Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase
Select a U.S. presidential administration between 1789 and 1864 (George Washington to Abraham Lincoln). In a 4-6 page paper, evaluate how the President handled one major problem/crisis during his term in office.
You should consider the following factors when evaluating the president's actions in managing the issue:
Character and personality. How did these attributes help or hurt the president?
Philosophy of government related to his presidency.
Analyze the effect on the country of the president's decision-making. How did it impact the relationship with the American people? Congress?
What impact did his actions have on the world stage?
Did it change the power of the presidency?
Your paper must be more than just a biographical sketch of the president. You will be assessed on the effectiveness of your analysis of the presidency. You need to think about and evaluate what the president did while handling the crisis.
Examples: (Not eligible topics for this course)
Herbert Hoover—The Great Depression
Theodore Roosevelt—The Great Coal Strike
John F. Kennedy—The Cuban Missile Crisis
Paper Length:
The body of the paper must be at least four pages in length (excludes title page, notes page and bibliography). Typed, double-spaced. 12 point Times Roman font. 1 inch margins.
Sources:
A minimum of four scholarly resources are required. Students are not permitted to use textbooks, children's books, sparksnotes or encyclopedias. Only 1 source can be a scholarly website.
Required Format:
University of Chicago style. Please consult the GCC library webpage for additional information concerning the Chicago style.
There is a 25 point deduction for papers that don't use the University of Chicago format!
THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE
NAME:
INSTITUTION:
DATE:
Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States and a founding father who is famed and remembered for authoring the Declaration of Independence. His contribution to building America post-independence is in invaluable. His personality and decisions show a man of paradoxes, who advocated for equality whilst he himself was a slave owner, a man who detested privileges and craved friendship. His personality and character helped his presidency to book an indelible mark in history. He was a strong believer in the constitution and its powers that bestowed on him thereof. He was wary not to construe the constitution to elevate his powers over the American people and he attempted to remain in the confines of the constitution.[Gibbon, Peter H. 2007. A Call to Heroism: Renewing America's Vision of Greatness. Grove/Atlantic, Inc.]
His personality helped his presidency in various ways. He was perceived by the people as a selfless leader who wanted the best for the American people. This increased his approval ratings and though it attracted few enemies, it won him many friends who had the best interest of the country. He helped set the bounds for presidents even in constitutional crisis where their actions, decisions are not spelt in the constitution. His personality also won him many friends who helped him achieve success under his leadership. Some of the people who objected the Louisiana purchase later acknowledged its importance and they never challenged the purchase in court.
Jefferson’s philosophy of the government was pegged in the power of the people. He believed power should not be concentrated on few people especially the government and he tried to include the people in his leadership. He did this with strong adherence to the constitution and regard to law. He detested privilege that came with the presidency and sought to balance his own powers by involving the people and especially the congress to approve of his decisions. He respected the will of the people and dissenting voices were given their space to voice their concerns. He feared setting precedence for a few people to lead and control the government unconstitutionally. He wanted an all-inclusive government that was truly backed by the power of the people not few privileged individuals.
He faced a major decision of his presidency when he wanted to purchase Louisiana. Initially, he targeted New Orleans and Florida but eventually the French wanted to offer a bigger land to use the money to fund their wars in Europe. The constitution had not provided for land purchases and certainly it wasn’t spelt out how the government could acquire such a land other than war. The only option was to go through the congress to either amend the constitution or ratify the purchase. In the congress there would be opposition and the deal had a tight deadline which prompted Jefferson to act fast. Jefferson understood that his presidency and future generations would suffer for having a neighbor who was not in their union and thus he sought to purchase the land to prevent present and future conflicts. His long-term plan was to acquire the land at least part of it but there was a constitutional crisis.[Levinson, Sanford, and Bartholomew H. Sparrow. 2005. The Louisiana Purchase and American Expansion, 1803-1898. Rowman & Littlefield.]
American constitution did not confer powers on the president on the acquisition...