After the American Revolution, the formation of a new government was precedent. Federalists were afraid of disorder, anarchy, and chaos; the unchecked power of the masses, and sought for the constitution to create a government distant from popular passions. On the other hand, antifederalists were more concerned about the dangers of concentrated power. Equally, the antifederalists opposed the constitution because of the obstacles between the people and the exercised power, which is why federalists supported it. Hamilton was the Leader of the federalist party while Jefferson was the leader of the Republican party. Overtime Jefferson and Maddison created the Democratic-Republican party. Jefferson also created the Declaration of Independence …show more content…
Ironically, Jefferson owned slaves and even had children with one. The Constitution did not discuss certain topics which later became an issue. Among them was religion in the country; Jefferson believed that the states had the right to specify a religion in which individuals will exercise (doc B). However by the late 18th century, there was religious skepticism. Americans held on to strong religious beliefs but the commitment to organized churches and sects declined. As a matter of fact, some americans, including Jefferson embraced deism. Throughout this period, it was difficult to find volunteers to join the military. In result, Madison and his administration resulted to compulsion which angered many antifederalists. Among them was Daniel Webster who gave a speech to the House of Representatives in 1814. In the speech he discusses how the government had no right to force children to fight a war they had caused and that if they had passed a law that would allow Congress to draft militiamen into the military, then they too have the power to create a dictator (doc D). In this case, Webster was bias because he was a federalists. Not to mention that Jefferson opposed tariffs and during his presidency, he worked to reverse the expenditures, debt, and taxation Washington and Adams had created and even took time to get rid of some- one way he …show more content…
Jefferson goes on to tell Gideon Granger how America was too large for one single government to run it and how it could never be balanced if they destroyed the state governments , create one government, and introduce monarchal elements (doc A). Gideon Granger even later went on to be a member of Jefferson’s cabinet. Moreover, the nation grew due to the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase was made by Jefferson and he purchased it from Napoleon. Although Livingston and Monroe did not have permission to make treaty, they did so anyways because they feared Napoleon would withdraw the offer. The United States had to pay fifteen million dollars, grant certain exclusive commercial privileges, and had to incorporate Louisiana citizens into the union. Eventually Congress approved of the treaty and it’s agreements and appropriated money to implement it’s provisions. Also, cities grew larger, transportation advanced, and migration occurred. What allowed transportation to advance was the construction of canals and roads. Without canals and roads, manufacturers did not have access to raw materials and send goods to markets. The first set of roads were in NorthWest when cities were organized into equal organized squares, also used to organize the “Federal City”, Washington D.C. However the question was not whether they should be built, but
Chapter 9 The Jefferson Era was between 1800 and 1816. It started with The Federalist and Republican Parties fighting an election campaign in 1800. Federalists supported President Adams and Charles Pinckney for vice president. Republicans nominated Thomas Jefferson for president and Aaron Burr as his running mate.
The Constitution was based on Federalist ideas of a strong central government with Hamilton’s economic plan of a national bank and high tariffs.. However, anti-federalist’s leaders, Jefferson and Madison, believed that Hamilton’s economic plan will benefits the affluents. As a result, the anti-federalist disapprove the constitution since it damages their agriculture’s
Building a new government was fraught with internal challenges as the two parties of the early republic started taking shape. The two parties consisted of the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Anti-Federalists were headed up by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who supported small government and states rights, this was very different than that of the federalists, which Alexander Hamilton and John Adams supported. The Anti-Federalists, soon to be known as the Democratic-Republicans, did not like the idea of favoring any position that affected the freedom of the people and the state's ability to operate in ways to support individual freedom. They seen the world through the eyes of the working man, opposed to too much governmental power.
As a leader of the party, Thomas Jefferson upheld general Democratic-Republican values for a majority of his presidency. After being elected in 1800, Jefferson stated, in a letter to one of his future cabinet members, “The true theory of our Constitution is surely the wisest and best that the states are independent as to everything within themselves” (Doc A). Jefferson stated his overall views as traditionally being in favor of state’s independence. He further reinforces his traditional Republican beliefs by expressing that the government should not be involved with religious affairs.
The War of 1812 further divided the country, leaving both parties grasping for their own principles and ideas, whether new or old, in order to sustain themselves during and after the war. Although both political parties prioritized their overarching self-interests above all else, both evolved to what ever necessary extent order to save and strengthen themselves by reviewing constitutional interpretation, the power of the central government, and the economic nature of the United States. Prior to the War of 1812, the argument for loose and strict interpretation between the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans outlined and defined both parties’ political stance; however, as the War of 1812 challenged many traditional political ideologies, both parties’ beliefs altered to fit their goals and interests. On the discussion of war and military preparations, Federalist Daniel Webster berated the proposed bill that called for 40,000 men to be enlisted into the army. Webster argued that such a bill would open the doors to tyranny and threatened the domestic lives of Americans by enforcing a draft (Document D).
The clash of the two ideas of the Federalists views of the constitution were highly against the views that the Democratic-Republicans. Thomas Jefferson believed in a strict construction of the Constitution. He believed people should follow exactly what was stated and allowed in the document. On the other hand, Alexander Hamilton believed in a loose construction of the Constitution, and also the national bank. Members of the Democratic-Republican party generally believed that a strong federal government would weaken the rights of the states and the people and insisted on a strict construction of the Constitution.
Jefferson was one of our Founding Fathers, authored the Declaration of Independence, our third President and a staunch Anti-Federalist. Jefferson eventually joined the Republican party, not to be confused with the Republican party in later times (Blog, 2009). Anti-Federalist did not support the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. In fact, Jefferson only provided written guidance from France during the ratification convention since he was serving as the Minister to France. The Anti-Federalist were really Democratic-Republicans, also known as Jeffersonian Republicans, who believed in strong state and local governments elected with the power to regulate intrastate commerce, provision for public health, safety, and welfare, and the right to
Thomas Jefferson- one of the great American founding fathers with exquisite taste in architecture and French wine, but also known to hold a controversial set of ideas- fought frequently and strongly against the Federalists ideas before he achieved Presidency. Jefferson and the other republican democrats who followed suit held the belief that the powers of the federal government should be left strictly to what is granted to them in the Constitution. Those powers not specifically addressed in the Constitution would then be delegated to the state governments. This is to ensure that the federal government did not have too much power as they believe a country runs best under a form of self-government.
After a fiercely fought revolution, the newly independent American nation struggled to establish a concrete government amidst an influx of opposing ideologies. Loosely tied together by the Articles of Confederation, the thirteen sovereign states were far from united. As growing schisms in American society became apparent, an array of esteemed, prominent American men united in 1787 to form the basis of the United States government: the Constitution. Among the most eminent members of this convention were Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. These men, held to an almost godly stature, defined the future of the nation; but were their intentions as honest as they seemed?
Hamilton interpreted it loosely while Jefferson was strict. This led to an argument about whether the creation of a national bank was constitutional; Hamilton stated it was while Jefferson claimed it wasn’t. Another issue that they clashed
This was an attempt to save his ships and his people. Although Jefferson intended to hurt the other two nations, France and Britain both learned that they didn’t require the United States to trade. Consequently, this resulted in farmers being unable to sell their surplus cornmeal and flour. Agricultural prices and earnings dropped. Over 55,000 American sailors lost their jobs overnight.
In the 1790s, there were two men who had different beliefs regarding how the United States should function. The two men were Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was the leader of the Republican party and Hamilton was the leader of the Federalist party. The political parties were created by Hamilton and Jefferson based on their differences in opinion on how the country should run. For example, Jefferson believed that the government should be self-governed and all of the power should go to the individual states.
During the process of ratifying the constitution, the federalists and anti-federalists had major disagreements on what views and ideas should be presented. Because of all of the disagreements, the two groups were eventually divided and each held their own views on what the constitution should carry. The federalists were a group of led by Alexander Hamilton and were the first political party of the United States. Most of the federalist lived in urban areas.
1. Discuss the ways that Jefferson's presidency betrayed his original vision for the new republic. In what ways did it fulfill that vision? Jefferson’s original vision was to minimize the federal power and reduce the importance of the national government in American life. However, he betrayed that in many ways after being the president.
All these measures have strengthened the power of the federal government at the expense of states. Jefferson and his political allies opposed these reforms. Francophile Jefferson feared that the Bank of the United States would represent too much English influence and he maintained that the Constitution did not give Congress the power to establish a bank. He does not believe that the promotion of manufactured goods is as important as the support of the agrarian base already established. Jefferson judged "those who work in the land" the "chosen people of God. . .