Essay On Jefferson's Consolidation Of Power Dbq

After the American Revolution, the formation of a new government was precedent. Federalists were afraid of disorder, anarchy, and chaos; the unchecked power of the masses, and sought for the constitution to create a government distant from popular passions. On the other hand, antifederalists were more concerned about the dangers of concentrated power. Equally, the antifederalists opposed the constitution because of the obstacles between the people and the exercised power, which is why federalists supported it. Hamilton was the Leader of the federalist party while Jefferson was the leader of the Republican party. Overtime Jefferson and Maddison created the Democratic-Republican party. Jefferson also created the Declaration of Independence

Ironically, Jefferson owned slaves and even had children with one. The Constitution did not discuss certain topics which later became an issue. Among them was religion in the country; Jefferson believed that the states had the right to specify a religion in which individuals will exercise (doc B). However by the late 18th century, there was religious skepticism. Americans held on to strong religious beliefs but the commitment to organized churches and sects declined. As a matter of fact, some americans, including Jefferson embraced deism. Throughout this period, it was difficult to find volunteers to join the military. In result, Madison and his administration resulted to compulsion which angered many antifederalists. Among them was Daniel Webster who gave a speech to the House of Representatives in 1814. In the speech he discusses how the government had no right to force children to fight a war they had caused and that if they had passed a law that would allow Congress to draft militiamen into the military, then they too have the power to create a dictator (doc D). In this case, Webster was bias because he was a federalists. Not to mention that Jefferson opposed tariffs and during his presidency, he worked to reverse the expenditures, debt, and taxation Washington and Adams had created and even took time to get rid of some- one way he

Jefferson goes on to tell Gideon Granger how America was too large for one single government to run it and how it could never be balanced if they destroyed the state governments , create one government, and introduce monarchal elements (doc A). Gideon Granger even later went on to be a member of Jefferson’s cabinet. Moreover, the nation grew due to the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase was made by Jefferson and he purchased it from Napoleon. Although Livingston and Monroe did not have permission to make treaty, they did so anyways because they feared Napoleon would withdraw the offer. The United States had to pay fifteen million dollars, grant certain exclusive commercial privileges, and had to incorporate Louisiana citizens into the union. Eventually Congress approved of the treaty and it’s agreements and appropriated money to implement it’s provisions. Also, cities grew larger, transportation advanced, and migration occurred. What allowed transportation to advance was the construction of canals and roads. Without canals and roads, manufacturers did not have access to raw materials and send goods to markets. The first set of roads were in NorthWest when cities were organized into equal organized squares, also used to organize the “Federal City”, Washington D.C. However the question was not whether they should be built, but