Expansion and Reduction Under Jeffersonian Politics

There was a number of great expansions and reductions to our country under the Presidents of the Jeffersonian era, and some of the most dynamic of these changes occurred under the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was pitted against John Adams in the election of 1800. Jefferson won by eight electoral votes, but only after a heated election against both Adams and his own running mate, Aaron Burr. Once Jefferson officially ascended to the Presidency he began to limit the growth and control of the government. Jefferson's political ideology, called Jeffersonian Republicanism, supported a simpler and smaller federal government that worked best with the people. He reduced the size of the army and navy as well as limiting Hamilton's economic program. There was an reduction in government size, that was soon followed by an expansion of the nation. Jefferson purchased the Louisiana territory from Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803, which doubled the size of the nation. To explore this newly gained territory, Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to map and examine the new addition to the United States. Jefferson won his reelection in 1804, but his second term was overshadowed by a looming crisis. Increasing European conflict between Great Britain and France started to interfere with the United States trade routes. This problem would linger throughout Jefferson's second term and wouldnt be solved until the Monroe Doctrine in 1823.