Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated on March 4, 1801. He was the first President to take the oath of office in the nation's permanent capital, Washington, D. C. Although Washington was a new city it was already familiar to President Jefferson. In fact, Jefferson had helped plan the capital's streets and public buildings. Besides being a city planner and architect, the new President was a writer, a scientist, and the inventor of several gadgets and tools.

After his inauguration, Jefferson moved into the Presidential Palace. The Palace was more than a home; it contained offices for the President and some of his staff and advisors. It also included dining and reception rooms, where the President could entertain congressmen. However, President Jefferson did not give many formal parties. This was partly because there was no First Lady; Jefferson's wife had died in 1782. But it was also because Jefferson liked to live in a simple fashion. Once, he showed up for an important meeting wearing old clothes and down-at-the-heels slippers! Neither Washington nor Adams would ever have dressed so casually.

Jefferson was different from the first two Presidents in other ways, too. He disagreed with them about how the country should be run, and about what part a President should play in running it.