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Jefferson, for example, could not immediately abolish Adams' national bank because it would be too drastic a move for someone with his popularity, despite the fact that it was established without the Constitution granting that power to the federal government (Blum). Jefferson's most grand defiance of his strict interpretation of the Constitution was his purchase of the Louisiana Territory. Even though he was not given the power to purchase land in the Constitution, Jefferson couldn't pass up the opportunity to double the nation's size at a time of such large-scale westward movement. After his presidency (1816), Jefferson wrote a letter to Samuel Kercheval (document G) that gave his support for change to the Constitution with change to the times, which is a very far leap from claiming that nothing could be done in the national government without the Constitution granting them the power to do it. Madison is guilty of the same deviations from typical Republican strict constructionist policy. He was attacked by John Randolph (document F) for being too much like a Federalist, particularly when using the national government's power to set tariffs like the one proposed in 1816. This was not the first time Madison was attacked for his pseudo-Federalist policies. He received abundant criticisms…
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First, there are some bad things about Jefferson’s decision to reduce the size and funds of the military. He said that funding an army while the United States wasn’t…
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Before he was elected Thomas Jefferson did not like the idea of a large military, because he believed in Republicanism. During Adams’ presidency and bid for larger armed forces, Jefferson was completely against such a notion, and he did not want a standing army. Jefferson acted against the Barbary States in Africa as shown in Document E. The pirates were boarding American ships in the Mediterranean and stealing their cargo. The pirates were harassing the American shipping industry very greatly. Although Jefferson had reason to attack the pirates, this action directly contradicted his beliefs before his presidency. Jefferson contradicted his own beliefs as well as the Constitution, because he was not legally allowed to declare war against another country without an act of Congress approving such a move.…
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Although Jefferson often showed a strong dislike for the Federalist laws and programs, when he took office he left many of the Federalist programs intact, and except for revoking the excise tax, the Hamiltonian system was mostly left as it was. However, this act of Jefferson’s went against many of the political beliefs held by his party and himself. Jefferson and Hamilton’s philosophies differed greatly in that Jefferson adhered to a weak central government, with most of the power in the hands of the states. He believed that the federal government’s power should be restrained and limited, so that it would not be able to become tyrannical or try and undermine the power of the states and the people.…
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During his first years as president, Jefferson really lived up to his word concerning his domestic policies. Jefferson decided to keep Hamilton's National Bank and debt repayment plan even though he was completely against it. He lowered the national debt from 83 million to 57 million. While in office he also reduced the size of the military. Jefferson was a very intelligent individual and was very wise in his actions. He repealed the Whiskey Tax, which was imposed by the Federalist, but instead of repealing the rest of the acts Adams instated such as the Alien and Sedition Acts, he let them expire. Had he repealed them it probably would have upset the Federalists. As his presidency continued he stuck to his plan, not wavering. For example, when Jefferson was first elected he was not willing to compromise his principals as far as the government power was concerned. He believed that there should be a limit in the central government. This changed after the Louisiana Purchase. By doubling the size of the US with one treaty, he increased the power of the president and central government.…
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When Thomas Jefferson entered office in 1800, he came in with lots of new ideas and goals as the president. Jefferson believed in a smaller central government with stronger state governments. He was a Republican and favored the view of strict construction. He believed that, "Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government " (Document A). Jefferson and his Republican party believed in a government that was going to work for the people and that was going to have them at its best interests. That is why they believed in having stronger state governments, they were closer to home and to the people they were governing, therefore they knew more of what the public needed. Document B also refers to strict construction and Jefferson's beliefs. It talks about the freedoms that were stated in the constitution, mainly, the freedom of religion. Jefferson believes that the federal government should not have any say in dealing with religion of the people. The Republicans believed that any law stated in the Constitution should be strictly followed.…
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Jefferson believed the nation’s strength lay in its agricultural roots. He favored an agrarian nation with most powers reserved for the states. He was very opposed to a strong central authority and believed that the people were the final authority in government. Jefferson also encouraged active support for the French Revolution…
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Thomas Jefferson was an agrarian soul who favored popular rule. He placed his trust in the land and the people who farmed it and desired that America would remain a nation of farmers. He emphasized liberty, democracy, and social welfare and believed that the main purpose of government was to assure freedom of its individual citizens. He had a fear of tyranny and distrusted centralized power, especially from an aristocracy or a moneyed class. Thomas Jefferson favored the spread of power ranging from the federal level to state and local levels. Jefferson stated, “I have never observed men’s honesty to increase with their riches.”…
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During Jefferson’s Presidency two things changed “Jeffersonian Democracy”, the War of 1812 contributed because until the war hawks and a growing desire to obtain Florida and Canada Jefferson did not want to get involved in war with Europe, and the Louisiana Purchase also changed his views because he was very Constitutional and when the treaty for the Louisiana Purchase was presented it was argued to be Constitutional.…
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Jefferson was able to write a world changing Declaration and succeeded greatly. The document itself changed the world and was the key to the 13 colonies separating from Britain. Jefferson was able to write such a powerful document by using Ethos and Pathos to appeal to his audience emotionally and authoritatively. Not only that but the diverse word choice and sentence structure added that much more to the…
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Thomas Jefferson had a strict interpretation of the Constitution, and strongly believed in education. He believed that the educated people should rule and that the central government should have less power. Jefferson was opposed to the opposed to the Bank of the US because he believed it was hurting the common man, but never did anything about it as president. While in office, he stopped internal taxes and shrunk the size of both the army and the navy in order to lessen the federal government. Jefferson was also a firm believer in the protection of civil liberties and the rights of minorities. In his Inaugural Address in 1801, Jefferson states, "…though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful, must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal laws must protect, and to violate would be oppression."…
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In the years prior to Thomas Jefferson's presidency, he was a very vocal critic of a centralized federal government and he was an avid follower of the constitution, yet once he became Commander in Chief he changed his tune towards these issues. The three largest contradictions that stand out amongst his actions were his war with the Barbary pirates, using restrictive economic policies to achieve his goals, and his acquiring of Louisiana. Although these contradictions were for the good of the country, he still went against the convictions that got him elected.…
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Jefferson originally began as a strict state’s rights advocate. He only accepted the Constitution with a guarantee of the Bill of Rights that reversed many Federalists policies, (Doc. A).Jefferson supported the separation of government and religion that can be seen in the Bill of Rights that promised freedom of religion. However as President he did not make major changes in the government.…
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Thomas Jefferson was strongly anti-federalist. While he might have written the Declaration of Independence, he definitely did not author the Constitution. Instead, that document was mainly written by James Madison. Jefferson spoke against a strong federal government and instead advocated states' rights. He feared tyranny of any kind and only recognized the need for a strong, central government in terms of foreign affairs. He felt that all powers given to the National Government were enumerated. If they were not expressly mentioned in the Constitution then they were reserved to the states.…
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Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson both viewed the Constitution differently and in many ways . While Alexander believed in a more loosely Constitution Jefferson believed in a strict Constitution. Hamilton believed in a strong central government, without a strong government how will we protect our country, we need power. Hamilton also thought that the wealthy, well born and educated people should rule. If you aren't educated or don’t have any knowledge about how the government works how will you know what is right for the citizens and country. Jefferson believed in a strict Constitution, he felt as if the national bank would not benefit the society but would hurt us, and that we should pay our debts right away, I do agree with that point because we wouldn’t have such a great debt at this moment. Jefferson believed in a strict Constitution, the government shouldn't over power the citizens, the citizens also need rules to follow the Constitution was written for a reason and for us to follow it. Jefferson was in favor and primarily speaking for the agriculture side of the government, he spoke mostly for the farmers because they didn’t have to rely on anyone, and Hamilton wanted to promote businesses and manufacturing.…
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