In AP World History, we are learning about America's founding and early days. We learned that Jefferson was a Federalist. Also, we learned that the constitution was written by and supported by Federalists. How come now days the people who like the constitution love Jefferson and the free market and the constitution, but back then Jefferson and the Constitution were "federalist". My teacher even said that Jefferson and Hamilton both were Federalist ( before the parties split early in America to the Democratic- Republican Party and Federalist Party). Also, my teacher said that Jefferson regretted writing about how the states should have the right to nullify - I thought he was a big advocate of states rights and a small Federal government but I am being taught that he was a Federalist and thought that writing about nullification was something he did when he was "young and stupid that he regrets. like when your parents did bad stuff when they were young that they don't want to tell you about ( as my teacher said ) ".
This, ladies and gentlemen, is public education for you.
I think your teacher is confusing Jefferson with Madison. Madison was allied to Hamilton during ratification (calling themselves "Federalists"), but during the Washington administration, Madison and Jefferson formed the Republican Party (they supported economic freedom and limited government) as an opposition to Hamilton and his mercantilist/centralized government policies.
Your teacher is a moron. Regurgitate what he says for the tests and do your own study on your own time.
Your teacher is wrong. Like, stating the exact opposite of what is true.
I could understand your teacher's confusion if she was talking about Madison, who (obviously) authored the Constitution and wrote for The Federalist Papers, but later founded the practically anti-Federalist Democratic-Republican party. Jefferson was in France while the Constitution was written, but sided with the Madisonian interpretation of the Constitution. I don't know of him ever stating his regret for his position on secession or nullification.
When I questioned my teacher about whether Jefferson was a Federalist, he said yes, because his "best friend and political ally" was Madison, who wrote the Constitution ( which my teacher deemed Federalist ), and because he wrote to Madison calling the Constitutional Convention an "assembly of demigods".
Since this is an AP class, you should not regurgitate what your teacher said. Should there be a question on the AP test as to whether Jefferson was a Federalist, or which party he was aligned with, know that Jefferson was not a Federalist.
Good Lord, he was not a Federalist.
Sounds like your teacher is definately using the term "federalist" not in description of political parties formed in the 1790s, but how it was used during the ratification process. Supporters of the constitution called themselves "federalists" (a term they stole from the opposition), but after Washington was elected many supporters of the constitution began to oppose Hamilton's policies as secretary of treasury, a group led by Madison and Jefferson.