1802 Thomas Jefferson - Pale of our Constitutional Powers

Ever wonder why there is a fence around the White House?  Maybe it's not just to keep people out.   In 1802, Thomas Jefferson described the Constitution as a fence around the government limiting it's power.   I'll explain.  First let's go back to 1791 when Thomas Jefferson wrote an opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank.  In this In this opinion, Jefferson shared his belief that the tenth amendment was the core principle that laid the foundation for the constitution.

 "I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That 'all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people.' [10th amendment.] To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition."

Thomas Jefferson did not believe in no government, but rather limited government.  Jefferson understood the proper role of government in defending the homeland and providing for the general welfare.  But he did not believe that the government should be responsible for doing everything it can for the people.  As Jefferson also stated in 1791, "instituting a Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and, as they would be the sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they please."

In 1802 during Jefferson's second term as president, he again summarized his view on the role of government.   In his second annual address to Congress, President Jefferson described four landmarks of governance:

1. Protect American Business
   

   "To cultivate peace and maintain commerce and navigation in all their lawful enterprises;"

2. Promote the use of our natural resources and protect manufacturing
   

   "to foster our fisheries as nurseries of navigation and for the nurture of man, and protect the manufactures adapted to our circumstances;"

3. Manage the taxpayers money wisely
   

   "to preserve the faith of the nation by an exact discharge of its debts and contracts, expend the public money with the same care and economy we would practice with our own, and impose on our citizens no unnecessary burthens;"

4. Personal liberty (limited government) with strong national defense
   

   "to keep in all things within the pale of our constitutional powers, and cherish the federal union as the only rock of safety"

"- these, fellow citizens, are the land-marks by which we are to guide ourselves in all proceedings."

The last one, "to keep in all things within the pale of our constitutional powers" is of most interest here.   To make sense of it, first you must understand the definition of the word "pale".  By "pale", Jefferson is not referring to 'light in color' or 'feeble and weak'.   The word here is used as a noun, and in this way it refers to a "fence enclosing an area".   A 'pale' is a pointed stick or picket used in a picket fence.   Thomas Jefferson was not calling the constitution weak, but rather he was describing the Constitution as something that would fence in the government.   Today, we find these words hard to understand but in 1802, I'm sure many people remembered Jefferson's words in 1791 when he described the tenth amendment as the foundation of the constitution.  "To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition."   The constitution in Jefferson's view fenced in the powers of Congress. To go beyond this fence, would give Congress a boundless field of power.

Today, every Senator takes an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic".   But President Jefferson knew who the real enemy was. It was congress itself.   Jefferson finished his second address, by asking Congress to take an oath of a different sort.  

"By continuing to make these the rule of our action we shall endear to our country-men the true principles of their Constitution and promote an union of sentiment and of action equally auspicious to their happiness and safety. On my part, you may count on a cordial concurrence in every measure for the public good and on all the information I possess which may enable you to discharge to advantage the high functions with which you are invested by your country"

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29444
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/bank-tj.asp