Jefferson Outfederalized the Federalists

After the election of 1800, the Democratic-Republican candidate, Thomas Jefferson, was elected as president. Well-known as a supporter of states rights and an agrarian society, Jefferson felt the need to reduce the differences between the two parties and did much to accomplish this through his two terms. Although Jefferson was elected as a Democratic-Republican, through his term he adopted many Federalist’s views in order to do what was best for the common good. In a way, Jefferson did out-federalize the federalists by taking their arguments he felt were strong enough to be supported by the public and were best for the common good.

Jefferson’s biggest action that stood out as a Federalist viewpoint was the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. When presented with the treaty, Jefferson feared that signing treaty was unconstitutional because it wasn’t directly stated in constitution. However, after thinking it over, Jefferson signed the treaty and rationalized for it through implied powers (Moran and Holder 164) and that he had the right under the constitution under the treaty-making powers (Brinkley 202). This went against the Republican view that the federal government only has the rights specifically mentioned in the constitution, and the constitution did not state that the President has the authority to purchase land from other countries. Finally, the Louisiana Purchase used federalist ideas by its vagueness. The treaty did not specifically set up boundaries but simply stated that the purchase was the “same extent” as when France and Spain owned it (Brinkley 202). With this one action, Jefferson went against two of his Republican views; interpreting the constitution as it is written and strong states rights.

Besides the Louisiana Purchase, many other not as important actions were taken that resembled federalist’s ideas. Originally, republicans didn’t want a national bank, but during Jefferson’s term, he allowed the first bank to continue without interference until its contract was up. His reasoning for this, which was in opposition to his view of an agrarian society, was that America was and needed to be more industrialized and as the nation became larger and more powerful, a source of financial union and order was needed. States rights were also weakened as a result of the signing of the Louisiana Purchase treaty. The treaty, along with the idea of implied powers, increased the executive powers, but at the same time decreased the strength of state governments. This went against the Republican view of state’s rights being more important than Federal rights.

While Thomas Jefferson did show many Federalist tendencies, he still strongly supported Democratic-Republican views. Some of these views included his support against a national debt and strong states rights. Although states rights were weakened somewhat in his term, he still abolished the Excise Tax, which he