DBQ
APUSH
During the election of 1800, Jefferson ran for the Democratic-Republic party. His philosophy on government had always been to have a strict interpretation of the Constitution along with the strong belief in state rights over a strong central government that his opposing Federalist party wanted. His beliefs on a frugal and limited government, reduced army and navy, and the repeal of taxes were all issues that helped maintain his philosophy of government as well as alter it. One way Thomas Jefferson was able to keep his beliefs in tact was by the repealing of the excise tax. Jefferson’s view on the excise tax of whiskey (Doc A) was that it was an infernal one and will break apart the Union. This excise tax …show more content…
In order to get rid of the Alien and Sedition Acts that, pro federalist, John Adams created, Jefferson developed these resolutions to restore self-government to each state itself. The Compact Theory was the main basis for the Kentucky Resolutions. This theory stated that the individual states were the final judge of the federal governments actions. In Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address, held in Washington D.C (Doc H), he stated, “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.” This shows that no matter what your opinion was, America was still one country with the same principles. Jefferson knew that despite the Federalist opinions, everyone possesses the same equal rights. Not only was he able to change the presidency from a strong Federalist party to a Republic-Democratic party, he also demonstrated new ways to act as president. For example, instead of bowing to guests he introduced the custom of shaking hands with one another. He placed his guests at a round table to show that there was no seat more important than the other. Also, instead of addressing Congress in person, he simply sent a message. He strived to get as far away from acting like a monarch as