Strict Constructionism

Strict constructionism is a judicial principle, first developed by Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party, which interprets provisions of the United States Constitution narrowly.

Strict constructionists that courts should practice judicial restraint by abiding by what the Constitution literally says. The converse of this is the idea that the United States Constitution should be interpreted as a "living document", creating new rights that aren't explicitly in the Constitution. The Constitution itself spells out the procedures for amending the document to include new rights. Strict constructionists respect this process, while others simply bypass it.