Caiser Bravo
Rigg
APUSH
6 October, 2015
To what extent did the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison reduce the tensions of the 1790s?
The presidency of George Washington was a difficult pair of terms to follow. John Adams tried to follow the precedent that the first president had set, but the second president only managed to polarize the nation among two parties: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. Although his decisions are today looked at with mixed feelings, at the time John Adams fell into popular disfavor. After his singular term due to the opposition of the Jeffersonian Anti-Federalists and the Hamiltonian Federalists (members of Adams’s own party), there was a power vacancy clearly waiting to be filled which would lead to the spot of the third President of the United States. The first twelve years of the nation and its first two presidents had been marred by stirrings of factionalism and tension. However, the two presidents after Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, would do much to lessen these issues due to educated and intelligent policy-making, in addition to a great deal of fortunate circumstances. When Thomas Jefferson took office in 1801, after an intense realignment of the majority of office holders from Federalist to Anti-Federalist in the “Revolution of 1800”, there were many policies headed by former Treasurer Alexander Hamilton that were still in place. Instead of doing what would have been expected of him by his peers, and taking steps
In 1789 George Washington was elected as the First President of the United States of America under the Constitution. In the following years after George Washington's administration was John Adams and succeeding him was the Third President of the United States Thomas Jefferson. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson's' administrations contributed to establishing a stable government after the adoption of the Constitution. They strengthened the national government by passing important legislature, peaceful international affairs and economic plans.
In the year of 1800, Jefferson ran for the second time averse to former president, John Adams but unlike the previous election, John Adams wins the presidency, Jefferson was able to defeat John Adams. The Adams lost the election due to passing the Alien and Sedition Acts, Considered unconstitutional laws because the Acts took away the first amendment, freedom of speech. Jefferson was a more promising choice as he promised to have a “Republican Revolution”, Jefferson promised to help the yeoman farmer and decrease the Federal debt the United States had at the time period. Jefferson’s presidency was to a certain extent a “Republican Revolution” and to a certain extent it was a Federalist Continuation.
Conflicting views and contrasting ideologies have always existed throughout the history of United States politics. Alexander Hamilton, who led Federalist Party, believed that a powerful central government was necessary while Thomas Jefferson, who led the Jeffersonian Republican Party, favored an agrarian nation with most of the power left to the states. Although Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were similar in that they both harbored good intentions and tried to keep the best interests in mind for the future of the United States, their policies were drastically different. Without doubt, both of their contrasting ideas served a vital role in forming the government.
Were Jefferson and Madison able to settle the continuous disputes in the United States? The United States was facing many problems after the presidency of Washington and Adams. The problems included: debt, Spain’s westward expansion, the Constitution, confrontations with Britain and France, and political parties. Jefferson and Madison dealt with unresolved problems by Jefferson’s new course for government, the Louisiana Purchase, and the War of 1812 (Britain).
Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State, and Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of Treasury were members of of Washington’s Cabinet who did not like each other. They constantly argued about political issues. One issue that they argued about was the opening of a National Bank. Hamilton wanted the bank to have a place to deposit money, print money, and a place for loans to be given. Jefferson explained the bank gave the government too much power, so it would over power states. They also did not want one group to have a monopoly. (Doc. 2)This was Jefferson’s view and showed strict constriction which was the idea that the government is allowed to do only what the constitution said they can do. Another issue that occurred was that Jefferson wrote a memo about Hamilton. Jefferson wrote that Hamilton was a Monarchist and was corrupt and would destroy the government. He also wrote that he does not care about the poor and the average man but only the rich and wealthy. This was written in the perspective of Jefferson and was a hundred percent bias against Hamilton. Hamilton was known as an elitist so Jefferson used this to his advantage. (Doc. 3) After this memo Hamilton wrote a document about Jefferson in response. He wrote that Madison and Jefferson are hostile and that they like women. He said they had a womanish attachment to France and womanish resentment against
James Madison and Andrew Jackson are some of America’s greatest presidents. They both did great things including being one of the Founding Fathers and being the most famous and well-known war hero of their time. James Madison and Andrew Jackson have many similarities and differences. For example, both of them served time in the military and they also both agreed with the removal of Native Americans. One of their major differences is that James Madison was born into a rich plantation owning family while Andrew Jackson was born into poverty. Through the information in this essay, you will see they also had alike and different ideas and personalities.
On the other hand, as the country advanced and refined, it became known that the fixed views of the two political parties needed to be reasonable if the nation were to expand. Jefferson made the first action toward reconciliation and moderation of his political outlook with the Federalists by contributing a sense of peace in his First Inaugural Address (Doc. 3). Jefferson declared, “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists,” signifying Americans are all in this society together and collectively make the world outstanding. Jefferson and his party had to further control their thinking when the chance to purchase the Louisiana Territory from France appeared in 1803 (Doc. 4). There was a lack of preparation in the Constitution for a president to buy more territory. However, the opportunity may have not continued to be accessible for a long amount of time, and Jefferson changed his own “strict construction” aspects and doubled the size of the United States.
Thomas Jefferson’s domestic policy was based principally on the organization of a new, limited federal government that concerned itself solely with current affairs, leaving state governments in control of responsibilities at home. His first order of business as President was the establishment of a “wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another” but should otherwise leave them alone to handle their own matters of business (567). Jefferson “favored
Whose side would you have been on in the 1790s, Thomas Jefferson’s or Alexander Hamilton’s? Both of these men served under George Washington in the first presidential cabinet, yet they had very different views of what government should be (Davis 86). My objective in this research essay is to inform the reader of why there was so much controversy between these two founding fathers, and to determine which side had the better views for our newly forming country.
Jefferson and Madison's Presidencies were alike and different in many ways. Such as, during Jefferson's Presidency he maintained peace, reduced taxes, and expanded the U.S.. Also, Jefferson wanted to lessen the national government's power, but he was a hypocrite, which was shown by his actions in his presidency. Jefferson wanted to make the U.S. whole for its citizens. At the same time, Madison was Jefferson's right hand man during his presidency, but Madison's Presidency is primarily only remembered for the War of 1812. In Madison's presidency he worried over how other countries perceived the U.S.. As Madison learned, a President is only remembered for what transpires during their presidency. Both Jefferson and Madison's Presidencies had opposition
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.
Alexander Hamilton played an extremely significant role in the presidential election of 1800. These were due to Hamilton’s opposing beliefs on who he believed should become the next President. His attempts to persuade everyone were highly successful, due to the fact that his actions lead to the selection of his bitter, political enemy, Thomas Jefferson, as our nation’s third chief executive, despite the differences they had on political views. However; the outcome of the election affected not only Hamilton’s political career, but, also, his personal life in numerous ways, as well. The presidential election of 1800 resulted in a dilemma due to the fact there was a tie between two of the Democratic — Republicans, whom had both received
1. Politically, was Jefferson's election as president in 1800 a "revolution”? In what ways did he alter or accept Federalist beliefs and practices?
Madison, Monroe, and John Quincy Adams each were their own president with different outlooks on which way the country should move. Jefferson wanted the small government small military and a debt free country. While Madison and Monroe were closer to Jeffersonian politics it was John Quincy Adams that seemed like he was in the wrong party. President Adams fit more into the Federalists’ party with Hamilton than with the Democratic-Republican Party. He believed in a centralized government and government funded projects. Adams wanted a bigger government that would build infrastructure and National government funded projects. Adams thought there should be a National University to further develop the arts and science. He would be considered a liberal
Alexander Hamilton’s vision came closer to becoming a reality in the 1820’s. By the 1820’s, the Embargo Act, War of 1812 and the Panic of 1819 played a very important role in the reshaping of our countries economic development and scope and power of the American government. The conflict between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton visions was necessary and made a huge impact on the American development. The main topics of conflict between Thomas Jefferson was the type economy, how much of a role the government played in the lives of the people and how they felt about slavery and the growing black population in America.