Childs' terrible Jefferson DBQ *warning: very, very long*

Thomas Jefferson was a very outspoken political figure. He fought for a “true” democracy in the name of the yeoman and the other poor dregs of society. He believed that the weaker the central government, the better. Having recently emerged from a bloody war with a tyrant, this was a view shared by many Americans. However, once Jefferson took office in 1801, he would not be the self-weakening man of the people that he demanded of everyone else. Instead, he would be put down in history as hypocritical in the name of his country, and would cross party lines to do what needed to be done.
Jefferson’s inauguration speech rang a familiar tone with those who had heard Jefferson speak before; he preached friendship, but not allegiance, with other nations; he preached civil supremacy and military weakening; he preached freedom of the press and of religion and of all the things in the 1st amendment, to a much higher degree; and he preached a weakened central government and a strengthened state government (Doc A).
He would also, however, preach on the rights of men. He introduced the thought that a difference of opinion did not relieve one of being patriotic, or even right, and that logic can overcome any flaws in allowing the ignorant masses of the nation decide all of the most pressing matters (Doc B).
Jefferson’s other early policies were of that of a strict anti-bureaucracy mindset. He felt that the best solution to any issue was to roll it downhill. Much like a military chain of command, Jefferson’s utopian authority system relied on the common man using his mayor; and the mayor his governor; and the governor his President. The President should not be troubled with issues that the city has, and it is not, in Jefferson’s opinion, the right of the Republic to interfere with local policies. This was but one drop in the fountain that was Jefferson’s very strict states-rights policies (doc E).
Many of Jefferson’s arguments were very well founded. The Constitution specifically states that powers not granted by the document were not powers the national government could abuse. This was the principle of most of Jefferson’s outcries on states rights and, most importantly, the Back of the United States. Jefferson believed that a nationally-sponsored bank was not a power the United States should have; he believed that the BUS would create national favoritism and expound on the already huge gap between the very rich and the very poor. Jefferson was also fearful of the slippery slope of allowing the national government to run free; Jefferson was a man who saw tyranny and government corruption in every shadow, and he was naturally very suspicious of a National Bank (doc C).
However, Jefferson’s policies would not remain pure. Despite a strong belief in a weak national government that would not interfere in commerce, Jefferson allowed the creation of an embargo against the British. This would ruin the economy of the United States (doc D). He did this in direct response to the attack on the Chesapeake, in which a British ship in an American port attacked the US vessel after the citizens on it refused to allow the British admittance onto their ship (doc F).
Another moral fault of Jefferson’s turned out to be his greatest achievement; the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson bought the land at $0.03/acre, and doubled American landmass. He quickly sent out two men, Lewis and Clark, to explore the area, make notes on the environment and Native populations, and return with maps. They went off on their expedition, and, after nearly hitting the Pacific coast, turned back and told Jefferson of their discoveries (doc J). Jefferson had long before this spoken out loudly against the national government taking what wasn’t theirs, and it certainly was not within the boundaries of the national government to buy land, under a strictly-interpreted Constitution. However, Jefferson admitted that it was the best solution, and conceded, despite his moral beliefs.
Two years after the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson would impeach a Supreme Court judge, named Samuel Chase. Justice Chase was against Jefferson’s political ideas, and was thusly impeached by the President (doc G). This was a huge deal; it was almost symbolic of Jefferson’s transformation. His words only four years previously, in 1801, of everyone being patriots at heart, and of difference in opinions being unequal to a difference in principle, rang empty and hollow after this impeachment. This act of outright hypocrisy, only two years before he left his throne at the head of the nation, would place a stain on his name throughout history.
Throughout his two terms in Presidency, Jefferson halved the military (doc H), purchased the western half of the then-United States and explored it, impeached a Supreme Court judge in the name of power, and placed an international embargo on Britain. Jefferson made good and bad choices. He stood fast to his morals as long as he deemed it wise to do so. But at the end of the day, Jefferson’s longest-lasting political achievement was perhaps the creation of a gray area between the Federalists and the Republicans. This would dissolve the Federalist Party and make way for the eventual two-party system of the Democratic and Republican parties.

Read it, critique it, use it. Just don't plagiarize straight from it. Change a few adjectives first

EDIT: Wow, this looked a lot longer in Word O_o... Ah, well.

A little warning...It's a compare and contrast essay!
Your structure is a little hazy at times, and rambling is never a good idea.

no u

Could you elaborate, please? I decided that my structure would be a basic, "Here's his policies, now here's how he failed at them," kind of deal. How could I improve it? Do you think it would be better to explain a policy, then explain how Jefferson abandoned that policy?

Like, "Jefferson believed strong central government was wrong. He hated national power. Then he turned into a liar when he bought a bunch of land, which was against his policies of a weak central government." Would that be better?

You prove the point that he was hypocritical quite well,
But he didn't always abandon his beliefs. You seem to lack (in my eyes) a comparison portion. Sometimes he kept with his original intentions, such as his reduction of the army and navy.

Hmmm... Ok, I get what you're saying.

I'll put the military cuts, the destruction of the BUS, and possibly re-introduce the embargo act in a positive light (anti-British, which followed Jeffersonian ideals perfectly). I'll go make some changes <.< >.>

Thanks for the critique.

EDIT: What a night to have a cut under my fingernail ;_;...

Here's an updated version of my DBQ. I bolded the new sections so you guys don't have to re-read it <.< >.>

Thomas Jefferson was a very outspoken political figure. He fought for a “true” democracy in the name of the yeoman and the other poor dregs of society. He believed that the weaker the central government, the better. Having recently emerged from a bloody war with a tyrant, this was a view shared by many Americans. However, once Jefferson took office in 1801, he would not be the self-weakening man of the people that he demanded of everyone else. Instead, he would be put down in history as hypocritical in the name of his country, and would cross party lines to do what needed to be done.
Jefferson’s inauguration speech rang a familiar tone with those who had heard Jefferson speak before; he preached friendship, but not allegiance, with other nations; he preached civil supremacy and military weakening; he preached freedom of the press and of religion and of all the things in the 1st amendment, to a much higher degree; and he preached a weakened central government and a strengthened state government (doc A).
He would also, however, preach on the rights of men. He introduced the thought that a difference of opinion did not relieve one of being patriotic, or even right, and that logic can overcome any flaws in allowing the ignorant masses of the nation decide all of the most pressing matters (Doc B).
Jefferson’s other early policies were of that of a strict anti-bureaucracy mindset. He felt that the best solution to any issue was to roll it downhill. Much like a military chain of command, Jefferson’s utopian authority system relied on the common man using his mayor; and the mayor his governor; and the governor his President. The President should not be troubled with issues that the city has, and it is not, in Jefferson’s opinion, the right of the Republic to interfere with local policies. This was but one drop in the fountain that was Jefferson’s very strict states-rights policies (doc E).
Many of Jefferson’s arguments were very well founded. The Constitution specifically states that powers not granted by the document were not powers the national government could abuse. This was the principle of most of Jefferson’s outcries on states rights and, most importantly, the Back of the United States. Jefferson believed that a nationally-sponsored bank was not a power the United States should have; he believed that the BUS would create national favoritism and expound on the already huge gap between the very rich and the very poor. Jefferson was also fearful of the slippery slope of allowing the national government to run free; Jefferson was a man who saw tyranny and government corruption in every shadow, and he was naturally very suspicious of a National Bank (doc C).
However, Jefferson’s policies would not remain pure. Despite a strong belief in a weak national government that would not interfere in commerce, Jefferson allowed the creation of an embargo against the British. This would ruin the economy of the United States (doc D). He did this in direct response to the attack on the Chesapeake, in which a British ship in an American port attacked the US vessel after the citizens on it refused to allow the British admittance onto their ship (doc F).
However, the Embargo Act wasn’t a total desecration of Jeffersonian policies. Jefferson believed intensely that Britain was the devil and that any policy that hurt the British, was a good policy (doc I). Jefferson’s resentment towards the British Empire and his sympathies with the French Revolution hugged closely to his original ideals. In this way, Jefferson proved that he could not only directly follow or give up his policies; he could reach across the bench and do both at once.
Another moral fault of Jefferson’s turned out to be his greatest achievement; the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson bought the land at $0.03/acre, and doubled American landmass. He quickly sent out two men, Lewis and Clark, to explore the area, make notes on the environment and Native populations, and return with maps. They went off on their expedition, and, after nearly hitting the Pacific coast, turned back and told Jefferson of their discoveries (doc J). Jefferson had long before this spoken out loudly against the national government taking what wasn’t theirs, and it certainly was not within the boundaries of the national government to buy land, under a strictly-interpreted Constitution. However, Jefferson admitted that it was the best solution, and conceded, despite his moral beliefs.
Two years after the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson would impeach a Supreme Court judge, named Samuel Chase. Justice Chase was against Jefferson’s political ideas, and was thusly impeached by the President (doc G). This was a huge deal; it was almost symbolic of Jefferson’s transformation. His words only four years previously, in 1801, of everyone being patriots at heart, and of difference in opinions being unequal to a difference in principle, rang empty and hollow after this impeachment. This act of outright hypocrisy, only two years before he left his throne at the head of the nation, would place a stain on his name throughout history.
But Jefferson stuck fast to a lot of his policies. He destroyed the Bank of the United States, declaring it unconstitutional. He halved the military, declaring that a large standing Army was a waste of the taxpayers’ money (doc F). These were huge and fundamental changes in the American political world, and Jefferson held fast to these most basic principles, despite falling through on some of his others.
Throughout his two terms in Presidency, Jefferson halved the military, purchased the western half of the then-United States and explored it, impeached a Supreme Court judge in the name of power, and placed an international embargo on Britain. Jefferson made good and bad choices. He stood fast to his morals as long as he deemed it wise to do so. But at the end of the day, Jefferson’s longest-lasting political achievement was perhaps the creation of a gray area between the Federalists and the Republicans. This would dissolve the Federalist Party and make way for the eventual two-party system of the Democratic and Republican parties.

Looks okay. I organized it differently, but overall it seems your information is all there.

Outstanding.

Now, to print this on my eye-bleeding-bright orange-yellow paper...

OH, WAIT. I've got bright neon freakin' orange right here. That'll do. That'll do nicely.