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| Printable Version Thomas Jefferson's goal as president was to restore the principles of the American Revolution. Not only had the Federalists levied oppressive taxes, stretched the provisions of the Constitution, and established a bastion of wealth and special privilege in the creation of a national bank, they also had subverted civil liberties and expanded the
powers of the central government at the expense of the states. A new revolution was necessary, "as real a revolution in the principles of our government as that of 1776 was in its form." What was needed was a return to basic republican principles. On March 4, 1801, Jefferson, clad in clothes of plain cloth, walked from a nearby boarding house to the new United States Capitol in Washington. Without ceremony, he entered the Senate chamber, and took the presidential oath of office. Then, in a
weak voice, he delivered his inaugural address--a classic statement of Republican principles. His first concern was to urge conciliation and to allay fear that he planned a Republican reign of terror. "We are all Republicans," he said, "we are all Federalists." Echoing George Washington's Farewell Address, he asked his listeners to set aside partisan and sectional differences and remember that "every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle." Only a proper respect for
principles of majority rule and minority rights would allow the new nation to thrive. In the remainder of his address he laid out the principles that would guide his presidency: - a frugal, limited government;
- reduction of the public debt;
- respect for states' rights;
- encouragement of agriculture; and
- a limited role for government in peoples' lives.
He committed his administration to repealing taxes, slashing government expenses, cutting military
expenditures, and paying off the public debt. Through his personal conduct and public policies he sought to return the country to the principles of Republican simplicity. He introduced the custom of having guests shake hands instead of bowing stiffly; he also placed dinner guests at a round table, so that no individual would have to sit in a more important place than any other. Jefferson refused to ride an elegant coach or host elegant dinner parties and balls and wore clothes made of homespun
cloth. To dramatize his disdain for pomp and pageantry, he received the British minister in his dressing gown and slippers. Jefferson believed that presidents should not try to impose their will on Congress, and consequently he refused to openly initiate legislation or to veto congressional bills on policy grounds. Convinced that Presidents Washington and Adams had acted like British monarchs by personally appearing before Congress and requesting legislation, Jefferson simply sent
Congress written messages. It would not be until the presidency of Woodrow Wilson that another president would publicly address Congress and call for legislation. Jefferson's commitment to Republican simplicity was matched by his stress on economy in government. He slashed army and navy expenditures, cut the budget, eliminated taxes on whiskey, houses, and slaves, and fired all federal tax collectors. He reduced the army to 3,000 soldiers and 172 officers, the navy to 6 frigates, and
foreign embassies to 3 in Britain, France, and Spain. Convinced that ownership of land and honest labor in the earth were the firmest bases of Republican government, Jefferson convinced Congress to cut the price of public lands and to extend credit to purchasers in order to encourage land ownership and rapid western settlement. A firm believer in the idea that America should be the "asylum" for "oppressed humanity," he persuaded Congress to reduce the residence requirement for citizenship
from 14 to 5 years. To ensure that the public knew the names and number of all government officials, Jefferson ordered publication of a register of all federal employees. Contemporaries were astonished by the sight of a president who had renounced all the practical tools of government: an army, a navy, and taxes. Jefferson's goal was, indeed, to create a new kind of government, a Republican government wholly unlike the centralized, corrupt, patronage-ridden one against which Americans had
rebelled in 1776. Copyright 2021 Digital History
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- Introduction & Quick Facts
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upland fringes
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U.S. Senate special election, and the Trump tax cut
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summit, “zero tolerance,” and separation of immigrant families
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- The indictment of Paul Manafort, the guilty pleas of Michael Flynn and George Papadopoulos, and indictments of Russian intelligence officers
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- The 2018 midterm elections
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- The killing of George Floyd and nationwide racial injustice protests
- The Joe Biden administration
- The COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the Delta and Omicron variants, and the American Rescue Plan Act
- Economic recovery, the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the failure of Build Back Better
- Stalled voting rights legislation, the fate of the filibuster, and the appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court
- Foreign affairs: U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- The Buffalo and Uvalde shootings, overturning Roe v. Wade, and the January 6 attack hearings
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- Additional Reading
- Contributors
- Article History
How did Jefferson view the economy of the United States?
Jefferson thought that farmers, rather than merchants, were the backbone of the new nation. "Cultivators of the earth," he wrote, "are the most valuable citizens." He feared that a manufacturing economy would corrupt the United States by concentrating power in the hands of a small group of wealthy Americans.
What did Jefferson and the Republicans believe in?
Led by Thomas Jefferson, whom they helped elect to the presidency for two terms (1801-1809), the Republicans believed in individual freedoms and the rights of states. They feared that the concentration of federal power under George Washington and John Adams represented a dangerous threat to liberty.
What did the Democratic
Democratic-Republicans favored keeping the U.S. economy based on agriculture and said that the U.S. should serve as the agricultural provider for the rest of the world.
What was Jefferson's economic vision for Americans why?
National economic vision
Jefferson believed that liberty and democracy were the greatest virtues a society could strive toward. To that end, he thought an agrarian society made up of independent farmers was best; the "Empire of Liberty," he called it.
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