Thomas Jefferson was one of the representatives in the United States General Congress who authored the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was from Virginia. The declaration represented the wishes, the will, and the hope of the people. This was a unanimous declaration by thirteen states. Jefferson is considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States because of the central role he played constitutional making. These actions contributed to his steady rise through the political positions. The achievements helped him ascend from a military governor of Virginia to the minister after independence. He then became the first secretary of state of the United States. Jefferson became the second vice president of the United States and finally the third President.
The thesis statement for this paper is that Thomas Jefferson the “Sage of Monticello” is most often remembered as the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, a document which laid the foundation to a still flourishing and centuries-old republic. However, despite this great achievement, other actions of Jefferson can be interpreted as having a less stabilizing influence on the American experiment in a republican democracy. Jefferson’s support of the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions laid the groundwork for the latter Nullification and States Rights concepts, which were used to justify southern session.
In addition, the Louisiana Purchase, which greatly increased the American domain, contributed first to American expansionism and then sectionalism, which in turn lead to southern isolation, another cause of the Civil War. The paradox of Thomas Jefferson was that while making great contributions to the success of the United States his actions also inadvertently put the survival of the union at risk. This statement would be supported in the subsequent sections using quotes from the book.
Jefferson achieved great things for the American people. Some of his other actions, however, contributed to the destabilization of the Union. The main contribution of Jefferson is that he fought slavery in the United States, which was a thorny issue among blacks. In 1787, he helped the writers of the constitution in the drafting of the Northwest Ordinance.
This treaty abolished slavery, limited land grabbing, and illegalized migration of slaves to new regions. He did this despite the fact that he was a great farmer who owned slaves. Though he was a rich farmer, he believed in equality of all human races, irrespective of their skin color. These actions are said to have been the first areas of contention between the North and the South. Whereas the North was on its way to eliminating slavery, the South was still advocating for slavery.
Although Thomas Jefferson played a major role in writing the Declaration of Independence, he was accused of losing the zeal he achieved during the declaration days. He was against the constitution and in fact, he never attended the constitutional conference. This was interpreted to mean that his degree of patriotism had gone down. Surprisingly, he swore by the same constitution when he became the President.
Thomas Jefferson co-authored the Kentucky and Virginia Resolution. This resolution was later commonly referred to as the Principles of ninety-eight (Principles of 98). Politicians who outlawed the federal Alien and Sedition Acts in 1799 passed this resolution. The states supporting this resolution were given authority to denounce any acts of the Congress as unconstitutional if they were not anchored in the constitution. The proponents of the resolution argued that this was the right of the states and that it would enhance their constructionism.
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wrote the Kentucky and Virginia resolution. This was done secretly. Other provisions of the resolution, which were added later, gave the states powers to nullify the acts they had declared unconstitutional. This matter was controversial from the time it went public. This explains why they wrote it in privacy.
It was rejected by ten states. The circumstances in which it was written could easily reveal that the contents of the resolution had ulterior motives. The argument here would be why it was hidden in case what was being written would be generally accepted. The impact, however, was heavy and seeds of discord it planted laid a foundation for disunion.
These resolutions attracted criticism in various states led by President George Washington. The President termed it unacceptable and explained that it would drive the United States in the wrong direction. This matter contributed immensely to divisions among the Republican-Democrats, then referred to as Jefferson Democrats shortly before the Nullification crisis.
The delegates were divided into two opposing camps. President Andrew Jackson led one faction that opposed the policy while John Calhoun led the group that supported the policy. It should be remembered here that Jefferson started all these divisions. It was wrong for a leader of Jefferson’s magnitude to bore the seeds of discord that later came to divide the nation. This would actually mean that all he fought for would be washed away in case states separated.
Anti-slavery activists, later on, implored this resolution half a century after it was authored by encouraging the North to nullify what is referred to as an unconstitutional enactment of the law. During the close of the Civil War, the President said that the war was the fruit of the seeds of nullification and secession planted by Thomas Jefferson in his Kentucky and Virginia Resolution. This forms part of Jefferson’s destabilizing effects. Jefferson had a big hand in the Nullification crisis.
The crisis started in the state of South Carolina. The state borrowed ideas from the Kentucky and Virginia resolution in nullifying the two federal tariffs. This was done by passing an Ordinance of nullification. President Andrew Jackson proceeded to reinstate it. He went on to explain that the action was in contravention of the constitution. He explained that it was for the good of the nation to observe the constitution to the latter and in spirit.
James Madison, who co-authored the initial resolution with Jefferson, ironically opposed the action of South Carolina. He argued that the action was equivalent to refusing to adhere to the constitution. Instead, he elaborated that his Virginia resolutions spelled out the means, such as amendments, that could be applied by aggrieved states in seeking redress on the particular matters. The actions by Thomas Jefferson had started affecting negatively the Union in the United States. The idea was perceived to go against the constitution.
It was difficult to comprehend why states could unilaterally declare the acts of the federal government unconstitutional and therefore cancel them. Jefferson referred to the federal constitution as having powers delegated to it by the states. This power, according to him, was limited. The United States was more of a mere custodian, with absolutely no powers to apply or make laws. Explicitly, this was dangerous. Jefferson ought to have known that the Federal government was to have executive powers otherwise the objectives of the Union could never be realized.
In supporting nullification and limitation of the Federal government power, any other power exercised outside the delegated one would, therefore, be declared null and void. He gave the states the discretion to judge whether actions by the Federal government were constitutional or not. This meant that the states would determine whether to nullify all the powers surrendered to the United States government. The states could withdraw their membership in case the federal government did not respect their presence. This translated to secession.
By allowing the Federal government to run all duties, he argued that it would lead to the use of powers beyond the constitution and hence the states’ sovereignty would be misused. Their powers would be usurped. The states would eventually be destroyed. In all these issues, Thomas Jefferson was stressed, jealousy an unconfident. He advised the states to safeguard their sovereignty jealously rather than entrust their powers to the Federal government. To him, success and continuity would come from the will to protect oneself as opposed to bestowing confidence elsewhere.
Going through some of these decisions arguably leads to questions being asked regarding what Jefferson wanted from the United States government. Considering the vital role he played during the days of drafting the Declaration of independence, it would then be acceptable to agree with those who believed that he lost patriotism. Another perspective would be to look at his actions after independence in terms of issues that he supported. Jefferson never took part in the process of constitution-making, let alone attending the constitutional conference.
These actions could be interpreted to mean that he was bitter about the whole process of constitutional making. Alternatively, he used his actions to show resentment towards the Federal constitution. Overall, it could as well be said that during the declaration, he was simply interested in sending away the British government. The other states, therefore, would only help in fighting the British. This, however, did not cross the mind of analysts. This analysis at this level is very crucial because some of Jefferson’s actions were directly creating antagonism between the federal government and the states. This was never expected of him.
Thomas Jefferson’s facilitation of the acquisition of Louisiana probably went down as his greatest achievement as the US president. Sarcastically, this process forced Jefferson to compromise his principles. Jefferson was a strong opponent of tyranny and a great crusader of anti-federalism. He facilitated the purchase of Louisiana from France at a cost of fifteen million dollars. America was interested in the port of New Orleans, which was owned by France.
Jefferson, who was the president then, sent a team to France to broker the deal. When the team returned, France had offered to sell the whole of Louisiana. This was very good news to all Americans because New Orleans was strategic. This transaction was not enshrined in the constitution. This meant that the deal had to wait for a constitutional amendment. This deal fell in what he included in Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. To wait for amendments would have seen the transaction flop. At the same time, the United States did not have the amount asked by France.
The President went for a loan from Great Britain at an interest of six percent. This money filled the deficit that France required. Back at home, President Jefferson swallowed his pride and compromised his position to allow the United States to acquire a total of eight hundred thousand hectares of land. This was Louisiana. This included the very coveted Port of New Orleans.
We would say that on such an issue, he changed his mind for the good of America. As such, it would be unfair to castigate him. For him, Jefferson represented exactly two halves. He achieved great things for America but also argued for some legislation that never worked for the Union.
Bibliography
Norton, Mary. A people & a nation: a history of the United States. Boston: Wadsworth, 2010.