Thomas Jefferson and James Madison Republican Views on the Louisiana Purchase, Embargo Act of 1807, and the War 0f 1812

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After the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson was elected president, and James Madison was the Secretary of State under Jefferson. Jefferson was well-known for being very pro states’ rights and the rural general public. However, Jefferson decided it was time to lessen the differences between the two parties. He did so with many accomplishments throughout his two terms. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican, but through his term he embraced many Federalist views in order to accomplish what was best for the country. You could say Thomas Jefferson and James Madison “out-federalized the federalists” by taking Federalist ideas and using them in a way to benefit the situation in matters such as the Louisiana Purchase, The Embargo Act of 1807, and The War of 1812. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the Unites States by purchasing the Louisiana Territory from France for 15 million dollars. That meant less than three cents per acre for over 500 million acres. The purchase was beneficial because it opened up land west of the Mississippi River for settlement. The purchase also raised issues about slavery expansion. The Missouri Compromise partially addressed the issue, but the question of if the powers of Congress were going to allow slavery in new territories or not still stood. Thomas Jefferson’s biggest action that stood out as a Federalist viewpoint was the purchase of the territory. He was worried at first when he was presented with the treaty that signing it was unconstitutional because it wasn’t directly stated in the constitution. He, however, did come to the decision to sign the treaty. Jefferson reasoned for it through implied powers, and that he had the right under the constitution under the treaty making powers. This went against his Republican views that the government only has the rights specifically mentioned in the constitution, and the constitution

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