Thomas Jefferson Alexander Hamilton
Compare & Contrast Essay
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were both two very smart and influential people during the early stages of the nation. Thomas Jefferson was a man whose ideas align with the republican party, and Alexander Hamilton was a person who was a part of the federalists party. Both of them are wanting different government, but to make the nation better. Alexander Hamilton was born in the West Indies and raised on the caribbean island of St. Croix. When he was 13 a hurricane hit his island. He wrote a vivid description on what happened and it impressed all that read it. St. Croix leaders decided to send a talented teenager to New York to get the education he deserved. Thomas Jefferson
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In this there is Alexander Hamilton’s and Thomas Jefferson’s view on human nature. Alexander Hamilton’s view on human nature was based off of his wartime experiences. Too often he had seen people put their own interests and and personal profit above patriotism and the needs of the country. Most federalists shared Hamilton’s view that people were basically selfish and out for themselves, for this reason they distrusted any system of government that gave too much power to “the mob”, or the common people. Thomas Jefferson on the other hand had a much brighter view on human nature. Jefferson assumed that informed citizens could make good decisions for themselves and their country, Thomas Jefferson had great faith in the people that worked the soil - farmers and planters like himself. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, both wanting to have a great nation. Thomas Jefferson's view on human nature is aligned on what most people think. Not every person is born from an elite family, but a great leader can come from any …show more content…
Alexander hamilton and federalists believed that only the “best people” should be in charge the country. He believed that the qualified people should be well educated, wealthy, and public- spirited men like themselves, such people had the time, education and background to run the country right. Federalists favored a strong national government, they hoped to use the new government's power under the Constitution to unite the quarreling states and keeping order among the people, in their view the rights of states were not nearly as important as national power and unity. Thomas Jefferson and his fellow Republicans favored democracy over any other form of government, they had no patience with the Federalists’ view that only “the best people” should rule. To republicans, this view came dangerously close to monarchy, or to rule by a king. Republicans believed that the best form of government is the one that was favored the least, a small government with limited powers was most likely to leave the people alone to enjoy the blessings of liberty. To keep the national government small, they insisted on a strict construction, or interpretation, of the Constitution. The entire point to make the nation better in Thomas Jefferson’s view was because of the way that the British ruled with a monarchy. The people of America did not want a monarchy government, that is why Thomas Jefferson strived to change the
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.
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.
Although both men were important in the Revolution and in the establishment of the United States, they did not coordinate until Washington chose Hamilton to be the Secretary of the Treasury and Jefferson to be the Secretary of State. From the beginning, the two men harbored
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
Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were very different in their methods to try and develop America as a nation. The two were very much alike because they both were avid Americans, and wanted to see the nation succeed. Both men were very involved in the U.S. Government and tried to voice their opinions on
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.
Hamilton and Jefferson had very different opinions. This undoubtedly caused them to debate heavily during the times they served this position in the government. However, it also gave Washington a wide range of ideas coming from his closest advisors.
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States of America, and is a founding father to The United States of America. Jefferson was outspoken on his beliefs in what the central government’s powers should be. He believed in a weak central government and that states should hold more power. Others had opposing views on this topic, such as Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the treasury, who thought that a strong central government was needed to be a prosperous nation. These two views then became the Federalist party and the Jeffersonian Republican party. The Federalist party, and Hamilton, slowly vanished, over time, but some of the core ideas of the Federalist, and Hamilton, began to arise in the Jeffersonian Republican
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.
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
The conflict between Hamilton and Jefferson started with their differences in political ideas. Hamilton was a strong supporter in centralizing powers in the federal government and interpreted the Constitution loosely. While Jefferson wanted to control the national government by distributing the powers to state authority and had a strict interpretation of the Constitution. For an example of interpreting the Constitution, Hamilton’s plan of having a national bank in America was not directly in the Constitution. However, the Constitution states that the government is allowed to do anything that is “necessary and proper” (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18), as long as it is for the well-being of the nation. Hamilton and other loose interpreters of the Constitution believed that having a
Alexander Hamilton whom was a Federalist; was a firm believer in a strong central government and a broad interpretation of the Constitution. This broad interpretation would allow for more government control of the people. He also envisioned a political system run by the capable men of the aristocracy. Hamilton felt that for a government to be run efficiently, it must be run by the educated (which happened to be rich white men at the time).
Some Americans want the government and US political system to guide us but some other people strive for the goal of individualistic society. The battle between Hamilton and Jefferson
Alexander Hamilton’s background helped shape his thoughts and ideals that would later be a contributing factor of their rivalry. Hamilton’s father was a French nobleman who had left to tend to a sugar plantation in an attempt to attain wealth but prosperity never came. Hamilton grew up with hardships, his father abandoned him and his mother died when he was very young. Life for young Hamilton was difficult and impoverished. From this, his independence grew and he found work. He was so astute he could even run the business, “He was, it is true, remarkably self-reliant … and was increasingly trusted with