Question

What is the difference in the Federalist and the Republicans? What was Jefferson's vision for the nation? What was the impact of westward expansion on Jefferson's presidency?

Answer 1

Federalists favored a loose interpretation of the Constitution and greater power for the federal government. Republicans favored a strict interpretation of the Constitution and more power for the states. Agreed with Jefferson on supporting a national bank also wanted the federal government to have more power.

the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. These rival political factions began by defining themselves in relation to Hamilton’s financial program, a debate that exposed contrasting views of the proper role of the federal government. By championing Hamilton’s bold financial program, Federalists, including President Washington, made clear their intent to use the federal government to stabilize the national economy and overcome the financial problems that had plagued it since the 1780s. Members of the Democratic-Republican opposition, however, deplored the expanded role of the new national government. They argued that the Constitution did not permit the treasury secretary’s expansive program and worried that the new national government had assumed powers it did not rightfully possess. Only on the question of citizenship was their broad agreement: only free, white males who met taxpayer or property qualifications could cast ballots as full citizens of the republic.

Jefferson's vision for the United States was that it would become an agrarian nation, composed of white yeoman farmers who owned their own lands. He viewed European societies, especially Great Britain, as corrupt, controlled by moneyed interests and afflicted with the problems that he saw as endemic in urban settings.

To Jefferson, westward expansion was the key to the nation's health: He believed that a republic depended on an independent, virtuous citizenry for its survival, and that independence and virtue went hand in hand with land ownership, especially the ownership of small farms. Although westward expansion had a negative impact on his presidency.