Jefferson's Republican Vision/Success and Failures

Liddia Thornton
History 1301-247
Mr. Christopher Turnbull
Chapter 10-Republicans in Power: 1800-1824

After Jefferson was elected President in the 1800 elections, he avoided dealing with the problem of slavery and focused his time and attention into establishing his administration to be opposite that of the Federalists. Jefferson's broad vision of a republican society encompassed governmental, cultural, educational, and societal institutions and activities. In his view, Virginia's political, legal, and educational systems were to be reformed and molded into an ideal republican society as a model for America and Europe.
Jefferson's main goal was to roll back federal power, although he was no Antifederalists. In line with his vision, he felt the true liberty in America was the independent farmer, who owned and worked his land not only for himself, but also for the market. One of his objectives was to dismantle Federalist innovations. He did this by reducing the size of the army by one third and keeping the navy small. With the consent of the Congress, he got rid of all federal internal taxes based on population or whiskey. By doing this, Government revenue was then derived mainly from customs duties and the sale of western land. This particular strategy was beneficial to the South, because of the three-fifths clause of the Constitution that counted slaves for both representation and taxation. This enabled the South to ability to exert influence in the House of Representatives without

being threatened by extra taxes. Therefore, by then end of his term, he had tremendously reduced Hamilton's much nurtured national debt. He felt the national debt was a huge source of corruption.
Considered Jefferson's greatest success was the Louisiana Purchase, where he arranged the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, in 1803. This purchased doubled the size of the United States. Another accomplishment was the defeat of Mediterranean Sea pirates in the First Barbary War. Yet another success happened in his second term as President , when he proposed legislation that was approved by Congress, which outlawed the importation of African slaves as of the earliest date that was allowed by the Constitution. Another namely success was The Embargo Act of 1807 and the following Nonintercourse Acts, which were American laws restricting American ships from engaging in foreign trade between the years of 1807 and 1812. The Acts were diplomatic responses by Jefferon and Madison, which were supposed to protect American interests and avoid war. This was a failure and also a cause of the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain.
When Madison was elected to office, he continued Jefferson's policy of economic pressure on Britain and France with a modified embargo.