Democratic Republican Dbq

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After the birth of the United States of America, there evolved a division of leadership split between two political parties: the Federalist Party and the Democratic Republican Party. In 1800, a so-called revolution took place which removed the Federalists from political significance, giving the Democratic Republicans sole control of the government. This single- party era from 1801 through 1817, was known as the Period of Good Feelings. Despite the period’s name, not all Democratic Republicans shared a truly common ideology. With the passage of time and experience, an individual’s ideology would also evolve. The inaccuracies of Democratic Republican characterization became clear during the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. …show more content…
This strict interpretation of the Constitution would not allow for the federal government to make new, or improve old laws which would contradict its terms. Both before and during his presidency, Thomas Jefferson, a founder of the Democratic Republican party, believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution. For example, during his presidential campaign, Jefferson ran as a strict Democratic Republican. In a letter to Gideon Granger, a future member of Jefferson’s cabinet, Jefferson wrote from a pre-presidential point of view (Doc A). In this letter, he passionately discussed his beliefs about the necessity for a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Furthermore, Jefferson supported the rights of individual states, rather than a strong federal government. Much later in his second term as President, Jefferson continued a strict interpretation of the Constitution, when writing a letter to a Presbyterian minister, Samuel Miller (Doc B). In this letter, President Jefferson reassured Miller that the federal government would not, and could not, encroach upon religious freedoms. In fact, President Jefferson claimed that the Constitution did not give him the power to do so anyway. His purpose in writing the minister was to quell fears about excessive powers for the federal government. Thus, in these two …show more content…
At the formation of their party, their actions were those of strict constructionists. However, during their presidencies, each man took a broader view regarding the application of the Constitution. Their actions indicated that their political ideology varied from the typical characterizations of their party. While the Jeffersonian Republicans classically conformed to a strict interpretation of the Constitution, both Jefferson and Madison when president, behaved in ways which contradicted Jeffersonian Republican ideology, and were more closely aligned with Federalist ideology. Thus, the characterization of the two parties were not accurate during the terms of these men’s
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