Interpreting the Constitution Essay -- essays research papers fc

When the Federalist party was organized in 1791, those people who prefer a strong fundamental governing and a loose constitutional interpretation coagulated and followed the ideals of men such as Alexander Hamilton. The prime(prenominal) opposition political party in the United States was the Republican party, which held power, nationally, between 1801 and 1825. Those who were in favor of states rights and a strict social system of the constitution deteriorate under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson. These Jeffersonian republicans, also known as anti-federalists, believed in strict adherence to the writings of the constitution. They wanted states rights and individual rights, which they believed could only be granted under strict construction of the constitution. Thomas Jefferson, the third president, and throng Madison, his successor, were close friends and lifelong political associates. great regarded as advocates for liberty, Jefferson and Madison believed in the princip les of government and sought to restore the olf spielory property of the revolution of 1776. These republicans spoke out against anti-monarchial attitudes and opposed the aristocratic and elitist attitudes of the federalists (Peterson, 1975). A weaker central government by the people was the goal of the republican party. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, were two presidents who believed in the theory of the republican party, but due to circumstances within the parties and the increasing contraventions between Britain and France abroad, they found it increasingly difficult to act in a manner which coincided with their republican beliefs and at times had to determine their actions.Jeffersons victory in the presidential election is notable because this was the commencement exercise transfer of national authority from political group to another that was realised by peaceful and strictly constitutional means. He began his presidency with a plea for reconciliation and described hi s election as a recuperation of the original intentions of the American Revolution (Ellis, 2000). In his true ideology, Jefferson said that a republic did not require a powerful central government to flourish. In fact, he felt that the health of the nation was inversely comparative to the power of the federal government. ******In Document A, Jefferson writes of the preservation of the constitution and the princ... ... 1801 to 1807, Jeffersons policies initially reflected these Republican priorities, which meant decreasing the power of the federal government and the army and navy, and windup federal taxation as well as placing the national debt on the road to extinction. By 1807, circumstances dictated that Jefferson take some actions which seemed to vary his ideals. From 1808 to 1817, threats to the United Statess strength as a nation and interior(prenominal) and political struggles, forced James Madison to also veer off from the ideology that he initially preached. Both men exhibited a conflict between idealogy and practice of that idealogy. Bibliography1. Ellis, Joseph. J, American Sphinx The Character of Thomas Jefferson.New York vintage Books, 1996.2. Ellis, Joseph. J Maier, Pauline, et al. Thomas Jefferson Genius of Liberty.New York Viking Studio, 2000.3. Ketcham, Ralph. James Madison a Biography.Charlottesville University Press of Virginia, 1990.4. Peterson, Merrill, D. The Portable Thomas Jefferson.New York Penguin Books, 1975. 5. Rutland, Robert A.,ed. James Madison and the American Nation, 1751-1836 An Encyclopedia.New York Random House, 1994