Thomas Jefferson’s presidency was when the United States was going through a change in the 1800’s. During his inaugural speech, Thomas Jefferson spoke about change in America, but he specifically meant change by improving the government when he quoted the “world’s best hope.” There were many changes of which he spoke about during his speech, here are some of the changes he was expecting. Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none; Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; The supremacy of the civil over the military authority; Economy in the public expense, that labor may be lightly burthened; A well-disciplined militia, our best reliance in peace and for the first moments of war, till regulars may relieve them; Absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority, the vital principle of republics, from which is no appeal but to force, the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism; The diffusion of…show more content… And then by saying “When right, I shall often be thought wrong by those whose positions will not command a view of the whole ground.” “I ask your indulgence for my own errors,” this means that he wants his power to be checked and that his incorrect actions to be corrected by the legislative branch.
Yes, he implies a sense of American exceptionalism by proclaiming that the American government was the “world’s best hope,” besides being the strongest government on earth. In Jefferson’s opinion, this was the only government in which man could have an active and effective role. Also, Thomas Jefferson spoke of the new nation as an “empire of liberty.” This contradicts itself, because empire suggests domination, but Jefferson’s point was that unlike the empires of Europe, ours would be based on democratic
