Jefferson: Quintessentially Conflicted American
Jefferson: Quintessentially Conflicted American
Thomas Jefferson’s beliefs post-Declaration as government official/president were very different to his beliefs pre-Declaration as the leader of the small-government republicans. This is basically talking about beliefs before he gained a lot of political power and his beliefs after he gained a large amount of political power. I feel like this is morally wrong and that one should not have to change and or contradict their beliefs just because he/she is gaining power.
As a small time government official, Jefferson was a believer of strict-constructionism. He voiced his opinions against a strong centralized government and how the Constitution should be strictly followed. However, as he gained more and more power and rose throughout the country’s political ranks, he began to contradict his earlier beliefs. There are two major examples of this. Example number one is the Louisiana Purchase. If Jefferson was still following his beliefs of strict-constructionism, then the Louisiana Purchase would have never happened. However, he began to look at the Constitution in a more loose way, not completely going by the book, which led to the Jefferson Compromise. The Jefferson Compromise was Thomas Jefferson putting aside his constitutional and moral values to purchase that large area of land in a transaction now known as the Louisiana Purchase. The second major example of Jefferson’s conflicting beliefs is his slaves. Thomas Jefferson was always stating that “all men are created equal,” however, Jefferson kept 200 slaves that he never set free.
Therefore, based on these two major examples and how they played out, I feel that Jefferson’s contradictions are extremely flawed. If Thomas Jefferson was a good match for high political power in the first place, he shouldn’t have had to change his views. I believe Jefferson acted then as many popular political figures act today: tell the people what they want to hear in
Thomas Jefferson’s beliefs post-Declaration as government official/president were very different to his beliefs pre-Declaration as the leader of the small-government republicans. This is basically talking about beliefs before he gained a lot of political power and his beliefs after he gained a large amount of political power. I feel like this is morally wrong and that one should not have to change and or contradict their beliefs just because he/she is gaining power.
As a small time government official, Jefferson was a believer of strict-constructionism. He voiced his opinions against a strong centralized government and how the Constitution should be strictly followed. However, as he gained more and more power and rose throughout the country’s political ranks, he began to contradict his earlier beliefs. There are two major examples of this. Example number one is the Louisiana Purchase. If Jefferson was still following his beliefs of strict-constructionism, then the Louisiana Purchase would have never happened. However, he began to look at the Constitution in a more loose way, not completely going by the book, which led to the Jefferson Compromise. The Jefferson Compromise was Thomas Jefferson putting aside his constitutional and moral values to purchase that large area of land in a transaction now known as the Louisiana Purchase. The second major example of Jefferson’s conflicting beliefs is his slaves. Thomas Jefferson was always stating that “all men are created equal,” however, Jefferson kept 200 slaves that he never set free.
Therefore, based on these two major examples and how they played out, I feel that Jefferson’s contradictions are extremely flawed. If Thomas Jefferson was a good match for high political power in the first place, he shouldn’t have had to change his views. I believe Jefferson acted then as many popular political figures act today: tell the people what they want to hear in