Topic: Expansion
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James Monroe to Jefferson
In this 1820 letter, President James Monroe discussed recent political conflicts that had arisen over the issue of slavery. Unlike Jefferson, who looked forward to the U.S. acquisition of Texas...
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Jefferson to Albert Gallatin
In this letter, Jefferson expressed his opinion that the Louisiana Purchase was constitutional. Some people disagreed. Indeed, Jefferson himself usually argued that the national government had only those powers that...
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Jefferson to Anne L. G. N. Stael-Holstein
In this letter to a French friend, Jefferson contemplated the outcome of the current revolutions in South America. He feared that “bigotry and ignorance” and the influence of the clergy...
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Jefferson to Archibald Stuart
In this letter to a fellow Virginian, Jefferson showed his early interest in the expansion of white settlement into western territories. He believed that U.S. population would expand westward to...
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Jefferson to Dupont de Nemours
In this letter, President Jefferson argued that obtaining Louisiana—and especially securing access to the port of New Orleans—was essential to the future of the American republic. On Jefferson’s instructions, in...
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Jefferson to Francois de Marbois
As this quotation shows, Jefferson believed that the expansion of U.S. territory would help ensure the liberty and prosperity of its citizens. The American experiment in government based on equality...
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Jefferson to General Horatio Gates
In this letter, President Jefferson ranked the Louisiana Purchase as the proudest achievement of his administration. He believed that doubling the territory of the United States by adding fertile western...
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Jefferson to James Madison
In 1809, as Napoleon conquered most of Europe, the recently retired Jefferson imagined the U.S. as a different kind of empire. In contrast to European empires ruled by “despots,” Jefferson...
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Jefferson to John Adams
When Jefferson wrote this letter in 1819, the U.S. was in the middle of a severe financial crisis that ruined many Americans–including the former president. Yet Jefferson believed that Missouri’s...
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