Thomas Jefferson's Beliefs And Beliefs

Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, is highly regarded as one of America’s most influential leaders. As a Democratic Republican, Jefferson believed in a strict interpretation of the constitution, as well as a larger focus on foreign policy. Jefferson also claimed to value liberty over security. Though Jefferson has expressed these beliefs a considerable amount of times, he has made many questionable decisions during his presidency that support the idea Thomas Jefferson was a hypocritical leader. According to Document B, in 1791, Jefferson’s opinion of the National Bank was a rather negative one. He professed his beliefs that the bank went against the constitution and gave too much power to the federal government. He
was constantly bashing Hamilton’s financial plan, including his tariff tax and his funding program to end national debt. However, when Jefferson was elected as president, not only did he keep the National Bank, but he kept the tariff and funding program as well. In this instance, Jefferson’s actions are an exact contradiction of his beliefs, which reinforces the claim that Jefferson is a hypocrite.
Jefferson was constantly talking about he was working for America’s common folk, not for the big government corporations or politicians. However, in 1807, Thomas Jefferson and congress passed the Embargo Act, which forbid any American ship to trade in foreign ports. According to Document D, the Embargo Act was hated by almost all and crushed the economy. The law hurt the common folk and created a huge smuggling problem. When Jefferson saw all the bad the Embargo caused, instead of repealing the act, he kept it place, making it obvious how hypocritical Jefferson was.