Thomas Jefferson was a Democratic-Republican. He strongly believed in a weak central government where the power was given to the states in order to preserve their rights and prevent a dictatorship. The best government in his opinion was the one that had the least input on people's decisions. Jefferson also had no intentions of expanding eastward. Rather, he believed that strengthening and expanding their borders at home should be the highest priority. War was Jefferson's last resort as he hated conflict and moving eastward would almost guarantee bringing about it. Although Thomas Jefferson went into his presidency in 1800 with these strong ideas, he ended up pursuing many Federalist beliefs similar to those of Alexander Hamilton, his opponent of the opposing party during the election, due to certain circumstances that arose during his term. For example, he sent a naval fleet to Tripoli and also repealed the Embargo Act with France and Britain which were both against his ideals. He also kept many Federalist officials in office and even used a Federalist tax plan. On a much larger scale, Jefferson bought Louisiana and all the territory west of it from Napoleon. This purchase was also against Jefferson's beliefs as it involved treaties and circumventing the Constitution. …show more content…
Understanding these decisions prove that there were many instances between 1801 and 1809 where the beliefs of Federalist Alexander Hamilton were reflected in the actions of Thomas Jefferson, a