Jefferson was an admired and outstanding statesman who was grappling unsuccessfully with the moral issue of slavery. Thomas Jefferson, the great author of the Declaration of Independence, opposed slavery his whole life, however he never freed his own slaves. He championed Enlightenment principles, yet never freed himself of the prejudices of his soceity. Jefferson was a plantation owner early in his life, and had slaves working for him throughout his life. Jefferson had tolerated while …showed first 75 words of 489 total…

…showed last 75 words of 489 total…the start and they destroyed political tradition as seen during Jeffersons' administration. Jeffersonians show an immense amount of hypocritism in their policies. For example, Federalists had supported high tarriffs, inorder to protect national manufacturers and american industry. The tarriffs were a vital determinent, which kept the economy of the United States viable. The Jeffersonians, not the Federalists began the American system of protecting american industry which initially was a major constituent of the federalist platform.