Thomas Jefferson often reflected on excesses of the federal government which began to occur even within his lifetime. He saw the federal government overreaching its constitutional authority that he helped define along with 55 other committed patriots at the constitutional convention.
He discussed impacts on his state of Virginia of federal intrusions in the following way "... the great experiment which shall prove that man is capable of living in society, governing itself by laws self-imposed, and securing to its members the enjoyment of life, liberty, property, and peace; and further to show, that even when the government of its choice shall manifest a tendency to degeneracy, we are not at once to despair but that the will and the watchfulness of its sounder parts will reform its aberrations, recall it to original and legitimate principles, and restrain it within the rightful limits of self-government. And these are the objects of this Declaration and Protest." [Ref http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/jeffdec1.asp]
In the referenced document, he was urging restraint in the face of intrusions into state and individual rights that were VERY minor by comparison with what we're experiencing today. I can't imagine what he'd think about what powers and authority our federal government has taken upon itself in recent decades, especially lately now that the right to representation has been stolen from half of Americans. No doubt he would be horrified and would be calling for action instead of restraint (most likely leading it!) considering the degree of 'degeneration' we are experiencing now. No doubt he wouldn't recognize the government we have today as having much relationship to the one those dedicated and courageous men designed.
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