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Comparing Thomas Jefferson And Alexander Hamilton

Decent Essays

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 …show more content…

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

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