Explain The Enlightenment Ideals Of Jeffersonian Administration

Although the Jeffersonian Administration was defined by the political ideal of republicanism, which encompassed the changing ideas, values, and assumptions within the late 1790s and early nineteenth century, Jefferson still captured and applied ideas that were retained from the American Revolution.Jefferson was able to maintain three key positions throughout his administration. The enlightenment ideal that men, of strong will and intelligence, could govern themselves within the right organization was maintained by the administration through the shrinkage of the federal bureaucracy. By shrinking the federal government, Jefferson believed that the government would have more respect of the individual states and cut debts. British customs of entitled

As a democratic-republican, Jefferson was very supportive of the French Revolution, which embodied the very ideals within the American Revolution.He also fought for a weak federal government, which coincided with the philosophies of Enlightenment thinker, John Locke, who believed that the government was obliged to serve people, by protecting life, liberty, and property. With a weak government or rather a smaller bureaucracy, the government could be controlled by the governed by putting more power into the state’s hands and individualizing the law and order of the United States. Because Jefferson was so confident in the human rationale and the good character of men, the enlightenment ideals fit perfectly into the administration, diverging from a large, monarchial society and revisiting the ideals of the consent of the

Jefferson reflected these concepts by giving more social equality and individual freedom to white male citizens. Jefferson proposed in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal” and in his inaugural address he stated, “though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful, must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal laws must protect, and to violate would be oppression.” Jefferson strongly advocated for the protection of civil liberties and the rights of the minority during his administration by expanding voting rights for white males. Jefferson also opposed internal taxation chose to abolish all internal taxes, while keeping tariffs. By decreasing the size of the army and navy, he eliminated the misuse of the standing army. There was no point in a large militant force because the time of his administration was roughly peaceful towards the beginning. Because Jefferson was an original revolutionary, the concepts prevalent in the revolutionary war, namely British customs were carried through during his