Jefferson and Madison would create the Democratic-Republican political party to be a voice for the common man against the elite Federalist party. The two men fought laws and policies enacted by Washington and Adams when they believed they violated the Constitution and the rights established by the Bill of Rights.
One example of this was Jefferson's writing of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in regard to the Whiskey Tax. Though written anonymously, he suggest the states (the people) were allowed to nullify, or ignore, federal laws that the people did not agree with. He suggest it was in the rights of the people to refuse to pay the whiskey tax.
Jefferson and Madison were both outspoken about their disagreement with the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts by John Adams. Jefferson would overturn the acts after becoming the third president of the US. Madison also stood against John Adams in regard to the "midnight-appointments" which was an expansion of the federal court system. Madison refused to issue the confirmations of the judges causing one to take Madison to court in the famous case, Marbury v. Madison.
Answer:
Dear _______,
We need independence! Britain is making living in the colonies unbearable. I've been trying to keep up with my taxes, but they are just too high. Britain doesn't live under the circumstances we do, they should not be able to tax us unless we have a opinion in the matter.
I also dont understand why we are forbidden to move West, we got all this new land and all these new taxes, and for what? They're is more fertile land there, my plantation could thrive there... We need to make these decisions on our own and not let Britain make them for us.
I do not understand why I had to share my household with a red coat and it was very unpleasant, I had to provide food and water, that I could hardly provide for my family in the first place.
The British have been deciding what we should sacrafice, even though it barely affects them. This is ridiculous! We need to make our own decision. We are the only ones to know the flaws in the parliament we are living by. Please consider the reasoning behind my decision to support the independence from Britain.
sincerely,
(farmer)
April 12, 1861 – May 13, 1865
1987, by Brunel James, who surprisingly had no degree in the medical field
