In the beginning of Jefferson ‘s first term as president, Jefferson made it clear that he would do anything to uphold the Republican principles he held dear in his heart. Jefferson believed that the preservation of the Constitution was essential if Americans wanted to live in a “harmonious and solid country” (Doc. A). He believed that part of the preservation of the Constitution included keeping the power within the states, making sure they were independent. This meant that the government had no business meddling with state issues such as religious institutions, doctrines, discipline or exercises (Doc. B). The one of the very few things the federal government was allowed to…
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…
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.…
With respect to the Constitution, Jeffersonian Republicans were casually characterized as strict constructionists who opposed the broad constructionism of the Federalist Party. By the end of John Adams’ presidential administration in 1800, two political parties emerged with opposite philosophical views of the Constitution; to shift once the democratic-republicans took office. When the revolution of 1800 propelled the democratic-republicans into office, Jefferson and Madison found Alexander Hamilton's financial structure to be advantageous. The “necessary and proper” clause of the Constitution was expanded by both Jefferson and Madison to address threats to national security. In order to counter the democratic-republicans, the federalists resorted…
Thomas Jefferson Under the executive branch of the new constitution, Thomas Jefferson was the Secretary of State. When Alexander Hamilton wanted to create a new national bank, Jefferson adamantly spoke against it. He felt it would violate states rights by causing a huge competitor for the state banks, then causing a federal monopoly. Jefferson's argument was that since the Constitution did not say Congress could create a bank they should not be given that power. This is the philosophy of strict construction. Thomas Jefferson's beliefs led to the creation of the political party, Democratic Republicans. They believed in an extremely weak central government, no special privileges for special classes, especially manufacturers, and did not believe in letting every white male the ability to vote, only those intelligent enough to make wise decisions.…
Before Jefferson was elected, he believed the government shouldn’t assume any power unless explicitly provided for in the Constitution. The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase of 828,000 square miles of France’s territory in 1803, and the territory was named Louisiana. The U.S paid the French about 15 million dollars for the territory. There were many questionable remarks made about buying the territory because it was thought to be unconstitutional and he was almost thought of a hypocrite. He did agree that that the Constitution didn’t contain requirements for acquiring the territory, but did anyway because he thought the pros outweighed the cons, though he wasn’t consistent to his original “philosophy” of interpreting the Constitution strictly. Another action considered being “a step in the opposite direction” was the Embargo Act.…
Jefferson's biggest action that stood out as a Federalist viewpoint was the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. When presented with the treaty, Jefferson feared that signing treaty was unconstitutional because it wasn't directly stated in constitution. However, after thinking it over, Jefferson signed the treaty and rationalized for it through implied powers (Moran and Holder 164) and that he had the right under the constitution under the treaty-making powers (Brinkley 202). This went against the Republican view that the federal government only has the rights specifically mentioned in the constitution, and the constitution did not state that the President has the authority to purchase land from other countries. Finally, the Louisiana Purchase used federalist ideas by its vagueness. The treaty did not specifically set up boundaries but simply stated that the purchase was the "same extent" as when France and Spain owned it (Brinkley 202). With this one action, Jefferson went against two of his Republican views; interpreting the constitution as it is written and strong states rights.…
Inaugurated into his presidency in March of 1801, Thomas Jefferson gradually began to stray away from his Democratic-Republican views. Prior to his presidency, Jefferson, along with his Republican followers, practiced ideas including a strict interpretation of the Constitution, a weak central government while obtaining strong state governments, and a separation of powers. When he came to office, he proved to the citizens of the United States that one’s views may easily be swayed when crucial political decisions are needed to be made. Thomas Jefferson contradicted his previous views as a Democratic-Republican by his decisions made through a loose interpretation of the Constitution, his failure to act in the best interest of the majority, and his violation of the separation of powers, proving to the people of the United States that even a highly respected politician can make unethical choices once given the power.…
During the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison (1801-1817), a dual political party government was starting to form. In the Constitution, which was made in 1787, it is portrayed Jeffersonian Republicans as strict constructionists and Federalists as broad ones. It is true that the Democratic-Republicans believed in the strict construction of the constitution and a weaker federal government, thinking that if there were high concentration of central government, it would lead to a loss of individual and state rights. Madison and Jefferson were two members of this political party, with Jefferson being known as the founder and leader of it. The Federalists, on the other hand, believed that a stronger central government was needed and the Articles of Confederation were too weak.…
• 1820 - Missouri Compromise: The legislation prohibited slavery in the newly acquired Louisiana Territory above the 36°30’N latitude line, admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state, and Maine as a free state in order to maintain the balance of slave and free states in the Senate.…
Each party had different views on how the government should be run. The Jeffersonian Republicans believed in strong state governments, a weak central government, and a strict construction of the Constitution. The Federalists opted for a powerful central government with weaker state governments, and a loose interpretation of the Constitution. Throughout the years, the political parties have grown, developed, and even dispersed into totally new factions. Many of the inconsistencies and changes can be noted throughout the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.…
By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Republicans and Federalists had developed into two distinct political parties. The controversy over the constitutionality of the First Bank of the United States gave rise to two different interpretations of the Constitution. While the Jeffersonian Republicans held a strict-constructionist view of the Constitution, the Federalists took on a broad-constructionist view of the Constitution. These became defining characteristics of the two political parties. However, during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison, the desire of one party to dominate over the other caused both parties to stray away from their original philosophies of government and resort to the other party’s principles. Although the Republicans and Federalists largely stayed true to their respective interpretations of the Constitution, they increasingly embraced the other party’s principles to achieve their goals between 1801 to 1817.…
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.”…
The average Dem-Rep had many beliefs in which followed the Constitution completely. Jefferson stood in the Constitution’s corner (Doc A) and believed that anything that wasn’t in there was saved for the states which represented the Dem-Rep parties’ ideals. Just like in the Kentucky resolutions, both came to the conclusion that the federal government had exceeded its constitutional powers and the state shouldn’t accept the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Republicans wanted…
By completing this purchase, Jefferson had to put aside his principles because the allowance for this type of transaction was not expressly listed in the Constitution. Jefferson's philosophical consistency was in question because of his strict interpretation of the Constitution. Many people believed Jefferson were being hypocritical by doing something they surely would have argued against with Alexander Hamilton. There were several effects of Jefferson's decision to go against his own philosophy. It can be argued that his taking liberties with the Constitution in the name of need would lead to future Presidents feeling justified…