The Jeffersonian Principles Of Strict Construction

During the eight years under the Articles of Confederation, the national debt continued to grow. The country came up with solutions, but the states ignored them. A correspondent in the Independent Chronicle in 1787 plead, “How long are we to continue on our present in-glorious acquiescence in the shameful resistance that some of the states persist in, against federal and national measures?” (Humphrey 2003, 113). Printer Nathaniel Willis called the young country a “union in crisis” (Humprey 2003, 106). Lack of revenue and no way of forcing states to contribute was one of the major and most noted flaws in the Articles of Confederation (Henretta et al. 2010).

In the book Hamilton’s Blessing, Gordon uses economic history and theory to explore the start, rise and decline of the United States debt. Gordon opens his book by stating that this country was born in debt, and this debt has become so high that concerned individuals no longer think of it. Throughout the book, he traces the history of the national debt dating back from 1791, when the central bank of the United States was created, up to modern days. The intellectual architect of this creation was Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury Secretary as well as a central figure who had a deep impact on the economic development of the United States. The title of the book clearly recalls Hamilton's statement that a national debt, "if not excessive,

Economically, Jefferson did not change what George Washington established during his term. With Hamilton’s financial plan, he had the Bank of the United States, tariffs, excise taxes or most notably, the whiskey tax, and assumptions and funding at par. Because Jeffersonians believed in strict interpretation of the Constitution, they did not like the Bank of the United States. The Bank of the United States was not in the Constitution originally, but the concept of Necessary and Proper clause deemed the right for the

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

First, Hamilton claimed he wanted to expand the economy and increase the nation's wealth by using the power of the federal government to promote business/manufacturing. He then presented congress with a plan to pay off debts as quickly as possible. Not to mention, Hamilton said If debts were not paid, the government would lose respect towards him. Also, debts were opposed to many Americans, especially in the South. Most states in other countries already payed off their war debt which was not Hamilton's “Ideal Economy.” In the long run, Jefferson was a countryman, so his View on this issue was very different. He claimed that the nation's future lay not with federalists bankers and merchants, but with plain democratic republican farmfolk. In brief, “Those who labor in the earth” he wrote, “are the chosen people of God, if ever he had chosen people.” This was just one of the quotes that Jefferson said mostly towards his reasoning on Ideal economy. All in all, Jefferson claims that democratic republicans favored an economy based on agriculture. He opposed many measuring and

In The Jefferson Rule, David Sehat outlines the history of American politics and provides exceptional insight on the government from the Founder’s points of view. More particularly, Sehat focused on the title of the book, The Jefferson Rule, to guide him on his journey through historical reflection. As he dug deeper into more and more historical events throughout the book, he made a point to tie each affair back to his key point – the Jefferson Rule. He did an excellent job of explaining each historical scenario mentioned in his book and how they each demonstrated the Rule.

Hamilton’s plan for the United States was to establish a national bank thus strengthening the federal government. All the measures that Hamilton had in his plan enhanced the federal government's power. Jefferson’s point of view on Hamilton’s plan establishing a national bank

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were two Founding Fathers with contrasting backgrounds that shaped their views and desires for the new nation. Jefferson, an anti-federalist from a wealthy, agricultural background advocated for the protection of states’ rights and the limitation of federal power. Hamilton, a federalist born from a poor family and who established himself through the military, advocated for a strong, central government. Both Jefferson and Hamilton would find themselves at ends with one another on a multitude of issues when it came to how the new nation would be organized. One topic that caused much controversy between the two Founding Fathers was the establishment of federal banking system. After the Revolutionary War, America found itself in near crippling debt and no essential way to bring in income rather than relying upon the states. Hamilton sought to implement a national bank to assist in administrating the nation’s finances and argues that it would create a more efficient, prosperous nation. Conversely, Jefferson saw necessity in having an agrarian economy and argued that not only did a federal bank give the national government too much power, but that it was also unconstitutional. When comparing the strengths of Hamilton and Jefferson’s arguments on the establishment of a national bank, it is evident that Hamilton’s argument for a national bank was superior to the antifederalist opposition.

In the following chapter, “Hamilton’s Bank Job,” DiLorenzo writes about Hamilton’s idea of “implied powers,” a doctrine that any powers not prohibited by the Constitution can be executed by the Federal while ignoring the state’s rights or debates. The author also shows the consequences of the creation of the Bank of the United States (BUS), a rise in prices of 72%, the creation of low-interest credit for northern industrialists, and the high costs of import tariffs for southern planters in order to pay the government debt.

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.

1. He was the 3rd president of the U.S. 2. Thomas Jefferson served as the 1st Secretary of State from 1790-1793. 3. He was elected as a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1775.

Aside from fiscal policies, Hamilton’s importance and influence in the development of the United States in areas such as constitutional interpretation was more so than Jefferson’s. After Hamilton had proposed a National Bank, Jefferson and others proposed that what Hamilton’s plan was unconstitutional. Jefferson a strong believer in strict interpretation of the constitution found Hamilton’s National Bank unconstitutional, on the grounds that it overstepped government responsibilities and the incorporation of a bank was not described in the constitution (Doc Q). Jefferson, an advocate for states rights, feared too strong a government and believed strict interpretation of the constitution would

(U.S. National Debt Clock.org, 2016) As a country we have carried debt since the American Revolution, in which we borrowed money from France and Netherlands . Yet under Jackson’s presidency, he sold government-owned land and cut spending to once again make us a debt free country. Now days resolving our debt is not at all that simple. Dollars are not minted much these days, instead, they are digital clouds created by the Federal Reserve. (Grant, 2016) This was made legal after the ruling on the case Perry v. US in which the supreme court ruled that our economy will no longer be based on the gold standard. (Perry v. United States 294 U.S. (1935), 2016) This should concern every citizen considering the fact that only the Federal Reserve can print money; the states and local government cannot. That causes state governments to cut services and raise taxes to meet pension obligations to public employees. (Grant,2016)

Hamilton’s first financial policies were intended to fund the national debt and to have the federal government assume the debts owed by the states. His main goal was to achieve the finical stability needed to fight another war if one would arise. With the foreign threats of Spain and Britain, as well as the state of power that might diminish national power.

Alexander Hamilton was appointed to handle all financial matters, becoming the secretary of treasury he came up with plans to change the country’s economy. One of those consisted in not paying in full the country’s $52 million dollar debt after the war, instead he insisted on making the country worthy of credit and adding $25 million to the debt that they already owed. (Michael Johnson)This brought controversy as some of the states had already paid their debt in full and considered unfair to add this extra debt. Surprisingly, his debt program achieved foreign investment and was a success to fix the debt issue in America. To create the Bank of the United States, was another one of his proposals, people within the government like Madison argued