Demcrtcs Vs. Federlsts Dbq Essay

Angela Jong APUSH October 28, 2008 DBQ: The Federalist & Jeffersonian-Democratic Essay Conflict over foreign and domestic policies between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson led to the development of two political parties. Although the Jeffersonian-Democratics were strict constructionist and the Federalists were loose constructionists, both failed to be consistent and chose whichever interpretation that better served their interests at the time. Jefferson originally began as a strict state’s rights advocate. He only accepted the Constitution with a guarantee of the Bill of Rights that reversed many Federalists policies (Doc A). Jefferson supported the separation of government and religion that can be seen in the Bill of Rights that promised freedom of religion. However as President he did not make major changes in the government. With strict constructionist justifications, he chose to keep the central back, a major federalist creation, while repealing the excise tax. (Doc B) An example of strict constructionist policies by the Federalists was the case of Marbury vs. Madison, in which a strict interpretation of the Constitution was used to increase the power of the Supreme Court. However the Jeffersonian-Democratic strict policies were forced to moderation because of foreign affairs. First, the attack by Barbary Pirates on American merchant ships led to the expansion of the American navy to protect them, but Jefferson in turn lowered funding for the army. Second, the French and British conflict caused Napoleon to offer the Louisiana Territory for money used to fund his battles in Europe. Jefferson was torn between his strict interpretation of the Constitution and his democratic ideals, but lucrative idea of doubling the size of America for only 3 cents per acre could not be passed up. Thirdly, as British and French conflict continued, Jefferson enacted the Embargo Act in 1808 in order to secure American rights on the sea while remaining neutral.

However this loose constructionist act came back to hurt America more than it did any other country. (Doc C) Following George Washington’s two-term policy, Jefferson handed down the presidency to a fellow, Democratic- Jeffersonian, James Madison. Because of the problems inherited from Jefferson’s term, the majority of Madison’s decisions consisted of loose constructionist decisions. First was the Non-Intercourse Act. This watered-down version of the Embargo Act served to instigate the War of 1812. Because of the New Englanders dislike for restrictive trade laws, the Federalists party regained a little of their lost popularity. Federalists responded by joining together to propose amendments to the Constitution in the Hartford Convention in 1815 that favored strict constructionists. (Doc E) Also Daniel Webster, a Federalist, argued against expansion of the governmental powers by opposing military conscription. (Doc D) Another loose constructionists act was the Protectionists Tariff of 1816 aimed to promote American manufacturing. It placed a tariff not specified in the constitution and was advocated by the supposedly strict constructionist Thomas Jefferson. (Doc G) However South DemocraticRepublicans argued against due to the unfavorable nature to the South and chose a strict interpretation of the Constitution for justification. (Doc F) Overall, Madison enacted only one significant strict constructionist decision in vetoing governmental funding for infrastructure. (Doc G) Although the Federalists were supposed to be nationalists, Marbury vs. Madison, the Hartford Convention and opposition for military conscription showed their willingness to switch advocacies when it conflicted with their personal interests. The same went applied for the Jeffersonian- Democratic displayed through the actions of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Thomas Jefferson served to expand governmental powers and Madison enacted only one strict constructionist act throughout his presidency. Obviously the political views in the political party did not align well with the decisions followed through by the party members.