Comparing Thomas Jefferson And Alexander Hamilton

In history, many leaders have argued over their different views. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson have had different views on many different things. For example, Hamilton believed that the best way to strengthen finances was by using taxes. Although, Jefferson strongly disagreed with him. Hamilton and Jefferson were different in many ways, such that, Hamilton was a Federalist, and Jefferson was an Anti-Federalist. These differences caused many disagreements between the two.

In the late 1700’s till early 1800’s, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were the two of major people in the government. Hamilton was the Secretary of Treasury and Jefferson was the Secretary of State. Hamilton belonged to the Federalist party while Jefferson was a member of the Democratic-republican party. Hamilton wanted to enlarge the power of the government. However, Jefferson’s view was the opposite.

Alexander Hamilton was an important founding father to our country. He set the path for many achievements, such as new fiscal policies, during and after the making of the Constitution. He was a loyal patriot even before the beginning of the Revolutionary War, which he proved through his role with the Zenger trial. When helping with the Constitution and working in the George Washington’s cabinet, Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson suffered from a feud due to their strong opposing beliefs of government. Hamilton never changed his belief in a strong central government which is partly why our government is the way it is today.

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

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).

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).

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

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

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’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

     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.

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

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,

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.

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.