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According to Jefferson, in his First Inaugural Address, what is the sacred principle of American constitutional government?

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Thomas Jefferson made his First Inaugural Address on March 4 1801 after being elected the third president of the United States. According to his speech, the sacred principle of the government was the notion of majority rule:

"All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression."

It is important to put this idea into its historical context. Jefferson's election as president came after one of the closest elections in American history, defined by smear campaigns and propaganda, between the Republicans and the Federalists. As a Republican, Jefferson advocated a government where people's individual liberties were protected. The Federalists, on the other hand, wanted the country to be governed by a strong federal government (hence the name, Federalist). Jefferson's speech, then, was an attempt to heal this political rift and unite the country under common principles, like that of majority rule where the rights of everybody mattered, regardless of political allegiance. This principle was so influential that it continues to feature in modern democracies today.

Answer

In Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address, he speaks of a sacred principle of American constitutional government. Jefferson's personal values, as well as those of the founding fathers, can be seen reflected in this statement. Jefferson was a believer in Enlightenment ideas like the three natural rights and the duty of the government to protect the rights of its citizens. In his First Inaugural Address, Jefferson states,

All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression. Let us, then, fellow-citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things. And let us reflect that, having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions.

Through this statement, Jefferson makes it clear that in a democratic society, majority rules. He also states, however, that those who are not in the majority still have rights which must be respected and protected. He further points out that although there are political differences, Americans can unite around the fact that it is important to protect the rights of all citizens and to respect opposing political opinions. He makes the comparison to religious intolerance and how it has been banished from the United States, and he warns that little will have been gained if political intolerance is permitted.

Thomas Jefferson's Presidency

According to Jefferson, in his First Inaugural Address, what is the sacred principle of American constitutional government?

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