Expanding the Powers of the Presidency
Before the Treaty of Paris was signed ending the American Revolution American merchant shipping had enjoyed the protection of first the British and later French navies. With that protection gone, American ships were soon prey to the pirates of North Africa, collectively known as the Barbary pirates. For nearly two decades these pirates were held at bay by the payment of tribute to the rulers of the Barbary States, which frequently changed and many often simply took the money and blithely continued to seize American ships and hostages. During his time as an ambassador and as Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson argued against paying tribute.
When he became President, Jefferson dispatched squadrons from the recently reformed US Navy to defend American ships, ordering them to act in a defensive manner only and asked Congress for a declaration of war against the Barbary States, the first president to do either. Congress did not declare war, but gave Jefferson the authority to act as he saw fit, making Thomas Jefferson the first war president. The Barbary War, an American victory, did not altogether end the acts of piracy from some of the North African states, but it established US military projection and the reputation of the United States Navy and Marines as professional fighting forces.
Jefferson also expanded the powers of the Presidency by purchasing Louisiana from Napoleon, an action not specified as authorized to the Executive Branch by the Constitution. Jefferson chose to interpret the lack of a denied power broadly, in that since it wasn’t specifically denied to the office he had the power to do it. He acted accordingly, the first President to expand the territory of the United States beyond that specified in the Treaty of Paris. He expanded the power of the office of the Presidency in both the prosecution of war overseas and the purchase of lands in North America. But Jefferson continued to argue that the Constitution specified the duties of the Executive Branch and should be strictly followed.
Prior to Jefferson winning the Presidency his predecessors, Washington and Adams, had struggled with several issues, some weighty, some mundane. One of the earliest had been how to address the President. John Adams had suggested the President be styled as His Highness the President of the United States and Protector of Their Liberties when presiding over the Senate as Vice President. Washington was long used to being addressed as Your Excellency but had no objection when that was changed to Mr. President. The long-standing custom of bowing when being presented remained in place, however, particularly in receiving lines.
Jefferson altered this in yet another Presidential first. He established the custom that when being presented to the President of the United States rather than bowing and speaking the honorific, Mr. President, the proper etiquette was to step forward and shake hands. Jefferson added to the less formal air by appearing at levees and receptions in long pants, rather than knee breeches still in favor of formal dress. These presidential firsts removed some of the appearance of the European courts from the White House and soon functions all over Washington. By late in his administration, Jefferson often turned up to receive dignitaries while wearing house slippers.