Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson

THOMAS JEFFERSON took office in 1801. During the campaign, his party

had created visions of an agrarian paradise protected by a small

government with no standing military and no debt. And, he was a strict

constructionist. Meaning, if it isn't in the Constitution, he believed the government doesn't have a right to do it. But many of

Jefferson's most important domestic achievements seemed to be in stark

contrast to his platform.

Jefferson was the first president to be inaugurated in the new permanent capital,

Washington, D.C., and live in the completed recognize either building today. When he moved into the president's White House - though you may not country mansion, he

complained that it was 'big enough for two emperors, one pope and the Grand Lama in

the bargain.' Jefferson claimed that he opposed grandeur and elitism, yet he

immediately began designing additions to the White House (including the photogenic West

Wing colonnade).

When Jefferson took office, only the north wing of the Capitol building

was ready for occupation, and it was shared by Congress, the Supreme

Court, the Library of Congress and the courts of the District of

Columbia. In 1803, Jefferson approved funding to continue with

construction.

Though by the time the south wing was ready for use, the north section was in need of repair. Completing

the Capitol might seem like an easy decision for us today, but Jefferson

had promised that his administration would be frugal.

However, this project wasn't nearly as controversial as his next big

expenditure.

The Louisiana Purchase Around the time of Jefferson's election,

Napoleon Bonaparte was in secret negotiations with Spain to reclaim North American territory that France had lost after the French and Indian War. They reached an agreement, but soon after,

events unfolded which left France nearly bankrupt in the middle of another war.

Napoleon realized that he couldn't afford to defend the LOUISIANA TERRITORY.

So, when the United States approached him about buying New Orleans in order to control access to the Mississippi River,

Napoleon offered to sell them all of his land on the continent for $15 million.

While that may seem cheap (it works out to about $.04 an acre), and the land

proved to be very valuable to America, the Constitution didn't give Jefferson

power to make such a purchase.

What's worse, he didn't consult with Congress over the deal,

exactly the kind of expansion of presidential power that Jefferson

said he opposed.

Think about how a modern president's opponents react when

he oversteps his bounds. Now imagine if both his rivals and his friends were angry. Outrage over

the Louisiana Purchase nearly split the country apart. Of

course, some people approved, especially many Southerners.

It doubled the size of the U.S. overnight, opening up huge

amounts of inexpensive farmland. It guaranteed access to the Mississippi River. But many others vigorously opposed the

purchase. Federalists thought it would lead to war with Spain.

Congress, with its Democratic-Republican majority, opposed

expanding the NATIONAL DEBT, rather than eliminating it as

Jefferson had promised. Members of both parties believed the purchase

was unconstitutional. Some Northerners foresaw this as an

expansion of slavery.

Jefferson's opponents in the Northeast recognized that this

would further reduce their political clout. Nonetheless, in

1803, the purchase was made and plans to explore it commenced.

Exploring the WestThomas Jefferson accomplished what may be his most enduring

legacy as president: the successful completion of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Even before the purchase was made, Jefferson had created the Corps of

Discovery to send explorers through the new land (and beyond) to the

Pacific Ocean. The president hired his secretary, Meriwether Lewis, and Lewis' friend, William Clark, to lead

the expedition.

The 33 members of the so-called 'permanent party' departed from St.

Louis on May 14, 1804. Along the way, they were joined by various

people, including a French trapper and his Shoshone wife, Sacajawea,

who served as cooks, translators and diplomats. Their infant son,

nicknamed Pomp, helped indicate the Corps' peaceful intentions to the

people they encountered.

If you think about how long it would take today to travel more than 2,100 miles from St. Louis to the Oregon

coast on the interstate, it seems pretty amazing that they traveled all the way through present-day Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa,

South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and

Oregon - and back - in just 28 months!

They had no cars, no trains, no roads. They didn't even have

trails through a lot of the land. They encountered dozens of

Indian nations, not all of whom were receptive to outsiders in

their territory.

The Lewis and Clark expedition drew amazingly accurate maps and pictures of the land, animals, people

and plants of the American West. Their extensive notes shattered

erroneous assumptions about the land. For example, they dispelled,

once and for all, the belief that there was a Northwest Passage through

the American continent.

When Lewis and Clark arrived back in St. Louis on September 23, 1806, an excited nation now

had a map and reliable information to guide their own

westward migration. It was then, as it is now, a great achievement

for President Jefferson.

Shortly before Lewis and Clark's return, Jefferson retroactively approved a second expedition (led by Captain

Zebulon Pike), which had been commissioned by the governor of

Louisiana - who happened to be one of Burr's conspirators. Pike was assigned a

few insignificant tasks, but many historians now believe Pike was, in fact,

sent on a military reconnaissance mission.

His team traveled the southwestern edge of the Louisiana Territory, identified Pike's Peak and built a

fort at what they claimed to believe was the headwaters of the Red River.

But it was, in fact, the Rio Grande. Pike's Expedition was in Spanish

territory. They were arrested, charged as spies and marched to

Chihuahua.

Along the way, they passed through Santa Fe, Albuquerque

and El Paso where Pike observed the size and locations of Spanish

military installations. They learned that the people were

agitating against Spanish rule.

In prison, Pike convinced his translator to show him Spanish maps of the land. Then after his release, Pike's valuable military

intelligence proved just how little of a threat Spain posed.

Outlawing the Slave TradeOne of President Jefferson's last great acts was signing a bill that

outlawed the Atlantic slave trade, effective January 1, 1808. The

Constitution itself had set that as the earliest date allowed for such a law, not wanting the issue of slavery to

interfere with the development of the young nation.

Although slavery itself was still legal - and growing - the act prohibiting

importation of slaves made it a crime to bring new slaves into America

from overseas. There was smuggling of course, but the law was enforced, having the effect of raising prices for slaves, and encouraging the practice of selling slave children for profit.