Examples Of Thomas Jefferson's Efficacy Of The Constitution

Although the Constitution is recognized as the fundamental framework for the American government, there have been many Americans who have been skeptical about its efficacy. One prime example of this skepticism is reflected in Thomas Jefferson’s proposal of rewriting the Constitution every nineteen years. According to Jefferson, every new generation of leaders should have the ability to construct a constitution more compatible to their generation. Essentially, Jefferson viewed the Constitution as temporary and incapable of adapting to the needs of future generations. Thomas Jefferson’s doubt of the prevalence of the Constitution can be paired to the skepticism that the anti-federalists shared when it was first proposed. Nevertheless, there were other Americans that believed the Constitution would protect the American people consistently from generation to generation. For example, James Madison, like many other federalists, believed firmly in the Constitution and deemed it as a deliberate process that aimed to protect the rights of the individual and promote political stability- not only for their

Disagreements about the appropriate framework for government were predominantly featured between the Federalists and the Anti-federalists. The Federalists proposed that America needed a constitution that promoted a stronger central government that also gave powers to the subnational governments of the states. According to them, this would create a more unified nation that would facilitate law and order. Conversely, the Anti-Federalists opposed the idea of having a stronger central government due to the perpetual fear that a central government could potentially expand its power and eventually take all the powers from the states. They wanted to avoid this kind of government as much as possible, as it reminded them of their experiences under the unitary British