigned on the ethics of the Republican belief of a weak central government, and to ensure these beliefs are kept one must rely on the principles of lower taxes, justice, and a lack of strongly enforced governmental restrictions. However, Thomas Jefferson failed to follow the very principles he promised to emanate as he created a government trading restriction known as the Embargo Acts, increased taxes due to the Louisiana Purchase, and followed John Adams ideology in the Alien and Sedition act and tried to have Samuel Chase impeached and removed from office on false charges due to his anti-Jefferson mindset. Thus, Thomas Jefferson failed to keep the philosophy of the Republican party and contradicted his

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Jefferson v. Hamilton There are many conflicts in the early years of the American politics. There are two famous political parties during the early years of American Independence, and their ideologies were completely opposite. Thomas Jefferson was the third American President from 1801-1809. Alexander Hamilton was the founder of Federalist party and President Washington elected him as a first secretary of the treasurer.

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While the supporters of Thomas Jefferson believe that buying foreign land was necessary, those who are against him feel that what he did was unconstitutional. In the source, “Thomas Jefferson to John Breckinridge, 12 August 1803”, the text explains that what Jefferson did was allowed, as it had not mentioned that he couldn’t in the constitution. This controversy is huge, because some people believe that he did not have the right to do so. Jefferson made a point that it wasn’t mentioned in the constitution, so he decided to ratify it and pay for it. Some believe congress did not have the right to authorize this decision.

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Jefferson’s dilemma in the Louisiana Purchase In April of 1803 Thomas Jefferson was faced with many moral dilemmas in the process of buying the Louisiana territory. Though the price for the territory was beyond generous, Jefferson felt that by purchasing the territory he would be going against his beliefs that the constitution should be followed word for word. The constitution said nothing of the president having the power to purchase land from another government, or to use money of the states for the same purpose (“the moral dilemma”). Another problem was once the land was purchased, there was a fear that it could have been a waste since they had no way to know the layout of the land, and what it would be useful for.

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(2). Over the course of his two terms as president—he was reelected in 1804—Jefferson reversed the policies of the Federalist Party by turning away from urban commercial development. Instead, he promoted agriculture through the sale of western public lands in small and affordable lots. Even as Madison left office, it seemed that he was brought in to clean up the mess that Jefferson had made when he tried to regulate things himself by placing embargoes in with other countries. (3).

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The British are taking American ships and crewmen. If this non-sense doesn’t stop, I’m not going to be able to send my merchandise abroad. Why doesn’t our navy resist these attacks! I read in the Boston Times that the British tried taking crewmen from the Chesapeake. Why isn’t Jefferson doing anything to prevent this!

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Thomas Jefferson was a strict constructionist and the Constitution was silent about acquiring lands from other countries therefore Jefferson saw to approve a constitutional amendment to resolve the issue and satisfy his own interpretational beliefs but the Senate did not agree. For $15 million France offered the U.S. the entire Louisiana territory which was more than 800,000 acres from Louisiana to the Rockies and beyond and the two American ministers sent to negotiate the land deal seized the opportunity but went beyond their mandate of only negotiating for $10 million . While the incorporation of these new lands was a benefit and opportunity for the United States to grow in power and size, Jefferson had still qualms about its constitutionality.

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Thomas Jefferson took the presidential vow of office in March 1801, in which he promised to give back and reward the "uncorrupted republicanism" that encouraged the Revolutionary period. He called his victory the "Upset of 1800," accepting that his win meant that political and social change could happen in the new country without falling back on cruelty or violence. The decision demonstrated that power could calmly interchange starting with one assembly, the Federalists, then the next, the Democratic-Republicans. The swapping of political gatherings represented a defining moment in American legislative issues.

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Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers to buy land totaling 828,000 square miles and that was the Louisiana purchase on top of that. The Louisiana Purchase stretched from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west. The Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States acquired a large area of land from the French. It was the single largest purchase of land ever by the United States and doubled the size of the country. And, in 1803, Napoleon offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory to the United States for $15 million.

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The Louisiana Purchase was historic and significant event to the United States because, under President Thomas Jefferson, it basically added tremendous land opportunities to the colonists' farmers and provided property to many buyers. This moment in history was essential because the Jefferson saw it necessary to literally buyout France occupation of the territory. Jefferson knew that his presidency didn't limit his power to make such a huge achievement. "... Jefferson had to abandon his conviction that the federal government was limited to powers specifically mentioned in the Constitution, since the document said nothing about buying territory from a foreign power"(304). The Louisiana Purchase provided a new chance for total power through land.

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Jefferson always believed slavery took away the natural rights of all men. His work in Virginia and the Declaration of Independence had a powerful stance on American freedom and American

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•“She was not even listening. She had gotten tired of listening. She knew, as we all knew, what the outcome would be. A white man had been killed during a robbery, and thought two of the robbers had been killed on the spot, one had been captured, and he, too, would have to die” (4). This quote is important because it allows me to understand that Jefferson has to die because he was the only person in the liquor store and was a black man.

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1. Discuss the ways that Jefferson's presidency betrayed his original vision for the new republic. In what ways did it fulfill that vision? Jefferson’s original vision was to minimize the federal power and reduce the importance of the national government in American life. However, he betrayed that in many ways after being the president.

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Jefferson wanted a nation in which the state and the federal government shared

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