Jeffersonian democracy

[ (jef-uhr-soh-nee-uhn) ]

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A movement for more democracy in American government in the first decade of the nineteenth century. The movement was led by President Thomas Jefferson. Jeffersonian democracy was less radical than the later Jacksonian democracy. For example, where Jacksonian democracy held that the common citizen was the best judge of measures, Jeffersonian democracy stressed the need for leadership by those of greatest ability, who would be chosen by the people.

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Words nearby Jeffersonian democracy

Jefferson, Jefferson City, Jefferson Davis's Birthday, Jefferson Day, Jeffersonian, Jeffersonian democracy, Jeffersonianism versus Hamiltonianism, Jefferson, Thomas, Jeffersontown, Jeffersonville, Jeffrey

How to use Jeffersonian democracy in a sentence

A second document was titled: “Gambia Reborn: A Charter for Transition from Dictatorship to Democracy and Development.”
The Shadowy U.S. Veteran Who Tried to Overthrow a Country|Jacob Siegel|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Faal told the FBI that his group was trying “restore democracy to The Gambia and improve the lives of its people.”
The Shadowy U.S. Veteran Who Tried to Overthrow a Country|Jacob Siegel|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Actually, the guessing game is over; the weddings have begun, as have weird attempts to circumvent our constitutional democracy.
The Back Alley, Low Blow-Ridden Fight to Stop Gay Marriage in Florida Is Finally Over|Jay Michaelson|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Thomas Piketty raised the Big Questions this year about democracy and inequality.
American Democracy Under Threat for 250 Years|Jedediah Purdy|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Piketty only waves his hands around the all-important question of whether economic inequality undermines democracy.
American Democracy Under Threat for 250 Years|Jedediah Purdy|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was so zealous a partisan of democracy, and of Cromwell, that the authorities frequently placed him in a straight jacket.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
I have a strong reverence for traditions, and no taste whatever for democracy—that would be too long a step.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
Democracy, let us grant it, is the best system of government as yet operative in this world of sin.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
I had long ago adopted democracy as a good policy, so now I stopped to introduce myself.
Nine Men in Time|Noel Miller Loomis
He based this plan upon the premise that democracy would be more successful if greater numbers of individuals were educated.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey