FREE ESSAY ON THOMAS JEFFERSON

THOMAS JEFFERSON

Thomas Jefferson's ideals and beliefs were derived from a deep regard for life, liberty,
and freedom. His concept of individual freedoms strongly disagreed with the notion of a
"guided republic" which he believed concentrated a great deal unchecked power among a few
people. This could have the potential of tyrannical government that might suppress
personal freedoms of any kind especially those of religion, which Jefferson feels very
strongly felt should be protected. After fighting hard to rid America of British
domination, Jefferson was determined to create a government that was responsible to, and
derived its powers from, a free people. As the writer of the Declaration of Independence
and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, Jefferson is thought by many to be the
founder of the Democratic Party. He was foremost among the influential men who believed
that laws should be made by those who are to obey them. Thomas Jefferson pushed hard to
create a government that would serve and protect all its constituents. 
A "guided republic" is a form of government where an essentially omnipotent council
determines the legislation passed by the legislative body. Though the legislative and
executive branches may be elected by the people, they supervising power is not and
therefore has the ability to rule in any way they please. The council can, and often
does, refuse the rights to freedom of press, speech, and religion. They may prevent bills
that attempt to revive these powers and, in the same sense, may prohibit people from
speaking about ideas that oppose those of the council. This governing group does not
hesitate to use violent force to protect their power. At its worst, a "guided republic"
is a tyrannical form of government, whose people are denied basic rights to life. The
people in a "guided republic" are not the constituents but the subjects of their
government. 
Thomas Jefferson believed that all Americans should have the "freedom of language and
sentiment…as derived from the laws of nature" . In his most famous document, the
Declaration of Independence, he stated "that all men are created equal; that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain [inherent and] inalienable rights; that among these
are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" . Jefferson was a strong advocate of a
bill of rights within the Constitution. In a letter to James Madison, he says that he
"did not like…the omission of a bill of rights providing…for freedom of
religion [and for] freedom of the press" . Jefferson was in favor of religious freedom
because it did him "no injury for [his] neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no
god" . Jefferson wrote the Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom which essentially
stated "that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their
opinions in matters of religion" . He summarizes his feelings in letters to both Elbridge
Gerry and Edward Carrington, where he writes that he is "against all violations of the
constitution" because "the basis of our governments should be the opinion of the people,
[and] the very first object should be to keep that right" .
Jefferson wanted a separation of powers within the government in order to prevent one
person or group having a tyrannical hold over the nation. He believed that "concentrating
these [powers] in the same hands [was] precisely the definition of a despotic government"
. He knew that a singular governing force had the potential of becoming oppressive over
the people because he had witnessed it when every basic colonial right
"was…violated by subsequent [British] kings and parliaments" . Against the dogma of
a "guided republic", Jefferson thought "that each branch should be independent of the
others…to protect itself from enterprises of force attempted on the by the others"

Thomas Jefferson would fervently disagree with the notion of a "guided republic" for a
number of reasons. His strongest underlying sentiment was that "every society must at all
times possess within itself the sovereign powers of legislation" or a "legislature to
whom [the people] may have delegated sovereign authority" , an idea vehemently opposed by
a guiding council. Jefferson did not think that the people should be governed under "a
very energetic government [because] it is always oppressive" . He, instead, believed in a
weaker leader who "may offer, but not impose himself" as stated in his Notes on the State
of Virginia. In Jefferson's mind, a "guided republic" was no better than the rule of the
British monarchy. His faith in the new American system led him to the conclusion that
"the limited powers of the federal government…afford a security which exists in no
other instance" , whereas a limit on the power of the government in a supervised
democracy does not exist. Thomas Jefferson stood for every right, freedom and practice
that a supervised democracy opposed.
Jefferson believed that the American way was the right way. He had faith in the system,
which he helped to create, and stood by it until the day he died. The prosperity of
Americans under the freedoms that were allowed for by the Constitution of the United
States cemented his immense respect for the new republic. Thomas Jefferson was a man of
principles who felt strongly about what he believed in. In the final letter of his life,
to Roger C. Weightman, he showed immense pride in the fact "that our fellow citizens,
after half a century of experience and prosperity, continue to approve the choice we
made" . Because of Thomas Jefferson, "the form [of government]…restores the free
right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion. All eyes are opened, or
opening, to the rights of man" .