Jeffersonian Democracy:

Of the People, By the People, For the People

Jeffersonian Democracy is the ideal form of government as envisioned by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, a well-to-do Virginia planter, wrote the Declaration of Independence, a document which not only told the world the reasons that America was declaring independence, but also outlined the purpose of government. Jefferson also wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, Which maintained that religion and government should remain separate. Most of the ideas which are part of Jeffersonian Democracy are not Jefferson's own; rather, these were ideas that he borrowed from such philosophers as Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Plato. However, much of the substance of Jeffersonian Democracy comes from the ideas of the English Philosopher John Locke. Jeffersonian Democracy, based largely on the philosophy of John Locke, stressed the "natural" rights of men, the role of government, and the separation of church and state.

Thomas Jefferson believed that all men possess certain "natural," or fundamental rights; rights which all men are born with; rights that cannot be taken away. These are the "self-evident" truths referred to in the Declaration of Independence: "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."¹ These alone are not all of the natural rights that Jefferson believed in. He carefully worded the Declaration, writing "that among these are" instead of "that these are." One of the natural rights that Jefferson believed in but that was not mentioned in the Declaration is Property. Though the final draft of the Declaration did not mention this or any other natural rights, it did not deny their existence.

Each of the natural rights emphasized a facet of what makes humans human. The right to Life is the most basic. Everyone has the right to live, the right to exist. Liberty and equality are two sides of the same coin. All are entitled to Liberty, or freedom, and equality cannot exist unless all are free. Just as the front of the coin cannot exist without the back, Liberty cannot exist without equality, and vice-versa. The right of the pursuit of Happiness is the right to a meaningful, purposeful existence. The right of Property is linked to both the right of Life and that of the pursuit of Happiness. Property gives a man a means to survive, to live, and gives a man a chance to pursue happiness. These fundamental rights helped to define human existence.

Jeffersonian Democracy also established what the purpose and role of governments are. "That to secure these natural rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever . . . Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government."² This idea comes directly from the philosophy of Locke.

Good government should not be a conflict between sovereign and subject, but a compact between man and man. The ultimate supreme power should not be vested in the scepter of the king, it should remain in the hands of the people. The Community at large has the right to cancel the compact if the government has violated its conditions.³

Ideally, then, under Jeffersonian Democracy, the government is the people, and people is the government. Therefore, if a particular government ceases to work for the good of the people, the people may and ought to change that government or replace it. Governments are established to protect the people's rights using the power they get from the people.

Jefferson himself favored a small, weak central government. To strong a central government, he believed, would trample the very rights it was meant to protect. He believed in a more complete democracy based on mutual trust among men. "I cannot act as if all men are unfaithful because some are so . . . I had rather be the victim of occasional infidelities than relinquish my general confidence in the honesty of man."⁴ The weak central government that Jefferson favored would give more power to the people, thus making a more democratic society.

Just as Jefferson favored a weak central government, he believed that religion had no place in it. A strong advocate of the separation of church and state, Jefferson in 1779 wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. The statute stated that the Virginia government was to favor no one religion, that there would be no official state church, and that taxes collected would not be given to any one religion or church. Jefferson reasoned that it was wrong for a man to give money supporting "opinions which he disbelieves"⁵ and which he has no power to change. So separation of church and state would become part of Jeffersonian Democracy.

There are several key elements to Jeffersonian Democracy. One is the natural rights of men: Life, Liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and property. Another is the purpose and role of government in protecting these rights. Another is the separation of church and state. Jeffersonian Democracy is a form of government in which the people have the power: they are the government, and the government is them.

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