Does Thomas Jefferson Deserve to Be Honored in American History Term Paper

Does Thomas Jefferson merit to Be Honored in the Statesn History - Term Paper ExampleJefferson was an influential appendage of the Continental social intercourse and was an important founding father. When the American Revolution began Jefferson was already part of the Continental Congress being the representative of Virginia. During the revolution Jefferson assumed the position of wartime Governor of Virginia (1779 to 1781) and was barely able to escape pose at the hands of British troops in 1781. He became the third president of the United States of America in 1801 and continued to 1809 amongst a series of bitter sweet political and military decisions that have certain appreciation and criticism alike (Ellis). Jefferson has often been accused of copying other peoples ideas (such as those of Locke) when drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It must be borne in mind that Jefferson himself stated that the inscription was meant as a statement of the prevailing sentiment s amongst Americans at that point in time. To expect Jefferson to monopolize the table of contents of such an important and integral historical archive would be a far greater iniquity than his admission that the ideas carried in the document were borrowed. In drafting the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was merely trying to reflect on the state of current polity on the American continent and not trying to be a creative director of the American Revolution (Malone). Another of Jeffersons more important actions was his drafting of the Virginia Statutes for phantasmal Freedom in 1777 which can be seen as the founding document for the cherished American ideals of spark and freedom. As a result of this document the Church was separated from the State and it served as a precedent for others to follow. Religious liberation at such an early stage in the nascent American states history helped America to avoid the costly and meaningless religious wars that were still being fought on the European continent. Jefferson was denounced as a godless heathen by a number of his contemporaries because of this document and its implications but he waded through this mess in order to offer the nation religious liberation. such actions on the part of Jefferson cannot be downplayed as they represented a large initiative for a association that derived its roots from some nuances of religion. Moreover Jefferson was instrumental in setting up the University of Virginia in 1819 which was aimed at upgrading the lively levels of higher education in the United States. Similarly Jeffersons purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France go on doubled the size of the United States although the entire transaction is mired in controversy (Wilentz). Jefferson was not indeterminate to the idea of such a large purchase for largely political reasons but he nonetheless went ahead with the purchase at the insistence of his advisors and his representatives for the negotiation. Precedi ng Jeffersons regime the American shipping industry had to pay large endowments to the Barbary pirates in order to guarantee safe passage in the Mediterranean. However during Jeffersons regime the demands of the Barbary States assumed ludicrous proportions so Jefferson decided to pursue hard military action against the pirates in order to quell the problem. Jeffersons decision to pursue military action set the tone for next American engagement in global