- Term
Thomas Jefferson
- Alternate Term
Jefferson, Thomas
- Occupation/Role
president
- Nationality/Ethnicity
American
- Date
1743-1826
- Remarks
Of all the American presidents, Thomas Jefferson had the greatest impact on the land and the people of the West. He envisioned an "empire for liberty," stretching across the continent. He believed cheap western land would give farmers independence, and that this offered the best hope for democracy. Jefferson authored the Land Ordinance of 1785, which imposed a uniform grid survey over the entire West. As the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809, Jefferson made sure the federal government took a leading role in the West. Jefferson directed the negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. He sent explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore western North America. He proposed that the lands west of the Mississippi River be made a permanent Indian reservation.
- See Also