Compare And Contrast The Views Of Thomas Jefferson And Alexander Hamilton During The 1790s

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were opposing forces during the 1790’s. Thomas Jefferson was one of the first democratic-republican politicians in American History. He protected the rights of individuals while many of Hamilton’s positions were centered around the federal government. Hamilton was a federalist so it was no secret that many of his stances supported a strong central government. Hamilton was more focused on order while Jefferson’s interests lied in the heart of freedom. Thomas Jefferson differed from federalists because he represented predominantly the southern states and their agricultural values. Many democratic-republicans did not care for commerce and manufacturing in spite of it being the federalists, primarily northerners, backbone of economy. Jefferson believed that a society would best succeed with rural, self-sufficient farmers. He, along with most Democratic-Republicans, or Republicans, thought a strong central government would lead to oppression of the people living under the government. Hamilton favored a strong federal government. He believed without one, the economy could not flourish. A great debate between Hamilton and Jefferson came with the introduction of the National Bank.
Jefferson, being secretary of state at the time had a large part in the decision of whether or not the creation of a national bank was constitutional. Jefferson, at this time being a strict constructionist, believed that the creation of the First National Bank was unconstitutional because the constitution does not state the formation of such a bank. Hamilton, using loose constructionism, argued against this point, stating that the constitution states that Congress can do anything to make the government work. The National Bank would allow the federal government to collect taxes more efficiently. With the support of President George Washington, Hamilton got the National bank underway. Washington appointed Hamilton as the first Secretary of the Treasury because he had such a keen understanding of commerce and financial dealings. With the creation of the First National Bank, Hamilton thought the government should take over all states’ debts. This benefitted the northern states because they had accumulated debt from starting a nation and fighting a war. Jefferson opposed this because many southern states had all of their debts paid off so a national debt would not benefit them. With a central bank carrying a national debt, the southern states would be paying off debt that was accumulated by their northern counterparts. Jefferson thought each state should be responsible for their own debt but this ideology was not popular which can be examined through the fact that the United States has assumed a national debt since the 1790’s. Jefferson, along with his supporters, worried that a strong federal government would lead to a similar oppression that the people felt while they were in England. He thought the economy would be most prosperous if the power was distributed between the individual states. Hamilton thought that this was a defective way of running a government. He and the rest of the federalists thought that the national interests were the most critical aspect of having a successful government and wanted most of the power to lie accordingly. These major differences lead to a very different philosophy on how a nation should be governed. This was the first time in history that the two-party political system was prevalent throughout the nation.
After this, it was necessary to change the way the presidential and vice-presidential election was determined (also because Jefferson and Burr ended in a tie in 1800). Prior to this system, the second-place candidate would become vice-president. This would be a terribly ineffective way to run a government because more likely than not the second-place candidate would be of the opposite party than the victor. This would lead to clashing values within our Executive Branch. In 1804, the 12th amendment to constitution placed the presidential his vice-presidential candidates on the same ticket. Finally, Alexander Hamilton probably has had more influence in American history.
It does not seem to be obvious because he was never president of the United States, and he was part of a political party that died off very soon in its existence but the contributions that Hamilton made on the governments financial well-being and style of government we have today. The United States seems to be more Hamiltonian than Jeffersonian because the federal government is much stronger than individual states governments. Although, ideas of Jefferson still exist today, and he is probably thought of as the more influential of the two, Hamilton’s main ideas, such as a strong central bank and effective economic system, are obvious signs of Hamilton’s lasting
success.