The Jeffersonian Project Assignment

by Haley Wichers

There were three Jeffersonian Presidents of the United States. They all had an influence on our

country’s democracy. These Presidents are Thomas Jefferson,

James Madison, and James Monroe.

Thomas Jefferson

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Thomas Jefferson was born in1743 in Albemarle, Virginia. He inherited 5,000 acres from his

parents. He married Martha Wayles Skelton. They lived in the home on his property hill called

Monticello. They had six kids. Only two of them lived to be adults. He studied at the College of

William and Mary and he learned law. He also retired and worked on his home of Monticello. He died

on July 4, 1826. https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/thomas-

jefferson/?utm_source=link

When he was 33 years old he helped write the Declaration of Independence. He also wrote a

bill in 1786 that gave freedom of religion. He was a Democratic-Republican, not a Federalist. He was

Washington’s Secretary of State and resigned in 1793. He was Vice President for Adams. After that he

became the fourth President and served two terms. https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-

house/presidents/thomas-jefferson/?utm_source=link

Jefferson had some accomplishments including fixing the debt and getting more land while he

was President. He had already written the Declaration of Independence with others prior to being
President. He had already been Secretary of State and Vice President before becoming President.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/thomas-jefferson/?utm_source=link

While he was President he made our country’s debt one third smaller. He cut money from the

Army and Navy. We weren’t at war anymore and it was wasted money. He used our ships to stand up to

pirates at sea, so we wouldn’t have to pay them off anymore. The Tripoli pirates before that used to

interfere with us doing trade and commerce in the Mediterranean sea. We paid them off in order to get

goods to and from our ports. This was a waste of money. We won against them and they backed off.

https://www.biography.com/us-president/thomas-jefferson

He doubled the size of America when he did the Louisiana Purchase for $15 million. He bought

this land from the French who needed money, so it was a cheap price for us. Then he started the Lewis

and Clark expedition to learn about this large new land. https://www.biography.com/us-

president/thomas-jefferson

James Madison

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James Madison was born in Port Conway, Virginia on March 16,1791. He was the oldest of his

twelve siblings. He grew up at Montpelier which was the name of his family’s plantation. Montpelier

was in Orange County, Virginia. He went to college at what is now called Princeton. It was called the

University of New Jersey back then. https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/james-madison

 He married Dolley Payne Todd when he was forty six years old. She had one son and was a

widow. She was about half of his age. She was a Quaker and outgoing. They were together for forty

one years and had a good relationship. He retired with his wife at Montpelier. He died in 1836.

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/james-madison

Madison came up with the “Virginia Plan”. This was basically a plan that started the three

branches of government. The three branches are judiciary, legislative, and executive. This plan would

create checks and balances for our government. https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/james-

madison

Madison was called the “Father of the Constitution” since along with Thomas Jefferson they

came up and wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He worked in Congress from 1789-1797 and

worked hard to get the Bill of Rights written and passed. He really believed in the freedom of religion.

He was President Jefferson’s Secretary of State and assisted him with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

In 1792 these two guys started the Democratic-Republican Party. https://www.history.com/topics/us-

presidents/james-madison

James Madison was the fourth US President in 1808. Since the British Navy was messing with

our ships, taking our sailors, and ganging up on us with Native Americans, Madison started the war of

1812. The war was not popular and the British ended up coming to Washington DC and burning down

some buildings, even the White House! During December of 1814 a peace treaty was signed, called

The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the troubles with Britain. https://www.history.com/topics/us-

presidents/james-madison
 https://www.goodfreephotos.com

James Monroe was born in 1758 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He went to the Campbell

Academy when he was eleven and the college of William and Mary when he was sixteen. Both of his

parents died when he was a teenager. His uncle Joseph Jones took care of him and his two brothers

after that. His sister left because she got married. https://millercenter.org/president/monroe/life-before-

the-presidency

Then he joined the Third Virginia Infantry in 1775. He fought in the Revolutionary War under

George Washington. After that he went back to school at the college of William and Mary to learn law.

He married Elizabeth Kortwright in New York in 1786. Then they moved back to Virginia for him to

be a lawyer. They had three kids, but only two lived. His wife died in 1830, so he moved to New York

and lived with his daughter. He died July 4,1831.

https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/monroe-james

James Monroe had a successful military career. Then he went into politics. He served in

Congress and supported James Madison. He became a Senator for Virginia in1790. In 1792 he along
with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison formed the Democratic-Republican Party. In 1799 he

became Virginia’s governor. He was the governor for three years.

Next he was sent to France by President Jefferson to see about buying the port of New Orleans.

He ended up getting and signing the Louisiana Purchase from Napolean who was the French leader.

The US got a great deal on this huge piece of land for only 15 million dollars. Next he went to Britain

and tried to work out a treaty. Jefferson and Madison didn’t go along with it and Monroe was mad at

them. https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/james-monroe

Monroe decided to run against Madison for President, but he lost. They made up and Madison

gave him the job of Secretary of State and Secretary of War. In 1816 Monroe won and became the

President. His time in office was called the “Era of Good Feelings”. While he was President he

purchased Florida from Spain. Missouri wanted to join the states, but it would make the free and slave

states uneven. The Missouri Compromise settled this by making Missouri a slave state and Maine a

free state. It also made northern Louisiana territory free except for Missouri and the southern part slave.

He also gained states such as Mississippi, Alabama, and Illinois. President Monroe also was

responsible for the Monroe Doctrine which helped our country to have a good relationship with Central

and South Americas. We could support them with our military when needed. It also kept us out of

problems with Europeans coming to claim land in North America. https://www.history.com/topics/us-

presidents/james-monroe

Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe were the Jeffersonian Presidents. They

made an impact on American democracy. They started the Constitution, gained land for America and

created a stronger and fair government. All of these things they did are still a big part of our country

today.

The biggest impact on democracy for the US was creating and writing the Constitution and the

Bill of Rights. These things allow us to have freedoms and a fair set of rules to live and govern by. It
lets us do things fairly and lets the people have a say in our government. It lets us vote for our

government. It gives power to the country, the states, and the people.

These three Presidents fought for our country to have states and land that was owned by us.

They fought and worked out treaties with European countries so that our land in North America was

ours and made us more united. We gained Florida, the Louisiana territory and more. This gave us

more states and more opportunities and wealth. While they were in office they used our federal powers

to fight wars and pirates to win freedom for us. They also allowed states to have their own government

too. The three branches of government were created which gives us checks and balances of federal and

state government. They started the Democratic-Republican Party so the Federalists couldn’t overpower

our country. These three Presidents created a lot of things that turned America into a democracy.