Strict vs Broad Construction

A detailed Summary of Strict vs Broad Construction

During the period of 1801-1817, the clash of the Republican views on the constitution were argued against the opinions of the Federalist. The Republicans believed in interpreting the constitution strictly, meaning that Congress or the President define the constitution as is- word for word, while the Federalist party held the opinions of broad constructionists, that Congress or the President had the right to interpret the constitution based on connotation. The Jeffersonian Republicans are usually characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to broad constructionism of the Federalists. During the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, this characterization is only true to a certain extent because despite their opposition against broad constructionism, they both found the need to follow the Republican path when stepping up to power as President.

There is proof that Jefferson can be verified as a strict constructionist. In document B, Jefferson states to Samuel Miller that, "I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institution, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises..." Jefferson believed that certainl

James Madison also had the characteristics of a strict constructionist, but when hard times occurred, he found himself in the need of broad constructionism. For instance, The Bank of the United States, which had not been rechartered in 1811, had closed its doors. Without a national bank it was doubly difficult for the nation to pay for the war that had just happened. Instead of dealing with just one central bank, the government had to deal with many. Because there was no bank, there was no one national currency. To deal with these hard economic programs, Madison found himself going back on his word that the bank was unconstitutional. The federal government decided to charter a bank similar to Hamilton's Bank of 1791 with some adjustments. Southern statesmen who had argued against the constitutionality of the old bank now suddenly changed their opinions. Madison signed the new bank bill on April 10, 1816.

In general, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison used broad constructionism only when they felt it was necessary for improvements of bettering the U.S. The characterization of being strict constructionists when Jefferson and Madison were not in a position of high powers. As Jefferson says in document G, "I know a

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Approximate Word count = 829
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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Strict vs Broad Construction

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