Just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia sits Monticello, the stately home of one of the nation’s preeminent Founding Fathers: Thomas Jefferson. Amidst the unique architecture, mountain top views, and complex history, visitors will also find the final resting place of Jefferson. An obelisk marks the location and is inscribed with an epitaph written by Jefferson himself: “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson. Author of the Declaration of Independence of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom & Father of the University of Virginia.” Jefferson believed these three achievements were the greatest accomplishments of his life and hoped that they would serve “as testimonials that I have lived, I wish most to be remembered.” Conspicuous by its absence is one of Jefferson’s most remarkable achievements. One that serves as the high water mark for the few that have obtained it. I’m referring of course to the fact that Thomas Jefferson served eight years as President of the United States. Jefferson thought so little of his time in the White House that he seemed not to care if others forgot all about it as well. The great irony in this of course is that Thomas Jefferson thought rather highly of his election in 1800, referring to it as the “Revolution of 1800.” After 12 years of Federalist control of the government by Washington and Adams, with the help of Alexander Hamilton, the new federal government, with its taxes, promotion of commerce, and harsh dealing with decent, had in Jefferson’s view, betrayed the spirit of 1776. His ascension to the nation’s highest office would be a continuation of the work begun at Lexington and Concord. And yet, in the end he didn’t think too highly of his time as Chief Executive. This inconsistency, while obvious, should come as no surprise to students of Jefferson. His entire life was a contradiction. He detests cities, yet he reveled in the salons of Paris. He attacks the expansion of government power, yet further expands it once in office. And most notable, he penned the immortal words that “all men are created equal” and lamented the evils of slavery, yet in his lifetime he owned over 600 human beings. Volumes have been written about Jefferson’s complex life. His incredible contribution to the founding of the world’s greatest democracy, juxtaposed against his own moral failings and hypocrisies. These are important legacies that warrant study, examination, and debate. However, for the purposes of this blog entry I will do my best to focus on Jefferson’s time in the White House, his Presidency. With that said, Thomas Jefferson’s ascendency to the Presidency began some ten earlier when he became America’s first Secretary of State. Having served as Minister to France during the years of the Confederation, Jefferson was more than qualified to be the nation’s top diplomat. Jefferson was a valued and trusted member of President Washington’s cabinet. However, early on Jefferson began to realize that his vision for America differed greatly from Washington and, more importantly, the President’s right hand man Secretary of State Alexander Hamilton. From their interpretation of the Constitution, to economic and monetary policy, to the use of federal power, and most importantly regarding foreign policy Jefferson and Hamilton stood at opposite ends of the political spectrum. The two men would become the de facto leaders of the nation’s first two political parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. Washington, though he claimed no party, was clearly in the Hamilton camp. He was a Federalist. Jefferson thought it best to resign his post in the cabinet and begin laying the groundwork for a presidential run of his own in 1796. When Washington declined to run for reelection in 1796, the Federalists rallied behind Vice President John Adams, the Democratic-Republicans supported Jefferson. In the end, Adams carried the day. However, in accordance with the original wording of the Constitution, as runner-up Jefferson became Vice President. Over the course of the next four years, Jefferson used his largely ceremonial role to undermine everything the President, his former dear friend, John Adams did. While Adams was busy battling his own party to keep the nation from plunging headlong into a potentially disastrous war with France, Jefferson was busy unifying his new party. When Adams foolishly signed into law the authoritarian Alien and Sedition Acts that made it a crime to publicly criticize the President, Jefferson and his trusted lieutenant James Madison rallied the states to oppose the laws. When 1800 came, Jefferson and Adams would once again square off. This time, the beleaguered Adams had little chance of winning. However, this time there was also the problematic addition of a third candidate, another Democratic-Republican, Aaron Burr, complicating the race. In the end, Jefferson and Burr tied in the electoral vote. The nation had its first electoral crisis. With no presidential candidate receiving a majority of the electoral vote, it was up to the House of Representatives to choose the winner. It was at this time that Jefferson’s old nemesis, Alexander Hamilton, provided an unexpected assist. Hamilton wrote to members of the House urging them to support Jefferson. “Mr. Jefferson, though too revolutionary in his notions, is yet a lover of liberty and will be desirous of something like orderly Government – Mr. Burr loves nothing but himself – thinks of nothing but his own aggrandizement – and will be content with nothing short of permanent power.” Jefferson carried the day and was elected the third President of the United States. Burr, became Vice President. Within a few years, plans were set in motion to amend the Constitution and change the method of choosing a Vice President. On March 4, 1801 Thomas Jefferson walked to the unfinished Capitol for his inauguration. He attempted to strike a unifying cord in his address when he proudly proclaimed “We are all Republicans. We are all Federalists.” However, make no mistake about it. Jefferson saw his election as a Revolution and would have little use for Federalists in his administration. He immediately sat about enacting his Republican agenda for America. He pardoned the Democratic-Republican newspaper editors, “martyrs”, that had been prosecuted under the baneful Alien and Sedition Acts. He eliminated all internal taxes, shrank the size of the Navy, and began to pay down the national debt. In addition to these tangible changes, he also felt it important to make symbolic changes that reflected the Republican nature of the Presidency. After all, the President is not a king. He did away with nineteenth century formalities. Hosting casual dinner parties rather than formal banquets. He would often answer the White House door himself, occasionally in his casual evening attire. Jefferson was making his mark on the Presidency. Soon, as would be the case with every man to hold the office, the political goals of the campaign would come face to face with the realities of Presidential leadership. It was Thomas Jefferson, the man who wished to shrink the navy and had little use for an army, that would be the first American President to lead the nation through a successful overseas military conflict. The Barbary Wars were the result of North African pirates seizing American merchant ships and demanding bribes for the release of prisoners. President Jefferson ordered the Navy to the Mediterranean to confront the pirates and blockade Barbary ports. After several years of limited conflict, and an unlikely alliance with Sweden, the conflict was resolved and American sovereignty was respected. In 1803, Jefferson stumbled into the deal of the century. The port of New Orleans, though owned by France, was crucial to American economic interests west of the Appalachian Mountains. Farmers in rapidly growing areas along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers would send their products down the river to New Orleans where it could be stored before being picked up by ocean faring ships that could take it to the ports of the eastern seaboard. Fearing the French, who had only recently acquired the territory from Spain, would shut off New Orleans to American merchants, President Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to Paris with an offer to buy New Orleans and the surrounding area from Napoleon. Much to the surprise of the American envoys, Napoleon made a counter offer. Strapped for cash and seeing little value in maintaining a costly presence in North America, Napoleon offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory, more than 800,000 square miles, to the United States for the bargain price of $15 million. The Americans took the deal and returned home with news of their purchase. Jefferson, though enthusiastic at the prospects of adding so much territory to the United States, was conscious stricken with the purchase. He had long attacked previous Federalist administrations for overstepping constitutional bounds in their pursuit of their goals. Jefferson claimed to be a strict constructionist, meaning that the President and Congress could only exercise those powers specifically granted to them by the Constitution. There was no room for implied powers. Yet, nowhere in the Constitution is the President granted the authority to purchase territory. If Jefferson supported the Louisiana Purchase, he would be betraying his most fundamental of principles. But what a deal! Jefferson signed the treaty and Congress, filled with Democratic-Republicans accepted the deal. With the stroke of a pen and quick vote in Congress, Thomas Jefferson doubled the size of the United States. Shortly after the purchase was made, Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead the Corps of Discovery for the purposes of mapping and exploring the new American territory. The Lewis and Clark Expedition would become a great American epic, but more importantly bring back a wealth of scientific and cultural knowledge regarding the people, plants, and animals for western North America. Jefferson’s willingness to betray his principles in making the Louisiana Purchase and eagerness to send the Corps of Discovery reflect his vision for America. Thomas Jefferson, like many of his Democratic-Republican followers, had a unique vision of American liberty. To Jefferson the quintessential American was the yeoman farmer. There was no better expression of American freedom than a small landowner who provided for his family through the fruits of his labor. Though educated and connected to the larger nation civically, he was largely free of what Jefferson viewed as the agents of oppression: a strong federal government, banks, the marketplace, and organized religion. These had been the oppressors during the Revolution and Jefferson had no taste for them in the American experiment. In order for American citizens to live out this view of liberty required, above all else, land to farm. The Louisiana Purchase provided the United States a seemingly endless tract of land to fill with virtuous, freedom-loving, republican farmers. In the pursuit of this noble goal, previous concerns about fidelity to the doctrine of strict constructionism would take a back seat. Of course, Jefferson’s dream for America did not come true. Though he wouldn’t live to see it, the men and women who eventually settled the land he purchased in 1803 would become serfs to banks, world markets, and corporate interests. It was not the agrarian republic he imagined. But in the final analysis, Mr. Jefferson’s purchase has been incredibly beneficial to the United States as a whole. As Jefferson’s first term was nearing an end, he faced a new problem, his Vice President. With the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment altering how Vice Presidents were chosen, Aaron Burr was dropped from the Democratic-Republican ticket. Ever the politician, Burr quickly set his sights on another, no doubt more prestigious office, in the upcoming election. Burr announced his candidacy for Governor of New York in 1804. Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton once again used the power of his pen to publicly denounce Burr as unfit for office. When Burr was defeated, he blamed Hamilton for yet another failed campaign. Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel, which the former Secretary of Treasury accepted. Burr shot and killed Hamilton on July 11, 1804. The Vice President was charged with murder, though the charges were later dropped. One would imagine that sitting Vice President being charged with murder would be the oddest part of the story, and yet the complications go further. After his term ended in early 1805, Burr ventured west into the Louisiana Territory with a small group of armed men. His plans appeared to have been to somehow provoke an armed conflict with Spain which he would then exploit to seize western land that would then break away from the United States. Several years later, when President Jefferson learned of his former Vice President’s odd conspiracy, a warrant was issued for his arrest. This time, the charge was treason. A charge for which he was acquitted due to lack of evidence. With a new running mate, George Clinton of New York, Jefferson was reelected in 1804 in a landslide. His first term had seen the doubling of the United States, a successful military conflict, the reduction of taxes and the national debt, and the addition of a new state, Ohio, to the Union. It was by any measure a successful four years. However, as would be the case with every other president in the years to come, his 2nd term would not go as smoothly as the first. Thomas Jefferson’s second term was consumed with foreign policy. Great Britain and France had been at war for some time and Jefferson had largely managed to keep the United States away from the conflict. Things changed in 1805. Though highly critical of Great Britain (see 1776), Jefferson was smart enough to know that positive economic relations with the British would prove invaluable to the economic prospects of the United States. At the same time, Jefferson loved France. While serving as ambassador to France in the 1780s, he had consulted with revolutionary leaders who were overthrowing the French monarchy. He would urge President Washington to support the French in their war against England in the 1790s. Now as President of a young and fragile country, he was caught between his head and his heart in terms of which nation to support in the war between the two European rivals. Jefferson hoped to remain neutral in the affair and continue trade with both belligerent nations. However, as the war intensified so did the tactics. Both the British and French navies began seizing American merchant vessels bound for their enemies' ports; a clear violation of American sovereignty and neutrality. The British were far more heavy-handed in their dealing with Americans. They seized far more ships and began forcing American sailors into service to the British navy; a practice known as impressment. After initially attempting to cool relations with the British, hostilities intensified as a result of the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair. A British naval vessel attempted to board an American ship. When the Americans refused the British opened fire killing several American sailors. Frustrated with the attack, but unwillingly to be drawn into a war, President Jefferson thought he could use American economic power to lure both France and Great Britain to the negotiating table in order to get them to respect American rights. He was wrong. With the President’s support, Congress passed the Embargo Act of 1807. Essentially, the Act cut off all trade with all foreign nations. In theory, the lack of American goods would prove disastrous for both sides and they’d be eager to reach a peaceful settlement. In reality, neither Britain or France paid much attention to their little brother across the Atlantic. They didn’t need American goods or raw materials. The Embargo did nothing to end the conflict, while at the same time wreaking havoc on the American economy. Trade was the backbone of the American economy, particularly in New York and New England. Rather than punishing London and Paris, Boston and Philadelphia suffered the consequences of Jefferson’s decision. It is rare that the origins of an economic recession can be so easily traced to a single event. However, the genesis of the 1808 recession can be found squarely on Jefferson’s desk. The economy was in shambles as was Jefferson’s second term. As 1808 approached, Jefferson honored the tradition set only 12 years early by George Washington and declined to seek a 3rd term. He was weary. Plagued by headaches and disillusioned with politics, Thomas Jefferson began to loath the presidency and wanted nothing more to do with it.
Jefferson remained active during his retirement. In addition to maintaining correspondence with old colleagues and current political leaders, Jefferson continued his pursuit of creating a virtuous, well-educated citizenry. It was during these years that he accomplished one of the landmark achievements of his life: the founding of the University of Virginia. The Jeffersonian vision for America had education at its core. In founding UVA, the former President ensured thousands of Americans would have a solid foundation in their “pursuit of happiness.” It was also during these final years that Jefferson rekindled a friendship with his former revolutionary brother turned political enemy, John Adams. The two elderly Founding Fathers, having not spoken in years in 12 years, gradually began sending letters to one another. Over the next 14 years, the two corresponded more than 150 times discussing everything from the news of the day to reflecting on their roles in the revolution. The letters serve as a treasure trove of insight into the two greatest minds of the American Revolution. Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In a stroke of fate, John Adams passed away on the same day a few hours later. Following his passing, arrangements were made in line with Jefferson’s wishes. He was buried at Monticello, the obelisk he designed and the epitaph he penned were displayed at his resting place. Though Jefferson made no mention of his presidency, the nation was unquestionably shaped by it. He doubled the size of the nation. He brought republican principles to the office of the office of Chief Executive. He was a champion of limited government, but was willing to use the power of the government in pursuit of higher principles. He was flawed, a hypocrite, he made mistakes, but he believed in the American experiment. In short, he was an American.
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