Adonis Diaries

Third President: Thomas Jefferson (1801-09)

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was behind the formation of the Republican-Democrat Party against the Federalist Party that seek a strong executive power and supported by Alexander Hamilton.

Once in power, Jefferson switched to a “strong executive” concept and nominated Hamilton for the Treasury.

Jefferson was born in Virginia and inherited from his father 1,000 hectares of land with 200 slaves at the age of 14. His was educated at College of William and Mary and become lawyer. At the age of 25, he is elected at the Chamber of the Bourgeois, the colonial assembly of Virginia (the richest and most populous of the 13 colonies).

He published in 1774 the pamphlet “Summary View of the Rights of British American” which accused the British government of killing American individual rights. and was selected to represent Virginia at the Philadelphia Congress of 1775 and to write the essential parts of the Declaration of Independence.

From 1776 to 79, Jefferson is member of Virginia legislative body where he demanded the separation of Churches from the State.

At 36, Jefferson is elected governor of Virginia and has to confront the frequent incursions of the British.

In 1781, he retired to his property in Monticello and published his “Notes on the State of Virginia”. His wife Martha died in 1782 and Jefferson decided to return to the public life.

In 1785, he is appointed ambassador to France to replace Benjamin Franklin. Consequently, Jefferson could not be physically at the Constitution Convention of 1787, but approve the text globally.

He witnessed the French revolution of 1789. On the autumn of 1789, Jefferson is nominated by George Washington to head the department of foreign affairs. He has this certitude that only France can counter balance the power of England. His ideas on foreign affairs go counter to the Washington inkling and resigns in 1794.

Aged 50, Jefferson is enjoying the life of a land grower and focus on his studies. His friend James Madison is in charge of organizing the opposition to Washington.

Jefferson took residence in the new Capital of Washington DC in 1801. It has barely 3,000 people. His inaugural address:

“Minority own equal rights that an equal law must protect… We are all republicans, we are all federalists…” He walks to the Capitol without the traditional white wig and the formal reception is cancelled.

James Madison is nominated head of foreign affairs and replace most of the 600 executive employees with people of his party.

He launched in 1801 a naval attack against the Algerian Pasha for ransoming American ships.

Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803 for $15 million and the negotiations are held in total secrecy from Congress and invented a new procedure: The Executive Order. This territory included all the States where the Mississippi River passes through. The mischievous story is that England extended the loan to the US for the purchase in order to get the French out of the American continent. Napoleon was preparing to invade England and needed funding…

That loan came with a heavy price: Alexander Hamilton convinced Jefferson to sign on the monopoly of the Rothschild family of England to print US paper money and eventually have control the expansion of the internal US market.

The second calamity attached to this monopoly is that England invaded the US in 1814 in order to pressure Congress to extend this license for 24 years…

The third catastrophe was that England (through the Bank Of US) cut-off credits to the settlers in Ohio and the North-West Territory and plunged the US in a deep financial crisis in 1819.

Jefferson imposes an embargo toward European ports in 1807 and denied any ships coming from Europe to accost on US ports.  This decision is a blow to US trade and Jefferson decides not to seek a third term.

Jefferson returned to Monticello at the age of 66 and created the university of Charlottesville.

He died on July, 4, 1826: a date that coincides with the independence.