Chief Diplomat: Washington And Jefferson

Americans were able to ship their goods peacefully through New Orleans until 1801. Thomas Jefferson had found out that Spain had secretly given France New Orleans and the Louisiana Territory. The French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte was trying to conquer all of

The Louisiana Purchase was a seminal event for a new nation that caused heated debates to just how constitutional this deal of land was. Due to Jefferson’s familiarity with the French during his time in France as an American envoy. Another factor that led Jefferson to purchase of this vast land, was his understanding of the potential dangers of the French military. Posted on the Mississippi River, controlling the ports, and what can enter and leave, this would make trade for the United States much more difficult. The deal was instantly popular but soon found

He simply declared neutrality by saying that he believed "that France had actually started the war." [3] Following Washington's decision to avoid France's war, Washington found himself in a situation with the French minister to the United States, Edmond Charles Genet. The new minister arrived in the United States in April 1793 and at once began to hire recruiting agents and to commission privateers for war on English shipping. Again, President Washington declared his neutrality, but this time he clearly said to both England and France that he would not aid either, and he even asserted America's right to trade freely with both.[4] Peace and neutrality between the United States and Europecontinued throughout Washington's presidency and beyond. Washington realized that through his decision it was finalized that Europeans did not interfere in American affairs and vice versa.

banned the foreign slave trade January 1, 1808. The first problem in Jeffersons international affairs was the war with the barbary pirates. Recently the UnIted States had paid bribes to the Barbary States to keep them from Harassing with American merchants. Thomas Jefferson stopped paying the Bribes which led to a war. Jefferson tried using the navy to create a complete blockade around Tripoli. Jefferson ended up paying a last time fee of 60,000 dollars and made him build up the navy because of the weakness it showed. When Jefferson learned that Spain had given France the Louisiana territory it made him nervous. He believed that another battle for America was going to arise and he did not want to face the brilliant military mind of Napoleon. Thomas Jefferson sent two diplomats James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston to negotiate a purchase of Louisiana. Napoleon who desperately needed money to fight his european battles agreed to a price of fifteen millions dollars amounted to about four cents per acre for 828,000 square miles.. The United States obtained the land from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains which more than doubled the size of the nation. Napoleon next declared war on Great Britain. Both countries than banned Almost every American commerce with the other country. The British Navy then began impressing AMerican sailors

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were two important presidents who had an enormous affect on our nation’s stable government and beginning years of our country. Each made their unique contributions to a new government under the Constitution after the failed adoption of the Articles of Confederation. After the war for independence, the Articles of Confederation, began to fail because there was no direct effective way to to collect revenue, to much power was given to the states, and Congress did not have a lot of power. Historical figures, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, helped establish a stable government for their citizens.

Even though Jefferson was very opposed to loose interpretation of the constitution and judicial expansion under John Marshal, he did discard his strict principles from time to time when it became necessary. “Self-preservation—the first law of nature and nations—took precedence over the constitutional limitations that he scrupulously observed in peacetime.” This is especially true in the case of the Louisiana Purchase. Americans were expanding westward and needed a port for transport on the Mississippi, so Spain allowed them to use New Orleans. In 1801 Louisiana was ceded to France by Spain. France was not as cooperative as Spain and closed the port of New Orleans to the U.S. Therefore, a sudden disruption in trade was a legitimate cause for tension between the U.S. and France, and many people believed that a war would break out if the Americans did not buy New Orleans. Thomas Jefferson himself thought troubles were

While Washington was president, the French Revolution was going on and the English and French were in conflict. Both sides were asking help from the U.S.A. Many officials were split on who to side with but Washington decided to pass the Neutrality Proclamation declaring that the American stay out of it. Washington decided to do this because he believed there was no point in helping since it will just add to the national debt and cut ties with one or the other nations. He makes this clear when he states, “Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence” (paragraph

With all of the social and economic rifts in America, Napoleon saw a perfect opportunity to capture the sugar colony of St. Domingue from their slave rebellion and establish Louisiana as a part of his American empire. After having purchased Louisiana from France in 1800, Napoleon sent his troops to St. Domingue, preparing to acquire New Orleans. New Orleans had been a major trading port for America, dealing with almost half of America’s import and exports, and Thomas Jefferson began to question his trust in France when Napoleon threatened to take it. Jefferson decided to discretely handle the matter by approaching the situation as it came rather than taking a rash action that would surely create dissonance between France and America. Thomas Jefferson knew that the American West would be put into jeopardy if France captured it as they would have the same commercial rights and privileges as they did whilst under the Spanish. Jefferson issued a warning to Napoleon and treated to side with Britain if France captured New Orleans. As Napoleon’s army weakened and his fear of American attack grew, he decided to sell Louisiana to Thomas Jefferson for a mere 15 million dollars. This made Jefferson reevaluate his strict interpretation of the Constitution as he had to create his own rules with the Elastic Clause in order to obtain the land and secure American safety. Napoleon was not American and therefore did not hold an opinion on federalism and different interpretations of the Constitution. However, he had a major impact on the politicians of the Jeffersonian Age and made people reevaluate how they viewed America. The whole transaction also made America a more powerful force who was willing to side with their long-term enemy with due cause. Napoleon challenged Federalists and Democratic-Republicans as they scrambled to save Louisiana from French rule and

The American government was not economically prepared to partake in expensive transactions. This Louisiana Purchase was not too long following the revolution from England. The conflict resulted in American victory and freedom for the colonies. However, the war also left the new country crippled and financially unstable without the support of England. The nation was hardly able to afford the land that France had to offer. However, Thomas Jefferson saw the economic advantages that this offer could present to the country. Jefferson was a huge supporter of farmers and the benefits that agriculture could bring the nation. Rich in gold, silver and other ores, as well as huge forestland,

Jefferson faced a political dilemma by having to make a difficult decision with purchasing the Louisiana. He was a very strict person involved in the constitution. The federal government had a very hard time dealing with the constitution. The constitution would not give the federal government enough power to purchase it from France. Jefferson was an anti-federalist, although he wrote the constitution he did not agree to author it. He also faced the fact about deciding whether purchasing and acquiring land was even legal. On top of that there was also cons Jefferson dealt with. A con was that the United States would have to protect a larger nation with purchasing the Louisiana. The United States would also have to be careful with how the Americans explored the land and settled. Thomas Jefferson had a lot going on after

Still, the Brits carried on with their Global aggression against the colonies. To regain full control over the New World while honoring the Treaty of Paris, England hypocritically added to their Post Revolutionary strategy greater disruption, diminishing both America’s Global imports and exports. The British harassment of the Global free market, i.e. capitalism, arose to become the foreboding and economic concerns of President Madison and the Continental Congress. International capitalism was being violated by the Royal Navy which further gave rise to the declaration of the War in 1812. America’s Congressional leadership knew that the new British strategy would ultimately win out, thereby shrinking and limiting economic growth. Along with

Chief Diplomat is defined as a leader who oversees, creates, and executes foreign relations and policies between the United States and other countries. The two most influential “Chief Diplomats” the US has ever had were George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. George Washington thrusted into the presidency by unanimous vote of the electoral college. Throughout his presidency, George Washington developed the country further than any president who would follow did. Washington was able to defend the homeland and support the United State’s foreign relations through his passing of the Neutrality Proclamation, Jay’s Treaty, and the Treaty of Tripoli. Many historians would argue that Thomas Jefferson made strides in advancing the nation much further through his accomplishment of acquiring the Louisiana Territory. Although neither president perfectly accomplished all goals they set out to complete, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson single-handedly accomplished, shaped, and developed the nation through treaties and foreign relations far more than any other pair of presidents during their terms as president.

The Louisiana Purchase was an acquisition of a significant portion of North America; larger than the size of fifteen current states in the U.S. according to Encyclopedia Britannica, the deal was, “at less than three cents per acre… the greatest land bargain in American history.” The United States purchased this territory from Napoleon, and thus doubled the size of the republic. This newly acquired territory went from the Mississippi River, all the way east to the Rocky Mountains, and then into the Gulf in Mexico. The United States came to the realization that the land was an absolutely essential necessity if they were to later form a trading post. The city of New Orleans, which began in this new land began growing rapidly in population. As the population and job market grew, New Orleans opened as an important seaport that “served as a distinctive cultural gateway to North America, where peoples from Europe and Africa initially intertwined their lives and customs with those of the native inhabitants of the New World.” America was flourishing, but the tension was rising in other nations. Great Britain, for instance, battled France and defeated Napoleon in Europe, and then decided to pursue the U.S. The rooted cause of the War of 1812 began when Britain launched a series of three invasions on the U.S. “The War of 1812 is often called the Second War for Independence, for despite granting the United States its independence in 1783, the British continued to station British forces

Because of the previous commander and chief, Thomas Jefferson releasing the Embargo Act of 1807, an act that halted all trade with Europe. Traders income was hitting rock bottom, in other words, plummeting severely because of large revenue from Europe. In Document A, a man complains about how halted trade with Britain is effecting the country over all and the details of a major complaint. According to the text in Document A it states, “Great Britain in defiance of incontestable right, captures every American vessel bound to, or returning from, a port where commerce is not favored; enslaves our men, and in spite of our complaints and protests and persevered aggressions”. This quote explains that majority of the country may have been complaining about this Act because the way he had described it seemed to be a major issue in the United States. Overall there seemed to be an issue with not receiving certain items meaning it would be very beneficial to end the Embargo Act in result of higher income and less suffering from American

When James Madison, the president of the United States began drafting a war message in late May 1812, claiming the hostility Great Britain had showed towards the United States he didn’t fail to mention the hand France had to play in the game of hostility. “He therefore attached one more paragraph to the message, noting that France had often been as guilty of the same infractions of American neutral rights as Great Britain.” France had decided that after Chief Justice John Jay’s treaty, or “Jay’s treaty” had passed in 1796 that it could too retort to the same violations of neutrals rights that Great Britain had grown accustomed to. “That Attitude in fact governed much French policy toward the United States for the subsequent decade and beyond…” This led to the XYZ affair. The United States sent diplomats to ensure peace between the two nations, however French negotiators in turn made outrageous demands that shocked the diplomats, the demands were dropped but France did not agree to end the seizures of American ships.