Jefferson is regarded as one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States. He was truly a founding father when the United States was arguably at a vulnerable state. Jefferson was a political intellectual, he held many different positions all shaping him to become the renowned president he was. His authorization of the Deceleration of Independence and his several places in government leading up and including his presidency manifested a greatness that has been dollied by Americans ever since.
Thomas Jefferson was born into the planter class, which allowed him to receive a great education and to be especially skilled in writing. The skills he formed and his ambition was also a result of his personal characteristics throughout his young adult life. While he attended college he spent most of his time only on scholarly pursuits and on improving his physical attributes. This was important to getting where he wanted to be and clearly separated him from his peers. There was something different about Thomas Jefferson. He was committed to his ambitions. It has been recalled that he was not a great speaker.
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This may be one of the reasons that leadership was not a quality his peers first saw in him when he was elected to the House of Burgesses. Eventually through his writing that strongly advocated independence from Great Britain it became clear that Thomas Jefferson was a man that believed in the cause and would have a large role in it. Most people will revere the importance of Thomas Jefferson on the fact that he wrote the Declaration of Independence. It may be seen as one of the most common and basic things about him, but that should not discredit the importance of the document.
The Declaration f Independence was the most critical document that severed all ties with Great Britain. While it greatly announced that to Britain it also was a written expression of rights that Jefferson believed were natural and he also spoke of equality. Many people will argue that these rights were not rights, but privileges to white males in the colonies since they were still the only people that could vote in elections. Thomas Jefferson was able to set standards or cause people to realize that they did have rights which were inalienable.
However, it cannot be expected of him to change the rejoice ideals against blacks, women, and lower class citizens at once. The time in which the Declaration came out was still an extremely controversial time especially with slavery. Whether or not Jefferson himself believed that eventually those rights could be applied to everyone who lived in America does not change that the document became the first stepping stone into that becoming possible. Nevertheless, his authorship of the Declaration of Independence gained him immortal notoriety. It also was the event that led him to be elected as Governor of Virginia.
He was Vernon during the Revolutionary War which led to an abundance of criticism during and after his term. His reputation had suffered. Jefferson did not take this well and actually wanted to leave public office for good and retire to Monticello which he did. One of the aspects that made him a great president was his ability to still come back to office after being ostracizes and going through many personal tragedies especially the death of Martha. Despite everything he was appointed minister of France and spent five years in diplomatic relations with France and Europe.
He also ad a friendship again with John Adams and his wife Abigail. Jefferson really listened to Abigail and valued what she had to say. This showed that although at the time women still were not thought of as equally intelligent as men, he had an open mind and believed Abigail knew what she was talking about. It also showed that he was accepting of women being outspoken. Shortly after his diplomacy, he was appointed as the first secretary of state under George Washington’s presidency. This was where Jefferson once again was disenchanted with politics due to all of the fighting and left is position.
This also is an attribute that is important. Although he had his own ideals as a republican, he saw that the endless conflict between his peers was not productive in government. Nevertheless, he was still chosen as the Republican candidate for president. Jefferson also took his loss to John Adams relatively well and was still involved as Vice President although his duties were minimal. It should be noted that even though Thomas Jefferson lost the first election to John Adams, he was successful in the second election in more ways than one.
He not only on the presidency, he changed the political party of the country to Republican for the very first time. His inauguration was also very different from the two preceding presidents. He arrived at the capital on horseback and in very modest clothing. There was no large parade or grand ceremony for him, very different from the inaugurations we see today. It began his presidency in a way that allowed him to be seen by the colonists as a somewhat humble leader. Thomas Jefferson had great accomplishments made strides in progress for the country in his presidency.
The retest and arguably most important being the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase was monumental and changed the fate America forever. It more than doubled the amount of land in the United States. The acquisition of the land did bring along conflict and many controversies, but it was the greatest achievement of Thomas Jefferson Presidency. It is a testament of greatness due to his ability in taking the initiative. He also achieved lowering America’s debt by a considerable amount, which was a large concern even back then.
The contrasting lower points of is presidency would have to be the Embargo Act in his second term. It was a noble decision of Jefferson to stop trade with foreign countries in order to prevent America from entering war. It had the most undesirable consequences however, it was economical catastrophe. This was one of the last large executive decisions he made before leaving office, which made his leave impertinent to his peers. It is worth a thought that the decision was made with the consideration of Americans and their lives. Thomas Jefferson rose to greatness through diverse experiences in political office.
He is responsible for writing one of the most important documents in American history, the Declaration of Independence which makes him imminent. Thomas Jefferson was also a contradiction of a man, he struggled with being able to apply his own ideals to his presidency and in expressing the values he held in his own personal life. This can be argued as a flaw in him as a leader, but it also may Just be an internal debate in many Americans in that time of radical change. Thomas Jefferson the third president of the United States effectively used his wisdom and furthered advanced the United States in its earliest years.
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