Thomas Jefferson's Influence On Helping The Common Man

Thomas Jefferson, who led from 1801-1809, was an avid enthusiast of the common man and self government. He believed that the sole purpose of the government was to look out for and support the interests of

Of course, as history can tell us, Jefferson, an Antifederalist, or a Republican as they called them back then, favored little federal government control and more say for the small farmers and states (Davis 86-7). He believed that all Americans should be educated enough to read and understand the issues that were being voted on so that they could choose their own leaders and run for office themselves. In fact, he proposed a bill, which would guarantee some public education for all children, excluding slaves. He felt that this would allow people to have an opportunity to better themselves based on “talent and virtue” instead of “wealth and birth.” Even though his bill was voted on three times, it didn’t pass due to the fact that the majority of the Virginia Assembly thought that it was “too radical, too expensive, and too unnecessary (Davis 52-3).” Antifederalists were also anti-British, but friendly to France, their ally at the time (Davis 87).

Thomas Jefferson was an agrarian soul who favored popular rule. He placed his trust in the land and the people who farmed it and desired that America would remain a nation of farmers. He emphasized liberty, democracy, and social welfare and believed that

Although Jefferson favored a smaller government than the one created, he still contributed to the Constitution a great deal. Without Jefferson, some of the “Bill of Rights mainstays such as the right to bear arms and religious freedom may have not held up so strongly” (3). Jefferson did not allow his differing views on the structure of government or being overseas get in the way of positively contributing to the Constitution. Jefferson used his friendship with James Madison as well as his strong political views to contributed to the Convention in a beneficial way. Although Jefferson was not present at the time, he was still able to influence the Constitution and change the Bill of Rights. Jefferson ensured certain freedom aspects of the Bill of Rights remained in the Constitution, which helped create the great nation on the foundation of freedom for all

Thomas Jefferson had revolutionary thoughts about education, government, farming, and land. Jefferson truly morphed United States citizens way of life and beliefs. He was often countered in his ideas of having a small government with a weak Executive branch. It 's actually kind of ironic that as the president Thomas took immense strides towards taking the power away from the president. Its truly amazing that he did this because most men are power hungry, but Jefferson even when he had the power gave it away for his beliefs. Due to Jefferson 's beliefs we aquired some of the most fertile land for farming in the world. That farmland is called Louisiana. It 's a huge mass of land that fit perfectly with his beliefs of having a more rural focused population. Jefferson actually always wanted and had plans of exploring the Louisiana area. His two representatives, James Monroe and Robert

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

Another major impact that Thomas Jefferson had on American history was writing the Declaration Of Independence. In 1776, Jefferson drafted the Declaration Of Independence, though the document has no power today, it still shaped America to what it is now. The declaration had many impacts on the colonists back in 1776, and still has an impact on the United States citizens and government today.Without the Declaration Of Independence, America might still be under british rule. That means there might be religious persecution, slaves, and only white men voters. The document portrayed what the government should look like, and gave America a strong example of what the future of the government should be. It showed the importance of freedom and a strong government that was still for the people. Also, many of what Jefferson wrote gave hope to the Americans to fight against the British and take a step towards freedom for the colonists. The words of Jefferson was a contributing factor in fighting in the American Revolution. Without the words of Jefferson, America today would have very easily had an unsuccessful government, be apart of British rule, and have no freedom. The United States would be non unified, chaotic, and have a controlling government. America would not be the country known as the ‘land of the free and home of the brave.’ The United States would have never had a Constitution, a Bill Of Rights, and many other important documents. The Declaration of Independence changed American history all because of Thomas Jefferson and the principes he stood for. (2, 3, 6,

President Jefferson believed that the federal government should be less powerful and centralized, and that many powers should be reserved for the states. Also, he believed in a smaller military force, unlike the Federalists. Although the Jefferson Revolution was anti-Federalist, he favored vast and wide territorial growth for the small Republic. Hence, the Louisiana Purchase became a reality under his Presidency. However, unlike the Federalists, he favored an agrarian republic, as opposed to an industrialized powerhouse. For this, slavery was needed, and he had no problem with slavery alongside a populist democracy (Goldfield et al. 226). Ironically, Jefferson was very much an aristocrat, and found no contradictions between aristocratic rule (very similar to the Federalists) at the helm of a

Thomas Jefferson was a Republican and in which supported farmers and workers, also known as the lower class. The Democracy and the role of government, thought by Thomas Jefferson was the state governments should have the most power and no profit for the speculators. He also wanted free trade with no tariffs. When the topic goes to the common people Thomas Jefferson knows that they are the backbone of the government and are very important. When Alexander Hamilton wanted a national bank Thomas Jefferson said, "A national bank was unconstitutional" also money should stay in state governments. Also when he wanted alliances he wanted the Francophiles, he favored the France because they were his first ally during the Revolution. His beliefs about the Constitution were that the Constitution had severe interpretation with states having most of the power, also the federal government has only what is said in the Constitution. He supported the French Revolution at first because it was for democracy and freedom changed his way of thinking when it bacame so

Thomas Jefferson was our third president in this great nation. Since he was one of the first presidents, he had a huge influence with our political system today. This is obviously both in the short term and the long term with his smooth approaches to the congressional matters. During his terms many things were happening in the United States. Probably the biggest thing we hear about what he did was the Louisiana Purchase, and most like heard of assisting in implementing the 12th Amendment, as well as cutting the U.S. military debt in a third. This man is shaping our country to how we see it today.

Thomas Jefferson had a passion for two main things; one of which was the rights of the United States. Thomas believed that citizens’ rights were much more important than the beliefs of the government. With

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that their creator with certain unalienable rights endows them, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. -That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” – Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of independence 1776. Thomas Jefferson was inspired to create and improve and a new country by setting ideals. However, just as any ideals or laws not everyone obeys or respects them. America has not lived up to the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence because people have a mind set that everyone is equal but some are more equal than others, opportunity is only an illusion

Jefferson was known as a brilliant writer and a strong supporter of democracy and individual liberties

Jefferson not only shaped the nation, but also our society today. “The Declaration of Independence is a famous document for many reasons. It declared the colonies independence from Great Britain. It stated basic rights and liberties for Americans. The French used the ideals behind the Declaration as a model for their own revolution in 1789,”(Thomas Jefferson Foundation). Jefferson’s ways not only changed America, but also affected other countries. Jefferson had also took hand in designing the capitol in Virginia, Richmond; he also helped with the designs of new government buildings. As well as,contributing to the country in many ways, one was when he took hand in creating our money system, now he is on the nickel. Jefferson had also created

Jefferson’s views were supported by the common yeoman farmer. He had faith in the common people and that the economy lied in the hands of agriculture. Jefferson also wanted a weak central government. He believed the stronger the central government the weaker the state’s authority got, which was not in his favor. Jefferson favored strict construction of the constitution. He believed it was corrupted to interpret the sacred texts into meanings that supported their cause. Believed individual rights (freedom of speech) should be unlimited.