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I chose Thomas Jefferson for a couple of reasons. First, at the time of submitting the pick a president, we were discussing the policies of Thomas Jefferson and I thought it would be a good idea to use him since the information was fresh in my mind and notes. Second, Jefferson was quite a prominent figure in the early developments of what we call the United States of America and independence. Being able to grade a historical figure based on his presidency, we can draw connections from his previous experiences as well.

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Over the course of his presidency and political career, it is clear that Thomas Jefferson's morals lay with the public. As a man who wanted to give more power to the smaller levels of government and more specifically, the public, over the federal government show that the man wanted to unify the country. Jefferson explained that when the government fears the people, there is liberty (faculty.wagner.edu, 2021). Jefferson is also responsible for the beginnings of expansion for the U.S. and the idea of manifest destiny with the Louisiana Purchase and the many expeditions sponsored by him. However, his shortcomings as president should not be overlooked. Starting with his failure to emancipate the slaves, morally speaking, a progressive and equal move, however being a slave owner himself seems to make the gesture hypocritical. The Embargo Act of 1807 is another example of failure, to some. Jefferson's intentions behind the act was to show the American public the dependence that England and France had on American goods, expecting those countries to further respect American neutrality (connecticuthistory.org, 2021). While the intentions were pure, the plan backfired and damaged the American economy. Based on the developments above, readers can draw the conclusions that Jefferson did have integrity in office on the foundation that all decision he made put the American people first and foremost, without other motives. Even with some hypocritical points, it is important to highlight his most relevant accomplishments and where they fall as of today.

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Connecticut and the Embargo Act of 1807: Connecticut History: A CTHumanities Project. (2021, January 04). Retrieved from https://connecticuthistory.org/connecticut-and-the-embargo-act-of-1807/#:~:text=President Thomas Jefferson hoped that,devastating effect on American trade.

Thomas Jefferson: An Indespensible Leader. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://faculty.wagner.edu/lori-weintrob/thomas-jefferson-an-indespensible-leader/

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Prior to Jefferson stepping into office, the southern public was already weary of Jefferson. While Jefferson was a slave owner himself, he would oppose the idea of slavery, calling for the abolishment of slavery and the removal of African-Americans from America. As a quote from the text states, "if this wild project succeeds, under the auspices of Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States, farewell to the safety, prosperity, the importance, perhaps the very existence of the Southern States" (U.S. History, Corbett, pg.191). Jefferson's presidency also started the decline of the Federalist party. The basic principle of the Federalist party was to have a strong federal government and military, as established by John Adams. However, Jefferson and the Democratic-Republic party sought to give the state governments more power and lessen the power of the Federal government. Jefferson did this through tax cuts and diminishing the military budget and use it towards other programs. This created tensions between the two parties. Jefferson "eloquently articulated fundamental tensions in Americans' understanding of the people's power" as addressed in his First Inaugural Address in March 1801 (Onuf, millercenter.org, 2021). Jefferson did also change voter laws to allow all white men to vote and changed social class requirements to request meetings. This did give the public more trust and voice their opinions more frequently. This is because the public was the foundation of the government and had an active role in decision-making.

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Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T. J., & Vickery, P. S. (2017). U.S. history.

Onuf, P., Peter Onuf Professor of HistoryUniversity of Virginia, Onuf, P., & Virginia, P. O. (2017, June 19). Thomas Jefferson: Impact and Legacy. Retrieved from https://millercenter.org/president/jefferson/impact-and-legacy

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While Jefferson did lack in foreign policy, he did implement several domestic policies that were progressive and successful. As Jefferson came into office in 1801, he had to deal with the restrictions of the Judiciary Act of 1801 and the newly appointed judges from John Adams' presidency. Jefferson would attempt to nullify the act with the Judiciary Act of 1802. As a result, the judicial branch would establish a series of checks and balances, establishing some framework for today's judicial branch (lumenlearning.com, 2021).  Moving on to his most notable domestic accomplishment, the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson purchased the land for $15 million from France in 1803. This was the first major expansion for the 13 colonies and set the precedent for later expansion. Jefferson was a big supporter of "exploring the frontier" and would sponsor many expeditions. Jefferson put an end to internal taxes, such as the ones on whiskey, instead cutting the budget from the military to cover the costs. Jefferson also had an education initiative which eventually led him to pushing an amendment through congress to provide federal support for public education (lumenlearning.com, 2021).

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Boundless. (n.d.). Boundless US History. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/the-jefferson-administration/#:~:text=Domestically, he implemented limitations of,Louisiana from France in 1803.

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Overall, Jefferson didn't have an outstanding foreign policy track record, most notably, the Embargo Act of 1807. The premise of the act was to prohibit American ships from trading in foreign ports as a way to punish England and France for interfering with American trade. However, the act did more damage to the American economy than it did to the other countries. As a result of the act, American exports declined by 75% and imports declined by 50% (McNamara, thoughtco.com, 2019). The act was eventually replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act of 1809. The Embargo Act can be seen as one of the catalysts for the War of 1812. It is worth noting that Jefferson did ban international slave trade in 1808, which is progressive and ethical, however the southern economy suffered from the decision. Jefferson also inherited foreign issues when he stepped into office in 1801. At this time, the United States joined in the First Barbary wars. Jefferson refused to pay the pirates, thinking it would only lead to more issues, instead sending America to its first overseas war. Jefferson would eventually resolve the war with the surrender of the pirates and a peace treaty (history.state.gov, 2021).

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McNamara, R. (n.d.). How Did Thomas Jefferson's Punitive Law Backfire? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/embargo-act-of-1807-1773316#:~:text=The Embargo Act of 1807 was an attempt by President,at war with each other.

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/barbary-wars

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Jefferson had policies that would improve the national economy but also had policies that made the economy worse. Starting with the good, Jefferson decreased the national debt from $83 million to $57 million during his 8-year presidency (Maharrey, tenthamendmentcenter.com, 2019). This is even more impressive when considering Jefferson added $15 million in debt following the Louisiana Purchase. This can be attributed to tax cuts and cutting down federal expenses to only what he finds necessary. As Jefferson stated, "absolute interdiction of all useless expenses will go far towards keeping the government honest and unoppressive" (Maharrey, tenthamendmentcenter.com, 2019). However, Jefferson's foreign policy was not the most economically productive. The Embargo Act of 1807 decreased export revenues from $108 million to $22 million within its first year of being instituted (McNamara, thoughtco.com, 2019).

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Mike MaharreyMichael Maharrey [send him email] is the Communications Director for the Tenth Amendment Center. He is from the original home of the Principles of '98 - Kentucky and currently resides in northern Florida. See his blog archive here and his article archive here.He is the author of the book. (2019, March 06). How Thomas Jefferson Handled the National Debt. Retrieved from https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2019/03/07/how-thomas-jefferson-handled-the-national-debt/#:~:text=During Jefferson's tenure, the federal,debt from the Louisiana Purchase.

McNamara, R. (n.d.). How Did Thomas Jefferson's Punitive Law Backfire? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/embargo-act-of-1807-1773316#:~:text=The Embargo Act of 1807 was an attempt by President,at war with each other.

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As we know from this history class and previous history classes, Thomas Jefferson forever holds a place in American history. Based on my research as shown in the previous columns, I find that Jefferson thrived, for the most part, in domestic affairs, but faltered in foreign policies. His domestic policies still have relevancy today such as the checks and balances of the judicial branch, his expansion of the country, and focus on public education. Now could he have done things a little bit better, sure, as can every president, especially with foreign affairs. Maybe without the Embargo Act, he could have lowered national debt even more, but who knows for sure. However, based on his accomplishments, I feel that a B grade is fair in the sense that there are a lot of positives to take away from his presidency.