How Did Thomas Jefferson Change American Culture

Thomas Jefferson during his terms (1801-1809), Jefferson made on of the most controversial decision at that time, the Louisiana Purchase, he sent James Monroe in 1803 to help with the negotiation to buy New Orleans. Monroe was astonished to learn that France already offered to sell 828,00 square miles of Louisiana to the United States for $15 million (4cent an acre), by April 30 they sign a treaty to purchase the vast territory. Its legality was questionable, the constitution gave him no clear authority to acquire new territory and incorporate into the nation but it promised fulfillment of the dream of a continental nation reaching the Pacific Coast.

Thomas Jefferson had many important roles in his lifetime. He was a public official, historian, and a philosopher. He was also one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence and became the third President of the United States. He was in service to the country for over five decades. He inherited some slaves from his father and father-in-law. On a regular year, when he was younger than the age of sixteen,he owned around two hundred slaves. During his presidency, in 1803, Jefferson decided to purchase the Louisiana territory from the French for fifteen million dollars. This purchase stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to New Orleans.

Thomas Jefferson was a vehement believer in strict construction of the Constitution prior to his election as president. However, the pressure and power of his new position swayed his views. During his two terms in office, he made decisions that conflicted with his old ideology. Once elected, Thomas Jefferson drastically distanced himself from his earlier philosophy, exercising the powers of the national government and loosely interpreting the Constitution.

All individuals are created equal. This is one of the many ideas the United States is built on. This concept existed long before the Declaration of Independence was written. This idea was introduced by John Locke who was an Enlightenment thinker. The declaration of Independence is where Americans declared their rights. Thomas Jefferson, the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence was greatly influenced by the philosopher John Locke. Locke believed that humans had natural rights, that power comes from the people and all men are equal, and these beliefs can be found in Jefferson’s writings.

The Constitution—the foundation of the American government—has been quintessential for the lives of the American people for over 200 years. Without this document America today would not have basic human rights, such as those stated in the Bill of Rights, which includes freedom of speech and religion. To some, the Constitution was an embodiment of the American Revolution, yet others believe that it was a betrayal of the Revolution. I personally believe that the Constitution did betray the Revolution because it did not live up to the ideals of the Revolution, and the views of the Anti-Federalists most closely embodied the “Spirit of ‘76.”

This congress was made up of very influential men including George Washington, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin. A committee was formed among the continental congress to draft the Declaration of Independence. At this time, Thomas Jefferson was chosen as the primary author as his style of writing was more superior than those of his peers. As the author, he expressed the grievances the British had inflicted upon the American colonists. These grievances included cutting off their trade with many other parts of the world and depriving them of trial by jury. This was a massive mockery to the colonists as they believed they had rights as Englishmen under British rule and that this deprivation was a grave injustice. From this document comes one of the most powerful axioms, " We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." this states that all individuals are equal and should have unalienable rights which they receive at birth and should not be taken from them. The declaration was submitted on June 28th ,however .revisions had to be made, these revisions included omitting a passage where

Throughout the years there has been many individuals whom have helped shape The United States of America into the independent country it is today. It’s hard to believe that this country was at one point governed by a distant British king, and that before Americans claimed equal rights, they were subject to British tyranny.

The Louisiana Purchase was a “land deal” made between France and the U.S. in December of 1803, where France sold America 828,000 miles of land along the west side of the Mississippi River for 15 million dollars (approximately 4 cents per acre). People regard it as Thomas Jefferson’s greatest achievement because of how drastically it changed the United States. The purchase greatly expanded America and brought many other benefits along with it. Although it was definitely a major benefit to the United States, even Jefferson had his doubts about the purchase. But despite many doubts, the U.S. made the decision to ratify the purchase, and because of that decision, America has changed for the better.

The Louisiana Purchase was the main the reason why he was a good president and how it help organize a better structure for the United States. Jefferson sent James Monroe to France to buy New Orleans for $15million but only paid 5 at the time. At this time, France agreed to sell not only New Orleans but the whole Louisiana Territory for $15 Million. Jefferson was making deals that helped the U.S. in many ways to make it a better continent. The purchase of the territory had tremendously doubled the size of the U.S. Lewis and Clark began their expedition in St. Louis and continued to the pacific using the Missouri River as a main transporting system. Jefferson’s presidency allowed many people to move and travel the different parts of the

The Age of Reason is a name used to describe the age that influenced the American Statesmen of the Revolution. Taxes forced upon the colonists by Britain after the French and Indian War enraged the colonists, leading to the Revolution that would change the world forever. Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and Thomas Paine’s The Crisis Number 1 were two very important works of literature during the Revolutionary period. Both works used persuasion effectively. Jefferson wrote to King George III declaring independence; Paine’s purpose was to unite America to fight against Britain. However, The Declaration was most effective because we still use The Declaration of Independence today. The United States would not be the democracy it is today without Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of

Jefferson had 50 years of service towaards the new country of the United States. Some of jeffersons accomplhiments other then the expansion of the country and being presiden were: Govenor of Virginia, Founded university of Virginia, wrote declaration of independance, contributed to the louisana purchase, and many other notable things to the

Thomas Jefferson was a great man, which, he played an important role in changing the destiny of the American republic, by being a man of many talents. For instance, with his intellectual writing he wrote the declaration of independence, Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, and Notes on the State of Virginia. Also, as an architect, he designed the University of Virginia and his home Monticello, which attracts thousands of visitors now. As well, he was an abolitionist, but yet he was a slave owner.

“ It has been censured for its substance, it has been censured for its form, for its misstatements of fact, for its fallacies in reasoning, for its audacious novelties and paradoxes, for its total lack of all novelty, for its repetition of old and threadbare statements, even for its downright plagiarisms ; finally, for its grandiose and vaporing style.” (oldandsold.com). The Declaration of Independence has been criticized, in which the criticism is towards Jefferson. Because the Declaration affects so many different things, which can also be blamed on Jefferson, the people forget that our life today is because of him. If he didn’t write the Declaration of Independence, then our country wouldn’t be the way that it is. First of all, as Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration, he also took into perspective the affects of the future.“The Declaration of Independence gave birth to many other freedoms in the United States of America that may never have even been intended”, (surfnetkids.com). Thomas Jefferson didn’t only affect now, but affected our future as well, in an intelligent way. Many people need to take this into consideration, for he deserves more honor in his decision. Second of all, Thomas Jefferson put his life at risk for our country, by

The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. The purpose of the declaration was to separate the colonies from Great Britain and to give reason for this severance. The preamble gives the reasons why they must separate themselves and why they cannot tolerate a foreign ruler. Jefferson wrote his first draft of the declaration, and when he showed it to Congress there was an intensive revision process totaling 86 changes, these changes must have been made extremely precisely when you think of the severity of this text. The motive was made because the colonies believed their natural rights were being violated, they claimed that “All men are created equal,” and that their rulers weren’t following that basic principle. Jefferson was assisted by a committee that was appointed by the Continental Congress that consisted of

interests. It was a time of wide-scale conflict not only in the revolutionary realm, but the political sphere as well. In no two people is this better exemplified than Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Yet despite their differences, it is arguable that both of them made equal contributions to the country which they helped create. (1)