AP US History question:

With respect to the federal Constitution, the Jeffersonian Republicans are usually characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad construction of the Federalists. To what extent was this characterization of the two parties accurate during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison?

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Jenny Howard

History

5 April, 05:37

AP US History question:

With respect to the federal Constitution, the Jeffersonian Republicans are usually characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad construction of the Federalists. To what extent was this characterization of the two parties accurate during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison?

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Dracula · Answer 1

During the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison, Republicans, such as Jefferson were seen as strict constructionists of the constitution while Federalist, like Madison, were generally looser with their interpretations of the Constitution's literal meaning. While the constructionist ideas were part of what separated the two parties from one another, Jefferson and Madison are both guilty of adhering to these ideas on many occasions. Jefferson writes in a letter to Gideon Granger expressing his ides that the US is too larger to have only one central government, and the states should receive more power, which goes against the fact that the Constitution was created to provide order in the new country. As Madison prepares for office, the citizen of the US were most likely expecting him to be more open to the suggestion in his interpretations of the Constitution. However, the Federalist spoke on the behalf of the entire Federalist party, and a veto on internal improvements, Madison proves that he truly is not a loose constructionist as he party would have preferred him to be.