Thomas Jefferson And The Jeffersonian Vision

1. a.) Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were both representative of their time in the fact that they still held prejudices against different races. This was nothing but the norm for the 18th and 19th century. Jefferson owned slaves and Franklin, for most of his life, adamantly believed that African Americans were lesser. b.) But, quite unlike the mainstream ideals of their time, both men held strong ideals of equality. Franklin did at the end of his life reverse his ideas about African Americans, and dedicated many of his later years to equality for blacks. Jefferson also believed slavery to be an atrocious blot on the face of America. Their strong opinions of equality

Thomas Jefferson was the third American President. Due to the fact that he was such an early President, he influenced our political system greatly, both in the short and long term with his seemingly quiet approach to congressional matters. During his presidency, many things happened that changed the United States as we know it. He coordinated the Louisiana Purchase, assisted in implementing the twelfth amendment, formed the character of the modern American President, and cut the U.S.’s war debt by a third.

He is best remembered as a great president and as the author of the Declaration of Independence. He also won lasting fame as a diplomat, a political thinker, and a founder of the Democratic Party. Jefferson's interests and talents covered an amazing range. He became one of the leading American architects of his time and designed the Virginia Capitol, the University of Virginia, and his own home, Monticello. He greatly appreciated art and music and tried to encourage their advancement in the United States. He arranged for the famous French sculptor Jean Houdon to come to America to make a statue of George Washington. Jefferson also posed for Houdon and for the famous American portrait painter Gilbert Stuart.

A Vision Achieved      Jefferson envisioned a government that allowed its citizens to exercise inalienable rights. In exact words, he states, “ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” To be more evident, how can we define these “inalienable rights” of “life”, “liberty”, and the “pursuit of happiness?” Have these inalienable rights, achieved Jefferson’s goal? I am convinced, Jefferson’s revolutionary vision of life, liberty, and happiness has at last been achieved in America.

Thomas Jefferson, in his inaugural address, stated that America was, “A rising nation, spread over a wide and fruitful land, traversing all the seas with the rich productions of their industry…advancing rapidly to the destinies beyond the reach of mortal eye...” He was a strong believer in the progressive nature of morality and held an optimistic view of the nature of humanity and human ability. Jefferson believed that all people were equally naturally endowed with the ability to determine right and wrong regardless of their status, and belief that gave him a foundation for his support of democracy. Jefferson believed that since all men had this judgement naturally gifted to them, they were capable of selecting the correct people to lead them and the nation would flourish with liberty. Jefferson’s optimistic faith in human nature and the democratic ideals he formed around its principles guaranteed the future liberty of the United States.

Thomas Jefferson was elected in the 1800’s as the President of United States. During the years of being a president, Thomas Jefferson executed the job very well. He was a great leader for his accomplishments and his philosophies that affected politically as well in other ways; he also showed a lot of affection against slavery. Firstly, Thomas Jefferson was an opponent of slavery. According to research, Thomas Jefferson had said slavery was “moral depravity and hideous blot” (Thomas Jefferson and Slavery Monticello).

I identify with Jefferson because he works for the people. He focused on states’ rights because what may benefit New York might hurt Georgia. Our country has many different industries with the southern states being predominately agriculture and the northern states primarily manufacturing. An example of economic division would be the tariff of 1789. The tariff supported high duties on trade which protected the northern states manufacturing economy but cost the southern planters. The cargo that transported agricultural goods was taxed which became a burden on southern planters. Hamilton pushed for this tariff because he wanted to jump start the small industry in the north. Jefferson disagreed with Hamilton pointing out that tariffs should only be used to raise money for the government and not to create a private sector such as manufacturing. This relates to Jefferson believing in the “invisible hand” theory. That a free

     Joseph J. Ellis, a historian who was educated at the College of William and Mary and Yale, is a Ford Foundation Professor of History at Mount Holyoke University. He has written four books on historical topics, centered on the time Jefferson was alive, dealing with issues and personalities Jefferson dealt with firsthand. After authoring a book on a politician such as John Adams, Ellis seems to have felt a need or want to focus on Jefferson, presumably because of his status as founding father and main contributor to the constitution.

Works Cited Sadosky, L. J. (2016). Jefferson, Thomas. Worldbookonline.com. Retrieved from http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar286800&st=thomas+jefferson#tab=homepage Thomas Jefferson. (2009).

I agree with your analysis of how Thomas Jefferson presented himself as a "Republican Man" to his peers. I like that you also mention that e tried to distinguish himself from the Federalist administration of John Adams. The Adams administration was know for throwing lavish parties, showing his wealth and status. Thomas Jefferson in keeping with "Republican Man" ideology distanced himself from these practices by never refusing a meeting or throwing large parties. We now know that Thomas Jefferson tried very hard to keep up his front as a "Republican Man". The main location this deception is present is at his home at Monticello. A very important aspect of Monticello that you mentioned was that it as designed to look like a

Thomas Jefferson's ideals and beliefs were derived from a deep regard for life, liberty, and freedom. His concept of individual freedoms strongly disagreed with the notion of a "guided republic" which he believed concentrated a great deal unchecked power among a few people. This could have the potential of tyrannical government that might suppress personal freedoms of any kind especially those of religion, which Jefferson feels very strongly felt should be protected. After fighting hard to rid America of British domination, Jefferson was determined to create a government that was responsible to, and derived its powers from, a free people. As the writer of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for

We always hear about Thomas Jefferson in our history classes, as one of the most influential American politicians at the time of the nation’s birth. Though, we don’t always take the time to understand why this is the case. Looking at what he accomplished as president and politician seems mind boggling. In my blog, I will discuss Thomas Jefferson’s major accomplishments, his leadership lessons, and criticisms of his actions.

Before Thomas Jefferson ever entered the presidency, he believed in the “Empire of Liberty.” He wrote in a letter to a friend that “Our confederacy must be viewed as the nest from which all America, North or South, is to be peopled.” His motives for the intense eye on American expansion were greatness for his country, as well as for himself. He was disgusted with the idea of North America being divided into nation-states like Europe. His goal was for the ideals of the American Revolution to spread over the whole continent. He passed and helped pass some of the legislation that helped early America expand. He co-authored the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which allowed for states to be made from the territory east of the Mississippi and

There are, in fact, numerous lessons learnt throughout the novel A Lesson Before Dying and they are learnt by a multitude of different characters. A significant number of characters throughout the book gradually evolve whilst story unfolds with this gradient of change emphasised in Jefferson, Grant Wiggins and the deputy, Paul. The lessons substantiate themselves in the words and actions of all the characters throughout the novel; however, it is Grant who learns perhaps the most. Through his interactions with Jefferson and his direct community, Grant, even unintentionally, develops his understanding of life beyond the grasp

Development had a lot to do with economics, particularly when you consider Jefferson’s philosophies about the empire of liberty. By 1860 nearly 300,000 people had made the journey that has been commemorated. Oregon was cooperatively controlled by the US and Britain. New Mexico and California were the only two with big reimbursements. They were both outstripped by Native Americans. When Mexico became self-governing there were only about 2,000 Tejanos so they reinvigorated financial development. Mexico’s government decided a huge territory of land to Moses Austin. Austin’s son vended and made a orderly profit by selling smaller packages of land until there were 7,000 Americans there, so Mexico cancelled the land agreements and banned further