Mr. Jefferson Presentation created by Robert Martinez Primary Content Source: The New Nation by Joy Hakim Images as cited.

On a morning in March 1801, Thomas Jefferson sat down to breakfast at his usual seat at the end of a long table at Conrad and McMunn’s boardinghouse in Washington, D.C. where he paid $15 a week for a room and three meals a day.

The morning was cold and it was a special day, so someone offered him a seat near the fireplace. “No, thank you,” said Jefferson, who would accept no favors. He meant to be a democratic president, a man of the people.

It was later that very day that he rode up the hill to the Capitol and was sworn in as the third president of the United States.

Afterwards, he read his inaugural address. “Let us unite with one heart and one mind. Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle…We are all Republicans - we are all Federalists.” It was an appeal for unity and good will. It set the tone for his presidency. Capitol Building, 1800 Washington, D.C.

Jefferson’s Inaugural Speech in his own hand, March 4, 1801

Jefferson wanted a government that would interfere as little as possible with people’s lives. He cut taxes, reduced the size of the military, and balanced the budget.

On the Fourth of July the President’s House was open to any citizen who wanted to meet the president.

When he had someplace to go, President Jefferson rode on horseback, without a guard. He had no elegant presidential coach.

When Thomas Jefferson went shopping and bought a huge piece of land for the nation, some people thought it extravagant.

Jefferson bought all the land that France claimed in North America. That land, the French called it Louisiana because their king was named Louis, went from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and maybe beyond.

No one was sure how far it went. Jefferson spent $15 million on the Louisiana Purchase (which amounts to about four cents an acre.) With that purchase he doubled the size of the country.

It was a great bargain, although at the time many thought it worthless and unneeded.

If President Jefferson hadn’t bought that land, those of you who live west of the Appalachian Mountains might all be speaking French today.

The Louisiana Purchase happened in The Mississippi River was no longer controlled by a foreign power.

Once the U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory, someone had to find out what it had bought. How big was the territory, what was it like, and where did it end?

Jefferson sent an expedition to investigate (Lewis & Clark).

In 1804, a duel took place. With pistols. Illegal today, people with arguments sometimes tried to shoot out their differences.

Aaron Burr was angry at Alexander Hamilton because Hamilton had supported Thomas Jefferson for president, instead of Aaron Burr.

Alexander Hamilton supported Thomas Jefferson? Can that be true? Weren’t they rivals? Yes, they were, but Hamilton was the kind of man who wanted to vote for the best-qualified person. Thomas Jefferson & Alexander Hamilton

He knew Jefferson would make a better president than Burr. Besides, he couldn’t stand Burr, who had once been a Federalist and then switched to the Democratic-Republican Party. Vice President Aaron Burr

But it was Burr who challenged Hamilton to a duel. There are several different stories of that duel. People still argue about the details.

But there is no arguing about the outcome. Burr’s shot killed Alexander Hamilton. And everyone agrees that Hamilton was a man of rare talent and integrity. His death was a tragedy for the nation.