Compare And Contrast Hamilton Vs Jefferson

The creation of the first national bank in the United States was of utmost importance in setting precedence for how much power the constitution actually grants the government. The debate over whether to create a national bank raised many questions over the constitution that hadn’t been tested before. It also raised questions about what the government can do when the constitution has no written clause on a certain subject. In looking at the arguments from Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson regarding a national bank, people can find out more about how some of the leading founders of the Constitution wanted to see the United States government run.

At this time the government was funding its debt through private banks such as the Bank of North America and the Bank of New York. Not satisfied with the structure of American banking, Hamilton reported to Congress the need to establish a National Bank in December of 1790. The Senate created a committee to study Hamilton’s proposal. On the committee were men who shared Hamilton’s ideas in fiscal matters, and that of a strong federal government. One of the members, General Schuyler, was Hamilton’s father in law. It was of no surprise that a bill arose out of the committee supporting Hamilton’s plan to incorporate a Bank of the United States.

Gordon sums up the American economic history in six chapters of his book. He explains that the United States had taken on huge debts following to the American Revolution. In order to pay such debts back, Hamilton created the federal bank and convinced the Congress to issue federal bonds. This way the federal government could make interest payments on time, build credit and keep the inflation from rising. Hamilton thought that the national debt could be a useful tool in order to create capital for the new industries. In his book, Gordon also recalls that soon after the 1812 War the seventh President of the United States cleared the government debts thanks to surpluses deriving from high tariffs. Then, he explains that the introduction of the first Federal income tax in America during the Civil Was turned out to be crucial in order to investigate how to distribute the tax

The Federalist Party was mostly made up of well-educated people such as merchants, bankers and manufacturers. According to historian Eric Foner, Hamilton’s “long term goal was to make the United States a major commercial and military power,” Hamilton used Great Britain as a model of economic development, and greatly stressed the importance of government aid in manufacturing, trade, and commerce. As stated by Foner, “Hamilton’s program called for the creation of a Bank of the United States, modeled on the Bank of England, to serve as the nation’s main financial agent.” His plan was to create a private back with the goal of creating a common currency. Lastly, Hamilton and the Federalists distrusted the common people and believed that they were ignorant and incapable of self-rule. Therefore, a strong central

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

In addition to saving the integrity of the Federalist-dominated Supreme Court in the case of Marbury v. Madison, John Marshall also promoted certain Federalist principles, including the idea of a strong national government. From the years when the Constitution was being created, Alexander Hamilton fought for the creation of a national bank since he believed it was “necessary and proper” for the growth and development of the United States (“The Marshall Court”). As Hamilton and the Federalist Party had hoped, a national bank was created and one of its branches was placed in Baltimore, Maryland. State legislators from Maryland were not satisfied with the progress the bank was making because the negligent behavior of its bank officials was bringing the bank under (Newmyer, 295). To save their citizens from having to deal with the bank’s faulty leadership, the legislators attempted to drive the branch out of the state by placing a tax on all the banknotes issued by the bank. When the tax was purposely left unpaid, Maryland sued the cashier of the bank--James McCulloch. In the state courts, Maryland won its case,

Another matter the two men disagreed on was the establishment of a national bank. Hamilton wanted a national bank so he could forge a relationship between business and the federal government. Jefferson, on the other hand, thought that such a bank would encourage people to leave agriculture for guesswork and give business interests too much power in the federal government.

Hamilton also proposed to pay off the foriegn debt and to issue new bonds to replace the old bonds. One of the most significant things Hamilton did was propose the idea of a national bank that would be funded by the federal government and private investors, and that would also issue money and handle all government funds. During the XYZ affair, the Federalists prefered to fight the French than to pay or negotiate, as the Republican position confirmed. The Federalists also agreed with and helped pass such laws as the Naturalization Act, the Alien Act, and the Sedition Act.

One of Jefferson’s and Hamilton’s first disagreements began with the idea of a National Bank. Hamilton suggested that the government should create the Bank of the United States Jefferson protested because this was not allowed by the Constitution. Hamilton opposed the view of Jefferson and stated that the Constitution’s writers could not have predicted the need of a bank for the United States. Hamilton said that the right to create the Bank of the United States was stated in the “elastic” or the “necessary and proper” clause in which the Constitution gave the government the power to pass laws that were necessary for the welfare of the nation. “This dilemma revisits the ever lasting dispute between the “strict constructionists” (Jefferson) who believed in the strict interpretation of the Constitution by not going an inch beyond its clearly expressed provisions, and the “loose constructionists” (Hamilton) who wished to reason out all sorts of implications from what it said”. Just a few years later, under President Jefferson, the federal government of the United States

It would collect all tax revenues. Farmers, and Americans in general opposed of this. Washington asked his secretary Thomas Jefferson for his opinion. Jefferson pointed out the flaws he saw in establishing the national bank. “To give it the sole and exclusive right of banking under the national authority… is against the laws of monopoly… to grant it a power to make laws superior to the laws of states… is wrong.”

There have been many controversies since the United States declared independence in 1776. One of the many domestic issues that divided American citizens was developing the First National Bank in the late 1700s. Hamilton was in favor, while Jefferson opposed and American citizens chose their side based on what they believed what was best for the country. Hamilton proposed a Report on a National Bank in December of 1790 announcing what the National Bank would include. Hamilton’s proposal included, “The bank’s stock would be worth $10,000,000. 20,000 shares would be sold privately at $400 per share ... 5,000 shares or $2,000,000 of bank stock would be bought by the U.S. government. The bank would be run by a 25-man board of directors - 20 chosen by the shareholders and 5 by the government. The bank’s president would be elected by the board of directors. Notes and bills (money) issued by the bank would be redeemable on demand ... and would be accepted by the U.S. government for all payments due. The bank’s charter would run for 20 years and would be subject to renewal by Congress. The bank would be allowed to establish branch offices in other cities; its main branch would be in Philadelphia, the nation’s capital” (http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/teachers/lesson_plans/pdfs/unit3_ 4.pdf). Although the first part of the bank bill, establishing a national mint, did pass with ease, supporters and opposers debated the rest of the bill, which included the development of

This would give the federal government a strong amount of power and relied on the trust of the federal government would take care of the people. Hamiltonianism was also focused on urbanization society, creating factories, cities, and later roads to further develop technological advancements quickly, opposing the rest of the world. Hamilton and Jefferson disagreed on the idea of a national bank like the English. Jefferson opposed this as he wanted to separate ourselves from the old country and not let the central government keep hold of everyone’s money, as he thought it was giving them too much power and influence. Hamilton was very trusted among his peers and Washington alike and wanted what was best of the country, he wanted to establish cities very early and create efficient commerce

Jefferson opposed Hamilton’s view on a national bank claiming his desire “to protect against the invasions of the legislature… [in] the States and state legislatures” (194). Jefferson and the Republicans believed that problems without a national bank could be solved by state’s banks. Another point of tension lies on the question of manufacturing. Hamilton ardently encourages support for manufacturing claiming, “Manufacturing establishment not only occasion a positive augmentation of the produce and revenue of society, … they contribute essentially to rendering them greater than they could possibly be” 181. Arguing for principles Adam Smith promoted like the division of labor shows Hamilton’s understanding of manufacturing and his desire to see Americans prosper in the workforce.

The First Bank of United States – 1791 to 1811. Mr. Hamilton urged Congress to adopt the model he had come up with, which included one national bank that would hold the federal government’s deposits and would lend to the government and business. Though there was much opposition, the proposal was accepted but the bank’s charter was given a 20 year limit. The bank, known as First Bank or Bank of United States, helped to bring the economy of the country together. However, it was a private institution where foreigners owned 70 percent of the bank and this concerned the citizens of the United States. When the charter was up for renewal it was rejected and the bank was closed in 1811. ("First Bank of the United States" 1-16)

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. Hamilton believed that America would flourish only if we were involved in heavy manufacturing and commerce. He believed a strong federal government could solve many of the new country’s financial problems including establishing a stable currency. He therefore established a national bank similar to the one in England to consolidate the states debt under the federal government and enacted protective tariffs to increase American manufacturing. He also knew the importance of promoting domestic manufacturing so the United States would no longer have to rely on imported manufactured goods. Jefferson was the complete opposite. He believed that it was essential that the citizens of the new country would grow their