Apush Dbq 3 Essays

Apush Dbq 3 Essays Apush Dbq 3 Paper Apush Dbq 3 Paper Carson Mayes 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 on whiskey had already caused much trouble during the time of George Washington’s presidency. When Alexander Hamilton first established the tax, farmers in Pennsylvania were not happy. The result was the Whiskey Rebellion. Outraged by the tax they had to pay on whiskey, a group of people in Pennsylvania formed a rebellion to prevent from having to pay any tax collectors. George Washington and his men were able to stop the rebellion quickly and prove to colonists the power of the federal government. Another way Thomas Jefferson portrayed his values as an anti-federalists was his opposition to a National Bank. He thought that all the powers that were not reserved for the federal government in the Constitution were reserved to the States (Doc G). Despite what his opinion was, Alexander Hamilton succeeded in the creation of a National Bank for the better of America’s economy. Jefferson supported his ideas of a Republic government with the creation of the Kentucky Resolutions (Doc A). 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, â€Å"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 possible. Although Jefferson for the most part applied his values to his presidency, there were also times where he grew farther away from these beliefs of his. Before becoming president, Jefferson’s philosophy on the Constitution was to have strict interpretation rather than loose, which allowed it to be amended at any time. By purchasing the Louisiana Territory ( Doc E and F), he was going against his first beliefs on strict interpretation. Nowhere in the Constitution did it state that the United States could seize foreign territory. By purchasing this territory Jefferson had to deal with foreign affairs with both France and Britain. Jefferson went against his earlier philosophy of a small army and navy with the Barbary Coast War (Doc D). During 1805, pirates from North Africa attacked American ships in attempt to take all of their goods on board. Because of this, Jefferson expands the US Navy to prevent any more attacks from happening. This was a major federalist view to expand the army and against Jefferson’s initial view on 3,000 soldiers and 172 officers. The Embargo Act (Doc J) was a low point for Jefferson in his presidency. The cause of this act was Impressment, which is when the British would take Americans from their ships and force them into joining their Navy. The Embargo Act restricted all foreign trade for the United States. This led to a major downfall In America’s economy and ruined New England’s trading system. In the end it proved to be more beneficial for France and England whom we were stopping all trading with. While being in the White House, Jefferson proved himself to both maintain and alter his philosophy of government. With issues of a decreased navy, limited government, and repeal of taxes, Jefferson was able to realize that some of his initial beliefs might not work out when the time came that he would become president. Many of his philosophies were easier said than done. Being on the outside of the White House made his anti-federalists beliefs much more strong than his time spent inside of it. Jefferson may be looked to people as someone who completely altered all of his beliefs about government but in the end he was able to do it for the better of his country.