Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency Grade When Thomas Jefferson won the election and became president, the main party of the government changed to Democratic-Republican. During his presidency, he did a lot of things that were great, but some were very questionable. Thomas Jefferson’s grade for his presidency should be a B+. One of the great things he did to receive the B+ was his management of the Tripolitan War. Although Jefferson did not want the United States a large military force, the country could still have a decent size navy (212). During the conflict of the pirates, Jefferson had to bend his Democratic-Republican belief of “peace coercion” and deploy the small new navy force to battle against the pirates (212). After four years of fighting, Jefferson managed to secure a peace treaty with Tripoli at a bargain price of only $60,000 (212-213). Jefferson’s realization of the reality that his belief could not be put into practice in the real world and adjust his belief to fit the situation was the reason why he got a B+. …show more content…
When Napoleon of France realized his plan to use the Louisiana territory was unsuccessful, he made a deal with Thomas Jefferson to buy the land with only fifteen million dollars (class lecture). A deal that cannot be ignored with a land that’s only about three cents an acre, Jefferson again had to bend his belief of strict interpretation of the constitution and admitted to the Senators (class lecture, 214). Thomas Jefferson’s decision was accepted, and the senators registered their prompt approval of the transaction (214). Jefferson again deserved the B+ because he changed and adjust his belief to benefit the common good of the United States, which was doubling its size by purchasing the Louisiana Territory