Jeffersonian Republicans vs. Fedralists

“With respect to the federal Constitution, the Jeffersonian Republicans are usually characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad constructionism of the Federalist politicians.” The accuracy of this statement can be depicted through the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who demonstrated the differences of the two parties in multiple cases involving the interpretation of the Constitution between 1801 and 1817.
To begin with, Thomas Jefferson and his Republican followers had an entirely different idea for society than the Federalists. He envisioned a nation consisting of independent farmers who would live under a central government that participated very little in their lives. He believed in a stronger state government to protect the individual liberties granted by the Constitution. In his conversation with Presbyterian minister Samuel Miller, Jefferson claimed the Constitution would preside over the government and not even God would interf...