Legacy
Jefferson's two terms as president left behind a mixed legacy. The first Barbary War ended in victory, yet that peace did not last. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the country and provided the natural resources to make the U.S. a world power, but displaced and disrupted the culture of Native Americans. Unresolved issues with Great Britain would lead to the War of 1812 and the problem of slavery would eventually tear the nation apart. In Jefferson's words: "the boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave" and the experiment in self government begun in 1776 remains a never ending work in progress.