From early in Thomas Jefferson's career, he was a huge backer of state's rights. He criticized Alexander Hamilton's policies when it came to matters of how to run the state government. However after Jefferson was elected president he began to alter his thoughts and philosophy on state's rights. In the beginning it is evident that Jefferson has a strong opposition to Federal power and believed in a strict constitution. However as time progressed onward he begins to abuse the power he was given and goes outside the constitution. .
Before Jefferson entered the presidency he was a large state's rights activist, he believes that the large federal government should be given as little power as possible. He believed that , if left unchecked, could turn into a tyrannical monarchy. He feared that after a war of independence against Britain it would soon fall under a similar tyrannical king. In the beginning several laws were passed that Jefferson did not agree with, one of those being the Excise law. He believed this law would further be detrimental to the state of the Union. He believed the law to be unconstitutional. Jefferson abided strictly by the Constitution during the first few years of his presidency. He believed that the the federal government's powers should be extremely limited and the states should receive the remaining power. Before he became elected he was a huge proponent of states rights and a critic of the Federalists policies. .
After Jefferson was elected to office, he adjusted his thought structure of government. As president, Jefferson acted outside the powers of the executive branch on numerous occasions. One of those occasions was the Louisiana Purchase. In this situation Jefferson demonstrated a disregard for the powers of the executive branch and went around the Constitution. Jefferson knew that he did not have the authority to engage in a deal like that with France. However he believed it to be his duty to risk it for the future of the United States.
