1. Jefferson In Office

2. Thomas Jefferson
Privately referred to his election as the “Revolution of 1800”
Thought Washington and Adams acted too much like royalty and aimed to create a more informal presidency
He rode horseback rather than in a carriage
Had more intimate dinners rather than big galas
Began paying off the national debt
Shrunk the size of the federal government
Abolished the hated whiskey tax
Tried to connect with the masses rather than the elites

3. Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson’s strongest belief was that a republic could only survive if most people owned land
This belief led him to support the idea of expanding the nation to the west

4. Louisiana Purchase

5. Louisiana Purchase
In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte convinced Spain to give Louisiana back to France in exchange for helping Spain control part of Italy
This made Jefferson worry that the US would have to form an alliance with Britain to fend off the French
In 1803, France resumed the fight to conquer Europe
France didn’t want an alliance between Britain and the US
France was also short on money
On April 30, 1803 the US bought Louisiana from France for $11.25 million and also agreed to take on French debt
The total cost of the Louisiana Purchase was $15 million

6. Louisiana Purchase

7. Louisiana Purchase The Senate overwhelmingly agreed to the purchase
The deal more than doubled the size of the US
The nation now had complete control of the Mississippi River

8. Lewis and Clark
Even before the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson asked congress to fund a secret expedition into the Louisiana Territory to trace the Missouri River and find a route to the Pacific Ocean
Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to go on the expedition
In 1804 the ‘Corps of Discovery’ headed west up the Missouri River
Lewis and Clark meet Sacagawea, a member of the Shoshone people, and she joins the party as a guide and interpreter
The expedition found a path through the Rocky Mountains and traced the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean
The expedition also gave the United States a claim to the Oregon Territory along the coast