18011817

Between 1801 and 1817 the two parties in the national government of the United States traded sides on the issue of loose construction vs. strict construction of the Constitution because they had also traded sides of the power table. The Democratic-Republicans having gained power seemed to have abandoned their strict constructionist beliefs and adopted a broader perspective. The Federalists having lost power seemed to have dropped the loose construction and adopted strict interpretation. These years show people …

…broke their traditional mold of strict vs. broad constructionists according to their position of power. Democratic-Republicans under Jefferson and Madison used strict interpretations of the constitution instead of the typical broad construction. Similarly, Federalists at this time used broad interpretations of the constitution instead of the typical strict construction. Due to this unpredictable behavior and the similarities to a corrupt government this time period must have been very confusing and frightening for the common citizen