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Essay / Thomas Jefferson's Accomplishments as President of the United States
Although Thomas Jefferson is widely known for wanting to create a small government that was not involved in the economy and did not trade with other countries, some of the things he did during his presidency went against those beliefs. Thomas Jefferson is known for stating that all men are created equal, but he was also a proponent of slave ownership. During his presidency, anyone who was not a white, male landowner had extremely limited rights. In 1803, Jefferson purchased a large amount of land and doubled the size of America. Jefferson was known to be a strict constructionist, but it was never explicitly stated in the Constitution that the government had the right to purchase land, which raised many questions about whether what he did was considered constitutional or not. Thomas Jefferson also enforced the Embargo Act during his presidency, which closed ports to allow British goods into the country. The embargo law contradicts his belief that the government should stay completely out of the economy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original EssayEven though Thomas Jefferson did not stick entirely to his original ideas about how to run the government, he nonetheless limited them in some ways. One very important thing that Jefferson accomplished was letting the Alien and Sedition Act expire. The law prevented citizens from being able to speak critically or negatively against the country that had violated the First Amendment guaranteeing the right to free speech. In order to maintain a laissez-faire economy, Thomas Jefferson ensured that all of the country's debt was paid off to ensure independence. He also reduced domestic taxes, notably the whiskey tax, which was widely despised by the American people. By reducing these taxes, it allowed the economy to function on its own without government assistance as he envisioned. I think the most important thing Thomas Jefferson accomplished during his time as president was allowing people to express themselves freely. against the government without punishment. This is a very important right that many people take for granted today, but without it our lives would be extremely different. He also made a very wise business choice with the Louisiana Purchase, although it perhaps ran counter to his belief that the government was unable to use the implied powers. The quote "All men are created equal" is considered a very important quote even today, but I don't think Jefferson truly believed that everyone was truly considered equal since he still deprived slaves and women many rights..