The Origins of Jeffersonian Political Ideology - Essay Example

The Origins of Jeffersonian Political Ideology Thomas Jefferson voiced one of the chief concerns of our nation, both historically and today: the fear that an over-empowered centralized government could only encroach upon the individual freedoms of the states and the public. He believed firmly that the federal government should be diffused, that its powers should be limited to those not specifically reserved for the states. Jeffersonian politics favored rule by the assent of the governed, feeling that the corruptibility of powerful positions could too easily lead to rule by a favored aristocratic elite, a view opposing the Federalists, who favored the augmentation of national control. Jefferson’s influence was instrumental from the beginning. Having authored the Declaration of Independence, he objected to the wording of the Constitution on various points, among these that it made no provisions for individual freedoms, that there were no term limits for the chief executive, and that there was no guarantee of state rights. These objections led to the first Ten Amendments, also known as the Bill of Rights. The last of these amendments stated specifically that "all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people," which came to be a focal point for much of Jefferson’s following political career. With the United States so newly founded, there were many matters of governance still to be addressed. One of the first issues to arise involved Alexander Hamilton’s proposed fiscal plans, which involved the creation of a federal currency and banking institute. The creation of this agenda would ultimately give the national government control over the economy, creating a balanced unification throughout the country while at the same time removing the states’ rights of minting their own currency to control inflation. Because this would help centralize the federal government position of authority, Hamilton and his supporters became known as the Federalists. Jefferson fought this plan, fearing that by all power being given to the Capitol, it would negate the system of checks and balances that had been designed. The Bank of the United States was established in 1791 over Jefferson’s objections, but was given a twenty year charter of operation. The charter, when reviewed at that time, was not renewed, primarily for the initial reasons of contention. More important than fiscal matters, however, was the establishing precedent of opposing political parties. Thomas Jefferson, along with James Madison, established the party first dubbed the Anti-Federalists, but soon called the Republican Party, then the Democratic-Republican Party by 1820. In contrast to the Federalist broad interpretation of implied powers, which seemed desperate to jealously guard any and every shred of authority possible, Jeffersonian politics favored a simple minimalist federal government. The two parties seemed to take polar stances on a number of issues: executive against legislative, industry against agriculture, the common man against the elite… a political methodology that has continued through today. While Jefferson fought for the individual’s right to choose his governing representatives, he established something more. A Bi-Party system allowed a voter options, a choice that could indicate dissatisfaction with or preference for one approach over another. Naturally, the Federalists were not going to allow an attack to their agenda without some form of retaliation. The French Revolution was felt by many Americans to be a sympathetic cause to the American Revolution, which the French took as inspiration. Attacking the Federalists lack of support for the French cause and claiming it an undeclared war against the French, the Jeffersonians attacked the national stance in both speech and press. In an effort to silence these criticisms, Congress, in the hands of the Federalists, passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which the Jeffersonians declared to be a violation of the freedom of Press guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. It was an effort not punish publications, claimed the Federalists, but to punish the libel of the federal government through publishing. They cited the Acts as tradition of common law bequeathed from England, only an evolved improvement, as ‘truth’ could legally be used as a defense. Jeffersonians argued that British common law had been modified by a series of legislatures, from local to state, and that therefore there were as many common law statutes as states to decide them… but that there was no federal common law. Jefferson had very strong opinions about the freedom of press. Claiming that the public’s opinion was the basis of the government, he implied that he would sooner see the Second Estate disappear than the Fourth Estate: by which he implies the vital necessity of not only the freedom to report, but also the freedom to criticize. In effort to fight these acts, Jefferson and Madison anonymously co-authored the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, in which they advocate the states’ rights to decide if an act of congress is un-Constitutional. If so, the state had the right to adopt a doctrine of nullification, through which the offending federal law would be suspended within that states boundaries. The Resolutions further clarified the Jeffersonian (or Republican) agenda of supporting state rights over that of a strong federal government, disapproval of a national court system in general, and also opposition to a national bank or navy. The Republican name was being adopted more by this point, as it had both a more plebian appeal to it and also further identified the party with the ongoing struggle in France. These resolutions and party guidelines were soon touted as the “Principles of 1798.” The Alien and Sedition Acts expired before any challenge could bring them before the Supreme Court, yet their unpopularity was a decided contributing factor to the defeat of the Federalists. Coming in second in the electoral college vote in 1796, Thomas Jefferson served as Vice President to John Adams, despite opposing views. The “Revolution of 1800” is how Jefferson refers to his ascendancy to Presidency of the United States by defeating the incumbent, while the Republicans took control of Congress. The Federalist lacked leadership after Hamilton’s death and Adams’ retirement; it continued its decline until ultimately collapsing as a party in 1815. Yet Jefferson found himself in a difficult position. He found himself taking the middle ground between extremists in his own party and the reformation of the Federalist inheritance. Although he was able to repeal the appointment of 16 new judges by Adams, Jefferson found himself unable to repeal many of the acts passed under the Hamilton regime - the Federalists still controlled the Supreme Court and had too much influence in Congress. And while the Republican party continued to gain support, many critics claimed that the principles had been betrayed. These critics banded together into a new faction, calling themselves the “Old Republicans”, and taking upon themselves the duty of safeguarding the original goals of the Jeffersonians. Jefferson soon found more compromises were needed. America was expanding, and coming into conflict with the Native American nations. Jefferson, ever the champion of the individual, had claimed in 1791 that Indians living within state boundaries should be left alone and white settlers encouraged to not encroach upon them. Yet as settlers continued their westward migration, the new areas of Mississippi, Alabama, Ohio and Illinois soon had eight to one population of Caucasian to Native American and Jefferson was forced to begin moving the indigenous peoples out of Georgia using federal troops. Jefferson chose to broadly interpret his powers with the Louisiana Purchase, thereby hoping with it to have a site to relocate the Native Americans. Still claiming to have the common farmer’s need in mind, Jefferson stated that the migration was necessarily to the agrarian economy in that it opened up huge tracts of arable farmland. His program would allow individual ownership of land to the Indians, thereby ‘civilizing’ them through introduction to the Western notion of capitalism. But just as Jefferson was forced to adopt the methods of his opponents, so did the opposition learn to use Jefferson’s own methods against him. While the newspapers were cited as a primary force behind his election, if only for their sheer volume and repetition, the very freedom of the press that Jefferson had fought for was put to the test. James Callender, a reporter Jefferson had once secretly funded, accused Jefferson in the press of keeping a slave named Sally as a concubine. Jefferson, despite personal misgivings, had found his hands tied in the face of social structure as far as slavery was concerned. Popular prejudice and practicality proved too potent, and he remained a life long slave owner. Likewise, on the subject of women’s suffrage, Jefferson stood by his claim that “all men are created equal” but lamely joked that women were too intelligent to be bothered with politics. So while Jefferson realized the justice and voter possibilities through emancipation and suffrage, he was unable to change traditional prejudices in that light. His opponents were all to quick to point out these inherent contradictions. Throughout Jefferson’s career in the political arena, he fought to guarantee the rights of the individual and the rights of the individual states. Feeling that the ideal federal government would be the least energetic, he stated in his Inaugural Address that his goal was to strive for a government that would protect individuals from harm, from each other or outside forces, but would otherwise allow them to regulate personal pursuits. His influence reaches into the civil rights movements of today, be it the abortion issue or federal wire-tapping. Yet he understood the value of compromise when necessary, which , though never a popular decision, is frequently the only agreeable solution. His adoption of the term “Democratic” to the original Republican Party denoted this. But despite compromise, some ideals should never be forsaken: the protection of the common man from the narrow agenda of the elite. May today’s politicians look to him for guidance, and may they likewise consider the best possibilities for the greatest good. Works Cited Agee, Warren K., et al. Introduction to Mass Communications. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Boyd, Eugene. American Federalism, 1776 to 1997: Significant Events. American National Government: Government Division. 1997. 6 January 1997. Democratic-Republican Party (United States). Wikipedia. 2006. 22 February 2006. ESTABLISHING A FEDERAL REPUBLIC - THOMAS JEFFERSON. Library of Congress Exhibition. 2001. 6 February 2001. Post, David G. Jefferson Ascendant. Georgetown University Law Center. 1996. Taylor, John. Tyranny Unmasked. Ed. F. Thornton Miller. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1992. Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of he United States : 1492 - Present. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Read More