Thomas Jefferson

Summary

Thomas Jefferson served as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809, having previously authored the Declaration of Independence in 1776. His presidency is most notably remembered for the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, which doubled the size of the United States by acquiring vast western territories from France for $15 million. Jefferson championed ideals of limited federal government, agrarian democracy, and individual liberty, though his legacy is complicated by the contradiction between his public statements about freedom and his lifelong ownership of enslaved people. His administration also authorized the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the newly acquired western lands.