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Thomas Jefferson

When Thomas Jefferson doubled the size of the nation with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Macon and other North Carolinians did not support him. Control of the Mississippi River basin would greatly hepl people who went into farming in the future.Jefferson had to overcome constitutional scruples in order to take over the vast new territory without authorization by constitutional amendment. In this instance it was his Federalist critics who became the constitutional purists. Nonetheless, the purchase was received with popular enthusiasm. In the election of 1804, Jefferson swept every state except two--Connecticut and Delaware. Jefferson's second administration began with a minor success--the favorable settlement concluding the TRIPOLITAN WAR (1801-05), in which the newly created U.S. Navy fought its first engagements. The following year the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which the president had dispatched to explore the Louisiana Territory, returned triumphantly after crossing the continent. The West was also a source of trouble, however. The disaffected Aaron Burr engaged in a conspiracy, the details of which are still obscure, either to establish an independent republic in the Louisiana Territory or to launch an invasion of Spanish-held Mexico. Jefferson acted swiftly to arrest Burr early in 1807 and bring him to trial for treason. Burr was acquitted, however.

James Madison

Madison was elected to office for the first time in 1774. Two years later, he took a seat at the Virginia Constitutional Convention, which played a major role in the drive toward American independence from the British Crown. Between 1777 and 1779, he was a member of the Virginia Council of State, serving Virginia governors Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, who became his lifelong friend. In 1780, Madison was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress, which met at Philadelphia. At twenty-nine, he was the youngest member of this CongressWith the end of the Revolution in 1783 came the need to form a strong government for the United States. Madison took a leading role at the Constitutional Convention, drafting the Virginia Plan which became the basis of the U.S. Constitution. In defense of the Constitution during the crucial period of its ratification by the states, Madison authored a series of papers with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay which became known collectively as The Federalist. media type="custom" key="7835345"