1801: Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, Democrat-Republican from Virginia, beat President John Adams by 23% of the popular vote in the election of 1800 (Adams would have won if votes in slave states had not been given more weight because of the slaves they owned). In 1804, Jefferson beat Federalist Charles Pinckney of South Carolina by 45% of the popular vote.

Gave Napoleon $15 Million for "Louisiana"

Napoleon needed money for France's war with Great Britian, and Jefferson gave it to him for the territory that would become Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, much of Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and some of Texas and New Mexico. Jefferson didn't give any money to the many Native American nations whose homelands were in these territories.

Tried Suspending All Trade with Europe

England's leaders believed that to defeat Napoleon, they had to keep Americans from trading with France. Americans were making a lot of money from this trade and did not want to stop. The English also desperately needed sailors for its warships. At the time, half of the sailors on American merchant ships were English. Many of them had deserted the British navy. When England started stopping American ships to serve in the British navy, Jefferson decided to stop all trade with Europe. He later changed his mind because American businesses were losing too much money and decided to let American ships trade with every country in Europe except England and France.

Made It Illegal to Buy Slaves from other Countries