Through the Presidencies of both Jefferson and Madison, the nation had drastic changes. Each of the Presidents showed their views of being loose constructionists of the Constitution by their actions in office. These Presidents helped further the Republican ideas, like a small central government and the support of the lower class farmers. The powers of the Federalist Party slowly diminished as the Republican Party became the overwhelming majority.
Thomas Jefferson made his inaugural address on March 4, 1801. This speech outlined all of his beliefs, which differed from any prior President. He talked about his thoughts on the power of state government, the freedom of religion and the press, majority rule but the protection of minorities, low government budgets, and the want to reduce federal debt. He also said that he wanted to be trade partners with France and to have amity with them, but under no circumstances did he want to have a formal alliance with any foreign nation. Once Jefferson had become President, he moved into the White House. He was the first President to stay in the White House for each of his terms. The White House was not luxurious, but more of a "village". This is how Jefferson wanted it. Cows grazed in the lawns, hogs ran through the city streets, and the house itself was always littered with "heaps of rubbish". It stayed this way because the federal government was small and he saw no need to make it grow. It was small because they had little to nothing to do, in light of the fact that the state and local government took primary responsibility for maintaining roads and bridges, supervising the local militias, and providing welfare relief for schools.
Also, when Jefferson took office, only six Republicans had ...
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...ish impressments of American seamen and the seizure of cargoes impelled Madison to give in to the pressure. On June 1, 1812, he asked Congress to declare war. It became known as the War of 1812. The young nation was not prepared to fight due to the cut backs on the military. The American forces were beat easily. The British, then, entered Washington and set fire to the White House and the Capitol. The war ended in 1814 with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. The War of 1812 played a key role in unifying the new nation and for ensuring the economic survival of the nation as it continued to expand westward.
Because of the hard work of both Madison and Jefferson, the United States changed from a Federalist society to a Republican society. They helped create the United States as it is today, and they created the first footsteps of interpreting the Constitution loosely.
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.
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.
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."
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were two important men who affected our nations independence and the beginning years of our country. They helped form this nation into a free and sovereign country. Yet, they were different in many aspects they shared a few common features. Both Washington and Jefferson grew up in the southern state of Virginia and like most owned land to grow and harvest crops. In growing up they came from two different class levels of living. The Jefferson family was more famous and richer than Washington’s giving him a greater advantage and opportunity to succeed, especially in higher education. After Jefferson finished regular schooling he was able to attend the College of William and Mary were he studied law. He did so under the teaching of George Wthe who was considered perhaps the greatest teachers of law in Virginia at the time. Washington however was taught by his mom mainly in mathematics and received no higher education. Washington was still knowledgeable and began to put it to use in the army to become as a young British soldier. He interred the army at the young age of nineteen were he began to learn leadership and military strategy which would prove useful in the Revolutionary War to come. Jefferson on the other hand was involved in the laws, courts, and small politics. At the young age of twenty-five Jefferson was elected to the House of Burgesses in Virginia were he served for five years. Washington was known for his great motivational speeches that would rally troops together to prepare for war and lead on to victory. Jefferson was more of a writer not a speaker and by using his skill he wrote and brought forth fresh ideas of independence and freedom.
During his entire life, James Madison, who is one of the founding fathers, contributed many dedications to the States, especially when creating the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. As the fourth president of the U.S, he consciously chose to create a new model of presidential power that he thought would fit better with the system of the separation of powers after seeing “the danger overwrought executive power poses to republican constitutionalism” (Kleinerman). Despite of having such good intention, some of his actions led the country through some significant suffers.
There were many men involved in the establishment of the government, the laws regulating states and people, and individual rights in the construction of the United States of America. Two men stand out as instrumental to our founding principles: Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton.
Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis Works Cited Missing In this report I compare two great historical figures: Abraham Lincoln. the 16th president, steered the Union to victory in the American Civil War and abolished slavery, and was the first and only president of the Confederate States. America, Jefferson Davis. Abraham Lincoln was the President of the Union, and.
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.
Thomas Paine was one of the great supporters of the American Revolution. He was a journalist and used his pen and paper to urge the public to break free from Great Brittan. He wrote anonymously, yet addressed the public as he spoke out about his beliefs. The first pamphlet he published, influencing independence from Brittan, was called Common Sense
“As a boy, Thomas Jefferson’s was shy and often tongue-tied…Preferred the company of books to that of most people.” (Wilmore, 1) These were words to describe the young Jefferson; his childhood would prove to be a key in shaping the man, who through his words would change a nation. Jefferson was born on April 13th 1743, in Shadwell Virginia. During his childhood he would spend 15 hours each day reading and writing, this would prove to make his writing skills at a high level (1). As he grew into an adult he would study law in his home of Virginia at the William and Mary College at Williamsburg (Bottorff, 15). During this time he would become a member of the Whig party and would advocate for the rights and liberties of mankind (Peterson, 1). It was in his childhood and as turned into an adult which he learned how to write and how to express his political views through words. “For Thomas Jefferson, the pen truly was mightier than the sword. From his pen flowed some of the worlds most famous and influential words.” (Wilmore, 1) Truer words could not have been spoken about Jefferson’s because it was through his words which adv...
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.
When Jefferson came into office, he planned to institute the policies of the Democratic-Republicans in domestic affairs. The judicial system had gained a lot of power through the Federalists which forced Jefferson to attempt to shrink their influence. He ultimately prevailed, and even reduce...
As the young colonies of America broke away from their mother country and began to grow and develop into an effective democratic nation, many changes occurred. As the democracy began to grow, two main political parties developed, the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. 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.
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).
They were also known as Jeffersonian presidents. Before becoming president in 1809, James Madison believed in giving power to the national government and advocated for the cause. He also constructed a bill known as the Bill of Rights, in order to protect citizens rights. “Madison constructed the Bill of Rights to guarantee those personal liberties that the majority of the American citizens believed the revolution was fought for-” (LP 234). Madison was elected president in the middle of a big American crisis. He was avid about avoiding war with Britain at all cost, but soon was named the first president of the republic to fight a foreign war, which was known as The War of 1812. James Monroe was elected president in 1816, which started the Era of Good Feeling. The election of Monroe ended the federalist Party, which is one of his biggest accomplishments. President Monroe shared feelings about the Native Americans with former President, Thomas Jefferson. He sent Andrew Jackson on a mission to move Indians away from Florida “authorizing him to use any means necessary to pacify the region” (LP