“Our country is too large to be directed by one single government” - Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was the leader of the strict constructionists. He believed most power should remain with the states and people. According to him, only the powers listed in the constitution were acceptable to be expressed; all others were not legitimate. James Madison was a loose constructionist who believed the Constitution was an outline of the rules and freedoms of the government. He believed this outline may be interpreted as the government saw fit. Loose constructionists believe the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution is a matter of opinion, while strict constructionists think its rules and freedoms should be followed to the letter of the law. The Jeffersonian Republicans believed they were correct in following the constitution to the letter thus they were generally strict constructionists, and, therefore, opposed those who thought otherwise, the loose constructionists. “...no power to prescribe any religious exercise, or to assume authority in religious discipline, has been delegated to the general (federal) government. It must then rest with the states,...” was said by Thomas …show more content…
He is not a strict constructionist; Madison is the opposite. “Laws… must go hand in hand with the human mind”(Madison). In this statement, Madison is saying that laws must modernize as the human mind modernizes. As people get smarter, they figure out new tricks and technology gets more and more sophisticated. Some of this technology could be used to get around the law because a criminal believes that they are not technically breaking any laws. Loose constructionists believe the laws must change to meet the times and also become more sophisticated in order to match the humans’ level of knowledge; this describes James