Monday, October 5, 2009
Jefferson Era
The Jefferson Era was not consistent with the visions of Thomas Jefferson because his vision was a society of independent farmers, free from the city mobs of Europe. However, cities inevitably grew and America steadily became more diverse. Jefferson's intention to conserve sturdy, independent farms made up a large part of his vision which was not met. The other part of Jefferson's vision was to maintain an American cultural life, fleeting localism and simplicity, which was encouraged by Federalists. This bureaucratic power was not sustained long after the Federalists came up with it in the 1790s. Soon after, the Americans grew accustom to these changes and differences, resulting in a society which they had once resisted. That's not to say Jefferson was unsuccessful with his presidency but judging by what occured in the Jefferson Era, it was not consistent with his visions.
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I think your are ides are very good and well thought out I hadn't considered how giving the small farmers equality played such a great part in Jefferson's vision, and I understand how you came to the conclusion that the Jeffersonian Era wasn't consistant with his visions. However, I think saying he was unsuccessful is not entirely accurate because you must consider the other aspects of his vision like Westward expansion and how he had majorly cut down the country's debt during his presidency as a breakthrough and advance into a better country. :) Great blog
ReplyDeleteI think you make great points, but I do not agree with saying that the Jeffersonian Era was not consistent at all. First of all, we were still a new nation. Of course our cities were growing and we were becoming more diverse. Jefferson did not want to prohibit the growth of our nation. He only wanted to base the majority of our economy on independent farmers and local governments. The small farmer did not mean just a small group of farmers. I agree that not all he wanted to get done happened, but I wouldn't say that the Jeffersonian Era wasn't consistent at all with his beliefs.
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