QuoteReplyTopic: Thomas Jefferson: great or not? Posted: 29-Oct-2004 at 20:49
It seems like he is one of the most well known characters in early
Ameican history. His long list of achievements during the revolution
and post revolution period was one of the most colorful and important.
But what is not usually thought about is his second term as president,
which was disastrous compared to the first. He responded to the
British-French conflict by cutting off economic contact. Unfortunately,
this severely hurt the economy, and did not good as the American navy
was too weak to stop impressment by the British. By the end of his
term, he had to abandon much of his policy.
And yet when he left office, he was such a respected figure that many forgave his second term.
Another interesting thing about Jefferson was his idealogical conflict
with Hamilton. Jefferson wanted a small federal government whereas
Hamilton wanted a strong federal government. For the most part,
Hamilton's America came true, but Jefferson's did not.
I do not like what Jefferson did to our military in office, and I think his whole philosophy was kind of outdated, Hamilton saw the future. If it weren't for his military cuts, we might have been able to take Canada in the War of 1812. If I were President at Jefferson's time, I would have made the military very strong, a global war can be a hairy thing for a new nation.
Well, the only remarkable archievement during Jefferson's administration was the purchase of Luisiana Territory. And IMO, that same stuff could have been archieved with the Federalist party.
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