 Rowan identified with the Democratic @-@ Republican Party and espoused the Jeffersonian principles of limited government and individual liberty . He was chosen to represent Nelson County at the constitutional convention held at Frankfort , Kentucky in 1799 to draft the second Kentucky Constitution . As a delegate , he advocated the supremacy of the legislative branch over the executive and judicial branches , which he believed provided ordinary citizens a greater role in state government . The constitution adopted by the convention abolished the use of electors to choose the governor and state senators , providing for the direct election of these officers instead . 
