Secretaries of State: Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson is known as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. He was the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809, and was the second Vice President of the United States, serving under John Adams from 1797 to 1801. Jefferson was also the nation's first Secretary of State, serving from 1790 to 1793 under President George Washington.
Jefferson was appointed to the office after first serving in France where he was sent by the Congress of the Confederation to join Benjamin Franklin and John Adams as American ministers in Europe. There his function was to negotiate trade agreements with England, Spain, and France. Jefferson was recently widowed Jefferson, grieving the loss of his wife Martha. Some believed that the assignment would distract him from the pain of his wife's death. He left for France with his young daughter Patsy and two servants, departing in July 1784, and arriving in Paris in August. When Jefferson arrived, French foreign minister Count de Vergennes said to him, "You replace Monsieur Franklin, I hear." Jefferson replied, "I succeed. No man can replace him." Franklin resigned as minister in March 1785 and departed in July. While in Paris, Jefferson met and fell in love with Maria Cosway, an accomplished Italian-English musician, who was a married woman. They saw each other frequently over a period of six weeks before she returned to Great Britain. They two of them maintained a lifelong correspondence.
While in France, he developed a close friendship with the Marquis de Lafayette, a French hero of the American Revolutionary War. Jefferson used his influence to procure trade agreements with France. As the French Revolution began, Jefferson allowed his Paris residence, the Hôtel de Langeac, to be used for meetings between Lafayette and other republicans. He was present in Paris at the time of the storming of the Bastille. He also consulted with Lafayette, who was writing the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
In Paris, Jefferson often found his mail opened by postmasters. He invented his own enciphering device, the "Wheel Cipher"; he wrote important communications in code for the rest of his career.
Jefferson left Paris in September 1789. He planned to return, but his plans were interrupted when President George Washington appointed him as the country's first Secretary of State
When he returned home from France, Jefferson accepted Washington's invitation to serve as the first Secretary of State for the new nation. At the time the nation faced a number of pressing issues, including the national debt and the permanent location of the capital. Jefferson opposed a national debt, preferring that each state be responsible for its own debt. He was opposed on this and other issues by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who wanted consolidation of various states' debts by the federal government. Hamilton also planned to establish the national credit and a national bank, but Jefferson strenuously opposed this. The two men clashed on these and other issues and gathered supporters for their points of view. This displeased Washington, who was opposed to factionalism and parties.
The second major issue of contention was was the national capital's permanent location. Hamilton favored a capital close to the major commercial centers of the Northeast, while Washington, Jefferson, and other agrarians wanted it located to the south. After lengthy deadlock, the Compromise of 1790 was struck. Under this agreement, the capital was permanently located on the Potomac River in the newly created District of Columbia. In return, the federal government assumed the war debts of all thirteen states.
In the Spring of 1791, Jefferson and Congressman James Madison took a vacation to Vermont. Jefferson had been suffering from migraines and he claimed that the trip was made for health reasons, but this was not entirely true. Its purpose was to forge political alliances. In May 1792, Jefferson wrote to Washington, urging him to run for re-election that year as a unifying influence. He urged the president to rally the citizenry to a party that would defend democracy against the corrupting influence of banks and moneyed interests, as espoused by Hamilton's Federalists. Jefferson, Madison, and other Democratic-Republican organizers favored states' rights and local control and opposed federal concentration of power, whereas Hamilton sought more power for the federal government.
The third major area where Jefferson and Hamilton differed was in European alliances. Jefferson supported France against Britain when the two nations fought in 1793. But his arguments in the Cabinet were undercut by French Revolutionary envoy Edmond-Charles Genêt's open scorn for President Washington. In his diplomatic meetings with British Minister George Hammond, Jefferson tried unsuccessfully to persuade the British to acknowledge their violation of the Treaty of Paris, to vacate their posts in the Northwest, and to compensate the U.S. for slaves whom the British had freed at the end of the war.
Jefferson resigned the cabinet position in December 1793, in part due to frustration over his inability to further his agenda, as well as because of his conflict with Washington. The latter was displeased with Jefferson's partisanship. Jefferson believed that he could bolster his political influence from outside the administration, and he did not believe that Washington would run for a third term in office.
After the Washington administration negotiated the Jay Treaty with Great Britain in 1794, a displeased Jefferson saw a cause around which he could rally his party. From his home in Monticello be built his political organization. The Jay Treaty was supported by Hamilton. It sought to reduce tensions and increase trade, but Jefferson complained that it would increase British influence and subvert republican values. The Treaty passed (but it expired in 1805 during Jefferson's own administration). Jefferson continued his pro-French stance, even during the violence of the Reign of Terror. Despite the bloodshed in France, Jefferson declined to disavow the revolution. He wrote: "To back away from France would be to undermine the cause of republicanism in America."
Along with James Madison, Jefferson anonymously wrote the controversial Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in 1798–1799, which sought to embolden states' rights in opposition to the national government by nullifying the Alien and Sedition Acts. They were criticized for contemplating both nullification and possible secession. But their popularity is some regions of the country were seen as helping Jefferson's election to the Presidency in 1800, in a very nasty campaign. As President, Jefferson's diplomatic background assisted him in pursuing the nation's shipping and trade interests against Barbary pirates and aggressive British trade policies. He also organized the Louisiana Purchase, almost doubling the country's territory. As a result of peace negotiations with France, his administration reduced military forces and he was reelected in 1804. Jefferson's second term was beset with difficulties at home, including the trial of former Vice President Aaron Burr. American foreign trade was diminished when Jefferson implemented the Embargo Act of 1807, responding to British threats to U.S. shipping. In 1803, Jefferson began a controversial process of Indian tribe removal to the newly organized Louisiana Territory, and he signed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves in 1807.
Jefferson was appointed to the office after first serving in France where he was sent by the Congress of the Confederation to join Benjamin Franklin and John Adams as American ministers in Europe. There his function was to negotiate trade agreements with England, Spain, and France. Jefferson was recently widowed Jefferson, grieving the loss of his wife Martha. Some believed that the assignment would distract him from the pain of his wife's death. He left for France with his young daughter Patsy and two servants, departing in July 1784, and arriving in Paris in August. When Jefferson arrived, French foreign minister Count de Vergennes said to him, "You replace Monsieur Franklin, I hear." Jefferson replied, "I succeed. No man can replace him." Franklin resigned as minister in March 1785 and departed in July. While in Paris, Jefferson met and fell in love with Maria Cosway, an accomplished Italian-English musician, who was a married woman. They saw each other frequently over a period of six weeks before she returned to Great Britain. They two of them maintained a lifelong correspondence.
While in France, he developed a close friendship with the Marquis de Lafayette, a French hero of the American Revolutionary War. Jefferson used his influence to procure trade agreements with France. As the French Revolution began, Jefferson allowed his Paris residence, the Hôtel de Langeac, to be used for meetings between Lafayette and other republicans. He was present in Paris at the time of the storming of the Bastille. He also consulted with Lafayette, who was writing the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
In Paris, Jefferson often found his mail opened by postmasters. He invented his own enciphering device, the "Wheel Cipher"; he wrote important communications in code for the rest of his career.
Jefferson left Paris in September 1789. He planned to return, but his plans were interrupted when President George Washington appointed him as the country's first Secretary of State
When he returned home from France, Jefferson accepted Washington's invitation to serve as the first Secretary of State for the new nation. At the time the nation faced a number of pressing issues, including the national debt and the permanent location of the capital. Jefferson opposed a national debt, preferring that each state be responsible for its own debt. He was opposed on this and other issues by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who wanted consolidation of various states' debts by the federal government. Hamilton also planned to establish the national credit and a national bank, but Jefferson strenuously opposed this. The two men clashed on these and other issues and gathered supporters for their points of view. This displeased Washington, who was opposed to factionalism and parties.
The second major issue of contention was was the national capital's permanent location. Hamilton favored a capital close to the major commercial centers of the Northeast, while Washington, Jefferson, and other agrarians wanted it located to the south. After lengthy deadlock, the Compromise of 1790 was struck. Under this agreement, the capital was permanently located on the Potomac River in the newly created District of Columbia. In return, the federal government assumed the war debts of all thirteen states.
In the Spring of 1791, Jefferson and Congressman James Madison took a vacation to Vermont. Jefferson had been suffering from migraines and he claimed that the trip was made for health reasons, but this was not entirely true. Its purpose was to forge political alliances. In May 1792, Jefferson wrote to Washington, urging him to run for re-election that year as a unifying influence. He urged the president to rally the citizenry to a party that would defend democracy against the corrupting influence of banks and moneyed interests, as espoused by Hamilton's Federalists. Jefferson, Madison, and other Democratic-Republican organizers favored states' rights and local control and opposed federal concentration of power, whereas Hamilton sought more power for the federal government.
The third major area where Jefferson and Hamilton differed was in European alliances. Jefferson supported France against Britain when the two nations fought in 1793. But his arguments in the Cabinet were undercut by French Revolutionary envoy Edmond-Charles Genêt's open scorn for President Washington. In his diplomatic meetings with British Minister George Hammond, Jefferson tried unsuccessfully to persuade the British to acknowledge their violation of the Treaty of Paris, to vacate their posts in the Northwest, and to compensate the U.S. for slaves whom the British had freed at the end of the war.
Jefferson resigned the cabinet position in December 1793, in part due to frustration over his inability to further his agenda, as well as because of his conflict with Washington. The latter was displeased with Jefferson's partisanship. Jefferson believed that he could bolster his political influence from outside the administration, and he did not believe that Washington would run for a third term in office.
After the Washington administration negotiated the Jay Treaty with Great Britain in 1794, a displeased Jefferson saw a cause around which he could rally his party. From his home in Monticello be built his political organization. The Jay Treaty was supported by Hamilton. It sought to reduce tensions and increase trade, but Jefferson complained that it would increase British influence and subvert republican values. The Treaty passed (but it expired in 1805 during Jefferson's own administration). Jefferson continued his pro-French stance, even during the violence of the Reign of Terror. Despite the bloodshed in France, Jefferson declined to disavow the revolution. He wrote: "To back away from France would be to undermine the cause of republicanism in America."
Along with James Madison, Jefferson anonymously wrote the controversial Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in 1798–1799, which sought to embolden states' rights in opposition to the national government by nullifying the Alien and Sedition Acts. They were criticized for contemplating both nullification and possible secession. But their popularity is some regions of the country were seen as helping Jefferson's election to the Presidency in 1800, in a very nasty campaign. As President, Jefferson's diplomatic background assisted him in pursuing the nation's shipping and trade interests against Barbary pirates and aggressive British trade policies. He also organized the Louisiana Purchase, almost doubling the country's territory. As a result of peace negotiations with France, his administration reduced military forces and he was reelected in 1804. Jefferson's second term was beset with difficulties at home, including the trial of former Vice President Aaron Burr. American foreign trade was diminished when Jefferson implemented the Embargo Act of 1807, responding to British threats to U.S. shipping. In 1803, Jefferson began a controversial process of Indian tribe removal to the newly organized Louisiana Territory, and he signed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves in 1807.