Chapter 4 Thomas Jefferson's America 1801 Summary and Analysis

When Thomas Jefferson becomes President of the United States of America, the nation numbers slightly less than five and one-half million people. That includes approximately one million slaves. Geographically, the nation is a vast open country, nearly limitless in potential, and nearly completely unknown. Overland travel is slow and difficult, seldom averaging more than a score of miles in a day—even over a rarely encountered roadway. Rivers form the dominant highways and are the only way to transport substantial bulk materials. The relative positions of the Eastern seaboard states are known, as is the position of the distant Oregon country. Roughly, three thousand miles of terra incognita lay in between. Jefferson incorrectly speculates that a water route along major rivers probably exists which could link the two population centers. Meanwhile, many European nations...