Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd President. He was born April 13 1743 in Goochland,(now Albemarle) County, Virginia.He died July 4 1826 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
He bought the Louisiana Territory and doubled the size of the country. Made sure the government stayed in the hands of the people.
Jefferson's service to his country was not yet over. he planned and helped build the University of Virginia. He bought together the teachers and helped decide what subjects should be taught. And he gave advice to later Presidents of the United States.
Thomas Jefferson died on the same day as John Adams, July 4 1826. It was exactly 50 years after the Declaration of Independence, which he had written. Jefferson wrote the words to go on his gravestone: "Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, of the statue of Virginia for religious freedom and father of the University of Virginia."
He did not mention having been President of the United States.
Jefferson's victory over John Adams in the presidential election of 1800 can be partially explained by the dissension among the Federalists, but the policies of the government were unpopular, and as a party the Federalists were now much less representative of the country than were the Republicans. Jefferson's own title to the presidency was not established for some weeks, because he was accidentally tied with his running mate, Aaron BURR, under the workings of the original electoral system. The election was thrown into the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, where the Federalists voted for Burr through many indecisive ballots. Finally, enough of them abstained to permit the obvious will of the majority to be carried out.
Jefferson later said that the ousting of the Federalists and the accession of his own party constituted a "revolution," but that statement was hyperbole. He was speaking of the principles of the government rather than of its form, and his major concern was to restore the spirit of 1776. He regarded himself as more loyal to the U. S. Constitution than his loose-constructionist foes were, though in fact he was less a strict constructionist in practice than in theory. Although he had objected to features of Hamilton's financial system, he had no intention of upsetting it now that it was firmly established. Instead, the purpose he had in mind, and was to be highly successful in carrying out, was to obviate some of the grave dangers he saw in the system by reducing the national debt.
Jefferson's accession to the presidency is notable in American history because it marked the first transfer of national authority from one political group to another, and it is especially significant that, despite Federalist obstructionism for a time, the transition was effected by peaceful and strictly constitutional means. Jefferson himself emphasized this in his conciliatory inaugural address. These events set a precedent of acquiescence in the will of the majority. The new president described this as a "sacred principle" that must prevail, but he added that, to be rightful, it must be reasonable and that the rights of minorities must be protected. His accession removed the threat of counterrevolution from his country. The government he conducted, in its spirit of tolerance and humanity, was without parallel in his world.
His first term, most of it in a period of relative international calm, was distinctly successful. He was the undisputed leader of a party that had acquired cohesion during its years in opposition. In James Madison as secretary of state and Albert Gallatin as secretary of the treasury, he had lieutenants of high competence whom he treated as peers but whose loyalty to him bordered on reverence. By virtually ruling himself out of the party, Vice President Aaron Burr relieved Jefferson of a potential rival. Working through the Republican leaders in Congress, whom he treated with the utmost respect, Jefferson exercised influence on that body that was unexampled in previous presidential history and was to be rarely matched in later administrations. Because of his own commitment, and that of most of his countrymen, to the doctrine of division of powers between the executive and legislative branches, his leadership, except in foreign affairs, was indirect and generally unadmitted. He also shared with most of his fellows a rather negative concept of the functions of the federal government in the domestic sphere. The policy of economy and tax reduction that the favorable world situation permitted him to follow served to reduce rather than increase the burdens of his countrymen, and it contributed no little to his popularity.
His likeness is on the $2 bill and the nickle.