Thomas Jefferson
More than any of the other Presidents, Thomas Jefferson has quotes that indicates that he embrace the ideals of the classical liberals such as John Locke. He knew that the Federal Government was like wild fire, it could easily get out of control if not kept in close check. That's why he was an advocate for the strict interpretation of the the U.S Constitution. He strongly believed that dangerous liberty was better than secure tyranny. In reality, he believed the Federal Government should be the servant for the people rather than the people being servants for the Federal Government. One lesson that we can learn from Thomas Jefferson was that once the Federal Government over expands significantly in the personal and economic lives of the people that it would be very difficult to scale the government back down to the size that strict constructions wanted.