Existing comment:
Thomas Jefferson's Presidencies
b 13 April 1743 / d 4 July 1826
As president, Thomas Jefferson set out to realize his vision of a weak federal government that would "free [men] to regulate their pursuits of industry and improvement." A peaceful international scene allowed the nation to prosper, and he purchased the Louisiana Territory. But in his second term, conflict between England and France caused Jefferson to initiate an Embargo Act that closed American ports and undermined the American economy. |