[133] John Skey Eustace kept  Jefferson informed of the events of the French Revolution.[134]

Secretary of State
See also: First Party System
Thomas Jefferson in 1791 at 48 by Charles Willson Peale
Soon after returning from France, Jefferson accepted Washington's invitation to serve as secretary of state.[135] Pressing issues at this time were the national debt and the permanent location of the capital. He opposed a national debt, preferring that each state retire its own, in contrast to Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who desired consolidation of various states' debts by the federal government.[136] Hamilton also had bold plans to establish the national credit and a national bank, but Jefferson strenuously opposed this and attempted to undermine his agenda, which nearly led Washington to dismiss him from his cabinet. He later left the cabinet voluntarily.[137]
Jefferson's goals were to decrease American dependence on British commerce and to expand commercial trade with France. He sought to weaken Spanish colonialism of the trans-Appalachian West and British control in the North, believing this would aid in the pacification of Native Americans.[138]
The second major issue was the capital's permanent location. 