Thomas Jefferson
The Pragmatic Leader
Thomas Jefferson was a democratic-republican who proved to be a pragmatic leader during his presidency. He was the third U.S. president and served from 1801-09.
Bank of the United States:
Jefferson showed the qualities of being a pragmatic leader when he became president because he left the Bank of the United States alone. The bank system had already been created before he was elected president. Jefferson originally was against the creation of a U.S. bank, but left it alone because he knew it was a good decision for the country. This is the type of decision a pragmatic leader would make.
Federalist Tariff:
Hamilton wanted to maintain internal taxes, while Jefferson did not. When Hamilton was president he maintained the Federalist tariff. Although Jefferson wanted to eliminate the Federalist tariff, he didn't repeal it when he became president because he knew the economy benefited from it. Jefferson didn't follow his original view he had on tariffs when he made the decision to maintain the taxes.