Hamilton argued in The Federalist Papers that for society to be free the legal code would need to be long, detailed and difficult to understand. 

He based this on the systems in Europe at the time. 

But these were the very systems the founders fought to abandon.

In contrast, Jefferson, Madison and many others taught that complex laws and legal codes were sure signs of oppression. 

They agreed with Montesquieu, Locke and Hume and that laws must be simple, concise and brief, and indeed that the entire legal code must be simple enough that every citizen knows the entire law. 

If a person doesn't know the law, they argued, he shouldn't be held liable for breaking it or freedom is greatly reduced.