Thomas Jefferson
Content
Thomas Jefferson was one of the Anti-Federalists, and supported the Articles of Confederation over The Constitution, which favored state governments and a very limited national government (He was actually away in France during the Constitutional Convention) !n his first term as president he suspended the Alien and "edition Acts, reduced the federal #ureaucracy, cut cut e$penses, reduced the army and canceled the navy e$pansion program Federal income was reduced to land sales and custom duties Contrary to these wea% national government ideals though, he did purchase the &ouisiana Territory Territory from France and imposed The 'm#argo of *+ later in his second term hen Thomas Jefferson was elected as the third president of the !ndependent #ut nited "tates of America, he did everything within his powers to destroy the Federalist government in order that the central of federal government should only have enough power to unite the states in order to provide for the common good !n this manner, he #elieved that the centrali.ed federal government should only have what limited power was necessary in order to provide a central position that would #e favora#le to all of the !ndividual #ut nited "tates of America ("ee his Tenth Amendment in the /ill of 0ights) 0ights) Thomas Jefferson1s concerns a#out a centrali.ed federal government can #e seen in the 2eclaration of !ndependence in this 3uote directly from the 2eclaration itself which Thomas Jefferson penned 45rudence, indeed, will dictate that 6overnments long esta#lished should not #e changed for light and transient causes7 and accordingly all e$perience hath shewn that man%ind are more disposed to suffer, while while evils are suffera#le than to right themselves #y a#olishing the forms to which they are accustomed /ut when a long train of a#uses and usurpations, pursuing invaria#ly the same 8#9ect evinces a design to reduce them under a#solute 2espotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such 6overnment, and to provide new 6uards for their future security4 His a#9ect fear that our Constitutional 0epu#lic would lead to a centrali.ed form of government was clarified even further in one of his later pieces written in : where he says 4 the Federal Judiciary7 an irresponsi#le #ody (for impeachment is scarcely a scarecrow), wor%ing li%e gravity #y night and #y day, gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step li%e a thief, over the field of 9urisdiction, until all shall #e usurped from the "tates, and the government of all #e consolidated into one hen all government in little as in great things, shall #e drawn to ashington as the centre of all power, it will render powerless the chec%s provided of one government on another and will #ecome as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated4 - Thomas Jefferson (:) hatever else he may have #elieved, it is very clear that Thomas Jefferson hated the idea of a centrali.ed federal government and accurately saw that it would li%ely destroy the independence of these !ndependent #ut nited "tates of America 4hen we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in 'urope, we shall #ecome as corrupt as 'urope4 4The democracy will cease to e$ist when you ta%e away from those who are willing to wor% and give to those who would not4 4!t is incum#ent on every generation to pay its own de#ts as it goes A principle principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world4
4! predict future happiness for Americans if they can p revent the government from wasting the la#ours of the people under the pretense of ta%ing care of them4 4;y reading of history convinces me that most #ad government results from too much government4 4<o free man shall ever #e de#arred the use of arms4 4The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to %eep and #ear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government4 4The tree of li#erty must #e refreshed from time to time with the #lood of patriots and tyrants4 4To compel a man to su#sidise with his ta$es the propagation of ideas which he dis#elieves and a#hors is sinful and tyrannical4 Thomas Jefferson said in *: 4! #elieve that #an%ing institutions are more dangerous to our li#erties than standing armies !f the American people ever allow private #an%s to control the issue of their currency, first #y inflation, then #y deflation, the #an%s and corporations that will grow up around the #an%s will deprive the people of all property - until their children wa%e-up homeless on the continent their fathers con3uered4 Thomas Jefferson was a fascinating person in American History He too% the ideals of the 'nlightenment and wanted to #uild a nation upon them He #elieved in secularism, the separation of church and state ! love the fact the he #elieved religion was something private to every person who followed it For so long the Church had imposed its dogmas on the common man and Jefferson sought to finally cut that off, he #elieved in the possi#ilities of the human spirit He also #elieved that no middle man was re3uired to %now 6od and was e$tremely proud of esta#lishing the #ill that called for religious freedom He stood against /ritish tyranny, arguing that 5arliament held no authority over the American people He said that it wasn1t right for the colonists to #e ta$ed #y men whom they had never even seen #efore, men who lived in a distant land ! admire him for #eing as studious as he was However, ! do 3uestion him on his ownership of slavery !t certainly seems to me that the 2eclaration of !ndependence, as #rilliant and reasona#le as it was, was meant for land owning white people !f he were impartial to slavery or simply went along with it #ecause he felt that he would #ecome ostraci.ed if he wouldn1t, ! don1t thin% that he would1ve had slaves #uild his new house for him Therefore, ! do see him as a hypocrite and as someone who genuinely agreed with the enslavement of his fellow human #eings ! have to say that this was a truly remar%a#le film Thomas Jefferson spent most of his political career fighting centrali.ed power #ecause he felt that if too much power were to #e p ut in the hands of the few, that it would ineviti#ly turn into a tyranny against the people He felt that the power should remain with states and he also detested #ig cities Jefferson stated 4"ince the states have created the federal government, they have the right to challenge any law that they feel is un9ust4 He was outraged when he was told that his men had #een found guilty of violating the "edition Act, this was precisely the in9ustice that he fought against He studied medicine, science, astronomy, and phiosophy He was truly a #rilliant man and a very cunning politician also He would state that he had no desire to govern men, when it was indeed %nown that his political am#itions were great Jefferson would go on to #ecome the Third 5resident of the nited "tates and accepted the role with e$treme humility He refused to have his image appear on currency, #arred any cele#ration of his #irthday, and people have stated that his appearance was that of a servant Jefferson was truly a no#le man He would go on to pardon the men who were imprisoned under the tyrannical "edition Act and cut the <avy 8ne of his ma9or accomplishments was the purchase of &ouisiana, #y doing so he removed all the other countries from having any sta%e in the nited "tates He also had esta#lished the =irgina "tatute, which is
something he was deeply proud of He stated that 4Almighty 6od hath created the mind free4 and therefore sought to ma%e sure that every man had the freedom to practice whichever religion he would li%e The most remar%a#le contri#ution that ! felt he made was the esta#lishment of the niversity of =irginia ! completely agreed with him on wanting an institution where people could willingly come to learn and leave when TH'> were ready to He felt that every man should ta%e his education in to his own hands without having to worry a#out nonsense li%e receiving good grades 'arly in his career Jefferson was concerned for the independence of the 9udiciary in order that it #e strong and to prevent in9ustice However, when the federalists focused their efforts on the transfer to ashington of the power reserved in the Constitution to the "tates, using the power that they had o#tained in the 9udiciary, he #egan to view with alarm the su#version of the 9udiciary and its independence of the nation To the prevention of their o#9ective Jefferson devoted the rest of his life /T TH' 85!<!8< which gives to the 9udges the right to decide what laws are constitutional, and what not, not only for themselves in their own sphere of action, #ut for the legislature and e$ecutive also, in their spheres, would ma%e the 9udiciary a despotic #ranch ? &etter to ;rs John Adams The phenomenon that Thomas Jefferson noted was common in pre-F20 America, where #ooms and panics alternated /an%s would loan out money, there#y creating money via the process of fractional reserve lending This is the inflation process that Jefferson notes Then something would happen There would #e a #ad harvest or an earth3ua%e in "an Francisco or whatever, and some people could not pay their loans off 8ther people would hear that a particular #an% was in trou#le, and would ma%e a run on that #an% The #an% would collapse !f the #an% had @** million in deposits, and was operating on a fractional reserve of *B, this means @ #illion would disappear out of the economy The end result would #e deflation There is less money in the economy, yet the same amount of goods and services "o people get paid less and people pay less for 4stuff4 <o #ig deal, right ell, unless you owe money >ou too% out loans in pre-deflation dollars <ow you don1t ma%e enough money to pay off those loans in the new, deflated dollars >ou try anyhow /ecause you1re trying, money you previously were spending on consumption is going towards loan payments That decreases economic activity 5eople lose their 9o#s and have to ta%e their money out of the #an% to live on >ou lose your 9o# and default on the loan payment ;ore #an%s collapse 'nd gameD 2eflationary spiral 5aul Erugman has the mathematics of it, #ut let me descri#e the end result The end result is e$actly what Thomas Jefferson descri#ed a#ove The assets of the common people get auctioned off at #an%ruptcy auctions, and are purchased for peanuts #y the wealthy elite !n short, a deflationary spiral is the end game in a scheme to transfer wealth from the common people to a wealthy elite
4! predict future happiness for Americans if they can p revent the government from wasting the la#ours of the people under the pretense of ta%ing care of them4 4;y reading of history convinces me that most #ad government results from too much government4 4<o free man shall ever #e de#arred the use of arms4 4The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to %eep and #ear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government4 4The tree of li#erty must #e refreshed from time to time with the #lood of patriots and tyrants4 4To compel a man to su#sidise with his ta$es the propagation of ideas which he dis#elieves and a#hors is sinful and tyrannical4 Thomas Jefferson said in *: 4! #elieve that #an%ing institutions are more dangerous to our li#erties than standing armies !f the American people ever allow private #an%s to control the issue of their currency, first #y inflation, then #y deflation, the #an%s and corporations that will grow up around the #an%s will deprive the people of all property - until their children wa%e-up homeless on the continent their fathers con3uered4 Thomas Jefferson was a fascinating person in American History He too% the ideals of the 'nlightenment and wanted to #uild a nation upon them He #elieved in secularism, the separation of church and state ! love the fact the he #elieved religion was something private to every person who followed it For so long the Church had imposed its dogmas on the common man and Jefferson sought to finally cut that off, he #elieved in the possi#ilities of the human spirit He also #elieved that no middle man was re3uired to %now 6od and was e$tremely proud of esta#lishing the #ill that called for religious freedom He stood against /ritish tyranny, arguing that 5arliament held no authority over the American people He said that it wasn1t right for the colonists to #e ta$ed #y men whom they had never even seen #efore, men who lived in a distant land ! admire him for #eing as studious as he was However, ! do 3uestion him on his ownership of slavery !t certainly seems to me that the 2eclaration of !ndependence, as #rilliant and reasona#le as it was, was meant for land owning white people !f he were impartial to slavery or simply went along with it #ecause he felt that he would #ecome ostraci.ed if he wouldn1t, ! don1t thin% that he would1ve had slaves #uild his new house for him Therefore, ! do see him as a hypocrite and as someone who genuinely agreed with the enslavement of his fellow human #eings ! have to say that this was a truly remar%a#le film Thomas Jefferson spent most of his political career fighting centrali.ed power #ecause he felt that if too much power were to #e p ut in the hands of the few, that it would ineviti#ly turn into a tyranny against the people He felt that the power should remain with states and he also detested #ig cities Jefferson stated 4"ince the states have created the federal government, they have the right to challenge any law that they feel is un9ust4 He was outraged when he was told that his men had #een found guilty of violating the "edition Act, this was precisely the in9ustice that he fought against He studied medicine, science, astronomy, and phiosophy He was truly a #rilliant man and a very cunning politician also He would state that he had no desire to govern men, when it was indeed %nown that his political am#itions were great Jefferson would go on to #ecome the Third 5resident of the nited "tates and accepted the role with e$treme humility He refused to have his image appear on currency, #arred any cele#ration of his #irthday, and people have stated that his appearance was that of a servant Jefferson was truly a no#le man He would go on to pardon the men who were imprisoned under the tyrannical "edition Act and cut the <avy 8ne of his ma9or accomplishments was the purchase of &ouisiana, #y doing so he removed all the other countries from having any sta%e in the nited "tates He also had esta#lished the =irgina "tatute, which is
something he was deeply proud of He stated that 4Almighty 6od hath created the mind free4 and therefore sought to ma%e sure that every man had the freedom to practice whichever religion he would li%e The most remar%a#le contri#ution that ! felt he made was the esta#lishment of the niversity of =irginia ! completely agreed with him on wanting an institution where people could willingly come to learn and leave when TH'> were ready to He felt that every man should ta%e his education in to his own hands without having to worry a#out nonsense li%e receiving good grades 'arly in his career Jefferson was concerned for the independence of the 9udiciary in order that it #e strong and to prevent in9ustice However, when the federalists focused their efforts on the transfer to ashington of the power reserved in the Constitution to the "tates, using the power that they had o#tained in the 9udiciary, he #egan to view with alarm the su#version of the 9udiciary and its independence of the nation To the prevention of their o#9ective Jefferson devoted the rest of his life /T TH' 85!<!8< which gives to the 9udges the right to decide what laws are constitutional, and what not, not only for themselves in their own sphere of action, #ut for the legislature and e$ecutive also, in their spheres, would ma%e the 9udiciary a despotic #ranch ? &etter to ;rs John Adams The phenomenon that Thomas Jefferson noted was common in pre-F20 America, where #ooms and panics alternated /an%s would loan out money, there#y creating money via the process of fractional reserve lending This is the inflation process that Jefferson notes Then something would happen There would #e a #ad harvest or an earth3ua%e in "an Francisco or whatever, and some people could not pay their loans off 8ther people would hear that a particular #an% was in trou#le, and would ma%e a run on that #an% The #an% would collapse !f the #an% had @** million in deposits, and was operating on a fractional reserve of *B, this means @ #illion would disappear out of the economy The end result would #e deflation There is less money in the economy, yet the same amount of goods and services "o people get paid less and people pay less for 4stuff4 <o #ig deal, right ell, unless you owe money >ou too% out loans in pre-deflation dollars <ow you don1t ma%e enough money to pay off those loans in the new, deflated dollars >ou try anyhow /ecause you1re trying, money you previously were spending on consumption is going towards loan payments That decreases economic activity 5eople lose their 9o#s and have to ta%e their money out of the #an% to live on >ou lose your 9o# and default on the loan payment ;ore #an%s collapse 'nd gameD 2eflationary spiral 5aul Erugman has the mathematics of it, #ut let me descri#e the end result The end result is e$actly what Thomas Jefferson descri#ed a#ove The assets of the common people get auctioned off at #an%ruptcy auctions, and are purchased for peanuts #y the wealthy elite !n short, a deflationary spiral is the end game in a scheme to transfer wealth from the common people to a wealthy elite
