Hamilton Vs Jefferson Plan

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

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.

Two competing political philosophies have always existed throughout the United States’ relatively short history: one seeking to increase the power of the central government, and one seeking to decrease it. During the 1800s these two conflicting philosophies were acted out by the Federalist and the Democratic Republican parties, respectively. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, advocated the importance of a strong central government in leading the country forward, while the Democratic Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, promoted increasing the common man’s role in government. Although both political parties had good intentions for the future of the United States, the Federalist Party was much more effective at uniting the American

The two different visions of assembly of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton conveyed understandings of American power and the American people. For Hamilton, America's quality lay in the business industry. His America was one of delegates, specialists, speculators and banks. His party anticipated those would help these people battle in an overall business focus. Hamilton was suspicious of state governments, obliged as they were to slim neighborhood interests.

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

Hamilton expressed dissatisfaction with both of the plans brought forward to the convention. The Virginia plan, which was a proposal to completely abandon the Articles of Confederation, and replace it with a bicameral national legislature, an executive branch selected by the legislature, a judiciary, and a council of revision with the power veto, and the New Jersey plan, which suggested to keep the Articles of Confederation, but revise it to give Congress the power to tax, regulate commerce, and choose plural executive and members of a supreme court. Hamilton felt both these plans lacked a strong central government. He was specifically displeased with the New Jersey plan “being fully convinced” Madison writes “that no amendment of the Confederation, leaving the States in possession of their Sovereignty could possibly answer the purpose.” pg 18-19. He feared that either of these plans would leave the newly founded country weakened and “…would ultimately destroy the confederation…” pg 20. Finally, though Hamilton would given the federal government more power, he supported what was to be and is now the Constitution of the United States of America and he became one of its leading supporters during the ratification process. Though Jefferson was unable to join the convention due to his duties in France as

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, as a Republican, believed in a society that distrusted the rich and that was run by farmer-citizens. He was a strong supported of not the upper class but, "the people". A defender of human liberty, Jefferson believed in a minimum of government and favored power at the local level. Jefferson also believed that if people were given the opportunity, they would be decent and reasonable. Jeffersons supporting party disagreed with many of the things that Hamilton and the Federalists proposed and passed as laws, including the idea of the national bank. Madison, in fact, argued on behalf of the Republicans that the federal government had no righ to establish a federal bank because it was not among the enumerated powers of Congress found in the Constitution. The Republicans also ignored the Naturalization Act, nor

He believed in the growth of a strong government and the Constitution. This would allow more government control of the people. He thought of a system run by the men of the aristocracy that was political. Alexander Hamilton felt like that if a government was supposed be ran in good conditions, it had to be ran by more educated and wealthy people. The position of the new government at the time was to encourage enterprise of economics. Through the office of Secretary of the Treasury, he was allowed to bring up the idea of a national bank. This government owned and ran the bank that would help the American people recover from the Revolutionary War, help them regulate currency, and help control the economy in America. During the discussion of this bill for a National Bank, the issue of implied powers concerning the Constitution came up and the principle of powers was the government had the right to make laws necessary and proper to help the people of America. Hamilton thought these powers were needed to run a good and strong government because it would protect the people from corrupting anything. He thought that the only way for a government to stay stable is for it to be allowed the ability to change and make any adjustments it needed. In 1791, the bill for the starting of a national bank was passed, but the only problem with the issue of powers was that no one knew exactly where the government would stop. In 1798, the government practiced into the policy of powers with the Sedition Act. The Sedition Act stopped people and it showed that the policy of powers of the government could very well be taken too far with

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.

Hamilton favored protective tariffs to help grow the American economy to compete with those of England France, while Jefferson wanted nothing to do with the industrial societies of Europe. Hamilton's urban mind was ahead of its time. He envisioned a society powered by cities and industry; his rival Jefferson, having grown up on a farm, focused on the agricultural potential of the nation. Jefferson also believed agrarian people were more virtuous and trustworthy than the urban aristocrats Hamilton represented. Indeed, in the presidential election of 1800, much of Jefferson's support came from rural America while Federalist opposition centered in industrial New England.

Hamilton envisaged America as an industrialized powerhouse, while Jefferson imagined a pastoral setting for America’s future. These dissimilar economic orders came to characterize the North and the South. However, the Northern and Southern economies, existed largely independent of one another despite their superficial connection under the Union flag. The South made its profits from exports while the North relied on manufacturing to prosper. As a result, both regions developed individualized pecuniary interests that demanded the aid of the government to facilitate growth. Inevitably, Northern desires for protective tariffs, export taxes and internal improvements drove the South away because these policies benefited factory owners and hurt plantation

After the Constitution was ratified people had their own opinion about it. The Federalists who were James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay just to name a few has a loose interpretation of the Constitution. On the other hand, the Republicans which was lead by Thomas Jefferson had a very strict interpretation of the Constitution. Both parties had a different view which will cause controversy later on.

The argument between Federalists and Anti-Federalists might seem long gone to American citizens, but still their philosophical foundations shape the teams, scope and size of the battlefield. These philosophies go back to two lone men, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Both fought aggressively for a government based on their ideas, and both did make portions of the now-standing American government. This essay will outline the political, social and economic philosophies of both men, how their philosophies influenced the government today, and a closing opinion.

This extensive drawn out plan he created listed everything he desired to do, from the labor to the employment to the securing a steady demand. Hamilton tried to promote diversity in the society, he also tried to get men to bring out their own talents that make them unique, and every man has something else to offer to promote new things in the society. Even the women and children were made more useful in his plan, he found a place for everyone to be apart of this "new nation." It is made evident that Hamiltion had the future of America in his mind when he drew up this plan.