Thomas Jefferson Thesis

Did Thomas Jefferson give up his deeply held political values in order to purchase the Louisiana Territory from the French (P. 2)? This is the major question that has led to much debate within the early history of America (P. 1). Some historians argue that Thomas Jefferson did, in fact, throw away his commitment to states’ rights and constructionism by the large purchase of Louisiana for the U.S. (P.1). On the other hand, some believe that President Jefferson supported his political beliefs, the fortification of the republican government, with the Louisiana Purchase (P. 1).

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

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

Through the divide spreading in the nation, with a fair number of citizens showing extreme support of limited federal power and a strong state government, Jefferson fought for his partisan, Anti-Federalist views backed by those that voted for his inauguration. Given that his name was known around the globe for influential political dealings, a simple letter sent overseas to his young country could guide the nation’s lawmakers and statesman as to how they should proceed with a problem, even though he might be thousands of miles away from his home office. Example here. One case of such influence was the affiliation he shamelessly formed with James Madison in order to create the first of two separate parties, the Democratic Republicans as aforementioned.

Primarily, Thomas Jefferson’s essential idea of purchasing the Louisiana Territory was crucial. He understood that

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

President Jefferson’s major personal moral dilemma was actually purchasing the territory of louisiana from the french. Jefferson was a strong Democratic-Republican. This party was founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, This party was created in opposition of the federalist party which was led by Alexander Hamilton. The Democratic-Republican party believed that a strong central national government would deplete and completely rid the rights of states. The party strongly disapproved of the national Bank Of The United States stating that the bank was taking away power that belonged to the states. Among many of the views of the Democratic-Republican the strongest belief was to strictly abided by the constitution, so when the opportunity arose to purchase the French owned territory, the constitution did not state whether the government could or could not acquire any new land

do with it. He didn’t want to sell the Louisiana territory because he still had dreams of

Thomas Jefferson had mixed emotions about the Louisiana Purchase. On one hand, he knew it would be a grand opportunity, and the United States would be assured free navigation of the Mississippi River. Also, it would double our nation in size and be considered one of the largest, if not the largest, land transaction in history. On the other hand, he was conflicted whether or not to buy the Louisiana Territory because of guidelines set forth in the Constitution. The Constitution did not specifically

Jefferson was the founder of the Democratic-Republic Party and believed in an agrarian society with strong local governments (i.e. a weak central government). He thought that the states should yield most of the power so that the citizens could control what happens to them

Guided by his fervent and unwavering commitment to reason and the principles of natural law and natural rights, Thomas Jefferson crafted his own unique political and social vision for the United States of America which, excluding a few notable omissions, has survived to become an important contribution to the cornerstone of American democracy. His vision was of an agrarian and populist nation of citizens with access to general and widespread education, whose rulers are chosen on grounds of their individual merits and talents rather than on basis of birth and inheritance, and governed by a decentralized system of government, whose main duty is to safeguard the unalienable natural rights and freedom of the

The first main event of the Jeffersonian Era was expansion. During 1803, the French occupied the terrain westward of the Appalachian mountains. There were rumors that the French desired to expand their empire and take control of the United States territory. This causes Jefferson and other republicans becoming worried about the future of the United States. As a result, Jefferson ordered Robert Livingston, the American ambassador to France, to negotiate a price for the Louisiana area. The French at the time, however, were at war with the British

Jefferson’s vision for a proper use America was to establish an Agrarian Democracy. There was two major threats to his vision. First off, he wanted to develop more of an urban culture, using technology to make

Napoleon Bonaparte’s plan to revive the French empire was threatened by the American statesmen wanting to expand westward. He planned to use Louisiana as granary and recapture sugar colony of St.Domingue from a slave rebellion for his empire. France took possession in Louisiana in 1802, and sent a large army to St.Domingue and getting prepared to send one to New Orleans. Westerners are becoming afraid about having the French take control over New Orleans. Thomas Jefferson sent James Monroe to accompany Robert Livingston in France to bargain for New Orleans and Western Florida with $10

In a different path than Washington, Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, promoted the general welfare of the people and helped them and future generation prosper. “As a man faithful to a more democratic self-government,” he provided a nation a chance to prosper with the help of the new, more powerful government. (Foner, pg. 248) His purchase of the Louisiana Territory provided the people a place to live, greatly increasing the land area of the United States. With a national government, he was able to achieve this purchase with less bickering than if the individual states were sovereign. If this purchase were under the Articles of Confederation and democracy, the dividing of the new land would cause unrest in many of the states on