A is poverty b is political reforms
Russia's defeat of France was the turning point in the Napoleonic Wars because it shook the reputation of Napoleon and weakened the hegemony of French in Europe. This war showed that Napoleon could be defeated and was not invincible. The strength of the french army under Napoleon decreased by a huge margin.
Nation is its citizens and Jefferson stresses basically that that is why the people must participate in the government. The government is of the people for the people which means that the government is made up from the citizens of the United States. It is those same citizens that, by their right to vote, choose who will do their will in the government. Precisely because the people choose who will be in the government is the reason why they must be more active as it will decide what policies were going to be pushed.
