How Did Thomas Jefferson Reflect The Ideals Of The Democratic Republicans

974 Words2 Pages

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison served both as the presidents of The United States in the 1800s. Before and when they were running for the presidency they both claimed to be very strong Democratic­ Republicans and they preached the ideals of the democratic republicans very much. However, throughout both of their presidencies, the decisions they made often showed the ideals of their opposing party, the Federalists.Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were false Democratic Republicans, because during their presidencies, many of the choices they made regarding foreign, domestic and economic affairs, strongly showed that they reflected the ideals of the Federalist Party and Alexander Hamilton.

In the issues of foreign affairs, the decisions of Thomas Jefferson made were …show more content…

Many believed this for Thomas Jefferson as shown in Document D, his point of view on the federalists was that he was completely against their ideals (Doc D). However this was completely wrong due to the fact that as soon as he had the opportunity to buy the Louisiana Territory from France he bought it. He took the opportunity due to the fact that he believed it would be in the best interest of the country, but of course many, if not all democratic republicans opposed the purchase, since they believed it was unconstitutional and an expansion of the federal government's power. Thomas Jefferson argument to these accusations was that he claimed that it was constitutional and supported his claim with the federalist idea of loose construction, which was contradicting to his ideals. James Madison was also believed to be a very strong Anti- Federalist, he was one of the drafters of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. As shown in Document C, James Madison's believed that the Federal Government's power was to be limited just it what was stated in the constitution(Doc

Show More
Related

  • Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists

    348 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Anti-Federalist Party, led by Patrick Henry, objected to the constitution. They objected to it for a few basic reasons. Mostly the Anti-Federalists thought that the Constitution created too strong a central government. They felt that the Constitution did not create a Federal government, but a single national government. They were afraid that the power of the states would be lost and that the people would lose their individual rights because a few individuals would take over. They proposed a “Bill of Rights”, to make sure the citizens were protected by the law. They believed that no Bill of Rights would be equal to no check on our government for the people.

    Read More

  • Bill of Rights To Protect From Tyranny

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    Supporters of the Constitution called themselves Federalists, a name referring to a balance of power between the states and the national government. They argued for a federal system as in the Constitution. James Madison claimed that the Constitution was less dangerous that it looked because the separation of powers protected people from tyrannical abuse. The Federalists compile a group of essays, known as The Federalist Papers. In No. 51, Madison insisted that the division of powers and they system of checks an balances would protect Americans from the tyranny of centralized authority. He wrote that opposite motives among government office holders were good, and was one of the advantages of a big government with different demographics. In No. 10, he said that there was no need to fear factions, for not enough power would be given to the faction forming people; thus, they wouldn't become tyrannical. Hamilton, in No. 84, defended the Constitution with the case that the Constitution can be amended by representatives, who are there to represent the citizens' interests.

    Read More

  • Jeffersonian-Republicans

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Jeffersonian-Republicans (also known as the Democratic-Republicans) were opposed to the Federalists from before 1801-1817. Leaders Thomas Jefferson and James Madison created the party in order to oppose the economic and foreign policies of Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Party. The Democratic-Republicans supported the French, whereas the Federalists supported the British. Each party had its set of views. The Federalists supported a loose interpretation of the Constitution, a strong central government, high tariffs, a navy, military spending, a national debt, and a national bank (all ideas of the Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton). The Democratic-Republicans opposed all of the said ideas and fought for states' rights and the citizens to govern the nation. Originally, each of these parties stuck to their own views and ideas, but eventually would accept eachother's views and use them as their own.

    Read More

  • Jeffersonian Republicans

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before 1801, the Jeffersonian Republicans were usually strict constructionists of the constitution. However during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison they had to adopt some Federalist ideas. In many instances, the two parties completely interchanged their views on the construction of the constitution. During that period of time it was difficult to characterize anyone as a member of either the Federalist or Republican party based on how they interpreted the constitution.

    Read More

  • Jefferson and Hamilton

    978 Words  | 2 Pages

    Alexander Hamilton exerted the most influence in the new Federalist Party. He believed that only an enlightened ruling class could produce a stable and effective federal government. The government therefore needed the support of wealthy men. Thomas Jefferson and the Republicans defended more the rights of the common man and an agrarian society with little power from the federal government. His basic principle was "in general I believe the decisions of the people in a body will be more honest and more disinterested than those of wealthy men."

    Read More

  • Jeffersonian Republicans Vs. Federalists

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ter the country as a whole. John Randolph, a Democratic Republican of the time even suggested that the Jeffersonian Republicans were taking on the old Federalism principles during Madison’s term. Document F explains how, “this government created and gave power to Congress to regulate commerce…not to lay a duty but with a steady eye to revenue…”

    Read More

  • Philosophers Of The Federalist Papers

    1120 Words  | 3 Pages

    Philosophers that shaped and influenced the Federalist include Thomas Hobbes, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu and John Locke. These philosophers believed in natural rights and built branches of government that would protect these natural rights. They believed that all men are instinctively selfish individuals and strive for self-preservation. From their viewpoint, balancing mans selfish desires and the desire to safeguard the community would be the ideal form of government for man. These philosophers built their ideas around the theory that too much liberty is bad for society. In order to avoid creating a strong central government comparable to Great B...

    Read More

  • Jefferson And Madison And Federalism

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Adams was the last Federalist president which led to the next 16 years of Thomas Jefferson as president for two terms and James Madison as president for two terms. Jefferson and Madison were members of the Republican Party, which had principles and philosophies that were very different than the views of the Federalists. Jefferson and Madison each abandoned the Republican philosophies for Federalism. Jefferson and Madison took on Federalist views while being President of the United States. However, Jefferson and Madison each picked somewhere to stand their ground and keep some of their Republican views.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Democrat And Republican Parties

    1306 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today's day in age, the Democratic and Republican parties seem to be completely diverse. These two parties have completely opposing views on topics ranging from social issues, health care, tax policy, labor and free trade, foreign policy, crime and capital punishment, energy and environmental issues, and even education. Once upon a time however, these two groups were not as polarized as they have become. Both were once a single party known as the Democratic-Republican Party, formed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in 1791. This sole party favored the idea of a decentralized, democratic government. They despised the idea of the U.S government becoming anything similar to England's monarchy system at the time. They also supported states’ rights as well as the literal and strict interpretation of the U.S Constitution. The group's purpose was to stand against the Federalists who were

    Read More

  • Jeffersonian Era

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the period dating from 1801 to 1817, the United States government was primarily controlled by the Jeffersonian Republican party, whereas the Federalist Party began to slowly fade away from public view. The Jeffersonian Republican party, led by Thomas Jefferson, professed to favor a weak central government through the support of more states' rights, "...that the states are independent... to...themselves...and united as to everything respecting foreign nations." (Document A). The Federalists of the United States were known as the loose constructionists, where if there is something which the constitution does not state, then it should be allowed to be done. The Jeffersonian Republicans were known as strict constructionists for their views towards the constitution that if there is anything that is not in the constitution, then it cannot be done. The Jeffersonian Republican party centered many of their political moves on the basis of creating a strong agricultural society with a weakly centralized government where each of the states have more rights to govern themselves, where the Federalist party believed more strongly on industrializing the nation and creating a strong central government. Even though strict constructionism was the idea behind the Jeffersonian Republican party, both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both have evidence against them which can prove that they were not strict constructionists. This is based on different political moves made by these two presidents which are more towards the Federalist side of things opposed to their own Republican and strict constructionist ideas.

    Read More

  • Alexander Anderson's Cartoon Dbq

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Revolution of 1800 was a turning point for American politics as power peacefully transitioned from the federalist party to the democratic-republican party when Thomas Jefferson, a democratic republican, won the election against John Adams. Adams lost the election because his support decreased after he went against his party’s advice to go to war with France. The French revolution created another divide between federalists and democratic-republicans as the federalists sided with the British and the democratic republicans sided with the French. Along with differences about the French Revolution, the Federalist party had opposing ideas of a strong central government, loose construction of the Constitution, and support of a market economy compared to the democratic republicans who supported strong state

    Read More

  • Jeffersonian Republican Vs. Jefferson-Republican Values

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    With respect to the constitution, the characterization of the two political parties during the 1801-1817 presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison significantly altered as each president spent more time in office trying to ensure peace and order for their infant country. These attempts included exercising rights that staunch Jeffersonian Republicans like Jefferson and Madison originally opposed, due to their fear of a ´monarchised´ federal authority. The Necessary and Proper clause was one right that both presidents had used in desperate times to keep the United States safe from external threats such as the French and British impressment of American ships and internal threats such as the government's ability to pay off the national

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jefferson’s beliefs in local self government created differences between himself and Alexander Hamilton which created the Federalists (Hamilton followers) and the Democrat Republican’s (Jefferson followers).

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Jefferson And Jacksonian Democracy

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Jacksonian democracy and Jeffersonian democracy compared and contrasted to each other. Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson were both democrats, which meant that they believe people should be able to have control over their own government. They believed everything should be based around the rights of the people. Jackson and Jefferson both did not agree with the bank. They both felt

    Read More

  • The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    In opposition to Hamilton?s Federalist Party, Jefferson who believed in strict interpretation of the Constitution. Jefferson anticipated that everything should be done through strict evaluation and a laws should abide by what is written. Although Jefferson was not a Federalist, he was also not an Antifederalist; he was a Democratic-Republican, a composite of the two. Jefferson vindicated that all powers not enumerated by the Constitution are obtained by the States. Issues between the two groups lead to the imperative question: should a strong central government be established or should each individual state have control? The attacks of the succeeding debate and public scurrility led to the Sedition Act. This act prohibited intermingling and conspiracy against the America government and the correspondence of scandalous and malicious writings against the government or its officials, under penalty of a fine or imprisonment. Succeeding the Sedition Act, the Republicans turned to the states arguing that federal government had strode past their powers; the powers delegated to it by the states through the Constitution. Therefore the states acquired the right to repeal the act.

    Read More

More about How Did Thomas Jefferson Reflect The Ideals Of The Democratic Republicans

Open Document