The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 enlarged the country, while Jefferson’s presidency followed the first transfer between rival parties. We credit that institutional transition, not his pre-presidential authorship of the Declaration of Independence.

His ownership of enslaved people and the expansion of slavery sharply limit his standing. Those contradictions keep him below Truman’s civil-rights record, even as the precedent for partisan succession puts him above Reagan.

Sources: National Archives · Miller Center · Term dates.

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