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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by government strength,

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the latest exercise fad sweeping Washington D.C. [President Washington doing exercise to strengthen his core]

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All right, first up, the excerpt.

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[ mumbles ]

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Inaugural Address, 1801. And now the question:

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All right, at the time, many concerns Jefferson noted

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about the strength of the government were centered on... what?

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And here are your potential answers.

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[ mumbles ]

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All right, here we go. As the author of many of America's [someone writing with a quill pen]

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founding documents,

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Jefferson had pretty strong feelings about how things should

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play out in the third chapter of the U.S. presidency.

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So were Jefferson's concerns about the strength [picture of President Jefferson]

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of the government centered on B - the rate of territorial expansion?

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Hmm.

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Well, in 1801, the nation wasn't too concerned with the rate

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of territorial expansion. That'd come

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a few years later with the Louisiana Purchase, [President Jefferson purchasing the land of Louisiana]

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which made people think Jefferson had landed in a loony bin.

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So that boots out B.

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Was Jefferson worried about the strength of the government

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in regards to C - its ability to protect itself from invasion?

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Well, the U.S. was in a period of relative peace at this time

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and, following a smooth transition into power, Jefferson had

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few worries about the country protecting itself from enemies

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foreign and domestic. That gets rid of C and D. [President Jefferson punching a zombie]

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So it means that Jefferson's concerns about the

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strength of the government were centered on A -

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its role in the economy. The government's role in the economy -

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particularly the issue of debt - weighed heavily on the public's mind

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when Jefferson made his speech. Federalists believed

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public debt was an important part of the government's [member of Federalist and Democrat Republican party talking about public debt]

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financial portfolio, but Democrat Republicans,

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led by Jefferson, felt a thriftier approach was necessary.

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i. e. Don't spend so much. Don't tax so much.

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So A is the correct answer. Once in office,

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Jefferson really banked on support for his plan to [crowd applauding President Jefferson for succeeding in clearing the public debt]

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trim the budget. And after he succeeded, the public owed him

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a debt of gratitude.

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The latest exercise fad sweeping Washington D.C.

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