Biographies of U.S. Presidents: From Washington to Clinton

Author: Whitney et al. (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-02-01
Features: On March 4, 1801, at a simple ceremony in Washington D.C., the 57-year-old Jefferson took the oath of office as President. He was the first president to take office in the new capital, where the city's population was then about 6,000. Due to the widespread claim that Jefferson, the Democratic-Republican president, would destroy the Constitution, he tried to alleviate people's fears in his moving inaugural address. "Let us restore harmony and friendship in social interactions, for without harmony and friendship, there can be no pursuit of freedom, and even life itself would be bleak and miserable," he said. "Let us remember that religious extremism has long caused people to suffer and shed blood. Governmental extremism is equally severe and tyrannical, equally arbitrary and brutal, and can lead to bloody atrocities and suppression. Today, although we have eliminated religious extremism from our land, if we tolerate political extremism, we will be unable to make any progress." To quickly correct the consequences of the Federalist party's abuse of power, Jefferson released all prisoners arrested during the implementation of the Alien and Sedition Acts, stating, "I do not care what these criminals have done or who they have offended." Jefferson ordered the reduction of the number of soldiers, sailors, and diplomats, urging Congress to "save as much as possible," and also reduced taxes. When Jefferson learned in 1802 that Spain had transferred the vast Louisiana Territory to France, he wrote to Robert Livingston, the U.S. ambassador to Paris, saying that this event would "change all political relations in America." Jefferson warned: "From the day France took possession of New Orleans, it determined that the level of relations between France and our country would forever remain at its lowest point."