Alright, so this is the first of a new blog series I'm going to be doing. Each blog post will be called "The Case Against [Insert President Here]".
My goal is to show how so many presidents which people admire, really weren't as great as they seem. Of course, I'll be writing these posts from a liberty first perspective, so like everything else it will be very biased. However, I won't go on rants or make up random facts to help me case. I'll just do short snippets of facts which I will use to show how they hurt our nation and restrained our liberties.
1. Thomas Jefferson
Many libertarians adore Thomas Jefferson. Why not? There are hundreds of libertarian friendly quotes you can pull from his essays and letters. But did he act upon these sound principles when he was given the power?
Here are some reasons why Thomas Jefferson should be considered a bad president:
- Illegally spent a massive amount of money.
Jefferson was responsible for the Louisiana Purchase. By way of executive order, Jefferson authorized this purchase without congressional approval. As Jefferson stated himself on the matter, he "stretched the Constitution till it cracked". This set a bad precedent by an executive using his power which was in no possible way enumerated in the Constitution.
Another point to be made on this, was that Jefferson didn't pay the indians for the territory, instead, he paid for France's illigitimate claim to this land which was in reality owned by the indians. As a result, American settlers ruched into the new territory and killed any who stood their ground and forced countless more to be pushed farther out of their land. Also, Jefferson had no problem with condoning slavery in the newly expanded territories.
- Jefferson nearly destroyed out economy and forced some into hunger.
In 1807, Jefferson created a policy which ended all foreign trade. Jefferson's embargo caused an 80% decrease in exports and massive unemployment soon followed. It was so awful, that people were literally starving. This is perhaps the only time in the US where people were forced into starvation solely because of a government policy.
- Martial Law?
Jefferson obsessed over this embargo. The attempt to stop all smuggling of exports and imports became so insistent that people were searched, arrested, and imprisoned without any arrest warrants. Boats, carts, and even individuals on the roads were subject to these unconstitutional searches and arrests.
- Was not a fan of free speech.
Jefferson was not scared to use lawsuits against people he didn't like. When newspapers would write unfavorable (and usually true) things about him, he would attempt to sue for libel.
- Wanted to "domesticate" indians.
Although not alone in his time, Jefferson thought very little of indians. He believed that if indians would not assimilate and accept white culture, they should be "moved" to empty land. He believed they should be continually pushed westward, which makes you wonder what he believes should happen when they hit the pacific.
- Slave Owner
People usually try to cover this up and say that he did not own slaves. You can call them whatever you want, but he paid for humans. They were his property.
While Jefferson had lots of good things to say, his actions were inconsisent with his thoughts. No libertarian, even no human, should ever think Thomas Jefferson was a good president. His curtailing of civil rights, his expansive and illegal government purchase of western territories, and his blatant disregard for basic human rights should automatically disregard any admiration for him.
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