There is a unionist, – there is a strict constructionist for you. he believes in the union of the states, and he conceives that the only obstruction to the union is slavery, and for that reason, as a patriot, he works for its abolition. emerson refers to john brown as a "strict constructionist" because he believes that laws should be applicable in every state in the nation he believes only the federal government has the power to allow slavery he believes it is a man’s duty to remove obstructions in the way of liberty he believes what is written in the constitution is not open to interpretation