Preview

Democratic Republicans and Federalists' Interpretation of the Constitution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
798 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Democratic Republicans and Federalists' Interpretation of the Constitution
Throughout the period of 1801-1817 there were a couple ways the two parties of Democratic Republican and Federalists extended both strict and loose characterizations of the constitution, that shows the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison were not as much of a stereotype. The Democratic Republicans had many ways of being strict through the constitution and a couple ways of being loose. Along with the Democratic Republicans the Federalists were more strict than loose when it came to the constitution and together both the Democratic Republicans and Federalists shows hoe Jefferson and Madison were not much of a stereotype of other presidents.

To begin, the first document was from Jefferson to Gideon Granger in 1800. Jefferson explains that the states should not be granted the given powers to the Federal government in the constitution and that states should govern themselves. Jefferson wrote this document because he believed that the Federal governments power should be limited. This showed a strict interpretation of the Democratic Republicans interpretation of the constitution because Jefferson's opinion of how much power the Federal government had was very strict. The next document, Jefferson wrote to Samuel Miller in 1808 showing his support for religious freedom and how the Federal government should not be able to tell the people which religion to be a part of. This was an example of the strict Democratic Republicans interpretation of the constitution because Jefferson again was strict on what decisions the Federal government can make and what they can't make the people do. The message Madison wrote to congress to veto an Internal Improvement Bill in 1817 which explains how Madison is against the internal improvements. His veto of the bill supports a strict interpretation of the constitution since Madison was strict on how he was against the bill. These documents showed how the Democratic Republicans were strict with the interpretation of the constitution.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Federalist party was an American political party from 1792 to 1816. The Democratic-Republican party was founded in 1792 by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans viewed society differently. Being they viewed society in a way to help people individually or help them as a whole. Both political groups viewed many key issues differently that played a role in 1792 to 1816. The Democratic-Republicans and Federalist were facing economic issues, government power and foreign affairs. However, the Democratic-Republicans’ idea was more agreeable than the Federalists being they believed in a more prosperous republic by helping those in need than helping one group of people. People living during those times did not like the living…

    • 990 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    DBQ 2

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages

    During the period of 1801-1817, Democratic-Republicans and Federalists had different views of the Constitution; strict interpretation and then loose interpretation. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were two Democratic-Republican presidents who viewed the Constitution strictly. However, Jefferson would sometimes adopt federalist practices and loosely interpret the Constitution. The federalists during the Hartford Convention viewed the Constitution super strictly; especially many objectives of the War of 1812 were unconstitutional. Throughout 1801-1817, Jefferson had both strict and loose interpretations of the Constitution, as did federalists.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By 1817 the great American experiment was in full swing. America was developing into an effective democratic nation. However as the democracy continued to grow, two opposing political parties developed, the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. The Jeffersonian Republicans believed in strong state governments, a weak central government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. The Federalists saw it differently. They opted for a powerful central government with weaker state governments, and a loose interpretation of the Constitution. The seemingly solid divide between Federalist and Republican would begin to blur during the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. For, neither Republican president was able lead the nation with purely republican ideals.…

    • 1211 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first three Republican presidents, Thomas Jefferson (1801–09), James Madison (1809–17), and James Monroe (1817–25) were all wealthy, aristocratic southern planters; all three shared the same liberal political philosophy (Brown, 2012). When Thomas Jefferson assumed the presidency in 1800 he “established close ties with both houses of congress”. Jefferson was careful to only nominate individuals who support his programs in an effort to limit in fighting. Jefferson practice political moderation, not removing all Federalist from the government post but instead hoping to convert some to the Republican Party (Divine et al., 2013).…

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The different biased policies of which Federalists believed in interpreting the Constitution broadly, while Jeffersonian Republicans (Anti-Feds) believed it should be interpreted strictly, continued through the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. However, throughout both of their terms, both parties eventually “switched” their ideals, and followed the other party’s belief. “Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a singled government” (Doc. A) is a letter from Jefferson to Granger, then the complete opposite is written in Doc F, where Randolph talks about how the J. Republicans abandon their original principles. This is just one example of how later the two parties ideals were “switched.” Actions such as the Louisiana Purchase, the Embargo Act, and the establishment of the Second National Bank show this.…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With respect to the federal Constitution, the Democratic-Republicans were usually characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad constructionism of the Federalists. As history dictates, this is substantially accurate. In the time frame of 1801-1817, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the Republican presidents of the time, demonstrated the differences of the Republican Party in several aspects involving the interpretation of the Constitution. The Democratic-Republicans believed that the government should follow a strict interpretation of the Constitution and held the idea that this would allow honest representation of the people and prevent government corruption. However, the Federalists were firm believers in the production of a strong central government and a broad interpretation of the Constitution.…

    • 1140 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the years of 1801-1817 the Democratic-Republicans held back on their strict views of the constitution but did hold true to some of their basic beliefs. This can be seen during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. Before being elected president, in a letter to one of his future cabinet members, Gideon Granger, Jefferson explained that, "the country was too large" to be "directed by a single government" (A). Jefferson also stated that it was best for the nation if the "states are independent" (A). Jefferson did not believe that the federal government should hold the most power in the nation and feared the birth of a monarchy. This letter demonstrates that Jefferson was true to his beliefs during this time in that he…

    • 1427 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    History DBQ

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Federalist and Dem-Reps parties constantly used to debate their views of government. The Dem-Reps were argued against Federalists beliefs that were unconstitutional as shown in Document D , Thomas Jefferson stated the Federalist National Bank unconstitutional and Document C James Madison (Jefferson’s Dem-Rep assistant) the “Virginia Resolutions” ruled that limited liberties was unconstitutional. Thomas Jefferson though a Dem-Rep constantly contradicted his own views with his various actions when he felt they were necessary .Although Dem-Reps had a strict interpretation of the constitution it neared toward a loose interpretation during from Jefferson and Madison’s actions , these actions included attacking the Barbary Pirates, the Embargo Act , and the Louisiana Purchases.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During Jefferson’s presidency, he implemented an embargo that required a strong central government to enforce.(Doc F) As a result of the embargo, manufacturing grew more rapidly under Jefferson than that of the federalist leader. With the band of trade, America became dependent on nation made products which helped grow the manufacturing industry drastically. By 1812, John Adams began to approve of the two Republican presidents’ restoration of the taxes and the Navy.(Doc G) Jefferson had restored taxes while he held office, while Madison worked on building back up the Navy. Even though the Founding Fathers were both finding a moderate ground, others were not adjusting. During both presidencies, the tariffs kept and enforced were disliked by some Republicans. Southern Democratic-Republican farmers rejected the protective tariff created by Madison because it lead to higher prices.(Doc H) These tariffs were set by Hamilton, and enhanced by Republican…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1787 when the Constitution was created it caused many people to start a grand debate. Of course, there were people that supported the constitution and people that were afraid of the constitution. The Federalists and the Anti-Federalists created documents that are within the Constitution that have shaped United States political parties. The Federalists supported a strong central government because the Articles of Confederation didn’t have strong national power, and was very restrictive.A reason why The Federalist wanted to change the constitution was to add people’s opinion into the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists supported a strong state government because they believed that a strong national government would cause a monarch and they were afraid of who will have the power.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1998 Dbq Essay

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Although Republicans and Federalists were characterized as having particular views towards the implementation of the Constitution, the Jefferson and Madison presidencies prove that even though virtually they believe one thing, realistically they could very possibly act another way.…

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hearing about political parties, Washington was not too keen on the idea. Conversely, he was part of the uprising of the first two political parties. Federalists and Democratic-Republicans, previously named anti-federalists, were the two different political organizations. The first two parties to evolve were very different regarding beliefs of the common people, views of the government, their stances on the foreign policy, and ways to manage finances.…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1998 dbq

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages

    •“With respect to the federal Constitution, the Jeffersonian Republicans are usually characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad constructionism of the Federalists. To what extent was this characterization of the two parties accurate during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison?…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the early days of the United States of America when the country was beginning to grow under the newly ratified Constitution, there were two main political parties in existence, the Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans. From the time period of 1801-1817, the two presidents that were elected to rule the U.S. were Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Both Jefferson and Madison were Jeffersonian Republicans who were characterized as strict-constructionists in respect to the federal constitution before they each took the office of the presidency, but when they took office the public found out that Jefferson and Madison's previous characterizations had not been very accurate when, as president, they began to act like the opposite of what they originally believed in.…

    • 1158 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The structures and protections of the US Constitution have a great deal to do with “the good life”. I believe (parts of) the Constitution was written to protect our wealth and keep the ongoing struggle to become rich a reality for all and is also an essential part of the government during its early stages as well as today.…

    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays