Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 at Shadwell plantation near present day Charlottesville, Virginia. Jefferson's father was very rich, he owned a plantation after all, and this allowed Jefferson to have high quality education. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1762 and went on to study law. This level of learning experience shaped Jefferson into a very compelling and influential writer. Ti was the main reason why John Adams nominated him to draft the Declaration of Independence. There was also that fact that Jefferson was representing Virginia, the southern colony whose opinion carried the most significance out of all the others. Jefferson was also extremely anti-slavery. In 1778 he outlawed the importation of African slaves in Virginia. In 1784 he tried to pass an ordinance that would ban slavery in the northwest territories. However, be this as it may, it did not change the fact that Jefferson saw blacks as racially inferior. He's been deemed a hypocrite, for writing the words "all men are created equal" without seeming to have believed in them himself. From 1785 to 1789 he was America's ambassador to France. By the time he returned to the US he was fully convinced that French Enlightenment thought was what his country needed to become great. During his years in France Jefferson also supported the enactment of the US Constitution and strongly advocated a bill of rights. (No wonder he got so mad when John Adams passed the Alien and Sedition Acts). Jefferson served as Washington's Secretary of state for ten years until he won the election of 1800.
Presidency
Once Jefferson became the third US president he made it quite clear he wanted a government that would respect the jurisdiction of individual states and "promote the encouragement of agriculture". He also repealed the Alien and Sedition Acts and pardoned the ten victims of those laws who were still in prison. And, One day, Jefferson learned that Spain had secretly relinquished Louisiana to France the same year he had been elected president. Since Jefferson had spent all that time in France, he was well aware of Napoleon Bonaparte's plan for world domination and he wanted nothing to do with that. So, he negotiated to buy all 827'000 square miles for $15 million. A negotiation that wouldn't have been possible if John Adams had not gotten the French to sign the Treaty of Mortefontaine. This effectively doubled the size of their nation and made room for a future 13 states. Jefferson assigned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark the task or exploring the uncharted area, It took them two and a half years, but they did it. With his new supply of money Napoleon declared war on Great Britain. At first, their fighting benefited the US because they functioned as the merchants carrying supplies to the warring countries. Then France said, "No! You can't trade with Britain he's our enemy" and the British navy started seizing American ships and impressing the sailors into the navy. After a British ship fired at an American navel frigate, killing thee Americans, Jefferson banned all British ships from US ports and suspended trade with Europe (the Embargo Act). He thought a complete embargo would get Europe to respect US neutrality, but it mostly plummeting the country into an economic depression. Congress replaced it with the Non-Intercourse Act during the last months of Jefferson's presidency. The act reopened maritime trade with all countries except France and Britain. Although, despite all their efforts, the US ended up going to war against Britain in 1812.
Legacy
When Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase it may have stopped Napoleon from trying to dominate America, and but it provided him with enough money to declare war on Britain. Then the US kept having their ships raided and sailors impressed by the British and Jefferson had to pass the Embargo Act, which put the country in a state of economic depression. It's not like any of it mattered though. The war got so bad that America finally had to ally with England and face Britain once again in the War of 1812. The same thing happened with WWII. The US tried so hard not to get involved, but they did anyway after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. We need to learn to recognize when a situation can't be solved by staying out of it. What's it going to take to get us involved this time?
Works Cited
"Miller Center." Thomas Jefferson: Life Before the Presidency-. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
"Miller Center." Thomas Jefferson: Foreign Affairs-. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
"Thomas Jefferson." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
"War of 1812." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
"Miller Center." Thomas Jefferson: Foreign Affairs-. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
"Thomas Jefferson." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
"War of 1812." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.