- Thomas Jefferson had just been elected president and brought radical views to Washington, such as wearing his bath robes while answering the door in order to keep things casual, and not giving his State of the Union address in person because it was too similar to the kings in Britain.
- He claimed that he was conservative, and that government should interfere with the citizens lives as little as possible. He was also a strict constructionist, meaning that he believed that the Constitution was to be followed exactly and that its rules were to be strictly upheld.