Alexander Hamilton Vs. Thomas Jefferson

Not only did their differences in the way Jefferson and Hamilton were brought up differ, especially their ideas and views on government and the Constitution. Jefferson, our first Secretary of State had differing ideas on government that Hamilton. Jefferson said about the Constitution, “…I like the organization of the government into Legislative, Judiciary, and Executive…” This quote states that he favors a more viewpoint in which he favored a small government and states’ rights. Today, he would have been part of the Republican Party. He also believed that the Majority should always be victorious, and that the nation should stick to an agricultural lifestyle. Since he favored the Constitution and wrote a majority of it, there were things that upset him when he was

Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were key Founding Fathers of America who contributed to its freedom and independence. Both men were influential leaders of their time whose visions for the future of the country were clearly contrasting. Hamilton believed for a strong federal government and an economy based on banking. While Jefferson desired for a nation to be controlled by the states and its people. Their competing visions for the United States are still in debate until this day. Although Jefferson’s ideas were significant to America, many of Hamilton’s philosophy still holds in today’s government.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

First, when the political parties emerged in the 1790’s it was evident that their ideologies were vastly different. The Republican Party wanted a representative form of government that functioned “in the interest of the people.” This party, led by Thomas Jefferson, supported a limited central government, with individual states retaining a majority of the control. Jefferson’s vision was for a nation of farmers, and farmers do not need big government to survive. They feared a large central government would take away the rights of the people. On the other hand, the Federalist Party, led by Alexander Hamilton, supported a strong central government that would pursue policies in support of economic growth, which in turn would provide the freedom the people wanted. Hamilton’s followers also supported a diverse economy.1 It is important to note here however, that both parties knew they would have to become national parties in order to win any elections and both parties had followers in the north and in the south. There was no sectional divide in the parties.

Two competing political philosophies have always existed throughout the United States’ relatively short history: one seeking to increase the power of the central government, and one seeking to decrease it. During the 1800s these two conflicting philosophies were acted out by the Federalist and the Democratic Republican parties, respectively. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, advocated the importance of a strong central government in leading the country forward, while the Democratic Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, promoted increasing the common man’s role in government. Although both political parties had good intentions for the future of the United States, the Federalist Party was much more effective at uniting the American

The two different visions of assembly of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton conveyed understandings of American power and the American people. For Hamilton, America's quality lay in the business industry. His America was one of delegates, specialists, speculators and banks. His party anticipated those would help these people battle in an overall business focus. Hamilton was suspicious of state governments, obliged as they were to slim neighborhood interests.

In the history of America, Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of State, and Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, were two of the greatest leaders of our country. Although they both lead the country, that's where the similarities end as they had opposing views on everything. Jefferson was a republican while Hamilton was a federalist. Jefferson had been opposed to all of Hamilton's ideas, such as his financial plan, his interpretation of the powers of the government, his foreign policy, and his vision for the future of America. Jefferson was against Hamilton's views because his financial plan would ultimately destroy democracy in America, his interpretation of the powers of

Someone who was polar opposite of Alexander Hamilton in their views was Thomas Jefferson, a member of the Democratic - Republican Party. Jefferson was in favor of a smaller central government with more power to the states. He perceived that it was unconstitutional to have the federal government to have so much influence on daily life. Jefferson thought that agriculture should be the backbone of the economy. He also did not support the idea of a central bank, Jefferson thought that the U.S. should pay off all of its debt and stay out of business affairs.”Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of god…..for substantial and genuine virtue”(Document D). Thomas thought that America should be the voice of ALL of the people so he wanted the common people to be able to have more of an influence in the government. Jefferson did not trust the wealthy people in government and thought that the more down to earth farmers and commoners would keep them in check. A very prominent difference in Hamilton and Jefferson was their views on the constitution. “Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,

Hamilton was a Federalist who believed in a strong, central government with a national bank. He also wanted to make alliances with Britain (Davis 86).

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were completely at odds in their vision on how America was to develop. Hamilton wanted to concentrate power in a centralized federal government with limited access and Jefferson wished to diffuse it among all the eligible freemen of the time. Alexander Hamilton feared anarchy and distrusted popular rule while Jefferson feared tyranny and thought in terms of liberty and freedom.

Though both Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson served as members of President Washington’s cabinet, the two held very different views on the newly founded U.S. government, interpretation of its constitution, and the role of the “masses” in that government. These conflicting views would develop in two political parties, the Federalists led by Hamilton and the Democratic-Republicans led by Jefferson. Although both political parties presented enticing aspects, Hamilton’s views were much more reasonable and fruitful when compared Jefferson’s views; idealistic and too strict in reference to the constitution.

Hamilton envisaged America as an industrialized powerhouse, while Jefferson imagined a pastoral setting for America’s future. These dissimilar economic orders came to characterize the North and the South. However, the Northern and Southern economies, existed largely independent of one another despite their superficial connection under the Union flag. The South made its profits from exports while the North relied on manufacturing to prosper. As a result, both regions developed individualized pecuniary interests that demanded the aid of the government to facilitate growth. Inevitably, Northern desires for protective tariffs, export taxes and internal improvements drove the South away because these policies benefited factory owners and hurt plantation

Along with an economic system, Federalist believed in a powerful national government and army. Hamilton wanted the government to be centralized and

The Federalist who was mainly lead by Alexander Hamilton, who had the position of a treasure when George Washington was president, wanted a strong central government that rivaled Great Britain. While, Thomas Jefferson, who was in charge of foreign relations (starting 1789), wanted a small, farmer to producer nation. Hamilton while being

Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists favored a strong central government, because they thought the common people shouldn’t have been allowed to vote. As said in Enduring Vision, “ordinary voters should not be presented with choices over policy, but should vote simply on the basis of the personal merits of elite candidates” (206). However, Democratic-Republicans thought otherwise. According to the Enduring Vision, “They stressed the corruption inherent in a powerful government dominated by a highly visible few, and insisted that liberty would be safe only if power were widely diffused among white male property owners” (206). Also, views on foreign affair differed within these political parties. The Federalists kept friendly relationships with Great Britain and promoted economic growth, and was opposed to France. The opposite was to be said about the Democratic-Republicans, because they wanted France to side with them to gain independence from