Jefferson Vs. Madison

During the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison, Republicans, such as Jefferson were seen as strict constructionists of the Constitution while Federalists, 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 not adhering to these ideas on many occasions. Jefferson writes in a letter to Gideon Granger expressing his idea that the United States is too large to have only one central government, and the states should receive more power, which goes against the fact that the Constitution was created in order to unite a new country. Also, when passing the Embargo Act, Jefferson demonstrates the federal power over the people, which goes against his Republican belief of allowing the states to have more power. As Madison prepares for his term in office, the citizens of the United States were most likely expecting him to be more open to suggestion in his interpretations of the Constitution. However, during a speech by Daniel Webster, a Federalist speaking on behalf of the entire Federalist Party, and a veto on internal improvements, Madison proves that he truly is not a loose constructionist as his party would have preferred him to be. Both Madison and Jefferson are guilty of frequently going against the general ideas of their parties in order to meet their needs at a certain time.

In Jefferson’s letter to Gideon Granger, a future member of his cabinet, he speaks of giving the states more power, which goes against the reasoning behind the drafting of the Constitution; to unite a new country. As a true Republican, Jefferson should have stuck close to the Constitution and remembered that its purpose was to have one central government versus many smaller state governments. Although Republicans preferred more power to the states, as President, Jefferson should have kept the county’s best idea in mind and tried to keep the national government strong. Jefferson also comes across as very hypocritical in this letter by trying to dismantle the government he created and fought for during the drafting of the Constitution. In this letter, Jefferson is guilty of trying to allow his own vision for the country to come through rather than keeping the strict constructionist ideas of his party in mind and supporting the Constitution even if it called for a strong national government.

The passing of the Embargo Act in 1807 banned all trade with European nations during the Napoleonic Wars in an attempt for the United States to steer clear of war and to prove to the European Nations that American goods were essential to their economies. Alexander Anderson’s cartoon, drawn one year after the bill was passed, shows how the American people were affected by the Embargo Act. They resorted to smuggling goods in order to make money during the economic depression caused by the act. After Jefferson’s poor decision with the Embargo Act, his party members began to loose faith in him and his Federalist opponents gained a great amount of popularity. By refusing to trade, the United States experienced the bad aspects of war with none of the potential gains through the signing of treaties. After the Embargo Act, the American citizens begin to loose faith in Jefferson as president and a once united country begins to divide. Perhaps if Jefferson has kept the peoples’ best interests in mind and not approved the Embargo Act, his followers would never have lost faith in him and kept trusting his decisions.

As Jefferson left office and Madison prepared for his term, the people were most likely expecting him to be looser in his understandings regarding the Constitution. As Jefferson was guilty of going against the ideas of his