Jefferson's Vision: One Man's Dream or a Legacy?

Thomas Jefferson was not the typical presidential candidate. The first two presidents, Washington and Adams, had focussed on building up a strong central government. That was the only way they knew how to form a country since that is how it had been back in England. Jefferson started the Democratic-Republican party, and was the first candidate from it. Jefferson had a vision of a nation with limited federal government involvement in the daily lives of the people. He wanted to focus the economy on independent farmers and agriculture instead of merchants and bussinessmen. He did not want a class-divided, industrialized nation like Europe was. With his idealistic vision and appeal to the average American, he won the election of 1800 and became the first Democratic-Republican president.

The time that Jefferson presided the country was known as the Jeffersonian Era. During his presidency, he did several things in an attempt to work toward his vision. He lowered

government spending, especially on the military, and repealed the Alien and Sedition Acts. In 1803, he made the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the side of the United States. He did all he could to promote simplicity and frugality.

However, after he was reelected in 1804, he experienced several problems that interupted developing his vision of America. Events such as the British attack on the USS Chesapeake; the trial of his former vice president, Aaron Burr; and the Napoleonic wars in Europe. American commerce was caught in the conflict between Great Britain and France. Jefferson passed the embargo policy in 1807, which forbade U.S. trading vessels to leave port for any foreign destination. Merchants, traders, seamen, and farmers growing crops for export, were outraged. The Embargo Act was repealed in 1809. Soon after, his term ended.

Even though Jefferson was not in office, the "Jeffersonian Era" continued on until the late 1820s. Thomas Jefferson had been interested in Freedom of Religion. His ideas helped spark the seperation of church and state later in American history. He fought for states rights and to reduce the power of the federal government, which eventually balanced out.

I believe that Jefferson's visions lived on throughout his presidency and the Jeffersonian Era. Although his second term distracted his attention, his development of the values of the Democratic-Republican party helped set the guidelines for future candidates to continue to carry out his vision of America.