Skip to main content

What were some of the main disagreements over the meaning of the Constitution, such as the difference between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in...

There were disagreements over the meaning of the Constitution. People like Thomas Jefferson believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution. He believed that you can do only what is specifically mentioned in the Constitution. John Adams believed in a loose view of the Constitution. This meant that it is acceptable to interpret the meaning of the Constitution. With this view, it is acceptable to do anything unless the Constitution specifically says it can’t be done. A strict view could limit the power of the federal government while a loose view could increase its power.


One example to use to highlight these differences was the discussion about having a national bank. John Adams supported this idea while Thomas Jefferson opposed it. Jefferson felt it was not acceptable to create a national bank because the Constitution said nothing about having a national bank. John Adams believed it was acceptable to have a national bank because it wasn’t prohibited by the Constitution.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more