Thomas Jefferson Analysis

As of 2017, the United States of America has had 45 presidents (44 if you don’t count Grover Cleveland twice), some of them have been great presidents, some of them have been terrible presidents, and some of them where just “meh”. But if we’re going to look at the records of any U.S Presidents, examining the first 8 would be a good start. In this essay, the contributions (good or bad) of each of the American Presidents that held office from the inception of the United States through the Van Buren Administration shall be discussed. The 1st U.S President was George Washington, who served from 1789-1797. Being the first president, he set the standard. Washington organized the first United States Cabinet and the Executive Branch. The Cabinet’s
Jefferson would have a very successful presidency, purchasing over 800, 000 square miles of Louisiana territory from France for over $15 million dollars, successfully doubling the size of the United States, followed by launching the Lewis and Clark expedition. He cut the National Debt in half and unleashed the U.S. Navy on Pirates. However, there were some failures and bad contributions under his administration. The Embargo Act of 1807 would be one of Jefferson’s worst contributions to the country. During Jefferson’s presidency, France and Britain were at war, the USA tried to stay neutral but couldn’t any longer when France and Britain tried to control the U.S.’s trade and ports on all sides. In a desperate attempt to avert war, the United States imposed an embargo on foreign trade. Jefferson regarded the embargo as an “idealistic experiment--a moral alternative to war”. He believed that economic intimidation would convince Britain and France to respect America’s neutral rights. The embargo was an unpopular and costly failure. It hurt the American economy far more than the British or French, and resulted in widespread smuggling. Exports fell from $108 million in 1807 to just $22 million in 1808, farm prices fell sharply, shippers also suffered, harbors filled with idle ships and nearly 30,000 sailors found themselves jobless. Three days before Jefferson left office, the Embargo Act was
During Madison’s presidency, the French attempted to force the U.S. into war with Great Britain. At the same time, the “War Hawk Congress” wanted war with England to protect American rights. Eventually, the United States would have a war with Britain. During this time, Madison would renew the charter for the Bank of the United States to raise funds for the War of 1812. However, America would get its but kicked by the British during the course of the war and even the White House would get burned to the ground by British troops! Despite all the setbacks, Madison’s resolve pulled the country together during its darkest hour and peacefully ended the war with the Treaty of Ghent. Though America didn’t win the War of 1812 under Madison, it didn’t lose either, it “won” in the sense that America was able to hold its own against an even more powerful Britain than they faced during the revolutionary war. In addition, Madison’s administration would see the passage of Macon's Bill Number 2 which replaced the Non- intercourse Act and allowed American ships to carry French or English goods as long as they respected American trade rights, and his Administration would see inflation drop 12 points from