Thomas Jefferson:
His legacy and the "Second" Revolution

In July of 1776, a group of British colonists from the various colonies in America came together to sign the Declaration of Independence. It was a document drafted by Thomas Jefferson with the help of others, and it announced the intent of the colonies to separate themselves from the motherland for good. That Declaration made official the American Revolution and lead not only to national independence, but also to the formation of a new republic quite unlike any other government of the time. The newly formed republic, however, quickly learned that throwing off a perceived yoke of tyranny was not the end of their problems. Now, they had to learn the "care and feeding" of a fledgling nation. It would take more than 12 years to consummate, but that "care and feeding" and the different opinions about how best to accomplish it would lead to a "second" revolution, "The American Revolution of 1800". It also established the legacy of Thomas Jefferson.

Right from the start as the founding fathers of the new republic attempted to adopt a Constitution to guide the new nation, serious divisions became apparent and threatened to tear the new nation apart. The divisions developed into two distinct ideologies that developed into two distinct political parties: The Republicans and The Federalists. The Republicans, of which Jefferson was one, touted "Agrarian Philosophy" according to that outlined by John Taylor of Caroline, "...simple, frugal, do-little government that knew it best served the interests of the American people by keeping its hands out of their affairs and out of their pockets!" The Federalists, on the other hand, "made no pretence of being other than what they were: upper class Americans who had a natural born right to rule their inferiors in the social and economic scale".

The Federalists won the first round and the first election behind the popularity of George Washington who had led a rag-tag army of colonial upstarts to victory over Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. For the next 12 years, the Federalists would own the presidency and the right to make policy for a new nation according to their ideological beliefs as administered by Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, who was trained in business from an early age in the West Indies. This was not a quiet period of history. There was a lot of politicking, intrigue, and disagreement, but, somehow, the nation stayed

• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about The legacy of Thomas Jefferson?
We want to hear your view. Write now!