Thomas Jefferson
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” Thomas Jefferson wrote these words as part of the Declaration of Independence. Though many people thought that Thomas Jefferson was a hypocrite due to him owning slaves. They claimed his actions did not line up with his words, especially when it came to individual rights. But Jefferson was a man of the people. He doubled the size of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase, launched the Lewis and Clark Expedition which explored the unknown territory of the West, and suspended trade with England while Britain and France were at war.
When Thomas Jefferson became president, …show more content…
one of his top priorities was to take possession of the port of New Orleans. In 1803, Jefferson with the Louisiana Purchase bought approximately 827,000 square miles of territory from France for 15 million dollars. Jefferson bargained the Louisiana Territory price for less than three cents an acre, which was a very good deal. The land stretched out from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. It doubled the size of the United States, and about 15 states were eventually created from this land deal. The Louisiana Purchase is considered one of the most important achievements of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency.
Thomas Jefferson commissioned the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1803. He went to Congress to request funding for the expedition. He knew it would be expensive, but he wanted to explore the new part of the country and the rest of the continent that was bought from the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson appointed his private secretary Meriwether Lewis to lead in the mission, who then chose William Clark to accompany him. The actual journey started in 1804 with around 50 men. Jefferson's goals were to learn more about the landscape and the Native American tribes, and to find a water passage between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean. During Thomas Jefferson's second term of presidency, Britain and France were at war.
The U.S. remained neutral, because Jefferson did not want to get involved and destroy relationships with the two countries. However the United States and Britain were having problems. England had been taking British men (who had left the British navy) by force. Several thousand men were taken, sometimes even American men were taken by mistake. England also wanted the United States to stop trading with France. Eventually Jefferson sent James Monroe to England to settle a treaty, but they never met him. The H.O.R. decided on two proposals, one to stop trade with England, or two to ban British goods that they could get from another country. The H.O.R. after 4 months decided to stop trade with England.
Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father who wrote the majority of the Declaration of Independence and later served as the third President of the United States. He had many accomplishments during his presidency, he doubled the size of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase, launched the Lewis and Clark Expedition which explored the unknown territory of the West, and suspended trade with Europe to remain neutral while Britain and France were at war. Jefferson was not an incompetent leader, but a man of the
people.