Excerpt from a Broadside by President Thomas Jefferson, 1808

The Embargo, giving time to the belligerent powers to revise their unjust proceedings and to listen to the dictates of justice, of interest and reputation, which equally urge the correction of their wrongs, has availed our country of the only honorable expedient for avoiding war: and should a repeal of these Edicts supersede the cause for it, our commercial brethren will become sensible that it has consulted their interests, however against their own will. It will be unfortunate for their country if, in the mean time, these, their expressions of impatience, should have the effect of prolonging the very suffering which have produced them, by exciting a fallacious hope that we may, under any pressure, relinquish our equal right of navigating the ocean, go to such ports only as others may prescribe, and there pay the tributary exactions they may impose; an abandonment of national independence and of essential rights revolting to every manly sentiment: While these Edicts are in force, no American can ever consent to a return of peaceable intercourse with those who maintain them.

Use the excerpt to answer the question.

How did this action reflect contradictions in Jeffersonain democracy?

A.
It represented a strong assertion of executive power by Jefferson.

B.
It required Jefferson to cooperate closely with Congress to pass legislation.

C.
It upheld and extended states’ rights at the expense of individual liberties.

D.
It decreased the size of government while expanding the role of the military.
PLEASE, ALSO EXPLAIN WHY ITS THE CORRECT ANSWER, DO NOT GUESS, USE THE EXPERT.

The correct answer is C. It upheld and extended states’ rights at the expense of individual liberties. This excerpt reflects a contradiction in Jeffersonian democracy because Jefferson was advocating for a strong executive action, the Embargo, which was intended to protect the rights of the states by preventing foreign powers from imposing tributary exactions on them. However, this action also limited the individual liberties of American citizens by preventing them from engaging in peaceful trade with those foreign powers.