Essay on Interpreting the Constitution - 1872 Words

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;When the Federalist party was organized in 1791, those people who favored a strong central government and a loose constitutional interpretation coagulated and followed the ideals of men such as Alexander Hamilton. The first opposition political party in the United States was the Republican party, which held power, nationally, between 1801 and 1825. Those who were in favor of states rights and a strict construction of the constitution fell under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson. These Jeffersonian republicans, also known as anti-federalists, believed in strict adherence to the writings of the constitution. They wanted state’s rights and individual rights, which they believed could only be granted under†¦show more content†¦nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;From early times in his public career, Jefferson was the subject of attacks on religious grounds. Although he kept his opinions regarding religion very much to himself, and considered this a very private concern his insistence of the complete separation of church and state was well-known. In a now famous letter to Danbury Baptists, Thomas Jefferson wrote â€Å"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his god...their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; thus building a wall of separation between church and state.† This letter affirmed Jefferson’s belief that church and state should be separated and includes the celebrated phrase, â€Å"a wall of eternal separation† (Maier, 2000). His views on religion are also expressed in Document B******, Jefferson states, â€Å"I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines,Show MoreRelatedInterpreting the Constitution1645 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Ever since its inception, one of the High Court’s primary duties has been to interpret the Australian Constitution. There have been many methodologies used to do so and many schools of thought (have been adopted by different judges) in approximately the last hundred years, but so far there still isn’t one consistent and cohesive way of interpretation . In this essay three types of options or methodologies that have been more commonly used by High Court judges will be discussed. 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