Louisiana Purchase through the Eyes of Thomas Jefferson
CHAPTER ONE THOMAS JEFFERSON’S VISION Thomas Jefferson had a bold dream for the United States On March 4 1801 he took office as the country’s third president At the age of 57 Jefferson already had a long history as a politician In his first address in the US Capitol in Washington DC Jefferson shared his vision He spoke of a nation spread over a wide and fruitful land traversing all the seas with the rich productions of their industry J e f f e r s o n h a d s e r v e d a s s t a t e g o v e r n o r f o r e i g n d i p l o m a t secretary of state and vice president before becoming president in 1801 5
Jefferson believed strongly in the US Constitution He wanted to follow it closely as president To accomplish this Jefferson envisioned the country growing westward Jefferson’s goals for the nation touched many of those in attendance At the end of his speech applause rang out from the crowd of more than 1,000 people Some of those who were packed into the Senate chamber were moved to tears That morning there had not been a fancy carriage ride to the Capitol Instead Jefferson had dressed in a plain suit and walked with a small group of people He felt that this best represented his beliefs He was not a royal figure He was a servant of the US people 6
In his speech Jefferson said the US government would be smaller in the future He was a Democratic Republican This meant he did not want the central government to become too powerful He supported stronger states rights His Federalist opponents held the opposite view During his speech Jefferson also said the military would be smaller But his vision for the United States would not be small It would be bigger than anyone thought possible Dreaming of the West Jefferson’s interest in the West started during his childhood His father was a surveyor explorer and mapmaker Jefferson loved hearing about famous explorers and Native Americans The stories stayed with him long after he left his childhood home in Virginia As an adult Jefferson kept learning about the West He studied maps of North America He learned it was more than 3,000 miles 4,828 km across 7
