Thomas Jefferson held fast to his principles and ideals, but the practical reality of leadership forced Jefferson to make decisions in the best interest of the country. When Jefferson was elected, adjustments had to be made to the economy and new laws had to be written in an effort to keep the United States safe. Events would take place in America where Jefferson would have to determine whether to follow his principles or abandon them in domestic affairs. Jefferson was a pacifist at heart and did his best to keep the United States out of foreign conflicts and entanglements. His ideals were peaceful, but he sometimes had to violate them. Jefferson envisioned a farmland where the government would have minimal power over Americans' lives, but that would not be the case. America could use a strong and intelligent leader at this time. When Jefferson was elected president, adjustments had to be made to the economy and new laws had to be developed in an effort to keep the United States safe. When Jefferson first became president, he did not intend to reshape the government to be a Republican government. Jefferson made small reforms to the government so that Republicans and Federalists could coexist amicably. One small reform created by Jefferson was to eliminate the excise tax. Hamilton implemented this tax to help reduce the national debt. But Jefferson considered that this only bred bureaucrats and placed an unnecessary burden on farmers. Eliminating the excise tax costs the federal government about $1 million a year. Besides the excise tax, Jefferson kept the Hamiltonian system intact. After the incident with the American frigate Chesapeake, the American people were united in their outrage against any foreign nation. The reasoning behind the embargo was to keep American ships out of harm's way by not sending them to sea, which would prevent further impressions and incidents like the Chesapeake. This act demonstrated Jefferson's peaceful coercion, but the act made him very unpopular. He believed that this act would keep the United States out of the European war. Another event that challenged Jefferson's personal ideals versus reality was the pirates of the Barbary States of North Africa. Pirates were plundering American ships before Jefferson came to power. The Federalist had paid the pirates not to steal their supplies, but Jefferson refused. The leader of the pirates declared war on the Americans, Jefferson reluctantly sent the ill-equipped navy to Tripoli where fighting continued for four years until a peace plateau was reached where the Americans paid the pirates. $60,000.