The Pros And Cons Of Alexander Hamilton

The creation of the first national bank in the United States was of utmost importance in setting precedence for how much power the constitution actually grants the government. The debate over whether to create a national bank raised many questions over the constitution that hadn’t been tested before. It also raised questions about what the government can do when the constitution has no written clause on a certain subject. In looking at the arguments from Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson regarding a national bank, people can find out more about how some of the leading founders of the Constitution wanted to see the United States government run.

George Washington had recognized Hamilton’s leadership abilities and promoted him as Lieutenant Colonel. He was also an innovator of military design, where he designed reports on the defects and how there could be improvement in the military. While Hamilton was working as an adviser for Washington, Hamilton had come to realize the Congress' weaknesses, including jealousy between states, which he believed came from the Articles of Confederation (http://www.ushistory.org/). In 1782, Hamilton was convinced that establishing a strong central government was the key to achieving America’s independence.

During George Washington’s presidency of our new nation, there was a large disagreement between his Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton and his Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson on several economic and political challenges.To get the nation out of extreme debt, Hamilton came up with a financial plan that included the creation of a national bank. This national bank would be a safe place to deposit government funds, a source of loans for the government and businesses, and the creation of a national mint. However, Jefferson was strongly opposed to the idea of a national bank, he believed it was strictly against the Constitution and would give the federal government too much power. Hamilton argued that Article I Section 8 of the Constitution

The Federalist Party was mostly made up of well-educated people such as merchants, bankers and manufacturers. According to historian Eric Foner, Hamilton’s “long term goal was to make the United States a major commercial and military power,” Hamilton used Great Britain as a model of economic development, and greatly stressed the importance of government aid in manufacturing, trade, and commerce. As stated by Foner, “Hamilton’s program called for the creation of a Bank of the United States, modeled on the Bank of England, to serve as the nation’s main financial agent.” His plan was to create a private back with the goal of creating a common currency. Lastly, Hamilton and the Federalists distrusted the common people and believed that they were ignorant and incapable of self-rule. Therefore, a strong central

Before the Revolutionary War had occurred, many people were coming to the new colonies to start a new life; one of the people was Alexander Hamilton. He had come to the colonies after impressing people in the Caribbean and who then sent him to America to get a better education (“Alexander Hamilton”). Hamilton was an important figure in American history, but very few today remember who he was and what he did. Alexander Hamilton took a stand against traditional government by writing against and battling the British, fighting for the new U.S. Treasury, and arguing for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

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,

Another matter the two men disagreed on was the establishment of a national bank. Hamilton wanted a national bank so he could forge a relationship between business and the federal government. Jefferson, on the other hand, thought that such a bank would encourage people to leave agriculture for guesswork and give business interests too much power in the federal government.

Hamilton also proposed to pay off the foriegn debt and to issue new bonds to replace the old bonds. One of the most significant things Hamilton did was propose the idea of a national bank that would be funded by the federal government and private investors, and that would also issue money and handle all government funds. During the XYZ affair, the Federalists prefered to fight the French than to pay or negotiate, as the Republican position confirmed. The Federalists also agreed with and helped pass such laws as the Naturalization Act, the Alien Act, and the Sedition Act.

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

Alexander Hamilton, with the unlikely help of Thomas Jefferson, as well as John Adams indirectly influenced politics with Federalist ideas throughout the early 1800s. As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton proposed an ambitious plan of economic nationalism that involved assumption of the state debts incurred during the American Revolution, creating a national debt and the means to pay it off, setting up a national bank, along with creating tariffs on on-American manufactured goods to promote the Federalist Party-favored American. Although Thomas Jefferson was a devoted Democratic-Republican figure and strongly battled Hamilton’s plan in

Alexander Hamilton, though, worked for a more complex economic system. He planned out a national debt, public credit, a national bank and a plan to pay off the debts the nation had accrued. He advocated to accept the old debts of the Articles of Confederation, war debts, and state debts under his economic policy because it gives the government some legitimacy, and it allows for the government to obtain credit from other countries easily.

Alexander Hamilton, recognized as one of the Founding Fathers of our country, had a great impact on the wars and political issues of his time. He presented himself as a well respected man and proved himself worthy of the tasks he was given. He impressed many people and played a substantial part in influencing where America stands today. Although his early childhood circumstances were difficult, putting him at a disadvantage, Alexander proved himself capable of achieving success all on his own, without the need of others’ assistance or provision. His efforts ultimately played a significant role in the founding of America.

The Federalist Party promoted unity in government, whereas the Republican party promoted popular self-government; however, the War of 1812 caused the Republican Party to realize the practicality of Hamiltonian principles, and this led to the Republican party’s promotion of Federalist values regarding national infrastructure. Key differences between these two parties manifest in their views on national infrastructure. Believing it was a Constitutional necessity, the Federalist Party promoted the establishment of national infrastructure. Led by Hamilton, the party desired establishing a national bank, supporting manufacturing, and preparing a strong military. The early Republican Party believed a national bank was unconstitutional, supporting agriculture, and preparing a sufficient militia.

This is a clip taken from the HBO series; John Adams It demonstrates a conversation between President George Washington's cabinet members Alexander Hamilton from Treasury Section and freshly returned from France and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. The conversation is a disagreement between both regarding Hamilton's projected supposition of the revolutionary war debts of the individual States below the power of the Federal government and the creation of a National bank. In actual fact these are some of the primary and foundational ideological differences between the origins of the Democrat that were known at the time as Federalist and Republican also known as Democratic-Republican parties. According to Hamilton the future prosperity of

By the 1820’s, the Embargo Act, War of 1812 and the Panic of 1819 played a very important role in the reshaping of our countries economic development. Hamilton believed that America would flourish only if we were involved in heavy manufacturing and commerce. He believed a strong federal government could solve many of the new country’s financial problems including establishing a stable currency. He therefore established a national bank similar to the one in England to consolidate the states debt under the federal government and enacted protective tariffs to increase American manufacturing. He also knew the importance of promoting domestic manufacturing so the United States would no longer have to rely on imported manufactured goods. Jefferson was the complete opposite. He believed that it was essential that the citizens of the new country would grow their