DBQ Jeffersonian vs. Federalists

In the early 19th century the two dominant political parties, the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists, had many opposing beliefs. With respect to the federal constitution, the Jeffersonian Republicans were viewed as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad and lenient constructionism of the Federalists. The Jeffersonian Republicans were supported by commoners and the middle class. In general, they favored limiting the power of the national government, they believed that farming should serve as the backbone of the economy based on agriculture, and they supported the cause of the French Revolution. Contrary to such beliefs were those of the Federalists who were supported by the wealthy and aristocrats. Federalists, who

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

By 1817 the great American experiment was in full swing. America was developing into an effective democratic nation. However as the democracy continued to grow, two opposing political parties developed, the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. The Jeffersonian Republicans believed in strong state governments, a weak central government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. The Federalists saw it differently. They opted for a powerful central government with weaker state governments, and a loose interpretation of the Constitution. The seemingly solid divide between Federalist and Republican would begin to blur during the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. For, neither Republican president was able lead

The passing of the Embargo Act in 1807 banned all trade with European nations during the Napoleonic Wars in an attempt for the United States to steer clear of war and to prove to the European Nations that American goods were essential to their economies. Alexander Anderson's cartoon, drawn one year after the bill was passed, shows how the American people were affected by the Embargo Act. They resorted to smuggling goods in order to make money during the economic depression caused by the act. After Jefferson's poor decision with the Embargo Act, his party members began to loose faith in him and his Federalist opponents gained a great amount of popularity. By refusing to trade, the United States experienced the bad aspects of war with none of the potential gains through the signing of treaties. After the Embargo Act, the American citizens begin to

In 1787, the delegates at the continental congress were all federalists. However, at the end of John Adams’ role as president, two separate political parties with different interpretations of the constitution developed: The Democratic-Republicans (also known as the Jeffersonian-Republicans) and the federalists. During the 1800s, there were two main political parties: the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. The Jeffersonian Republicans followed a strict interpretation of the constitution and the federalists followed a loose interpretation. However, during the presidencies of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, the two Parties abandoned their original beliefs. The Federalists, including Madison, started to interpret the constitution loosely and the Republicans, who followed Thomas Jefferson, interpreted the constitution strictly. Both changed their political positions

“In spite of the founders’ fears, two major-political factions – the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists were formed even before the Constitution was ratified.” Sidlow, 2015, P 143) Federalists wanted stronger national government and Anti-Federalist (Jefferson Republicans) wanted states’ rights and feared government could become too powerful. In the election of 1796 was the first time candidates from different political party systems held strongly opposed party principles and this time period defined political life as we know it. For the next twenty years the Jefferson Republicans dominated American Politics. In the 1820’s the Jefferson Republicans split into two groups, supporters of Andrews Jackson called their party the Democrats, and the other group called themselves the National Republican Party (Whig Party). During the 1840’s and 1850’s Democrats and Whigs competed for the White House and the two party system fully emerged

The concept of theory versus reality is a constant in everyday life. Every person has experienced a situation in which the idea in their head was much better than the outcome. All actions have consequences, and sometimes those consequences are worse than others. In the case of the Federalists vs. The Anti-Federalists, was the drafting of the Constitution actually worth it in the end? When the colonists first came over seas from Great Britain there was one thing that was vastly agreed on—a change in how government works and runs was necessary for the future of America. Two major groups eventually formed behind this way of thinking, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists were under the impression that the formation of a constitution and a strong federal government was needed. On the opposite political end there were The Anti-Federalists, were opposed to the idea of a constitution because they worried that the government and the people running it would become too corrupt and powerful. They also believed that a smaller central government was needed with larger governments at the state levels. This smaller central government would be similar to what was formed under the Articles of Confederation. Both sides bring very good arguments, and it is impossible to truly know whether one side’s plan of government would have been better than the other. But when looking at the facts of where our country came from, and where our country is

The origins of the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties can be traced back to the early 1790s. Initially, the Federalists, or broad constructionists, favored the growth of federal power and a strong central government. The Federalists promulgated a loose interpretation of the Constitution, which meant that they believed that the government could do anything by the implied powers of the Constitution or that congress had the right to interpret the Constitution based on connotation. On the contrary, the Democratic-Republicans favored the protection of states’ rights and the strict containment of federal power. The Democratic-Republicans were strict constructionists and they

In document A, prior to his presidency, he writes about his confidence in the ideas of the preserving the constitution in a conservative manner and he states that the Federalists have failed to follow the Constitution accurately and the way it should have been followed. He signifies fact that the Federalists do not follow the “true theory of our Constitution” which is that the states are to be independent as to everything within themselves, and all foreign issues shall remain federal.

The Anti-Federalist put up a long and hard fight, however, they were not as organized as the Federalists. While the Anti- Federalist had great concerns about the Constitution and National government, the Federalist had good responses to combat these concerns. The Federalist were and for the Constitution and feel the Article of Confederation were not worth ratifying, these should be scrapped altogether. They felt that the Articles limited the power of congress, because congress had to request cooperation from the states. Unlike the Anti-Federalist, the Federalist organized quickly, had ratifying conventions, and wrote the Federalist papers to rebut the Anti- Federalist arguments.

The Anti-Federalist party was made up of people who, for the most part, lived in the country. They were opposed to developing a federal government, and they did not want to ratify the Constitution, which, they claimed, threatened each free person’s liberites, until the authors included the Bill of Rights. (This granted individual rights of citizens. The Anti-Federalists wanted to write down these so that they could not be taken away from the people by the government like England had done.) Instead, they wanted the state governments to keep the power to prevent monarchies and dictatorships. Famous members of this party were Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, Mercy Otis Warren, George Mason, Richard Henry Lee, and James Monroe. They favored the Articles of Confederation. However, the Articles of Confederation had a few flaws: if a law was to pass, it would need a majority rule (9/13); it lacked a court system (nationally); and it was missing an executive branch. The Bill of Rights was appreciated because they wanted to make sure that individual rights could not be taken away. The Anti-Federalists may not have been a group that agreed with one another all the time, but as their opinions varied, more rights were thought of and protected. For example, one part of the group held the view that the sovereignty of states could be endangered

During the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison Jeffersonian republicans opted for a posse interpretation of the constitution and the Federalists believed in a more strict interpretation of the constitution. The reasons why Jeffersonian republicans have been seen as being so strict is because during the 1800′s, Jeffersonian Republicans believed that the authority of the Federal government was based on a strict constitution. This means that they believed what was stated in the constitution was to be strictly followed and there was little to no room for interpretations. The Federalists believed in a loose and broader interpretation of the constitution. They easily made decision that were not supported by the constitution which granted the government

In the early 1800s, a new nation, the United States of America, was finding an identity for itself. It had grey areas including expansion, interpretation of the Constitution, foreign policy, and conflict regarding sectionalism. These problems led to multiple events including the following: the Louisiana Purchase, the Embargo Act of 1807, and the War of 1812. During the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison, the Constitution was the main conflict of the republicans and Federalists. Jefferson’s republicans had opposite views than those of Federalists regarding the Constitution, but they changed their views during events such as the Louisiana Purchase. Both Jefferson and Madison were strict constructionists, and Federalists were loose interpreters,

Thomas Jefferson- one of the great American founding fathers with exquisite taste in architecture and French wine, but who also held 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. While on the other corner of the ring, the Federalists

     When the Federalist party was organized in 1791, those people who favored a strong central government and a loose constitutional interpretation coagulated and followed the ideals of men such as Alexander Hamilton. The first 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 construction of the constitution fell 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 state’s rights and individual rights, which they believed could only be granted under