President Jefferson served from 1801 to 1809. He belonged to the Democratic-Republican Party, which favored a weak federal government and instead believed most of the power should be invested at a state or local level. The Democratic-Republicans feared that if the federal government was too powerful it would abuse its power and trample on the rights of the people. Jefferson worked hard to shrink the size of the federal government and limit its power. As a former planter, he was also a big supporter of agriculture. Forced to choose between agriculture and commerce, he chose the former.
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