Primarily, the Jeffersonian Republicans had a traditional way of viewing things. This meant the Jeffersonian Republicans stuck to the strict non-lenient interpretation of the Constitution. On August 13, 1800, Thomas Jefferson wrote to Gideon Granger, a future member of Jefferson’s cabinet, stating “…it(our country) can never be harmonious and solid while so respectable a portion of its citizens support principles which go directly to a change of the federal constitution..” (Document A) Jefferson believed that the Constitution should remain unchanged and affairs that are not given the power to be regulated by the Congress should be regulated by individual states. “Our country is too large to have its affairs directed by a single government” (Document A) He believed that majority of the legislature of the U.S. must preserve the federal Constitution and states must preserve the rights they are granted. In a letter to Samuel Miller eight years later, he states “Certainly no power to prescribe any religious exercise or to assume authority in religious discipline”(Document B) Jefferson show his support for the Bill of Rights by making it clear that the federal government has no power to change a…
The two main political parties in early America, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, fought many ideological and political battles from 1790 to 1810. Conflicts between these two parties grew out of their opposing ideologies the Democratic-Republicans supported states rights and a strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, whereas the Federalists favored a strong central government and a broader interpretation of the Constitution. However there are more than 3 major topics that I could talk about involving the Federalist and Democratic-Republicans between the years 1789 and 1812. Some of the topics are boring and some of the topics are pretty interesting.…
By both definition and widespread perception the Jeffersonian-Republicans were strict constructionists, meaning they closely followed the framework of the Constitution. On the other hand, the belief was that Federalists, who thought the Constitution was open for interpretation, were loose constructionists. Although both the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison (Democratic-Republicans) mainly supported these theories, they, like other politicians of the time, often made exceptions to their “policies.”…
During the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the two political parties were still somewhat true to their founding ideas, but not completely. The different parties had started to let go of their strong stances and instead begin to take a more, middle of the road viewpoint. The Jeffersonians began to sway from their strict constructionism partly, as they passed things like the 1st Bank of the United States, which went against almost everything the Jeffersonians were for and allowed the government to read-into the constitution. As the Jeffersonians started letting go of their ideals, so did the Federalists.…
Throughout the beginning of the country's political growth, the United States was divided into two basic political parties known as the Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans. While Jefferson and Madison's presidencies were opposed by the Federalists, some of their contributions supported the Federalist Party's beliefs.. While Jefferson and Madison's decisions in office were mainly based of off a strict construction of the constitution, some decisions came from a loose construction. These loose construction decisions can be seen in the Louisiana Purchase and Jefferson and Madison's support of the national bank.…
Jeffersonian Republicans were often portrayed as strict constructionalists and the Federalists were considered broad constructionalists, but this characterization was untrue in many ways. Between 1801 and 1817 their primary beliefs on economics, military, and the judicial branch seemed to change completely.…
The Constitution gave white southern voters a bonus (because of slaves) that helped Jefferson win…
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.…
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.…
The ideal society of Jefferson and his followers varied greatly to the federalists’ ideal society. The Jeffersonian Republicans wanted their society to have a central government that barely controlled the lives of the independent farmers. They preferred to have a strong state government. The sole purpose of the government was to protect one’s liberties that the Constitution granted. Jefferson expresses his ideal society in…
Jefferson didn't out right abandon Republican views. Jefferson's mission was to restore republicanism, to check the growth of government power, and to stop the decline of virute that had set in during Federalist rule. In his inaugural address he stated, "The will of the majority is in all cases to…
Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were two of the most influential brilliant minds of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Although, Jefferson and Hamilton disagreed with each other continually, their different viewpoints developed the two most prominent branches of government leading to the separation of powers between state and central government. Hamilton was a strong outspoken federalist that believed the average people were not intelligent enough to make decisions the government makes, as oppose to Jefferson who believed the government should be ran by the people.…
Jefferson strived to attain an efficient economy, and broaden the country’s territory. Jefferson’s anti-federalist stance determined reduced government spending on the military. He felt that if the government were to be involved in the daily lives of citizens, then they should avoid taxing the people. He cut government spending on the army and navy because he believed that it was illogical to spend money on something that was not apparent of happening. Furthermore, his beliefs of small centralized government initiated the idea that to procure a large military would commence war. By regulating military spending, the government was capable of focusing on other aspects of economic spending. Jefferson felt that government spending on the military…
During the time of the newly born America, many disputed over the way the country should be ran. There were those who favored a federalist government and those who opposed it. George Clinton held a very strong position to why he was antifederalist ultimately believing that a weak central government would allow the voice of the people to be heard better while James Madison favored the federalist government because of the capability of equal representation. Although at first glance the positions these two have seem similar, there are very distinctive rationales to why they had to separate opinions.…
In the 1790s, the United States was burdened by both domestic and foreign affairs. As the new nation began to develop, the relationship with France would fuel foreign affairs and the rise of political parties that would dominate domestic affairs even though the affairs at home were much more significant.…