Jefferson's Warnings

Some remember that he served as president from 1801 to 1809, but aside from that, few know much more of his life and work. In fact, he lived and worked until 1826, when he died on July 4th, fifty years to the day after the ratification of his Declaration.
What's lost to history is that Jefferson was convinced Americans were losing their fight for freedom.
Consolidation
In his last years, after a lifetime of learning and experience, Jefferson had one thing preeminently on his mind: the principle of decentralization.
Jefferson didn't use the words "centralization" or "decentralization," of course. Rather, he used the common words of his time: consolidation and distribution. Obviously they meant the same things.
Here's a direct statement on the subject, from his autobiography, written in 1821:
It is not by the consolidation, or concentration, of powers, but by their distribution, that good government is effected.
This statement put Jefferson at odds with political leaders, as he writes in a letter to Judge William Johnson in 1823:
I have been blamed for saying that a prevalence of the doctrines of consolidation would one day call for reformation or revolution.
The following passage is from a letter to Judge Johnson, written in 1822:
Finding that monarchy is a desperate wish in this country, they [successors to the Federalist Party] rally to the point which they think next best, a consolidated government. Their aim is now, therefore, to break down the rights reserved by the Constitution to the States as a bulwark against that consolidation, the fear of which produced the whole of the opposition to the Constitution at its birth.
Notice his primary points:
Political parties were pursuing centralization, as was in their interest.
The parties were trying to steal the power of the individual States and to centralize it in one city. Furthermore that they were degrading the Constitution to do so.