Final answer:
Thomas Jefferson encouraged western expansion by 2) supporting the assimilation of indigenous peoples, promoting an agrarian society, and facilitating the Louisiana Purchase to double U.S. territory. His policies aimed to integrate Native Americans into American agricultural life or secure their lands for White settlement, all while maintaining a small government approach.
Step-by-step explanation:
To encourage Western expansion, Thomas Jefferson supported the assimilation of indigenous peoples. Jefferson envisioned the United States as an 'empire of liberty' and believed in supporting an agrarian society. To facilitate this expansion, he endorsed policies that aimed at integrating Native Americans into American agricultural life, either by encouraging them to adopt sedentary, intensive agricultural practices like those of American yeoman farmers or, failing that, persuading them to sell their lands.
This policy served a dual purpose: assimilation was seen as a natural and inevitable process and converting Indigenous peoples to intensive agriculture would free up land for White settlement. The Louisiana Purchase is a prime example of Jefferson's expansionist vision, as it doubled the size of the United States, providing vast new territories for agrarian development and trade.
His policies by large avoided international conflict through diplomacy and he held the belief that a standing army was unnecessary. However, his stance was challenged during his presidency, and he notably engaged in the conflict against the Barbary States. Additionally, Jefferson's approach to fiscal policy involved the elimination of internal taxes and a reduction of federal budget, especially in the military sector.