Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was an American founding father who served as the third president of the United States in 1801. He was born in April 13, 1743 and educated in colony Virginia and he was dead in July 4,1826. He is also the main drafter of the Declaration of Independence and one of the most influential people in the founding fathers of the United States. In addition to his political career, President Jefferson is also an expert in agronomy, horticulture, architecture, etymology, archaeology, mathematics, cryptography, surveying, paleontology, a writer, lawyer, and violinist. He is also the founder of University of Virginia. During his presidency, he protected agriculture and developed national capitalist industries. His decision of purchasing Louisiana from France has nearly doubled US territory.

Thomas Jefferson was known for the principle author of the Declaration of Independence and also the third president of the United States, but his achievement is far more than that. In September 1789, Jefferson became the first U.S. Secretary of State. He formed the United States Department of States. During his tenure, he disagreed with Alexander Hamilton on the economic and diplomatic policy. At the end of 1793, he resigned as Secretary of State to establish the Democratic-Republican Party. Competing with the federal party led by Hamilton has a major impact on the formation and development of the two-party system in the United States in the future.

In the 1796 presidential election, Jefferson won the second place behind John Adams and was elected as the vice president of the United States. So far, Jefferson has been the only vice president of the United States who was elected as president later and served two terms.

In the election of 1800, Jefferson defeated President John Adams and was elected the third president of the United States. It was said that Jefferson’s victory was the “Revolution of 1800” because his election marked the decline of federalism and the rise of republicanism. After he took the office, he immediately abolished many horrible federal laws. During the two presidential terms, he abolished the "Neutralization Law", "Alien Friends Act", "Aliens Enemy Act" and "the Alien and Sedition Act" promulgated by John Adams. He protected the basic rights of the people and actively promoted the westward Extended policy.

Through the Treaty of San Ildefonso, signed in 1800, France achieved the sovereignty of Louis Siena from Spain. Before the move was completed, Louisiana was still under Spain’s control. In 1800, President Jefferson learned that the Spanish secret ceded Louisiana to France and worried about losing control of New Orleans. President Jefferson decided purchase city of New Orleans and all or part of Florida. In the spring of 1803, President Jefferson sent James Monroe to France to join French Minister-Robert Livingston. He instructed Monroe and Livingston to negotiate for the purchase of New Orleans and all or part of Florida from France for $10 million. At the time, Napoleon I was facing the renewed war with Britain and was in desperate need of war funding. Napoleon agreed to sell a large piece of land from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. After bargaining, the land was finally sold at a price of less than three cents per acre.

President Jefferson was delighted with the deal but because the Constitution does not specifically address the acquisition of the new territory, the Federalist Party strongly opposed with the land purchase. They also believe that maintaining close ties with the Britain is more important than the friendship with Napoleon. The Federalist Party argued that the purchase of land was unconstitutional, and that the United States would pay a huge price for nothing but a war with Spain.

The constitution controversy for President Jefferson was very tough. Although he believes that the United States must expand, he is the first person to claim that the Constitution does not authorize the acquisition of any new territory. In many of his problems during his presidency, Jefferson was forced to seek a balance between the principles and conflicts. In this case, President Jefferson chose the interest for the Unite States in submitting the Louisiana purchase treaty to the Senate. In October 1803, the Senate approved the treaty.