The Compromising Of Principles Essay Research Paper

The Compromising Of Principles Essay, Research Paper

The Compromising of Principles

We hold these truths to be axiomatic, that all work forces are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Godhead with certain inalienable rights ; that among these are life, autonomy, and the chase of felicity. Possibly the most powerful words of all time written by who scholars refer to as the greatest enlightened head in early American political relations, Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was a philosopher of kinds, a adult male of great ideals and values, yet at the same clip, a contradictory adult male. Here was a adult male who really clearly stated that all work forces are created equal, but at the same clip, he was a big slave owner. Nonetheless, Jefferson is a adult male remembered for the vision of what America was to go, an independent and spread outing state. The inquiry so lies in what was to go of this independent and spread outing state? Was it to fall like other failed efforts at a republic as history had demonstrated before? * Or was it to turn into a booming state? Thomas Jefferson is every bit much a portion in what the state grows into as he was in making it. In the 1790s, amidst great convulsion in the state, Jefferson was a adult male of strong values and sentiments. He believed in a rigorous reading of the Constitution and was really much opposed to the thought of the authorities holding the right to interfere with the people s mundane lives. Here was a adult male whose sentiments and beliefs were so strong that he caused a separation in political ideals, which subsequently led to the creative activity of political parties, his which was later to be known as Republicans. In fact, Jefferson s name became so intertwined with that of the word Republican that to be a Jeffersonian was to be a Republican. Jefferson was an vocal critic of the state in footings of the authorities and the way it was heading. He made it really apparent during the Federalists regulation of the authorities that he was dissatisfied with the policies being implemented, many of which were designed to maintain work forces from the Republican party down. Although Jefferson met many obstructions nil stopped him from deriving impulse and in 1800 he reached the pinnacle of his political calling, the United States presidential term. Finally he would hold his opportunity at how he believe the state should be ran. But in going President he shortly realized that he could no longer keep on to his beliefs as strongly and smartly as earlier when he was a portion of the resistance. Now he was a portion of the system and, as such, had to play by the regulations the game had set. He shortly discovered that he had to larn to compromise in an attempt to at least acquire portion of his ideals across. Ultimately, that is what Jefferson became. A adult male forced to compromise his values for the interest of a immature state seeking to last.

The United States the dream versus the United States the world were two different constructs. Prior to and during the Revolutionary War, the biggest concern the United States had was deriving independency from Great Britain. Although it had in head in set uping a authorities that would run the state, they truly had no clear cut manner as to travel about it. Thomas Jefferson was in the centre along with other great figures such as George Washington and Alexander Hamilton at the clip the state s greatest heads were seeking to explicate a authorities that would work. During the War they established the Articles of Confederation. Although it worked sufficient plenty during the War it was non plenty to transport the state once they had gained their independency. It was non until the Constitution that a true authorities would be built that could transport the state. Although the Constitution was the papers to which the authorities would stay it had no clear steps on how it should be interpreted. Enter Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson was a kid of the Enlightenment. He was a affluent educated adult male who had been greatly influenced by the minds of his clip such as Montesquieu. He believed that authorities should remain little and local and even though he had no say in the creative activity of the Constitution he believed it should be purely interpreted. Jefferson s greatest part prior to his taking office was his input on the Declaration of Independence, a work he considered his ain. That papers showed the many facets of Thomas Jefferson the public figure and Thomas Jefferson the adult male. In the Declaration of Indep

endence he was a title-holder for the common adult male, a truster in autonomy but Thomas Jefferson the adult male would hold ne’er considered the common adult male his equal although he had stated so in the Constitution. One is to say that was one of the changes his fellow writers made on the Declaration. Once the United States had defeated Great Britain, Jefferson had some strong thoughts on how the authorities should be run, thoughts that would collide with those of the governing party, the Federalists. Jefferson was to be subsequently called an Anti-Federalist but as clip evolved his ideas and beliefs and the work forces who thought the same manner he did came to be known as Republicans. Even though Republicans did non like the manner the Federalists were running things, the Republicans had yet non organized themselves to be in a place to take power when George Washington left office, go forthing the Federalists to go on being the governing party. The Federalist began imposing revenue enhancements on the people such as the Whiskey revenue enhancement and enforcing unjust but Constitutional policies like the Alien and Sedition Acts. These would do the common adult male and the immigrant untrusting of the Federalists and by that same token give Republicans more protagonists. At the terminal of the Federalists run they tried to do the rise to power of the Republicans hard but their attempts in the terminal were ineffectual.

Jefferson was the first President to acquire elected into the White House and upon his startup he claimed that all were Federalists and that all were Republicans. Jefferson did non like the two party system and wanted to return to the one party system. He did non at all consider himself a Federalist for he was a strong voice for the Republican. This was merely another illustration of the two sides of Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson s greatest victory in office was the Louisiana Purchase. He had ever longed to spread out westward but more significantly he had ever wanted the United States to hold control over the New Orleans port. When he sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to France to negociate a trade to purchase the part of the New Orleans what he got was a much better trade. A despairing Bonaparte in demand of money offered to sell all of the Louisiana part. Monroe and Livingston dared non decline. After Livingston signed the pact he rose and said, We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our lives. The purchase of Louisiana about doubled the size of the state. But before they could finalise the trade it had to travel through Congress. The Constitution said nil of buying land and this is when Jefferson s ain ideals of a rigorous reading of the jurisprudence were turned free. At the same clip Munroe and Livingston were in France Jefferson authorized a great expedition due west led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Their geographic expeditions laid down the foundations for travel due west. On westbound enlargement and Indians, Jefferson believed that Indian folks would either hold to absorb into American civilization by going male parents and abandoning their seminomadic hunting or they would hold to travel West of the Mississippi River. One other of Jefferson s achievements in office was the cutting down of the national debt. In order to make so he slashed both the naval forces and the ground forces and left a skeleton of both. He besides was successful in making off with the Whiskey revenue enhancement and the Alien and Sedition Acts of the Apostless. The Alien Act increased the waiting period for naturalisation from five old ages to fifteen old ages but Jefferson returned it to five. The Sedition Act allowed the authorities to collar you if you spoke out against it, an act which Jefferson besides revoked. Jefferson s end of one party regulation seemed at manus by the clip of his re-election but the war hit Europe and his dreams fell. Jefferson did non desire to travel to war and alternatively ignored public consensus and imposed an trade stoppage. This trade stoppage was lay waste toing to the United States economic system and besides to the opportunities of Jefferson acquiring re-elected. He did non run for a 3rd term.

Jefferson was a adult male of great ideals but one time in power he did non turn the authorities into a Republican one alternatively of a Federalist 1. He added to what the Federalists had done and cemented the foundation upon which American political relations stand today. But in order to carry through this great undertaking Jefferson had to allow travel of his beliefs and via media in a manner that was more good to the people, a manner that was more good to the state.