Question

The ideas that Jefferson had about giving more power to normal farmers and less power for the government had appealed to many of the people voting

is this run on?

Answer 1

This is not a run-on sentence, but it’s awkward and could be improved.

Problems:
- “had appealed” (past perfect) is unnecessary unless you’re comparing to another past event — use “appealed.”
- “normal farmers” is better as “ordinary farmers” or “small farmers.”
- “less power for the government” should be “less power to the government” or “limited the government’s power.”
- “people voting” is awkward — use “voters.”

Revisions:
- The ideas Jefferson had about giving more power to ordinary farmers and less power to the government appealed to many voters.
- Jefferson’s ideas of giving more power to small farmers and limiting the government’s power appealed to many voters.