Who Was Thomas Jefferson 托马斯·杰斐逊 Chapter 6 Our Third President

The Presidential election¹ of 1800 was bitterly fought. Adams and Jefferson had become enemies. Aaron Burr also sought the Presidency² and made backroom deals trying to win. In the end, Thomas Jefferson won, and Aaron Burr was elected Vice³ President.

Jefferson took office on March 4, 1801. He was the first President inaugurated⁴ in Washington, D.C., which had become the nation’s permanent capital in 1800. He had been living at a boarding house in Washington. Many people thought he would wear fancy⁵ clothes and go by carriage to his inauguration⁶. But on the day he took office, Jefferson dressed plainly. He walked the two blocks from his rooms to the U.S. Capitol building. There he was sworn in as President.

Jefferson gave a fine speech. A thousand people packed the hall to hear it. Put aside your political differences, the new President told Americans. “We are all Republicans—we are all Federalists.” Jefferson also stated his goal: “Peace … and an honest friendship with all nations.” The problem was, only the people in the first few rows heard him. He was still a terrible speaker. Besides, he was very nervous. He spoke⁷ so quietly, many listeners had to read the speech in the newspapers the next day.

The new President moved into the White House, which wasn’t yet completed. Jefferson turned out to be an outstanding national leader. He had long wanted the nation to expand westward⁸. In 1803, he helped make the greatest land deal in U.S. history. For $15 million, the nation bought 828,000 square miles of land from France in what is now the central United States. Called the Louisiana Purchase, this deal doubled the country’s size. Later, all or part of fifteen states were carved from the region⁹.

Jefferson was curious about lands beyond the Louisiana Purchase as well. In 1804, he sent out a group of explorers led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They traveled from near St. Louis, Missouri, to the Pacific Northwest. On their journey they learned¹⁰ about western lands and Indians. The Lewis and Clark Expedition helped the U.S. claim more land. Later, it became three states: Washington, Idaho, and Oregon.

THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION

THOMAS JEFFERSON HAD ALWAYS BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT THE AMERICAN WEST. AS PRESIDENT, HE COMMISSIONED AN EXPEDITION TO EXPLORE AND MAP THE TERRITORY. IN MAY 1804, CO-CAPTAINS MERIWETHER LEWIS AND WILLIAM CLARK SET OUT FROM NEAR ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI. TRAVELING BY RIVER AND LAND, THEY JOURNEYED TO THE OREGON COAST AND BACK AGAIN—A DISTANCE OF MORE THAN 8,000 MILES. THEY WERE ACCOMPANIED BY A CREW OF MEN AND THE SHOSHONE INDIAN INTERPRETER SACAGAWEA. IT TOOK THE EXPLORERS TWO YEARS AND FOUR MONTHS TO COMPLETE THEIR JOURNEY.

Jefferson brought a new style to the Presidency. Washington and Adams had been formal and dignified¹¹. Jefferson was relaxed and friendly. The President rode his horse around Washington, often speaking to strangers. He opened the White House to everyone. “He was dressed with an old brown coat, woolen¹² hose¹³, slippers¹⁴ without heels,” wrote one visitor from New Hampshire. “I thought this man was a servant. It was the President.” Jefferson’s pet mockingbird also surprised visitors. Dick liked to fly about the White House, sometimes landing¹⁵ on Jefferson’s shoulder.

THE WHITE HOUSE

WORK BEGAN ON THE WHITE HOUSE, WHICH WAS TO BE THE HOME OF EACH PRESIDENT, IN 1792. GEORGE WASHINGTON CHOSE THE SITE FOR THE MANSION¹⁶, BUT HE NEVER LIVED THERE HIMSELF. JOHN ADAMS AND HIS WIFE, ABIGAIL, WERE THE FIRST RESIDENTS—THEY MOVED IN IN LATE 1800.

Jefferson was re-elected as President in late 1804. This time, George Clinton of New York was his Vice President. By his second inauguration, Jefferson was sixty-one years old. He was a grandfather now. Sometimes his loved ones from Virginia visited him in Washington. During one visit, in early 1806, Patsy had her eighth child. The baby was named James Madison Randolph. James was the first baby born in the White House.

President Jefferson also kept in touch with his family by writing letters. On his second inauguration day—March 4, 1805—Jefferson wrote to his granddaughter Ellen. The “pressure of the day” made it hard for him to write a long letter, he explained. But he sent her a poem. He ended by saying:

I am called [away] by company. Therefore, God bless you, my dear child. Kiss your Mama and sisters for me, & tell them I shall be with them in about a week from this time.

Th. Jefferson

Jefferson expected his grandchildren to write back to him.

Ellen didn’t answer Jefferson’s March 4 letter. So, later that spring, he wrote to her, saying, that if she didn’t write soon, “I shall send the sheriff after you.” The nine-year-old girl knew that her grandfather the President was joking, but she did write back.

Keeping peace was the greatest challenge of President Jefferson’s second term. The British needed sailors for their ships. They often got them by stopping American vessels¹⁷ at sea and kidnapping American sailors. To make things worse, Britain attacked the U.S. Navy¹⁸ ship Chesapeake in 1807. Jefferson ordered British ships out of American waters. He resisted the outcry to take revenge¹⁹ on Britain, however. By so doing, he kept the nation out of war.

As President, he also considered ways to end slavery. The man who had declared that “all men are created equal” knew that slavery was wrong. He once wrote: “Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate²⁰, than that these people [the slaves] are to be free.” And as far back as 1774, he had said that freeing the slaves was “the great object of desire” in the thirteen colonies²¹. He also saw that he was part of the problem. Over the years, he had owned 400 slaves at Monticello, including Sally Hemings and his own four slave children.

Jefferson considered ways to end slavery. Should all the slaves be freed at once? Should they be freed gradually? Or was it best just to prevent new slaves from entering the country? Freeing all the slaves at once would cause problems, he thought. A slave was worth hundreds of dollars. Southern whites might be fighting mad if their slaves were freed.

He finally acted in 1806, but with a weak attack on slavery. That December, President Jefferson asked Congress²² to end the slave trade. As of January 1, 1808, it became illegal to bring any more slaves into the country. Jefferson hoped that this would make slavery slowly die out. But it didn’t. New slaves were smuggled²³ in. And slaves already in America had children. These babies were born slaves, increasing the slave population. Jefferson’s failure to act boldly²⁴ to end slavery was perhaps his greatest failure as President. Not until 1865 would the Civil War end slavery in the United States.

Jefferson probably could have won a third term. But, like George Washington, he thought two terms were enough. During his second term, he also suffered from terrible headaches that kept him from working for days at a time. He decided²⁵ not to run again in 1808. He was pleased when his friend James Madison succeeded him as President.

On the March day in 1809 that he took office, Madison asked Jefferson to ride with him in his carriage. Jefferson refused, wanting no special treatment. “This day, I return to the people,” he said.

Former President Jefferson then went home to Monticello.

1 election   

n.选举，选择权；当选

参考例句：

• There is no doubt but that he will win the election.毫无疑问，他将在竞选中获胜。
• The government will probably fall at the coming election.在即将到来的大选中，该政府很可能要垮台。

2 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。

3 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。

4 inaugurated   

为…举行就职典礼( inaugurate的过去式和过去分词 )； 为…举行仪式，为…举行落成[开幕]仪式； 开创，创始

参考例句：

• Mr. Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation. 普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。
• Concord inaugurated a new era in airplane travel. 协和飞机开创了空中旅行的新纪元。

5 fancy   

n.想像力，幻想；喜好，爱；adj.想像的，时髦的，华丽装饰的，奢侈的；技巧的；vt.想象，自认为，喜好

参考例句：

• He seemed to have taken quite a fancy to her.他似乎相当喜欢她。
• I have a fancy that it's going to rain.我想大概要下雨。

6 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

9 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

10 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

11 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

12 woolen   

adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的

参考例句：

• She likes to wear woolen socks in winter.冬天她喜欢穿羊毛袜。
• There is one bar of woolen blanket on that bed.那张床上有一条毛毯。

13 hose   

n.输水软管，长统袜；vt.浇园子，用管冲洗

参考例句：

• Connect the hose to the tap and turn on the tap.把水管接在龙头上，打开水龙头。
• After raining,I always hose the yard out.雨后，我总是用软管把院子冲干净。

14 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

15 landing   

n.登陆；着陆；楼梯平台

参考例句：

• Owing to engine trouble,the plane had to make a forced landing.由于发动机出了毛病，飞机不得不进行迫降。
• When are we landing?我们什么时候着陆？

16 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

17 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 navy   

n.海军，海军人员，海军军力，藏青色

参考例句：

• My brother is in the navy.我兄弟在海军服役。
• He has transferred from the army to the navy.他从陆军转到海军。

19 revenge   

v.报...之仇，为...报仇 ；n.报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• She poisoned his mind with ideas of hate and revenge.她用复仇的思想来毒害他的心灵。
• There was anger in his eyes and revenge in his heart.他两眼闪现怒火，一心只想复仇。

20 fate   

n.命运；结局，结果；将来，前景

参考例句：

• The Titanic met her fate by crashing into a huge iceberg.泰坦尼克号客轮因撞上一个大冰山而沉没。
• Your future is bound up with the fate of your motherland.你的前途同祖国的命运紧密相联。

21 colonies   

n.殖民地( colony的名词复数 )；（侨民等）聚居区；（动植物的）群体；（来自同一地方，职业或兴趣相同的）聚居人群

参考例句：

• They amassed huge wealth by plundering the colonies. 他们通过掠夺殖民地聚敛了大笔的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But throughout the colonies, people relied primarily on small farms and self-sufficiency. 但就整个殖民地来说，人们主要依靠小型农场，过着自给自足的生活。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

22 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

23 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

24 boldly   

adv.大胆地，显眼地；冒

参考例句：

• Everyone admires his spirit of doing boldly what is righteous. 人人都赞美他这种见义勇为的精神。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Do boldly what is righteous. 见义勇为。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。