According to Jefferson, in his First Inaugural Address, what is the sacred principle of American constitutional government?

Thomas Jefferson made his First Inaugural Address on March 4 1801 after being elected the third president of the United States. According to his speech, the sacred principle of the government was the notion of majority rule:

"All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression."

It is important to put this idea into its historical context. Jefferson's election as president came after one of the closest elections in American history, defined by smear campaigns and propaganda, between the Republicans and the Federalists. As a Republican, Jefferson advocated a government where people's individual liberties were protected. The Federalists, on the other hand, wanted the country to be governed by a strong federal government (hence the name, Federalist). Jefferson's speech, then, was an attempt to heal this political rift and unite the country under common principles, like that of majority rule where the rights of everybody mattered, regardless of political allegiance. This principle was so influential that it continues to feature in modern democracies today.