George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and their roles in founding America Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson served vital positions in founding America and creating a foundation that would follow this country infinitely. As the first, and only unanimously elected president, George Washington set forth precedents and helped develop the democracy that we know today. Thomas Jefferson, the third president of The United States and the draftsman of the Declaration of Independence, continued to follow the precedents set forth by Washington, while also creating his own. Both Washington and Jefferson shared the goal of creating a strong and independent nation, and with this goal in mind, they set the foundation for a nation that was able …show more content…
Due to the failure of the Articles of Confederation, states not being able to unite, a massive amount of war debt and no power to collect taxes, a Constitutional Convention was held in 1786 to amend the Articles of Confederation. Washington supported the ratification of the Constitution mostly because the Articles of Confederation were failing, and he feared the nation becoming further divided. During the Constitutional Convention, George Washington was unanimously chosen as the President. During the presidential election of 1789, every elector in the Electoral College voted in Washington’s …show more content…
Washington nominated the first justice of the U.S Supreme Court, John Jay, which set the precedent for future presidents to nominate U.S Supreme Court justices. Washington also established the first national bank. In his two terms, Washington proved to be a strong leader, but his greatest strength was giving up his power and not accepting a third term. In 1796, Washington delivered his farewell address, in which he urged America to avoid political parties. Interestingly enough, Thomas Jefferson who had differing political views would soon be elected to become the President of The United States.
Thomas Jefferson was credited for being the draftsman of the Declaration of Independence, and was also the nation’s first secretary of state, second vice president, and was the third president of the United States. Jefferson’s legacy resides in his outspoken views on the liberties of the people, and his role in founding America was to recognize these liberties and ensure that the government would not infringe them. Born into an elite family, Jefferson attended William and Mary College, and then went on to practice law. However, it wasn’t until Great Britain began imposing major changes to American colonies, did Jefferson’s political career
Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. He later served as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1909. Thomas Jefferson was the author of United States, and the Statute of Virginia of Religious freedom. President Jefferson was the founder of the University of Virginia. As a public official,historian,philosopher,and plantation owner, he served his country for over five decades.
In the 1700’s, America gained its independence after the Revolutionary War. While independence seemed like a blessing, it left America with a lot of problems. They created a new government under the Articles of Confederation, but they created a very weak central government. It couldn’t create an army to defend itself, pay the debt to foreign countries, and this would lead to foreign countries losing their respect for the new nation. All these problems lead the people to get rid of their government and create a new one that was more successful. This new Constitution was an outline for the government to follow. One task was to elect a president to lead them. Washington was elected for the job, but was put in a situation where there was a lot of
Thomas Jefferson and Geroge Washington played a large role in the stability of the government. George Washington was well respected among the public, which is why he was elected as the first president of America after the U.S. had officially become independent from Britain. Moreover, Thomas Jefferson was also a well-respected leader and believed in economic equality for everyone. Overall they both helped shape America for the better in the ways they led the country throughout their presidency. Washington was a man of character and rarely used force to settle issues.
George Washington became the first president of the United States soon after winning the war against Great Britain, America becoming the first independent 13 colonies. Since the beginning of his presidency people trusted him, being the one who led the country to victory as the General, contributed to people having faith in him. It states in the book that he chose the Country’s well-being before his own and often made decision following his gut, “he took pains to elevate the public good over private interest and projected honesty and honor over ambition.”(Johnson) Washington took great responsibility and honor of the New build Nation, he didn’t take matters lightly choosing what was best for his country. During his presidency, he was a visionary
The two most influential leaders in United States history, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, took a significant role in the adoption of the Constitution. These leaders were Founding Fathers, but they took very different approaches to the Constitution and how it should have been perceived. As the United States began to adopt an official Constitution, Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson each had different positions where Hamilton was much more lenient with his position of the constitution, while Jefferson’s ideas were much more logical and stringent with the principles of the Constitution and how people perceived them.
Chief Diplomat is defined as a leader who oversees, creates, and executes foreign relations and policies between the United States and other countries. The two most influential “Chief Diplomats” the US has ever had were George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. George Washington thrusted into the presidency by unanimous vote of the electoral college. Throughout his presidency, George Washington developed the country further than any president who would follow did. Washington was able to defend the homeland and support the United State’s foreign relations through his passing of the Neutrality Proclamation, Jay’s Treaty, and the Treaty of Tripoli. Many historians would argue that Thomas Jefferson made strides in advancing the nation much further through his accomplishment of acquiring the Louisiana Territory. Although neither president perfectly accomplished all goals they set out to complete, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson single-handedly accomplished, shaped, and developed the nation through treaties and foreign relations far more than any other pair of presidents during their terms as president.
Although born into very distinct eras in American history, both presidents Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln found themselves faced with very similar issues while they were in office. Two primary issues they faced while in office regarded the subjects of slavery and educating the American people. How they felt about these issues and how they responded to them was mostly similar, except for two notable distinctions regarding slavery. In colonial America, one of the first issues Thomas Jefferson faced while in office was how to deal with the rising debate regarding slavery in colonial America.
Eugene R. Sheridan is a member of the Princeton University Department of History and Senior Associate Editor of the Papers of Thomas Jefferson. He has written books and articles on a number of subjects in early American History. To begin with, the author cites specific achievements that Thomas Jefferson made, starting with the contributions he did when he was part of the Continental Congress. “As a member of the Continental Congress, he proclaimed in the imperishable prose of the Declaration of Independence the values of liberty, equality, and natural rights that always have been at the heart of the American experiment in self-government” (Sheridan 64). He specifically speaks about his participation as the main author of the Declaration of Independence.
Following the end of the American Revolution, the new Constitution and its laws were implemented. This new governing document augmented the dimensions of American political life in allowing the voting citizens of the United States to partake in the idea of popular sovereignty. As the voters chose their own national leaders as well as their local and state officials, power would draw its roots to the American people. As a result of the election of 1788, there was a massive Federalist majority in the national government, with 44 of them in the House of Representatives compared to the meager 8 Antifederalists. As expected, George Washington was chosen to be president by the electoral college with John Adams as his vice president.The turning
At some point in a person’s lifetime, whether it be through educational endeavors or everyday conversations regarding political leanings, the name Thomas Jefferson has definitely made an appearance in some aspect. This may be in terms of memorizing each president and their legacy or analyzing how the actions he made in office changed today’s society as whole. As a founding father, secretary of state, vice president, and eventually then a full-fledged president, there is no doubt Jefferson has had an incredulous impact on how the United States was created in its secession from Britain, and even how our government today deals with political matters and new arising issues. Though he has long since been discharged from
Thomas Jefferson spent most of his career in public office and made his greatest contributions to his country in the field of politics. He loved liberty in every form, and he worked for freedom of speech, press, religion, and other civil liberties. Jefferson was the 3rd president of the United States and best remembered as a great president and as the author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson's interests and talents covered an amazing range. He became one of the leading American architects of his time and designed the Virginia Capital, the University of Virginia, and his own home, Monticello. He greatly appreciated art and music and tried to encourage their advancement in the United States. He also won lasting
Thomas Jefferson was the third American President. Due to the fact that he was such an early President, he influenced our political system greatly, both in the short and long term with his seemingly quiet approach to congressional matters. During his presidency, many things happened that changed the United States as we know it. He coordinated the Louisiana Purchase, assisted in implementing the twelfth amendment, formed the character of the modern American President, and cut the U.S.’s war debt by a third.
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States of America who had strong beliefs about what was right and what was wrong. He himself not only upheld his beliefs, but he did betray his beliefs by doing certain things that directly went against his beliefs and his wrongful doings are noticed. Thomas Jefferson lived up to a high yet low extent regarding his ideals and beliefs for the United States of America.
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were two important presidents who had an enormous affect on our nation’s stable government and beginning years of our country. Each made their unique contributions to a new government under the Constitution after the failed adoption of the Articles of Confederation. After the war for independence, the Articles of Confederation, began to fail because there was no direct effective way to to collect revenue, to much power was given to the states, and Congress did not have a lot of power. Historical figures, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, helped establish a stable government for their citizens.
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were key Founding Fathers of America who contributed to its freedom and independence. Both men were influential leaders of their time whose visions for the future of the country were clearly contrasting. Hamilton believed for a strong federal government and an economy based on banking. While Jefferson desired for a nation to be controlled by the states and its people. Their competing visions for the United States are still in debate until this day. Although Jefferson’s ideas were significant to America, many of Hamilton’s philosophy still holds in today’s government.