Thomas Jefferson: 19th Century Expansion

By Holly Lane For more information, see: Thomas Jefferson

His goal was to find a waterway that would provide the new West with access to both the Gulf of Mexico trading ports.

Thomas Jefferson Biography

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia, into moderate wealth, and high social pedigree. His father, Peter Jefferson, was a well-to-do planter, surveyor, land speculator, map maker, company founder and colony foreman, who established the Jefferson family estate in the Virginia backcountry frontier before it came to be known as Albemarle County. Jefferson's mother, Jane Randolph, was the daughter of one of Virginia?s founding families.

Growing up amidst the setting of the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountain range and the Virginia Piedmont, and having a father who was especially interested in the exploration and cultivation of new lands, Jefferson developed a natural appreciation for nature and discovery very early on in his life. This stayed with him throughout his adulthood, and fostered his dedication to expand American territory as President of the United States.

Jefferson attended the College of William and Mary from 1760 to 1762 then went on to study law with legal scholar George Wythe from 1762 to 1767. In 1968, Jefferson designed and began building his now-famous mansion, Monticello, on the Shadwell land he inherited from his deceased father. That same year, he announced his candidacy for representative of Virginia in the House of Burgesses, a position that he earned and held for the following six years. Jefferson married Martha Wayles Skelton in 1772. By that time, Monticello was complete and the young couple moved in. They had six children together over the course of the next ten years. Martha died in 1782.

When his brochure denouncing British control over American colonial life was published, without his permission, in 1774, Jefferson suddenly became a prominent political figure outside of Virginia. He was appointed a delegate to the Second Continental Congress just one year later. Jefferson shied away from public speaking and preferred to communicate by pen. In 1776, he drafted the Declaration of Independence.

Jefferson was elected Governor of Virginia in 1779. In 1782 agreed to join the Continental Congress as a delegate. In 1784, Jefferson became the American Minister to France. He served the seat in Paris, until 1789, at which time he returned to the United States and assumed the position of Secretary of State under the George Washington administration. He resigned in 1793.

Thomas Jefferson became the 3rd President of the United States in 1801 and set his sights on expansion. During his two-term presidency, Jefferson more than doubled the American territory. He retired to Monticello after his presidency, and went on to found the University of Virginia. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826. During his lifetime, he accomplished the three things that he most wished to be remembered by: "freedom from Britain, freedom of conscience [religion] and freedom gained through education."

The Louisiana Purchase

When Jefferson assumed the American presidency in 1801, it was his vision to expand into the West, and to help American farmers thrive by way of international trade. However, France's occupation of western United States territory stood in the way of those plans. At the time, France was under the leadership of Napoleon, who threatened to block the New Orleans port on the Mississippi River, in effect blocking the transport of goods to and from the West Appalachian new American settlements. In response, Jefferson sent American diplomats to France. He hoped to convince Napoleon to keep the New Orleans trading port open to Americans. Napoleon, however, needed money to sustain his war against Britain, and knew it would be futile trying to keep Americans out of his North American territory. He therefore offered Jefferson the entire territory, called Louisiana, for a price of about 4 cents an acre, or $15 million.

Jefferson?s decision to purchase the Louisiana Territory was met with some resistance from Americans who felt the purchase may be unconstitutional, as they felt the Constitution did not allow for the purchase of additional territories. It even seemed that Jefferson was going against his own strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, Jefferson used Alexander Hamilton's finance system—a system he had outspokenly opposed for 15 years—to buy the territory. In spite of these controversies, Jefferson closed the deal in April of 1803, effectively doubling the size of the United States.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition

The Louisiana Territory was a vast, unexplored land. Up until its 1803 purchase, it was considered by most Americans to be a wasteland of sorts. Jefferson disagreed. He sensed a great amount of opportunity in the new land and, in 1804, authorized a secret mission to investigate the unfamiliar territory.

Jefferson commissioned his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark, a frontiersman and draftsman, for the expedition. His goal was to find a waterway that would provide the new West with access to both the Gulf of Mexico trading ports. Lewis and Clark explored from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean for the following two years, returning in 1806 to report their findings to Jefferson.