Was Thomas Jefferson A Strong Anti-Federalist?

Improved Essays
Throughout Thomas Jefferson's entire political career, he focused on the states having more power than the government. He was a major critic of Federalist policies and was a strong supporter of anti-federalists. However, after he became president in 1801, Jefferson began adopting these Federalist policies. He held the agrarian belief that agriculture was the superior way of life, but his actions demonstrated that he wanted federalist policies. Although Thomas Jefferson upheld agrarianism beliefs and had a strong anti-federalist mentality throughout his political career, after he became president he adopted many Federalist policies to provide for "the will of the majority."
Before his presidency, Jefferson demonstrated his anti-federalist

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Jefferson’s first goal as president was to limit the federal government’s power over states and citizens. Most people would agree that if he is changing the power of the federal government then it is making a new course for government. Jefferson and Madison did deal with…

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Jefferson feared that the agrarian republic that he was trying to create was slowly falling apart. He didn’t need to fear though because his ideas would evolve and are still evolving from his original idea today. We still have farming and the idea that we should base our country off of local products. An example of the idea being the same and that is just evolving is in the pictures from document A the pictures show the evolution of the farm.…

    • 245 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    When Thomas Jefferson became President of the United States in 1800, he entered as a Democratic-republican in a federalist government. Jefferson brought about political diversification, and economic change while dealing with foreign and domestic relations. The election of 1800 pitted Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr against each other. Jefferson believed in an agricultural society and small government.…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Around the American Revolution, it was controversial how it should be run .Of these one of these debates was about which government the United States should adopt. Two types of people were involved in this controversy; there were Anti-Federalists and Federalists. The Federalists would rather have a stronger central government while the Anti-Federalists preferred more power to go to the individual states. In order to reach a compromise of this national debate, Roger Sherman, an extremely influential and out-spoken figure in the country’s freedom, held a dinner party.…

    • 1271 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Thomas Jefferson served as the first Democratic Republican leader of the United States beginning in 1801. His goal, to accomplish the Republican Mission, faced multiple challenges. In rough times, he had to enforce decisions that were against his principles of peace, strict construction, and power given to the government. Jefferson altered his philosophy when he battled Tripoli in 1801, purchased Louisiana without approval from the Congress in 1803, and established the Embargo Act of 1807. One of the main principles of a Jeffersonian was peace.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    George Washington’s last wish as president of the United States was for the political system to not be tainted by political parties; however, the Federalists and democratic republicans quickly destroyed any hope of this. Both sides had contrasting political views and steadfastly held their position. The leader of the democratic Republican Party, Thomas Jefferson, was a major advocate of states’ rights and fought venomously against Federalist policies such as the national bank. Yet, when he became president of the United States, his views started to change. Before his presidency, Jefferson was an ardent supporter of states’ rights and restricted government; however, once he became president, he began to use the government’s power for his benefit.…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He was an anti-federalist and in order to reduce the influence of the central government, Jefferson decreased the amount of government employees, lowered Army enlistments, and cut the national debt. During his presidency, Jefferson was faced with foreign affairs every day. It often pushed him towards Federalists policies that negates his personal political philosophy. Jefferson’s is very well spoken and that is one of the reasons he was able to purchase the Louisiana Purchase for $15 million. Jefferson’s ideal agrarian democracy ignores the fact that slaves are the ones to work on the richest farmlands in the Unites States.…

    • 2099 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Jeffersonians were very successful in achieving their goals of economic growth, expansion of land, and reducing military and naval power. The Jeffersonians vetoed the tax on whisky because it was enacted by the Federalist party. The Federalist party to the Jeffersonians were thought of as politicians for the wealthier. The tax on whiskey was a rouse from the federalist to increase their gains and hamper the common folk.…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He did what no one else would do. He gave the people a say, he believed that everyone should be educated, cut off foreign trade, and he did things he didn 't believe he could do. Such as the Louisiana purchase. Jefferson believed if something wasn 't stated in the constitution, that it wasn 't allowed. Purchasing the Louisiana territory, that almost doubled the size of the county was not allowed because it doesn 't say in the constitution otherwise.…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Despite the lack of political segregation at the birth of the constitution, by conclusion of federalist John Adams’ presidency, two distinct parties emerged: the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. These political parties held opposing views on numerous topics including states’ rights, the power of the federal government, and most importantly, the interpretation of the Constitution. While both political parties signed to the laws written in the Constitution, the Jeffersonian Republicans are usually characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad constructionism of the Federalists. When the national government changed from the hold of the Federalists to the hold of the Jeffersonian Republicans during the Revolution…

    • 1130 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In American history, few ideological disagreements have been as important as the divide between Alexander Hamilton 's Federalist Party and Thomas Jefferson 's Democrat-Republicans. Both parties were led by brilliant men whose political arguments would lay the foundation for debates on the nature of government in America that are ever present in our national discourse. Hamilton thought America should drive ahead into the future as an industrial and mercantile powerhouse, whereas Thomas Jefferson felt that America 's greatness lied in the "yeoman farmer" and the agrarian traditions he represented. Both sought the best path forward for the young American nation and both would have a chance to put their theories to the test in their capacities as ministers in the Washington Administration…

    • 1504 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He also believed a national bank would be corrupt and should be avoided. Jefferson thought a strong national government would be dangerous to the people’s protection and security. He thought government needed to be watched closely and cut in its…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One of those people being Thomas Jefferson, who was appointed as the Secretary of State by Washington in 1789. Jefferson’s ideas of how the United States should be ran was complete opposite to Hamilton’s ideas. Jefferson believed in a more weak central government, but strong state governments. He believed in the choices the common person would make, and a more stronger representation of the Constitution. The types of people that agreed with Jefferson were mostly farmers, and those from the South.…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Thomas Jefferson was a strict constructionist which means that every word in the constitution is to be taken at face value and nothing is to be assumed, or more simply put, if it is not in the constitution than the government cannot do it. He attests this in a letter he sent to a senator in 1820 on the matter of the Missouri compromise. His answer to the question can be summarized by the last sentence of the second paragraph of this letter, "This certainly is the exclusive right of every state, which nothing in the Constitution has taken from them and given to the general government." Although seventeen years prior in the midst of his first term as president of the United States he made the biggest purchase of land in American history the Louisiana purchase. When he knew well that there was nothing in the constitution that gave him the right to buy new territory, explore it, and even go beyond the borders of the land.…

    • 1033 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    I honestly don’t feel his intention when he created the Declaration was to make white men look superior to any other gender and race. I feel that Jefferson used the word “Men” as a generalized term for people. I don’t think he would be mad at the fact that women and people of color are creating movement, but at the fact that government is giving us less power and freedom to voice our opinions. The whole point of a new country was to let the people have a voice, and in this time government has most of the power.…

    • 99 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays