Contributions of Washington and Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, who drafted the text of Declaration of Independence, stabilized the country socio-politically through the domestic and foreign policies in spite of the various political debates and economic turmoil. He favored a weak central government with individual states holding the most power. By placing authority on the local level, Jefferson argued, citizens could keep a watchful eye on their representatives and avoid the potential creation of a dictatorship.  Jefferson interpreted the Alien and Sedition Acts to be constitutionally flawed and dangerous to individual freedom. He and Madison rallied support by anonymously writing the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in 1798, which declared that the federal government had no right to exercise powers not specifically delegated to it by the states. Thomas Jefferson’s involvement with the Kentucky Resolutions reflected his passion for protecting civil liberties from repressive measures by omnipotent government.  His decision of Louisiana Purchase in 1803, helped to annex a huge foreign territory and all its French and Indian inhabitants which helped to strengthen the government. The Louisiana Purchase offered the United States much needed room to grow and access to an abundance of natural resources, waterways, and fertile farmland. The Embargo Act of 1807, which prohibited virtually all exports and most imports and was supplemented by enforcing legislation, was designed to coerce British and French recognition of American rights. Although it failed, it did rouse many northerners, who suffered economically, to a state of defiance of national authority.