AP US History essay. Document Based Question Essay #4.

With respect to the federal Constitution, the Democratic-Republicans were usually characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad constructionism of the Federalists. As history dictates, this is substantially accurate. In the time frame of 1801-1817, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the Republican presidents of the time, demonstrated the differences of the Republican Party in several aspects involving the interpretation of the Constitution. The Democratic-Republicans believed that the government should follow a strict interpretation …

…in viewpoints held (especially in involving the interpretation of the Constitution) as well as the actions taken by each of the parties. The accuracy of the characterization reflects what each party stood for. Evidently, they were on different grounds on many matters, but that was only because they held different approaches to the same cause. The one thing they had in common was the cause, and that was to build The United States of America.