What was one obstacle Thomas Jefferson overcame?

There are a few ways to view this question. Thomas Jefferson had some diplomatic obstacles he had to overcome as a President. He also had to deal with philosophical obstacles. I will share one example of each obstacle.

One philosophical obstacle dealt with the Louisiana Purchase. When Napoleon offered to sell all of the Louisiana Territory to the United States, we knew this was a great deal. However, President Jefferson hesitated to buy this land because...

There are a few ways to view this question. Thomas Jefferson had some diplomatic obstacles he had to overcome as a President. He also had to deal with philosophical obstacles. I will share one example of each obstacle.

One philosophical obstacle dealt with the Louisiana Purchase. When Napoleon offered to sell all of the Louisiana Territory to the United States, we knew this was a great deal. However, President Jefferson hesitated to buy this land because he believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution. The Constitution said nothing about the President buying land. He was persuaded to support the Louisiana Purchase. We bought the Louisiana Territory in 1803.

While he was President, Great Britain and France were at war. Both countries interfered with our trade. Thomas Jefferson didn’t want to go to war with either nation. As a result, he signed the Embargo Act. This law prevented the United States from trading with most countries. He believed if we didn’t trade, our ships wouldn’t be attacked. However, we needed to trade. This law did help keep us out of war at that time. However, it eventually had to be repealed because our economy depended on trade.

Thomas Jefferson had some obstacles to overcome while he was President.