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It’s more than fair to call Jefferson a hypocrite when comparing his inaugural speech to his actions during his presidency. He clearly defied many of his promises and goals he set in his speech. However, this doesn’t make him a bad presidency. If anything, many of his decisions benefited our country and made it what it is today.
ReplyDeleteJefferson really diverged from his promises made in his inaugural speech on two major occasions. The first one was during his attack on the Federalists as soon as he took over. In his speech, Jefferson emphasized that he was not going to engage in partisanship and not choose a side. He promised he would listen to everyone and base his decision on the facts and not on his party. This is pretty much the opposite of what he did. When he took office, Jefferson repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801 and tried to go after Federalists that were currently in power in the Judicial Branch. At first he targeted Federal District judges but as he grew more ambitious, he eventually went after a Supreme Court Judge. Although that attack failed it clearly showed him trying to gain more power for his party, and to increase the power of the government by eliminating his enemies, both which contradicted what he said in his speech.
The second major event that went against his promises was the Louisiana Purchase and the following Lewis and Clark expedition. In this new acquisition, the United States nearly tripled its size. This would therefore indirectly lead to the increase in the size of the government which has to manage more land. Since Jefferson’s original promise was to decrease the size of the government, this could essentially mean he is a hypocrite. However, this purchase was ultimately extremely beneficial to our country and therefore, being a hypocrite sometimes isn’t all that bad.
After our discussion in class, its very fair to call Jefferson a hypocrite. In his inaugural address, Jefferson mentioned several times how he would like to encourage unity between Federalists and Republicans. After he got into office though, he began to attempt to take Federalists out of their positions as Federal District judges. After he succeeded with that he even attempted to remove Supreme Court judges, but failed. Jefferson went against what he said in his inaugural address by attempting to remove Federalist judges. Removing them also gave him and his party more power, when he said in his address that he wanted to reduce the size and power of government.
ReplyDeleteThe Louisiana Purchase also went against Jefferson's address. Jefferson talked about how he wanted to reduce the size of the government, and then went and doubled the size of the territory. Even though most people were in favor of this, he completely went against what he said in his address. It was physically impossible to reduce the size of government and double the territory at the same time. He also wanted to reduce government spending and then bought the Louisiana purchase.
I agree with what Marco said, that even though Jefferson made some statements that disagreed with what he originally said, being a hypocrite does not necessarily make him a bad president. Jefferson's decision to expand the country with the Louisiana Purchase, even though he said he was trying to reduce the size of the government, was beneficial to the nation in general. The Louisiana Purchase, as Marco said, ultimately helped to make what our country what it is today.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Jefferson can be labeled a hypocrite because his actions contradicted the promises he made in his inaugural address. For one, he initially preached unity. But when he came into office he attacked the Federalists by trying to remove Federalist judges from power. This divided the nation even more strongly between the Federalists and the Jeffersonians and damaged any chance of uniting the two parties. In addition, Jefferson said he would reduce the size of the government, which he did at first by shrinking the size of the army. But by making the Louisiana Purchase, he increased America's territory. This made it necessary to increase the size of the government so that it could effectively administrate laws.
ReplyDeleteMarco makes a good point about Jefferson's hypocrisy not necessarily making him an altogether bad president. Though the word "hypocrite" generally has negative connotations, in this instance it cannot be the basis of an argument against Jefferson's ability to run the country. It was more beneficial for him to expand America's territory than to keep it the same size and reduce the size of the government. Though this went against what he originally stated he was going to do, it was not a bad decision. As has been previously pointed out, had Jefferson not done so, our country would be vastly different.
ReplyDeleteMany of my classmates would suggest that Jefferson was a hypocrite because they believed his actions went against his words. There were suggestions that Jefferson’s first inaugural address was false, however, they were not. If one reads correctly, they can find the reasoning behind Jefferson’s actions
ReplyDelete“I know, indeed, that some honest men fear that a republican government can not be strong, that this Government is not strong enough; but would the honest patriot, in the full tide of successful experiment, abandon a government which has so far kept us free and firm on the theoretic and visionary fear that this Government, the world's best hope, may by possibility want energy to preserve itself? I trust not. I believe this, on the contrary, the strongest Government on earth………Still one thing more, fellow-citizens—a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities.”
–Jefferson’s first inaugural address
The quote above proves that Jefferson did not go against his word. Yes, he does acknowledge the differences between Federal and Republican government. He will let everyone believe what they want, but stated above, he believes Republican government is the best. He does let the Federalists believe what they want, except Jefferson does want to replace them with Republican politicians instead. In the speech he does stand up for what he believes in. Jefferson always felt that less government was more, and with the speech he says that the people will have a strong enough government. In his opinion, the strongest government is his way, the republican way. The only problematic part was seeing the truth; not taking his speech so literally. By looking underneath the underneath Jefferson was always praising his Republican ideas, just softening them up for the public by adding unity to gain pathos in his speech. Many politicians, past and present, have used techniques to gain the public support, Jefferson is no exception.
Alright, so Jefferson's a hypocrite. He is, and so are plenty of other people; there's a little hypocrite in all of us I think. What he told the people in his inaugural address was that he would push party boundaries aside and attempt to unify the overlapping ideas ("We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists" or something along those lines), however instead he resorted to a few little techniques that mirrored those of the Federalists who were in power in the past. Sure, the Sedition Act was pretty nasty placing targets on Republicans and what not, but Jefferson's Federalist-Judge-Witch-Hunt wasn't much better.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of his hypocrisy, Jefferson still had highlights in his presidency, and face it, what President has honestly lived up to their inaugural promises? Jefferson purchased Louisiana and opened up the west for American settlers, giving everyone a little bit more "elbow room" in Schoolhouse Rock terminology. With the help of Lewis and Clark, America became a vast land worthy of exploration and some grain of prestige. Also, Jefferson's whole judge-jumble did establish some very important precedents; for instance, Judicial Review came to be thanks to the mix-up. Not to mention the fact that the party in power was changing for the first time, and the change went over successfully.
PS: I forgot to post "Elbow Room"! It's a perfect add-on to this question.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twFs9Vk6F0A
After our discussions about Jefferson’s presidency, I think that it’s fair to call him a hypocrite. For example, one huge instance where seemed to contradict himself pertained to the Louisiana Purchase. This would double the size of US territory, however, this also opposed the fact that he wanted to reduce the size of government. If a nation obtained more land, the government would also have to be increased to better control it. In addition, instead of reducing spending limits like he said he would, he decided to buy more terrain. Another example where Jefferson was presented as a hypocrite was he overall stance on his power. His political power increased which went against his belief to have a weaker national government. Lastly, upon coming into his office, he spoke of unity. On the other hand, he began targeting Federalists and tried to remove Federalist judges from office. These three examples clearly showed that Jefferson could in fact be called a hypocrite.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Marco's statement on how Jefferson attacked the Federalists upon stating that he wanted unity when he came into office. Once the Judiciary Act was repealed, his goal was to target as many Federalists as possible and remove them from power so that more Republicans could also retain office. For instance, he did manage to attack John Pickering successfully, but once he tried to remove a Supreme Court judge from office, the Senate finally refused and Samuel Chase (Supreme Court judge who was attacked) was acquitted. This example really depicted how Jefferson was a hypocrite.
ReplyDeleteChanel makes a good point; Jefferson had Republican intentions sugarcoated in his speech and he may have added certain phrases to hook Federalists, but still his attempted impeachment of the Federalist judges was over the line and definitely not something Jefferson made clear (or would be willing to make clear) in his address. His actions did contradict his words, however much he meant them.
ReplyDeleteThank you Carly for acknowledging my point, but politics-wise many are unclear. As I said before looking underneath the underneath is essential to trying to decipher politics.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson would definitely not be a smart person if he turned that land down. For four cents an acre who could go wrong? I’m sure if Jefferson didn’t purchase the land there could have been consequences. America would not be the same country we are today without the Louisiana Purchase. What if another country bought Louisiana from the French? Undoubtedly the political geography would change in North America, but what if Spain bought it or maybe even England? There are threats to not claiming the land, even if America had a weak economy.
Yes, the purchase would have to expand the government a bit. Maybe Jefferson took away from the government that was already in place (America at the time before the Louisiana Purchase), reduced it to a small but manageable size, and then was able to place enough central government representatives to be able to manage the whole of America. Instead of having the “large” central government we already had and adding twice as many more spots into the central government, just because America doubled in size. To be more efficient, Jefferson could just expand the government a little bit because of the extra land. During class, we never specified how Jefferson was going to spread out the government; only that he was “trimming the fat off.” Without Jefferson thinking smaller maybe America would be too much of a centralized government. Maybe decentralizing a bit after all the federalists had a majority was a good thing; who knows what state the country would be in today if not for the break between Federalist and Republican. Jefferson, overall might have just balanced off our country because of his strong ideals.
Jefferson's promises and actual actions definitely did not line up, however I feel that he was a successful president, and these actions were what he honestly believed was right for the country. As many of my classmates above have pointed out, Jefferson had claimed that he would not take sides and urge the coming together of republicans and federalists. However, once in the presidency, he quickly broke this promise. As soon as Adam's was out, Jefferson went to work getting rid of the Judiciary Act of 1801. He went so far as to even not give the commissions to the people Adam's had nominated for judges. Already he had put down the federalists. He then followed with a federalist "witch hunt" that went about attempting to get rid of all of the federalist judges. He was clearly taking sides..
ReplyDeleteSecondly, in his inaugural address Jefferson discussed his plans to decentralize the government and reduce its size. In reducing its size, he would also reduce costs. However by expanding the country with the Louisiana Purchase, he could not reduce the government as much. Bigger Property= Bigger Government. And while cheap, he was also spending money. On the other hand, while he was not following his inaugural address, he made an important decision that greatly effected America. Seeing as how our country has grown, it was also the right decision. This being said, breaking a few of his initial plans for the good of the country may have been hypocritical, but it was necessary.
Additionally, I would like to agree with Marco's point about being a hypocrite not necessarily meaning he was a bad president. On the contrary, it made the country what it is.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Carly that theirs a little bit of hypocrite in all of us, and that while Jefferson went against some of his original plans, he also had some great highlights to his presidency.
After our discussion about Jefferson’s presidency, it is entirely fair to call him a hypocrite. His inaugural speech embodied promises to create a unified political environment yet in his presidency, he actually contributed to the split between Federalists and Republicans. His repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801 was a definite catalyst of bad relations between the Federalists and Republicans. The repeal marked the start of Jefferson’s strategy to take Federalists out of the Judicial Branch: Supreme Court judges and District ones alike. This strategy attacked judges for their “bias” and failure to remain impartial along with accusations of insanity. His actions were like those of the Federalists before him, and although he had claimed that he would not create boundary lines between the two political parties, he had split them even further.
ReplyDeleteThe Louisiana Purchase was more proof of Jefferson’s hypocrisy. He had claimed that he would reduce the size of the federal government but when the United States decided to purchase land for four cents an acre, his promise dissipated. There was and still is no way for a government to be reduced when its physical boundaries increase. A small, weak government can never run a nation of great area. His high hopes of reducing the national government failed when the United States handed over the check to France.
I entirely agree with Carly’s statement that although Jefferson was a hypocrite, we should understand that few Presidents have ever lived up to their inaugural promises. It’s true that Presidents all make a bunch of promises that we know that we most likely will never see accomplished in their four years of presidency. So looking back on all of this, Jefferson did help the nation grow although he did cause some Federalist/Republican troubles. He expanded the nation, opened up the west, and helped set more foundations for what our nation would come to be. I also agree that while Jefferson’s strategy to get rid of all Republicans in seats of power was not a very friendly and amicable approach to creating a unified political climate, the Federalists and their Sedition Act were not anymore forgivable either.
ReplyDeleteAfter our class discussion, I believe that it is fair to call Jefferson a hypocrite. First, Jefferson stated that he wanted to work with the opposition and create unity. On the contrary, one of Jefferson’s first actions as president was to repeal the Judiciary Act of 1801 and attack the Federalist judges. He tried to impeach Federalist judges for unfair reasons, usually by calling them insane.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, Jefferson wanted to decentralize the national power by making the size of the national government smaller. However, he increased government power through the Louisiana Purchase. By expanding American territory, there was no way that Jefferson could follow through with his want in decreasing the national government. Through these reasons, Jefferson has gone against what he promised America in his inaugural speech.
I also agree with Marco and Dana. Although he can be called a hypocrite, Jefferson was not a bad president. The Louisiana Purchase was an important landmark in our history, expanding our nation for a very low cost, which was a very smart move to take for the future posterity.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that Thomas Jefferson was hypocritical during his time as president of the US. He was initially against expansionism, larger government, and single party politics. However, he ended up supporting all of these during his time in office. For instance, he doubled the size of the United States because of the Louisiana Purchase (and he himself wasn't sure whether or not it was constitutional to do so). This also caused the size of government to increase, an effect he knew would occur. His hope for bipartisanship that was explained in his inaugural address was trampled upon when he began removing Federalist judges from major courts. He also repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801 created during the Adams administration , which went against his formerly bipartisan principles. These decisions made by Jefferson during his presidency definitely made him a hypocrite.
ReplyDeleteLike what many people said above, comparing Thomas Jefferson's inaugural speech to his actions in office prove that he acted like a hypocrite. First, TJ promised to limit the size of the national government. However, he negotiated with Napoleon and bought Louisiana and part of the midwest, doubling the size of the nation. Contradicting much? In addition, TJ also stated that he redirect America's economic focus towards agriculture, rather than manufacturing products. But, he still supported trading with foreign nations because it brought new technologies and agriculture to America. Didn't he want to avoid machineries?
ReplyDeleteFinally, Thomas Jefferson talked about unifying America; he believed that citizens should work together so America can benefit as much as possible. This meant coordinating with other people/ factions, and working together. However, Jefferson immediately targeted the Judicial branch when he was inaugurated. He wanted to get rid of the Federalist judges because he believed the Feds had too much power in that section of the government. He impeached two judges (Pickering and Chase) for bogus claims. These actions contradict what TJ told Americans because he advocated a nation where people would unite. He was ostracizing the Feds, which increased the dissent between them and the Jeffersonians. Despite these ironic events, it is still fair to say that Jefferson was a successful president as he skillfully dealt with domestic and foreign affairs accordingly.
Jefferson clearly embodies a hypocrite by his tendency to say one thing, and do another. In his inaugural address, Jefferson mentioned several times how he would like to encourage unity between Federalists and Republicans. But once in office, he began to test the power of his position by repealing the Judiciary Act of 1801 and making an effort to remove Federalists from their positions. First he targeted Federal District judges as a confidence builder. A district judge was impeached and found guilty of insanity and inability to fulfill his position. After he succeeded with that he went after the big boys, the Supreme Court judges, but failed at his first and only attempt at impeaching a judge on the grounds of bias. Jefferson went against what he said in his inaugural address regarding unity within office by attempting to remove Federalist judges. TJ also mentioned decentralizing the government and making it less powerful but removing the judges gave him and his party more power.
ReplyDeleteWhile in office Jefferson significantly increased the territory of the colonies. Even though the Louisiana Purchase was a great contribution, it also went against Jefferson's address. Jefferson talked about how he wanted to reduce the size of the government, and then went and doubled the size of the territory. Jefferson's tendency to say one thing and to another only deepened the rift between the Federalists and Republican factions of our government.
When comparing Jefferson’s inaugural speech to the actions he took during his presidency there is a solid foundation of evidence that allows it to be fair to call this president a hypocrite. During Jefferson’s inaugural speech, he described and preached all the things he would and would not do as president of the nation. Listing off what one will do is very different from actually doing what was promised. Not only did Jefferson not fulfill what he said, many of his actions contradicted his original plan in his speech.
ReplyDeleteTwo major instances serve as concrete details in supporting the idea of how Jefferson was indeed a hypocrite. One of Jefferson’s first promises was to decrease the size of the national government to give the states more rights. After the Louisiana Purchase, the size of our nation grew immensely. This increase in amount of land caused for the national government to rather grow than be reduced. A small government like the one before simply could not control and manage all the newly purchased land. Some would overlook his change in his original plans and what he had actually done because the Louisiana Purchase ultimately benefitted our nation greatly and allowed us to advance in many ways. Even though this is true Jefferson had no idea how this newly purchased land would affect his nation and what the outcome of it would exactly be. If it went the other way around and was a negative effect fingers would be pointed at him more than they were. The public did not react to his change all that much because it helped their country but either way what he said he was going to do and what he did were very different, which makes Jefferson a hypocrite.
Another detail which supports Jefferson being a hypocrite is the actions he took toward the federalists. At first he called that he was going to set all opposition aside. He believed that all Americans should come together and unite as one. This idea quickly disappeared and Jefferson started to target Federalists and denying them of jobs in government. Before the prior presidency was up, Federalists were given many jobs in government so that they could have some influence in government and representation. The papers needed to finalize jobs given out were not all done before Jefferson took over. Jefferson never finished the papers for Federalists who were nominated to be judges. He also targeted the Federalists by repealing the Judiciary Act of 1801.Jefferson tried to get rid of any Federalists in government and have the Republicans dominate government. Lastly, the only way to get rid of people of great power and high position was impeachment. With this being said Jefferson began to state men were insane or biased without having anything to back it up. His main goal was to try to impeach as many Federalists as he could. Rather than trying to unite Republicans and Federalists and solve the differences between the two parties like he said he was going to do, Jefferson just made the gap larger.
After talking about Jefferson’s presidency in class I think it is fair to say that Jefferson was a hypocrite. In his inaugural speech Jefferson kept repeating that he wanted to encourage unity between the Federalists and Republicans. Meanwhile during his presidency he set up what seemed to be a Federalist which hunt. An example would be when Jefferson repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801. This was because it was a so called “Federalist Act”. Then Jefferson tried to get rid of Federalist judges. He first attacked the district judges like John Pickering, and he was able to rid them of office. Then Jefferson tried to get rid of Federalist Supreme Court Judges. For example he tried to get rid of Chase. Although the attack on the Supreme Court failed it showed Jefferson’s true intentions.
ReplyDeleteAlso Jefferson came into office with the idea of making the national government smaller. He was hypocritical in this respect because after he made the Louisiana Purchase this caused the nation to grow immensely. This therefore caused Jefferson to increase the size of the national government. This is because obviously the government needs to grow if your territory does. Also the Louisiana Purchase broke Jefferson’s promise of cutting spending.
Although Jefferson can be seen as a hypocrite, but he had to do this because he had to increase the strength of the United States to keep the nation a float.
I like Justin and Jenna's example of TJ's removal of the Judiciary Act of 1801. I think it is a good example of how Jefferson went against his promise to unify the country; like Justin said, he deemed it a "Federalist act" and unacceptable. I also like how Claudia connected Jefferson's land purchase with other events. Because he bought more land, he went against his word about reducing the government. This probably would have angered the Federalists as they had no clue what actions TJ would execute next since all of his previous actions were sporadic and unforeseen.
ReplyDeleteAfter talking about several issues in class I have to say that it is fair to call Jefferson a hypocrite. I don't believe he acted hypocritically intentionally however, because naturally that would not have affected his image so well. But going on, fact is Jefferson emphasized the idea of unity between the Federalists and Republicans constantly. That was the main idea of many things which he said. He went onto what many of us have called a "Witch hunt". Because I want to look at the situation in the most optimistic manner I want to say that the reason he went on this witch hunt in which he removed the Judiciary Act and several "Federalist" judges was because he wished to neutralize the system of government which surround him at that time. It seems like it was an attempt to equalize/stabilize power between the Federalists and Republicans, however, this obviously frustrated several people of the Federalist party, they suffered a drastic change in power. And so when you look at the situation in this way, that point alone really highlights a very crucial series of actions which Jefferson took and in the end this really does make him look hypocritical.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Liz and Marco. Although Jefferson was very much a hypocrite it does not make him a bad president. The point that they brought up about the Louisiana Purchase is very true. If Jefferson did not push for this than this nation would not even be close to what it is today. We might have only stayed to the East Coast which could have destroyed the nation. This is just one of the reasons why Jefferson was still a good president.
ReplyDeleteI want to support Tocci's first post because the hypocritical nature we've been talking about became very obvious when Jefferson went through with the Louisiana Purchase, but like he says this was very necessary to keep the nation afloat. Even though Jefferson did not cut the spending of the nation and he expanded the States he promoted growth, and growth I believe is a factor which should unite a people rather than cause problems amogst the people.
ReplyDeleteConclusively, however, I want to say that I don't believe Jefferson was a bad President. Sometimes the greatest of people are thrown into the wrong place at the wrong time, in this case, I don't believe that the position Jefferson was placed within was entirely fair, however, nothing is fair, but I believe he successfully handled the situation at hand and did what was to the point in order to keep the nation growing. That's basically it. He was such a supporter of growth, and he was fine with being responsible for taking the actions necessary for this growth.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chris Gardner's point about Jefferson's hypocrisy with foreign relations: "In addition, TJ also stated that he redirect America's economic focus towards agriculture, rather than manufacturing products. But, he still supported trading with foreign nations because it brought new technologies and agriculture to America. Didn't he want to avoid machineries?"
ReplyDeleteThis is another example of how Thomas Jefferson went against his previous statements to the American people. Jefferson's support of agriculture earlier in his presidency was replaced by manufacturing. Although I'm not sure if this made him a bad president like some people may say, it shows that he did not keep promises to the people who elected him for these reasons.
It seems to me that Jefferson simply did what many presidents have done throughout the history of our nation: saying one thing, but doing another. ALthough nowadays this is seen more between campaigning and the actual presidency, Jefferson exemplified what it means to be a political hypocrite.
ReplyDeleteIn his inaugural address, Jefferson consistently preached about unity and equality. He claimed that the political separation wouldn't be significant to him and his decisions as president, and how he would not take sides. It seemed like Jefferson was trying to display that he was above politics, and just wanted to to what was best for the country. But what he had said by no means reflects on what he did. Instead of seemingly embracing the Federalist party, he decided to completely destroy it, and bring it to its end. He began targeting Federalists by denying them jobs, (not following through with Adams plan by not sending out the papers, ultimately leading to Marbury vs. Madison) and then beginning to impeach officials in the Supreme Court (attempting to rid all that was left of the Federalist party in the national government system.) So much for unity.
Jefferson, and the Republican Party, also wanted to reduce the size of the national government, and also cut back of government spending. He even cut back on the American army, and especially it's navy. Although he was successful in gaining back revenue with cuts like these, he also went against the general concept with the Louisiana Purchase. The purchase was not really a controversial issue, and wasn't a bad investment, but Jefferson was basically challenging himself. By expanding, it would become more difficult to reduce the size and more evenly distribute the power of the national government. Jefferson also used money that could have gone towards the army or navy (boosting protection for his country) or towards war debt (which was where the money was supposed to go to.)
Jefferson wasn't a bad president, and his decisions did effect how America evolved into what it is today in a more positive manner, he was sill a hypocrite.
Like what Dana had said, being a hypocrite is not always negative. It is simply part of human nature, as an individual simply can not predict the future. It is the job of a leader, especially the president of United States, to do what is necessary and/or beneficial for his or her followers. This often leads to leaders going against what they had previously claimed, and what values he or she may hold. Jefferson saw an opportunity with the Louisiana Purchase, took the risk, and expanded the nation with best interests in mind.
ReplyDeleteAfter our discussion about Jefferson's presidency in class, there is enough evidence to suggest that Jefferson was a hypocrite. In Jefferson's inaguaral adress he preached unity between both political parties and would listen to what ideas the federlists had. However, Jefferson ends up creating more politcal strain between the two parties by repeling the Judiciary Act and trying to impeach federlist judges from their posistions. Jefferson also advocated for a small national government and states rights. Yet, he bought the Louisiana territory which only empowered the national government becasue it added more territory. It would be impossible to decrease the size of the national government and at the same time add territory. So in retrospect there is enough to say about Jefferson actions to call him hypocritical.
ReplyDeleteAfter readin Justin's response, I now question whether or not Jefferson can be blamed for his change in ideas and action from what he stated in his inagural speech.Although he may have did something completley different than what he said he would do it is what he needed to do. The actions he took were vital in the survival of the country and in some situations he had no choice and was caught in a bind. For example, the Louisiana Purchase did contradict what he orginally said but it also kept the country alive and powerful. Wihtout this purchase of an immense amount of land we may have fallen behind in power and debt. This allowed us to explore western lands and eventually increase trading routes and resources.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFrom many different perspectives you could say that Thomas Jefferson was a hypocrite. In his inaugural speech, he claimed that he would try to bridge the gap between the government, set aside difference with the Federalists and try to work together. But once he entered office, he attacked Federalist judges, deeming them insane and biased, when they were simply speaking their opinions - as the constitution guarantees their rights. He went on a crazy "witch hunt" to get rid of the federalists that stood in his way - he even wanted to get rid of chief justice John Marshall (they didnt like each other).
ReplyDeleteYou can also say that TJ was kind of "forced" to go against his original plans. He wanted to reduce the army, which he did, but there were incidents with some Mediterranean pirates who attacked our trade ships and terrorized sailors and merchants. He had to send people to help the captives out and pay the ransom money. He said that he would try to reduce the debt and cut spending in the beginning, but these were some sticky situations.
Jefferson also spent a lot of money on the Louisiana Purchase, which was against his original plan with reducing government and debt. But I bet that Napoleon's words were something along the lines of and in the words of the godfather, "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" Obviously... Jefferson couldn't refuse, especially at 4 cents an acre.
So I mean, you could say that Jefferson was a hypocrite. But being a president is tough and situations change as time progresses. If you were given an offer you couldn't refuse, I'm sure it would make you a hypocrite too. But in terms of the witch hunt situation, then yea, maybe Jefferson was a hypocrite.
I agree with the people who said that Jefferson was not a bad president. And like what Carly is saying ,a president is never going to back up everything he says and sometimes has to go against what he says in order to do the right thing in certain situations. I also agree with what Chanel had to say about how his speech was totally about unity. He did show in his speech an that he fully supported a republican governemnet.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Carly said about what the president needs to do what is necessary for what he thinks is good for the country, and being a hypocrite isn't necessarily a bad thing because its part of human nature. Everyone can change their minds about things. Who knows, maybe Jefferson went into office and decided that the Federalists needed to go after all; to preserve unity because they would be fighting all the time if they didn't go. Its especially hard to declare because we obviously dont know what went on in Jefferson's head. I think that he should be cut some slack, because every president was a hypocrite in some form or manner anyways. It's pretty much your perspective on things.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I hate calling people a hypocrite, when in fact everyone does it now and again. However, Jefferson clearly promised his country a bipartisanship among the politicians (or at least an attempt) and instead of only failing to do so, viciously attacks the Federalists. While I think President Jefferson was a good president, he did in fact go back on his initial promises, whether for the better or worse, making him a hypocrite.
ReplyDeleteJefferson's actions contradicted his promises in his inaugural address. In his inaugural address, he claimed to desire an end to bipartisanship. He claims to desire being a president, like Wahington, who can manage to avoid party politics. Contrasting this were various political moves made during his stay. He relatively blatantly tried to remove federal judges from the Supreme Court and the Judiciary Branch because they were Federalists. Quite clearly he was stating that he did not desire Federalists in power.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Jefferson, and Jeffersonians, stood behind the principle of a weak national government in favor stronger state-governments. The Louisiana purchase strengthened the Central government much, and while it was widely supported, and cannot be held against him, it still went against one of Jefferson's ideals.
Jefferson also remained neutral towards Federalist policies currently in affect such as the National Bank. Again, he cannot be blamed for this, but he is still supporting Hamilton's policy, and Hamilton was one of Jefferson's major political rivals.
Overall, while many of Jefferson's decisions can be justified, he clearly did not avoid party politics, and did not complete other promises or stick to certain ideals, and because of this, he can be called a hypocrite, but not necessarily with all of the negative emotions normally associated with it, because again, many of his decisions that went against his ideals were justified.
After reading comments, it becomes apparent that the class had a similar opinion to that of me. Most believe that Jefferson was a hypocrite, however they also claim that his hypocrisy was not necessarily always bad. Most also cited the Louisiana Purchase and the treatment of the Federalist judges.
ReplyDeleteChanel raises an interesting point in her disagreement with my original point in that Jefferson strengthening the government in a Republican way isn't necessarily hypocritical.
I believe that it should be brought up that even though TJ went against his word on certain issues, the country as a whole greatly benefitted from his actions as president. The Louisiana Purchase was an excellent addition to our nation and he got it for a great price too. Since he was a president during the crucial years of development for our country, he made his positive impact on our nation through his new ideas and long lasting affects. By being the first real republican in office, shifting power from the federalists to the republicans, he handled himself with much poise and class while dealing with the duty to serve his country as president. It was not easy to consult the issues of the newly formed nation, especially with federalist resistance, but his clever mind, TJ kept the factions in line so that he could successfully do his job.
ReplyDeleteThomas Jefferson was a hypocrite in my eyes. He claims that the essential principles of his administration would be based on giving everybody equal rights and equal justice. He also claimed that everybody is a republican yet everybody is also a federalist. Instead of staying to what he said he would soon agree to take away the federalist officeholders when necessary. In 1802, Thomas Jefferson repealed the Federalist Judiciary Act. The House of Representatives would begin to try to impeach judges like John Pickering and Chase. Also Thomas Jefferson would begin to try to reduce the size of the federal government. Day by day he would slowly reduce the federal officers. Overall, Jefferson was claiming to be unbiased but the end result shows that he clearly favored his Jeffersonian Republicans and attempted to set up his government in that way.
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe Jefferson can definitely be considered a hypocrite. In his inaugural address, he claimed he would avoid party politics in his presidency the way Washington did, but did the complete opposite during his time as President. He tried to remove Federalists from the judicial branch, even the Supreme Court, exercising his powers to an extent he had thought wrong during previous presidencies. That's not to mention that the way he removed the Federalists from the government itself was hypocritical, as it required a very loose constructionist view of the Constitution, something Jefferson had criticized in the past.
ReplyDeleteIt's not necessarily a bad thing, to go back on some of your promises. Planning out your presidency and executing it are two entirely different things, and the theoretical has to sound good to the people, while the actual has to have practicality to it. For example, Jefferson wanted to avoid strengthening the national government, but it was probably required of him to do so to some degree after the Louisiana Purchase. However, he couldn't pass up that opportunity just because he had intended to keep the central government weaker than before; it was a terrific deal. I think many of Jefferson's decisions as president were justified, even if hypocritical.
Although Jefferson's attempt to remove Federalist judges out of the courts was hypocritical, I'm not sure if it was so completely out of the line the way Carly said it was. Those judges shouldn't even had been there; they only had their jobs because of some last-minute bills passed at the end of Adams's presidency, in a deliberate attempt to play party politics and strengthen the Federalists in at least one branhc of the government. Doesn't that give Jefferson the right to counter and try to remove these people from the judicial branch? I do agree his methods may have been questionable, but at the same time, if it was wrong for Jefferson to play party politics removing judges, it was wrong for the Adams administration to play party politics installing judges.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Scott and Claudia about how being a hypocrite wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. I agree with how Scott mentions the Practical aspect of it saying that planning and executing are different. They also both mention that the Louisiana Purchase was a great deal and even though it made federalist mad, it was a necessary deal to strengthen the nation. By 1810, territorial expansion expanded towards Spanish West Florida, East Florida and Pacific Northwest. If Jefferson passed up the Louisiana Purchase, he wouldn’t only not gain the Louisiana area but also not gain the Florida and northwestern Areas. Overall, Jefferson wasn’t always to his word but did what he did to help the nation.
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