Characterization of Democratic Republicans essays

Characterization of Democratic Republicans essays The Democratic Republicans were almost always characterized as believing in following the strict construction of the constitution. They were opposed to the loose interpretation the Federalists used. The presidencies of Jefferson and Madison proved this characterization to be somewhat accurate. It is true that both Jefferson and Madison supported the ideas of the Democratic Rebublicans but, they also did many things that contradicted them. In Thomas Jefferson's letter to Gideon Granger, Jefferson shows his ideas on how the Constitution should be interpreted and how they oppose that of the Federalists. Jefferson tells Granger that he believes they will be able to obtain a legislature which will preserve states rights. He also states that he disagrees with the Federalists ideas, that would "sink the state governments, consolidate them into one, and monarchise that." He also shows in this letter that he believes the theory of the Constitution is that the states should be in control of everything internal, and the central government should have control only of that which deals with foreign nations. In Jefferson's letter to Samuel Miller, he states that the president of the United States had not been delgated any power regarding religious exercises. This is exactly what a Democratic Republican would believe. They wanted a smaller, weaker central government which gave more power to the states. The longer Jefferson remained in office the more he went against the principles of the Democratic Republicans, he began to realize the importance of a strong central government. This can be seen in his Louisiana Purchase and in the Embargo Act. The Constitution does not specifically empower the federal government to acquire new territory by treaty. Even so, Jefferson purchased Lousiana from Napolean and it came into the United States possession on December 20, 1803. After the purchase Jefferson stated that he "stretched the constituti...