ABSTRACT
Westward expansion and overseas trade were the twin pillars of the Republican Party during the presidential administrations of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison (1801–1817). In the Ordinance of 1784 (document 1), Jefferson outlined a scheme for the orderly western expansion of the United States, under the terms of which new states could be carved out of western territory and would enter the union on equal terms with the original states. This established the pattern for the westward expansion of the United States during the early republic. Jefferson articulated his republican vision in his first inaugural address (document 2). He sought to strike a conciliatory tone in this address. Nonetheless, the Federalist opposition to Jefferson remained potent as evidenced by cartoons such as “Mad Tom in a Rage” (document 3). Despite domestic opposition, Jefferson pursued a policy of westward expansion. Jefferson’s instructions to Meriwether Lewis (document 4) reveal the multiple motives—political, diplomatic, economic, and scientific—behind this policy. The great achievement of Jefferson’s presidency was the Louisiana Purchase, and Jefferson’s letter of September 7, 1803, to Senator Wilson Cary Nicholas (document 5) and his subsequent message to Congress on October 17, 1803 (document 6) consider the reasons for the purchase as well as examine the constitutional issues arising from the transaction.
