From the time of 1801 to 1817, the Democratic-Republicans were in control of the oval office. Jefferson was the first ever elected Democratic-Republican, and Madison was the second. The ideal image of a Democratic-Republican, or Jeffersonian, was an individual who believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution and had beliefs opposite of the Federalists. The Democratic-Republican Presidents, Jefferson and Madison, interpreted the Constitution strictly; however Jefferson often manipulated his interpretations to be favorable to himself. Thomas Jefferson was the first Democratic-Republican to take the oval office. He often interpreted the Constitution rather strictly, but sometimes interprets it loosely when beneficial. For example, …show more content…
He contributed vastly by drafting the Virginia Plan which influenced the creation of the House of Representatives. Madison, a Democratic-Republican, always interpreted the Constitution strictly. For example, he chose to increase the army of the United States (Doc 4). During the Jefferson administration, however, the American people were used to little activity in the army. This struck some federalists by surprise since many Jeffersonian’s do not believe in a strong central army. Madison was enforcing the Constitutional right to create or supply an army. After the tensions of the Embargo Act ended, Madison had another threat to their economy, the British and French. The British refused to repeal the Order of Council and the French resumed seizing American ships. Because he created a larger army, many people thought of him as an “old Federalist” because he was creating an army (Doc 6). In the beginning, Madison had a weak economy to deal with and two major powers that could defeat him easily. Building an army and supporting the economy were ways that Madison helped to decrease those threats. Also, raising taxes was one way for the federal government to increase revenue. Madison had to create an army and place tariffs in order to defend their economy and their nation. Another example of when Madison interpreted the Constitution strictly was when he vetoed the Internal Improvements Bill. Madison believed that the Constitution never expresses the right to construct roads and waterways (Doc 7). He believed that the power to control the economy does not come with the power to build roads and waterways (Doc 7). This instance shows Madison being a true Democratic-Republican that only wants to pass laws clearly stated in the Constitution. Anything implied he says cannot be part of the success of the Constitution (Doc 7). Another example is when Madison vetoed a bill to put a Protestant Church in the United States