Thomas Jefferson: His Presidential Legacy

Thomas Jefferson, our third president, was born in 1743 in Virginia. He studied at William and Mary and then read the law. In 1772, he married a widow lady, Martha Skelton and he took her to live at his partially completed home at Monticello, the plantation consisting of approximately 5,000 acres that he inherited from his father. Mr. Jefferson was considered to be a gifted writer, but he was not a public speaker. He wrote his support for the patriotic cause in the House of Burgesses and the Continental congresses but he did not give any speeches. He was a silent member, and as such, drafted the Declaration of Independence. He became the first Secretary of State under George Washington, but resigned the post in 1793. His resignation was due to political conflicts with Alexander Hamilton and his sympathies for the French Revolution. As political differences grew in the new nation, two parties began to form; Jefferson became the leader of the Jeffersonian Party, which later evolved into the Democratic-Republican Party. He opposed a strong central government and was a champion for states' rights. In 1796, he missed being elected President by three votes. Instead, due to a flaw in the Constitution, he became Vice President. In the next election, the flaw became much more apparent. The Republican Party cast a tie vote between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson. Alexander Hamilton voted for Jefferson, even though their political views differed. When Mr. Jefferson's second term was completed, he retired to Monticello and worked on his designs for the university of Virginia. He died on July 4, 1826. Mr. Jefferson's presidency left several legacies. The most important, in chronological order, were the Supreme Court's decision in the 1803 case of "Marbury v Madison," the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and the adoption of the 12th Amendment to the Constitution in 1804. The landmark case of "Marbury v Madison" involved William Marbury and James Madison. After his defeat in 1800, then President Adams appointed as many federalist judges to the court system as possible, but the commissions were not delivered. Mr. Marbury was appointed as a Justice of the Peace for the District of Columbia; James Madison tried to use his power as Secretary of State to shelve Mr. Marbury's commission. Mr. Marbury sued in the Supreme Court for the delivery of the commission and based his appeal on the Judiciary Act of 1789. However, Chief Justice Marshall dismissed the suit, explaining that the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional because it attempted to assign powers to the Supreme Court that the Constitution had not foreseen. He adamantly asserted his opinion that the Constitution embodied a higher law than regular legislation. Chief Justice Marshall stated that "it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is..." His decision greatly increased the authority of the Supreme Court; the Court now had the final say-so in the interpretation of the Constitution and to determine the constitutionality of a law. Just a few months later, in May 1804, Jefferson completed one of the largest land transactions in history. He purchased the entire Louisiana Territory, consisting of more than 800,000 square miles, from Napoleon for $15 millions dollars. The United States government paid $11,250,000 directly to the French government and the United States government assuming French debts to U.S. citizens covered the balance of $3,750,000. This purchase was the result of serious concerns for free trade and navigation along the Mississippi River. In 1800, Spain and France entered into a secret pact in which Spain ceded New Orleans and the territory to France. The United States government was afraid that it would have to go to war with France to acquire control of the port of New Orleans, so Mr. Jefferson sent Robert Livingston and James Munroe to negotiate with Napoleon for the sale of New Orleans and as much land to its east as possible for a maximum of $10million. They were also instructed that if negotiation with Napoleon failed, they were to begin negotiating with England for an alliance. Jefferson was willing to form an alliance with the former enemy, England, against a former friend, France, in order to secure New Orleans. However, because Napoleon failed to conquer Santo Domingo again and because he was ready to end a nearly two-year lull in his war with Britain, Napoleon decided to sell the entire Louisiana Territory. With this sale, he abandoned his hope of an empire in the New World. He preferred to sell the territory rather than being forced to make a gift of it to England since England controlled the seas. He decided put the money in his coffers to use in his European efforts. So, it seemed that out the clear sky, while Robert Livingston was waiting the arrival of James Munroe but still negotiating for the port of New Orleans, a French foreign minister asked for an offer for the entire Louisiana Territory. After a week of haggling, Robert Livingston

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