Thomas Jefferson was the third elected president of the United State and he has played a significant role in economic growth of the America in the 19th century. He ruled between 1801 to 1809. During his time, he dealt with two significant problems affecting America back then (Jefferson et al., 2019). These challenges involved US authority, piracy along the Barbary Coast of North Africa, and British impressment that led to the Embargo Act of 1807. He was born and raised in Virginia of English ancestry and his political career began by being one of the founders of the Declaration of Independence whose main role was to make America and independent nation not subject to the Great Britain. From 1797 to 1801, he was the Vice President under John Adams. In 1800, he declared his presidential vying and won the election, and was inaugurated into office in 1801.
Thomas Jefferson focused on Democratic-Republicans, which led to the establishment of the agrarian ideal, which focused on the independent virtues of small farmers. The election of 1800 led to the development of bitter partisanship and the rise of the two-party system (Blackford et al., 2019). Upon entering into office, his principal was to reduce the national debts acquired by his predecessors. His administration focused on lowering the excise duty taxes and slashing government spending simultaneously. He also reduced the number of navies, which led to the reduction of national debt from $83 to $57 million. Foreign development like the Barbary Coast intensified following the Navy’s reduction, which led to its establishment permanently as part of the US government.
The First Barbary War
When America was under British rule, the British Navy protected it from merchants’ ships that the privates owned. After it obtained its independence, it had to protect itself from such. Pirates from the Barbary Coast raided on American ships, looting goods, holding the crew in captivity, and later demanding ransom for their release and enslaving some. This marked the beginning of the first Barbary war that lasted from 1801 to 1805 on the coast of North Africa, and this was followed by the second Barbary War in 1815. Upon the inauguration of Jefferson, who was a ruler of Tripoli, demanded tribute payment or else he was going to declare with the United States. Jefferson then ordered a series of naval bombardments on Tripoli, which made their ruler to surrender and then sign a peace treaty. The peace treaty seemed to be a temporary thing, but Jefferson was determined to protect the US, and he was ready to use force that could be reckoned on.
The Barbary Pirates were not the only problem for US ships during Jefferson’s ruling time in the high seas. England and France took part in the Napoleonic wars, which lasted from 1803 to 1815. These countries were seizing the American ships and even kidnapping the crew and forcing them to work in the British Navy. In 1807, this issue became more intense when HMS Leopard captured and fired an American ship, the Chesapeake, on the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, and they captured four sailors and boarded the ship (Looney et al., 2018). This scenario led to Jefferson signi9ing the Embargo Act in 1807, which forbade Americans from leaving their ports. This was aimed at destroying the economy of Britain and France by cutting off trade, but this led to severely hurting the economy of America. The farmers could not sell beyond their ports, which led to increased unemployment rates in the country. The American business activity then declined by 75% in less than a year. Failing the Embargo Act led to Jefferson signing the Non-Intercourse Act of 1808, which allowed Americans to trade with other countries but not Britain or France. This was aimed at salvaging the falling economy though it did not work.
The noblest act of Jefferson’s presidency was the purchase of Louisiana. The US was able to purchase 800000 square miles of North America from France. This purchase enabled America to reshape its environment and the economy. He was determined ion purchasing the territory, and therefore, he confronted the questions of presidential authority because the constitution did not give him the right and power to purchase a territory. He assigned William Clark and Meriwether Lewis the responsibility of exploring the territory and enhanced congressional security of funds that were supposed to purchase the land. Purchasing Louisiana seemed unconstitutional and Jefferson faced much a lot of opposition from the Federalists because they believed that the new slave state would form a union with the southern parts of the territory. Despite these oppositions, he decided to contest constitutionally and he worn and this led to the purchase of the territory. The territory doubled the US territory and improved the economy of the country.
In conclusion, Thomas Jefferson was the 19th century president who contributed to the development of America through the end of the Barbary Coast attack and the purchase of the Louisiana territory. All these efforts led to the booming of the economy of the US. His focus on growing the US economy and he played a major role in reducing the country’s national debts.
Work Cited
Bickford, John H., Megan Lindsay, and Ryan C. Hendrickson. “Trade books’ evolving depictions of Thomas Jefferson, America’s third president.” Social Studies Research and Practice (2
Jefferson, Thomas. The declaration of independence. Verso Books, 2019.
Looney, J. Jefferson, and Thomas Jefferson. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, Volume 6: 11 March to 27 November 1813. Princeton University Press, 2018.
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