Jefferson in Power
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homas Jefferson's goal
as president was to restore the principles of the American Revolution. Not only
had the Federalists levied oppressive taxes, stretched the provisions of the
Constitution, and established a bastion of wealth and special privilege in the
creation of a national bank, they also had subverted civil liberties and
expanded the powers of the central government at the expense of the states. A
new revolution was necessary, "as real a revolution in the principles of
our government as that of 1776 was in its form." What was needed was a
return to basic republican principles.
On March 4, 1801,
Jefferson, clad in clothes of plain cloth, walked from a nearby boarding house
to the new United States Capitol in Washington. Without ceremony, he entered
the Senate chamber, and took the presidential oath of office. Then, in a weak
voice, he delivered his inaugural address‑‑a classic statement of
republican principles.
His first concern was to
urge conciliation and to allay fear that he planned a Republican reign of
terror. "We are all Republicans," he said, "we are all
Federalists." Echoing George Washington's Farewell Address, he asked his
listeners to set aside partisan and sectional differences and remember that
"every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle." Only
a proper respect for principles of majority rule and minority rights would
allow the new nation to thrive.
In the remainder of his
address he laid out the principles that would guide his presidency:
· a frugal, limited government;
· reduction of the public debt;
· respect for states' rights;
· encouragement of agriculture; and
· a limited role for government in peoples'
lives.
He committed his
administration to repealing taxes, slashing government expenses, cutting
military expenditures, and paying off the public debt.
Through his personal
conduct and public policies he sought to return the country to the principles
of republican simplicity. He introduced the custom of having guests shake hands
instead of bowing stiffly; he also placed dinner guests at a round table, so
that no individual would have to sit in a more important place than any other.
Jefferson refused to ride an elegant coach or host elegant dinner parties and
balls and wore clothes made of homespun cloth. To dramatize his disdain for
pomp and pageantry, he received the British minister in his dressing gown and
slippers.
Jefferson believed that
presidents should not try to impose their will on Congress, and consequently he
refused to openly initiate legislation or to veto congressional bills on policy
grounds. Convinced that presidents Washington and Adams had acted like British
monarchs by personally appearing before Congress and requesting legislation,
Jefferson simply sent Congress written messages. It would not be until the
presidency of Woodrow Wilson that another president would publicly address
Congress and call for legislation.
Jefferson's commitment
to republican simplicity was matched by his stress on economy in government. He
slashed army and navy expenditures, cut the budget, eliminated taxes on
whiskey, houses, and slaves, and fired all federal tax collectors. He reduced
the army to 3000 soldiers and 172 officers, the navy to 6 frigates, and foreign
embassies to 3‑‑in Britain, France, and Spain.
Convinced that ownership
of land and honest labor in the earth were the firmest bases of republican
government, Jefferson convinced Congress to cut the price of public lands and
to extend credit to purchasers in order to encourage landownership and rapid
western settlement A firm believer in the idea that America should be the
"asylum" for "oppressed humanity," he persuaded Congress to
reduce the residence requirement for citizenship from 14 to 5 years. To ensure
that the public knew the names and number of all government officials,
Jefferson ordered publication of a register of all federal employees.
Contemporaries were astonished by the sight of a president who had renounced all the practical tools of government: an army, a navy, and taxes. Jefferson's goal was, indeed, to create a new kind of government, a republican government wholly unlike the centralized, corrupt, patronage‑ridden one against which Americans had rebelled in 1776.