Jeffersonian Democracy

Jeffersonian Democracy is the set of ideals named after Thomas Jefferson and lasted from the 1800s to the 1820s. The ideals were that of peace, an agrarian republic, a country in which local government was more prominent than federal government, and the basic ideals of the democratic republicans.

After visiting Europe and witnessing the severe differences between the rich and the poor due to industrialization, Thomas Jefferson believed that the United States of America should grow as an agrarian republic. He viewed that the future of America lay in the hands of the common yeoman farmer.

“Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God.”

Knowing that industrialization would lead to extremes in poverty and wealth, Jefferson worked on ways to expand agriculture. One thing that the Americans had that most European countries did not, was land. While the United States dwarfed European countries in size, Jefferson knew that the population of the country was expanding; and if he wanted the country to become agrarian, the country itself would have to expand.

The Louisiana Purchase was a deal between Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon Bonaparte of France. The purchase was 830,000 acres of land owned by the French, previously by the Spanish, for a mere 15 million dollars. Jefferson agreed on the deal and the size of the United States of America more than doubled overnight.

Having always been an advocate of the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson was left with a dilemma on his hands. The reason being, the Constitution did not say that the President had any right to purchase land. On the other hand, Jefferson knew that the vast amount of land he had acquired would help in the growth of the United States.

The War of 1812 was fought between Britain and the United States. The blockading and seizing of American ships