The Civil War was one of the most defining events in American history and the antebellum years of the 1840’s were filled with turmoil and bloodshed due to wars. The expansion of slavery into Western territories caused a great deal of controversy and increased the sectional tensions. Since drafting of the Constitution, the North and the South had grown further apart in terms of economy, ideology, and society. Slavery became even more divisive when it threatened to expand westward because non-slave holding white settlers did not want to compete with slaveholders in the new territories. The south viewed slavery as essential to their traditional ways but the north opposed its spread. Territorial expansion allowed for the extensive spread of the
In my personal opinion, the moral dilemma that Jefferson faced resided in political reality. Jefferson had always advocated a very strict platform of Republican values up until this point. This position had been seen early on in his disagreements with Alexander Hamilton in President Washington's cabinet. In the election of 1800, Jefferson was able to articulate a new type of government that was filled with Republicanism. Jefferson took office and acted as if he was the epitome of Republican values. Republicans believed that the role of government needed to decrease. Jefferson tried to minimize federal control through reducing its reach and scope. He pursued a laissez- faire approach to governance in his time as President, which meant that
When it came to the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists the differences are many and at times very complex, due to the beliefs that the Federalists are nationalist at heart. The Federalists had an incredibly big role in shaping the new Constitution, which the Federalists used to create a stronger Constitution at great cost to the Anti-Federalists. If you ask the Anti-Federalists They believe that should be a ratification of the US Constitution in every state. But due to the Anti-Federalists being poor at organizing they really didn’t gain any ground. Although they didn’t achieve their goals of ratification of the US Constitution, but they did force the first congress under a new Constitution along with the bill of rights. Having the bill of
One of Jefferson’s beliefs was having an agricultural-based economy and life, rather than commerce and federal power. “He believed a person who owned a farm and worked the land would be economically independent, and that independence would develop and preserve wisdom, self-control, courage, and fortitude. He thought commerce, on the other hand, was a corrupter of morals that made people greedy and dependent on others (Discovery Techbook, Chapter 6.1).” His decision to purchase
In America’s history there have been many events or times that have in a way changed and shaped how we live today. The Louisiana Purchase could be recognized as one of the best and most impressive real estate purchases of Thomas Jefferson’s past. Also, this purchase could be looked at as one of the most important events in America’s past. Many historians would agree on this, but many opinions would be different on the fact if this purchase was actually worth the buy or not. Even Jefferson himself would have some doubts about the purchase.
The United States developed politically and economically in the late 1700s and early 1800s through individuals who were passionate about the future of America. Although passionate, not all men agreed on the same ideas; this led them to split into two groups. These groups, or political parties, spent much of their time advocating for certain policies, events, or other governmental issues, such as supporting or opposing the current president. Primarily because of the difference in their leaders ' beliefs, the two- party system developed with each party built on different principles; The Federalist 's ideas often clashed with the Democratic-Republican 's. These ideas were originally set in stone and rarely wavered, but under circumstances
This was a purchase of all land west of the Mississippi river. The U.S. was Originally going to just buy New Orleans. There plans for New Orleans were so that farmers west of the Appalachian Mountains would now have a trade route. After the U.S. asked France for New Orleans they offered all the land west of the Mississippi river for just $5 million more. This raised the price of this trade to now $15 million which was $7 million dollars over budget because the U.S. was already cutting into the funds for the next year. Jefferson believed that this deal was way too good to pass up. This was declined by the rest of the constitution. To make sure that he got his way Jefferson made this a trade deal and sent it to the senate to get ⅔ approval. This trade deal was approved and they bought all land west of the Mississippi. This was a good way to use the constitution because the U.S. now had much more land to expand their country now. “ He shall have power by and with evidence and consent of the senate,to make treaties.” This is saying that Jefferson has the power to make treaties with the consent of senate. This was very effective because the U.S. had much more land and might eventually lead to more
While the supporters of Thomas Jefferson believe that buying foreign land was necessary, those who are against him feel that what he did was unconstitutional. In the source, “Thomas Jefferson to John Breckinridge, 12 August 1803”, the text explains that what Jefferson did was allowed, as it had not mentioned that he couldn’t in the constitution. This controversy is huge, because some people believe that he did not have the right to do so. Jefferson made a point that it wasn’t mentioned in the constitution, so he decided to ratify it and pay for it. Some believe congress did not have the right to authorize this decision. Beginning in the 17th century, France discovered the Mississippi River valley and established scattered settlements in
The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase of the Louisiana territory by the United States from France in 1803. The U.S. paid fifty million dollars and a cancellation of debts worth eighteen million dollars which averages to less than three cents per acre. The Louisiana territory included land from fifteen present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The territory contained land that forms Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, portions of Minnesota, large portions of North Dakota; large portions of South Dakota, parts of New Mexico, the northern portion of Texas, the area of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. The Louisiana Purchase was smart move by the United States.
Dear Editor: I think that Thomas Jefferson and the United States Government should buy the port of New Orleans because they need the get the port so that we can trade and expand the United States.
Thomas Jefferson- one of the great American founding fathers with exquisite taste in architecture and French wine, but also known to hold a controversial set of ideas- fought frequently and strongly against the Federalists ideas before he achieved Presidency. Jefferson and the other republican democrats who followed suit held the belief that the powers of the federal government should be left strictly to what is granted to them in the Constitution. Those powers not specifically addressed in the Constitution would then be delegated to the state governments. This is to ensure that the federal government did not have too much power as they believe a country runs best under a form of self-government. While on the other corner of the ring, the Federalists believed that the newly founded country would run best if the national government was strong and powerful and in effect if the Constitution was loosely interpreted. This started a series of issues between the two opposing sides with the Federalists pretty much winning every issue. From the issue of funding the war debt, whether a bank of America should be created, to the Alien and Sedition Act; the two sides did not see eye to eye. However, when Jefferson became president, it could be argued that the same abuse of power that he criticized the Federalists to have done could be argued against his own presidency. It is more than fair to say that Jefferson was a hypocrite not only from a Federalist standpoint but also from the
The Federalists obviously opposed the Louisiana Purchase for political reasons, not practical because they hated Thomas Jefferson. "I am disgusted with the men who now rule us. The coward at the head [Jefferson] is like a French Revolutionary," (Pickering, 1803) stated Timothy Pickering in a letter to Rufus King. This shows, clearly, that federalists only care about opposing Thomas Jefferson, not opposing the Louisiana Purchase. Most federalists, although some had very good reasons for opposing the constitution, only cared about hatred for Mr. Jefferson and with that hatred for all of his ideas. This evidently shows that the Federalists opposed the constitution for political reasons, not
In April of 1803 Thomas Jefferson was faced with many moral dilemmas in the process of buying the Louisiana territory. Though the price for the territory was beyond generous, Jefferson felt that by purchasing the territory he would be going against his beliefs that the constitution should be followed word for word. The constitution said nothing of the president having the power to purchase land from another government, or to use money of the states for the same purpose (“the moral dilemma”). Another problem was once the land was purchased, there was a fear that it could have been a waste since they had no way to know the layout of the land, and what it would be useful for. What's more
In the article The fears of the federal list by Linda Kerber and The fears of the Jeffersonian Republic by Drew McCoy both draw the ideals of the federal list in the Republicans distant conflict of opposing ideas in the political field. Kerber expresses how federal us were carefully placed
The Louisiana purchase was one of the biggest land purchases in history. In 1803, the United States paid around $15 million dollars for around 800,000 square miles of land. This was arguably the greatest achievement of thomas jefferson’s presidency. The louisiana territory was a wild card in the european game of imperialism. The land mass was first claimed by france, ceded to Spain in 1762, and then ceded back to France nearly 40 years later.