Thomas Jefferson and Philosophical Consistency free essay sample

Thomas Jefferson was an early American politician, who was well-known for his actions during his presidency. He was labeled as a Democratic-Republican, meaning he favored stronger rights of individual states, rather than a central government with a lot of power. That is, at least in the years prior to his presidency. After he was elected, however, his convictions totally changed. During his presidency, three major events; his war with the Barbary Pirates, his restrictive economic policies, and the Louisiana Purchase, all directly contradicted the beliefs of himself and other Democratic-Republicans. Before he was elected Thomas Jefferson did not like the idea of a large military, because of his principles of Republicanism. During Adams’ presidency and bid for larger armed forces, Jefferson was completely against such a notion, and he did not want a standing army. Even with his â€Å"principles†, he still acted against the Barbary States in Africa with his armed forces (Doc. We will write a custom essay sample on Thomas Jefferson and Philosophical Consistency or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page D). The pirates were boarding American ships in the Mediterranean and stealing their cargo. The pirates were harassing the American shipping industry very greatly. Although Jefferson had reason to attack the pirates, this action directly contradicted his feelings before his presidency. Not only did he contradict himself, he also contradicted the Constitution, because he was not legally allowed to declare war against another country without an act of Congress approving such a move. When the conflict ended, Jefferson also paid $60,000 to keep the Barbary Pirates off of American ships as blackmail money, something he would not have done before he became the President. Jefferson had once been a man against war and yet once he got into power his feelings had changed. Additionally, Jefferson’s feelings on economic policies greatly changed after the election of 1800. Before the presidency, he said â€Å"the excise law is an infernal one. The first error was to admit it by the Constitution† (Doc. A). Jefferson believed the tax imposed by the Federalists was wrong and unconstitutional to tax the whiskey. He then believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution, and thought a federal bank was unconstitutional as well, although the Federalists wanted to interpret it loosely. Jefferson believed that the Constitution â€Å"delegated to the federal government certain definite powers, reserving, each state to itself†¦the right to their own self-government† (Doc. B). He did a total reversal on his beliefs on states’ rights, and thought the federal government should be more powerful, which distanced himself from his party. He enacted the Embargo Act of 1807 during his presidency. This is thought of as one of his worst decisions ever. Instead of declaring war, as he would have done during the 1790’s, Jefferson had the Embargo Act passed, which prevented the U. S. from trading with any foreign nation. However his stubbornness did not succeed however, the Embargo Act really hurt the American economy and American merchants more than either Britain or France. The hatred for this stubborn act of neutrality was so bad that the Federalist Circular claimed that the Embargo Act would â€Å"wrest the inestimable germ of†¦Independence from you† (Doc. E). The Embargo Act held a stricter grip on states than previously done by Jefferson. His change in policies also affected many of his people. The Louisiana Purchase is another course of action taken by Jefferson known for contradicting his strict constitutionalist views. Neglecting the fact that there is no clause in the Constitution permitting him to purchase land, Jefferson used Napoleon’s European conquest to help him get rid of New World worries. Napoleon compares this decision to saying to your grown child, â€Å"I did this for your good. I pretend to no right to bind you, you may disavow me, and I must get out of the scrape as I can. I thought it my duty to risk myself for you† (Doc C). Another example of his distancing himself from his views on the Constitution is here. He used a loose interpretation of the Constitution, saying the Constitution never said not to do it, as the Federalists once said. They did a complete 180 degree turn as well, and called for a stricter interpretation of the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson completely reversed his views on war, economic policy, and the interpretation of the Constitution while he was in office. He must have realized the concepts he believed in were totally unattainable in real life practice. He went from empowering the small farmer to taking control with a huge government just like that when he got elected. Thomas Jefferson’s actions as a president were very scrutinized, especially for the reversal on policies.