Thomas Jefferson's Political Beliefs

Jefferson was elected to president in 1801, he would change how the American politics were being done. “Jefferson’s apprehension of an overly strong centralized government led him to advocate a vision of a farmers’ republic led by an agrarian upper class. He hated cities, thinking they were “sores” on the body politic, place where corruption and vice would tarnish the purity and benevolence earned by a farmer who labored in the earth” (Shultz, 2014, p. 153). To accomplish his vision he attempted to change several of the Federalists policies, he expanded the boundaries to allow more westward expansion. “In addition to being the beneficiaries of the country’s first bloodless revolution, the Democratic-Republicans were instrumental in transforming the political culture of America. This new political culture earned the name Jeffersonian Democracy” (Shultz, 2014, p. 153). The Democratic-Republicans campaigned to the grass roots of the country; they had barbecues and clambakes. By doing this they called on the public and made the Federalists look out of touch with the American people. Even though the vote remained limited “white male property owners over the age of 21, the Democratic-Republicans
The first was reducing the size of government. Jefferson thought that the government should be smaller to be personal for the people. Jefferson repealed many Hamilton’s tax plans. “Under Jefferson’s plan, tariffs from trading partners, not internal taxes, would fund government operations. Second, Jefferson cut back the military, maintaining just a small army on the western frontier and a tiny navy that could protect only America’s coast” (Shultz, 2014, p. 154). The second thing was developing the court system. Two important things were developed in the courts, judicial review, which gave the courts the power to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional and the idea that partisanship was not a