Week 8's Overview Jefferson And The Rural Urban Divide

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10 April 2019
Jefferson and the Rural-Urban Divide
Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers and the 3rd President of the United States. As Secretary of State and ambassador of France, Jefferson played an integral role in the establishment and prosperity of the United States. He was a skilled statesman, writer, musician, architect, philosopher lawyer, and farmer; arguably one of the brightest and most learned men of his generation. His achievements included authoring the Declaration of Independence, Louisiana Purchase, and the Lewis and Clark expansion. He was a man of action who once said, “Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching” (Jefferson & Richard, 1).
On a personal level, Jefferson was shy, temperamental and a book lover who overcame his limitations to become one of the most influential leaders in history. Initially, Jefferson did not have leadership qualities; he was not a born leader. Throughout his life showed great interest in gaining knowledge and skills. He was open to new ideas and challenges and could engage with almost anyone in conversation because he could find a genuine interest in something the other person was interested in. He was s fluent speaker and writer of half-dozen languages (Gardner, 5). Jefferson also had his shortcomings. He was found to be a poor manager of his finances, had numerous affairs and had a Monticello run by a team of slaves.
As a president, he wanted to control. He was interested in the affairs of his cabinet to shape events to his will. But at the same time, he almost always avoided a confrontation. He was well aware that avoiding confrontation would maintain cordial relationships. When he wanted to introduce a controversial idea to push some legislation, he would often use another person to do it for him, keeping his involvement a secret (Gardner, 6). By not caring whether he received credit for ideas or not, he blended control with humility.
Jefferson was serving as the United States ambassador in France when the Federal Constitution was written in 1787, but through his correspondence, he influenced the development of the federal government. In the years that followed Jefferson played a central role in shaping the look of the national capital, defining constitutional powers and the nature of the emerging republic. He did so in his capacity as the first secretary of state, vice president, leader of the first opposition party, and the third president of the U.S. He was instrumental in the planning, design, and construction of the national capital and the federal district. Jefferson was firmly against a strong central government and sought to limit its powers in the various offices he led.
Jefferson’s vi...