Who Was Thomas Jefferson 托马斯·杰斐逊 Chapter 5 Secretary of State and Vice President

A letter from George Washington awaited Jefferson upon his return home in 1789. That spring, Washington had become our first President. He wanted Jefferson to become his Secretary of State. This meant that he would head the Department of State, which oversees¹ the United States’ relations with other countries. Jefferson wrote back refusing the job. He was now forty-six years old. He hoped to relax for a year. But Washington didn’t give up. He sent a second letter. He couldn’t do without him, Washington insisted. Jefferson couldn’t say no a second time to the hero of the Revolution. He waited until his daughter Patsy was married in February 1790. The next month, he went to New York City—then the nation’s capital—to join Washington’s cabinet.

Jefferson served as Secretary of State for almost four years. Afraid that spies would open his letters, Jefferson invented a device to keep his messages private. Called a “cipher wheel,” it enabled him to write in a secret code.

As Secretary of State, Jefferson helped the nation avoid conflicts with Britain, France, and Spain. But he and Treasury³ Secretary Alexander Hamilton had conflicts of their own. The two men disagreed about the country’s future. Hamilton wanted the United States to become a nation of big business and big cities. He favored a strong U.S. government that told the states what they could and couldn’t do. Jefferson wanted a nation of small farmers and small towns. He favored a government that stayed out of people’s lives as much as possible. The Jefferson-Hamilton clash helped spark the creation of political parties. Jefferson became a leader of the Democratic-Republican Party. Hamilton became a leader of the Federalist Party. We still have two main political parties today. However, they are not the same as those led by Jefferson and Hamilton.

Political differences weren’t the only problem between the two men. Jefferson and Hamilton really disliked each other. They argued in cabinet meetings. They fought in the newspapers. Jefferson finally grew weary of the arguing. He resigned from Washington’s cabinet at the end of 1793. Early the next year, he returned to Monticello.

Jefferson spent the next three years quietly, at home. He read. He remodeled Monticello, which he continued to do for another fifteen years. He worked at improving his farm. He had his slaves plant trees, flowers, and various crops. Among his many interests was fossil collecting. He was even nicknamed “Mr. Mammoth” because he gathered fossils of those elephant-like animals of long ago. Jefferson also liked to invent new gadgets⁴. Over the years his creations included a new kind of plow⁵ and an improved type of sundial. Yet, as always seemed to happen, he couldn’t stay away from politics for very long.

George Washington retired⁶ as President after his second four-year term was over. John Adams, Vice² President under Washington, hoped to win the nation’s highest office in the 1796 election. Adams became the Federalist candidate. The Democratic-Republicans chose Jefferson.

Rarely has a candidate done so little as Jefferson did in 1796. He made no speeches. Jefferson even told his son-in-law that he wanted John Adams to win.

The election was very close. Adams won with seventy-one electoral votes. According to the law of the time, the person with the second-most votes became Vice President. That was Thomas Jefferson, with sixty-eight. He moved to Philadelphia, the United States capital, and in 1797 began serving as Vice President.

Jefferson and Adams were old friends. At first they got along well enough. But in time, the President and Vice President clashed. Jefferson was hurt that President Adams didn’t even consult him on most issues. To his daughter Patsy, he wrote: “It gives me great regret to be passing my time so uselessly when it could have been so importantly employed at home.”

John Adams ran for the presidency⁷ again in 1800. So did Thomas Jefferson. And this time, he very much wanted to win.
 

1 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 gadgets   

n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

5 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。