Thomas Jefferson free essay sample

Different beliefs may lead to discussions that become argumentative because of the multiple point of views brought forth. The philosophy of the government is ultimately decided based on one’s opinion. An opinion is formed with an ideal that supports the specific beliefs being analyzed. In the year 1801, Thomas Jefferson was elected as the third president of the United States and changed his ideals shortly after becoming president. In his time of control, Thomas Jefferson had his own thoughts on the philosophy of the government. Thomas Jefferson’s ideals revolved the national bank, tariffs, and the Assumption Plan funding â€Å"at par†, that changed after he had entered the White House. First, Thomas Jefferson’s ideals on the national bank were different before he had been elected president. A section of the Constitution states that â€Å"Congress may pass any laws ‘necessary and proper’† (195) and â€Å"would be fully justified in establishing the Bank of the United States† (195). We will write a custom essay sample on Thomas Jefferson or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Thomas Jefferson thought that the national bank was unconstitutional because the Congress did not obtain specific power that allowed them to create a bank. With Thomas Jefferson’s beliefs against this statement, he provides intelligent information which was determined before he was elected. Thomas Jefferson believed that the national bank did not have the authority for this specific financial situation, therefore he â€Å"argued vehemently against the bank† (195). He was against the idea that Congress had the ability to charter banks because the states should have the power to do so. After his successful election, his â€Å"harsh realities forced Jefferson’s principles to bend† (219). Though, Thomas Jefferson disagreed with the national bank he did not take any action to change it. With the overwhelming power Jefferson had after his election, other concerns regarding more important situations had been brought to his attention. To conclude, Thomas Jefferson was against the national bank but after moving into the White House, he did nothing to change it. Additionally, Thomas Jefferson did not agree with the first tariff law passed by Congress in 1789. The first tariff law was declared because by â€Å"imposing a low tariff of about 8 percent in the value of dutiable imports† (194) would protect industries. Congress cared mostly about their income and this tariff law increased the price on items. Thomas Jefferson did not agree with the Congress’ action. His point of view was that â€Å"all powers not specifically granted to the central government were reserved to the states† (195). By this, Jefferson does not believe Congress should perform this but the states should have the authority to. The first tariff law’s purpose was to tax imported goods. Due to his opposing beliefs, Thomas Jefferson would not change his mind. Unexpectedly, Thomas Jefferson did not do anything about it. For having the authority and power as a president, he should have done something about the situation if he were so against it before he had been elected. Unfortunately, â€Å"they launched no attack†¦ nor did they repeal the mildly protective Federalist tariff† (218). Even though Jefferson believed that products were at much higher cost than they were needed to be, he took no further action to abolish this law at any given opportunity. Lastly, Thomas Jefferson’s ideals included the Assumption Plan funding â€Å"at par†. The Assumption Plan was when the government would assume the states’ debts. During this Assumption Plan â€Å"the states would simply give their debts over to the federal government. The reason for assuming state debts was to tie states together in a common endeavor – to jointly pay off the debt† (wikinotes). Thomas Jefferson believed this was not fair because he did not respect the government for only paying half of their debts. Jefferson agreed that â€Å"a national debt was a bane rather than a blessing† (218). Thomas Jefferson disagreed with the idea that â€Å"paying debts in full or at 100% face value in what was called Funding at Par†¦ was crucial, basically because it would get respect† (wikinotes). The ideals Jefferson had were realistically intelligent and he believed in his point of view. On the contrary, Thomas Jefferson â€Å"did not tamper with the Federalist programs for funding the national debt at par† (218). He was entirely against the Assumption Plan but took no action into changing this act. Furthermore, it is not understandable why Thomas Jefferson did not change what he believed was correct, after becoming president. In conclusion, as the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson failed to change numerous acts that his ideals supported. His beliefs were clearly stronger before he had become president. The national bank, tariffs, and the Assumption Plan funding â€Å"at par† changed after he had been elected. Thomas Jefferson free essay sample In the years prior to Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, he was a very vocal critic of the centralized federal government and was an avid follower of the constitution. In the later years of Jefferson’s presidency, him and the federalists did not see eye to eye. The Federalist Circular in Massachusetts says in 1808 (Document E), â€Å"Nerve your arm with vengeance against the Despot [Jefferson] who would wrest the inestimable germ of your Independence from you ­Ã¢â‚¬â€œand you shall be Conquerors!!! † Clearly, the federalists were against Jefferson and he was still a critic of the federalist policies. He was eager to implement many of his Republican views into the establishment of the United States. Jefferson’s presidency turned to be fairly self-contradictory to his original views. The three largest contradictions that stood out amongst his actions were his war with the Barbary pirates, using restrictive economic policies to achieve his goals, and acquiring Louisiana. We will write a custom essay sample on Thomas Jefferson or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Although these contradictions were for the good of the country, he still went against what got him elected. Thomas Jefferson went against his views of having an unnecessarily? Large military that would intimidate other countries. When President John Adams proposed to expand America’s armed forces and create a navy, Jefferson campaigned against it for reasons of expense and to avoid the precedent of a standing army. Yet in one of his first decisions as President, Jefferson dispatched American armed forces around the globe to confront the Barbary States of North Africa (Document D). These pirates had long made a national industry of blackmailing and plundering merchant ships that ventured into the Mediterranean. Jefferson’s decision to destroy these people was a blatant disregard for his previous view on this issue. Also, Jefferson did not inform Congress until the warships had sailed far enough to be effectively beyond recall. This additionally goes against his supposed love for the constitution because of this illegal action. In American politics, it is illegal for the executive branch to declare war on a foreign body because it takes an act of congress to do so. Obviously, Jefferson had thorough knowledge of this and yet still went forward and declared war anyways. Also, because the military was weak, Jefferson instead of building up the military still went against his previous views by using economic might (Document A). With the nation’s militarily weakened, Jefferson decided to force respect for the nation’s rights by an economic boycott in 1807. Even though this boycott turned out to be inefficient and harmful, Jefferson refused to lift the embargo for two years. Finally, Jefferson caved in to congressional pressure, and stopped the demolishing economic policy. Another example of Jefferson changing his point of view on economic policy is his view on free trade, which fit his libertarian use of thought. Jefferson used this vocal point in his election against John Adams, yet once in power he failed to implement a free trading system with overseas nations. Jefferson realized that it was impossible to imply such a thing if the other nations wouldn’t go along with it. Most importantly, Thomas Jefferson deeply contradicted his views on land expansion and violated his policy on following the constitution completely. An important example of this was the Louisiana Purchase, in which Napoleon offered Jefferson the opportunity to purchase all of France’s American territory for only $15 million, doubling the physical size of the nation. The French needed the money to fight a war with the British, and Jefferson wanted the mouth of the Mississippi River for America. So, Jefferson gave the Constitution a close reading? to seek authorization. Failing to find any, he decided to unconstitutionally take the offer anyway (Document C). This clearly violated his previous views on such an issue. However, it is obvious that Jefferson made the right decision in the matter, and the American people should be very grateful for Jefferson’s stretching of the constitution. Finally, although Jefferson had many other contradictions, these three were highly turning, nearly breaking the constitution which he had earlier claimed he followed carefully. The three large controversies in the Jefferson Administration was the war with the Barbary pirates, the 1807 economic embargo, and the Louisiana Purchase. Although, consistent support for states rights came from Jefferson throughout his presidency. The Kentucky Resolutions (Document B) says â€Å"each state has the residuary mass of right to their own self-government. † Jefferson never took this right away and did not force large government on the states. So, even though he contradicted himself in many ways, I feel as if Jefferson just realized a different way to go about certain things, and that he always had the nation’s best interests in his mind.