Thomas Jefferson Out-federalized the Federalists
During the time surrounding the ratification of the constitution, Thomas Jefferson was quite possibly the most pronounced and respected Democratic-Republican. His strict opposition of an overly industrious America, coupled with his fear of a tyrannical government, illustrated Jefferson's purely Republican views. However, during his presidency, his actions didn't always mirror his ideals. Turning towards Federalist views to solve some of the major problems occurring during his reign, Jefferson actually ended up "Out-federalizing the Federalists". These Federalist views started to become evident even before Jefferson was elected president. In 1776, he designed and composed a Constitution for the state of Virginia. The plan included an effective system of checks and balances, including a lower house which was to be elected by the people, and a senate which was to be elected by the members of the house. When a different constitution was chosen, his criticisms emulated that of a strict federalist. Jefferson complained that the chosen system lacked a good system of checks. His reasoning was that the senate and house were both chosen by voters, thus making them too alike. This is when Jefferson concluded that the government,
Economy was another important aspect in which Jefferson's strict Republican views began to fade. When soldiers from the British Navy began to desert their posts and join the American Navy, because of the better working conditions and salary, Britain demanded rights to search all American ships for possible "traitors". When an American commander refused to allow Britain to search one of his chips, the British attacked the ship. After this incident, Jefferson decided to pass the Embargo Act, to try and prevent any future incidents that might result in war. The act stated that American merchants were no longer permitted to trade with any European countries. After costly and results to the U.S., he decided that the NonIntercourse Act would be a better movement. This was a revision of the first act, stating that trade would only be cut off from Britain and France. Because of this drastic change in economy, the country had to turn more towards manufactured goods and industry. The desperation for income caused Jefferson to recognize the importance of manufacturing in American when, in the past, he had opposed the idea of an overly industrious economy. In addition to this, it was also determined that in order to maintain a good manufacturing system, tariffs needed
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Approximate Word count = 857
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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