What Are The Differences Between Hamilton And The Federalists
Module 5 Written Assignment
1. The American Revolution was a modern and democratic revolution headed by the upper middle class and had three key phases.
2. As the radical phase of the American Revolution had passed, a much more conservative group of leaders rose to the political focal point; these leaders included Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.
Their attitude toward the people:
Hamilton and the Federalists had a limited view of popular sovereignty. They believed the electorate should be propertied, white, male, rich, and educated. This view was mirrored in the delegate elections of 1787 where only 160,000 white men, four percent of the population, were allowed to vote. The masses were considered unwise, according to John Jay, and had to be controlled by a strong government. Hamilton had a similar view in which he believed the general population was neither good nor bad but tended to stray toward being bad.
Hamilton and James Madison both had their views on class and equality shown in the Madison-authored Federalist Papers. In it, the tenets of life, liberty, and property were deemed to be applicable to anyone but more suited for the “talented” and rich. Both Hamilton and Madison didn’t believe in the equal or democratic distribution of resources …show more content…
and felt material inequality was natural. The poor masses did not have the abilities of the wealthy elite.
Their reasons for checks and balances:
The reason to have checks and balances was not necessarily to inhibit corruption or government tyranny, but to prevent mob rule since it limited popular sovereignty. Term limits, a set of qualifications for office, and veto powers could slow and stop populist ideals.
Their arguments for a strong executive:
Although the American Revolution started with and sustained a populist attitude after victory over the British was declared, the years after slowly saw the emergence of anti-populist leanings; the powers given to the presidency reflected these leanings. A strong executive branch was thought necessary to hold order and not allow schisms and rifts to form amongst the people due to narrow political demagoguery.
3.
One of the biggest issues contested during the Constitutional Convention was the fate of the slave trade. Northern states wanted it abolished largely because of the negotiated three-fifths rule which allowed slaves to be counted toward the number of delegates the House of Representatives would have. Southern representatives rebuked this idea completely and threatened to walk out of the Convention. Since the cooperation of the Southern states was crucial for the creation of a strong federal government, Northern delegates made considerable compromises. These compromises included extending the slave trade until 1808, the prohibition of taxing slave exports, and the implementation of the Fugitive Slave
Act.
The extension of the slave trade can be attributed to the deal made in regards to trade laws. Southern planters were worried about potential taxes being levied against crop exports and so demanded that legislation concerning trade laws would have to pass with a 2/3 majority in the federal legislature. They only conceded the position when it was agreed that the slave trade would be allowed to continue until 1808 in Article 1, Section 9 (Divine 146-7). This law also denied the denied the federal government the ability to tax slave exports and imposed a max import tariff of 100 dollars on each slave.
The other big concession came through Article IV, Section 2. Called the Fugitive Slave Act, this law made it so that an escaped slave must be returned to the owner even if the slave had made it into a free state. Despite the disappointment these stipulations caused Northerners, they were deemed necessary by many including James Madison who said “Great as the evil is, a dismemberment of the union would be worse (147).”
1. The American Revolution was a modern and democratic revolution headed by the upper middle class and had three key phases.
2. As the radical phase of the American Revolution had passed, a much more conservative group of leaders rose to the political focal point; these leaders included Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.
Their attitude toward the people:
Hamilton and the Federalists had a limited view of popular sovereignty. They believed the electorate should be propertied, white, male, rich, and educated. This view was mirrored in the delegate elections of 1787 where only 160,000 white men, four percent of the population, were allowed to vote. The masses were considered unwise, according to John Jay, and had to be controlled by a strong government. Hamilton had a similar view in which he believed the general population was neither good nor bad but tended to stray toward being bad.
Hamilton and James Madison both had their views on class and equality shown in the Madison-authored Federalist Papers. In it, the tenets of life, liberty, and property were deemed to be applicable to anyone but more suited for the “talented” and rich. Both Hamilton and Madison didn’t believe in the equal or democratic distribution of resources …show more content…
and felt material inequality was natural. The poor masses did not have the abilities of the wealthy elite.
Their reasons for checks and balances:
The reason to have checks and balances was not necessarily to inhibit corruption or government tyranny, but to prevent mob rule since it limited popular sovereignty. Term limits, a set of qualifications for office, and veto powers could slow and stop populist ideals.
Their arguments for a strong executive:
Although the American Revolution started with and sustained a populist attitude after victory over the British was declared, the years after slowly saw the emergence of anti-populist leanings; the powers given to the presidency reflected these leanings. A strong executive branch was thought necessary to hold order and not allow schisms and rifts to form amongst the people due to narrow political demagoguery.
3.
One of the biggest issues contested during the Constitutional Convention was the fate of the slave trade. Northern states wanted it abolished largely because of the negotiated three-fifths rule which allowed slaves to be counted toward the number of delegates the House of Representatives would have. Southern representatives rebuked this idea completely and threatened to walk out of the Convention. Since the cooperation of the Southern states was crucial for the creation of a strong federal government, Northern delegates made considerable compromises. These compromises included extending the slave trade until 1808, the prohibition of taxing slave exports, and the implementation of the Fugitive Slave
Act.
The extension of the slave trade can be attributed to the deal made in regards to trade laws. Southern planters were worried about potential taxes being levied against crop exports and so demanded that legislation concerning trade laws would have to pass with a 2/3 majority in the federal legislature. They only conceded the position when it was agreed that the slave trade would be allowed to continue until 1808 in Article 1, Section 9 (Divine 146-7). This law also denied the denied the federal government the ability to tax slave exports and imposed a max import tariff of 100 dollars on each slave.
The other big concession came through Article IV, Section 2. Called the Fugitive Slave Act, this law made it so that an escaped slave must be returned to the owner even if the slave had made it into a free state. Despite the disappointment these stipulations caused Northerners, they were deemed necessary by many including James Madison who said “Great as the evil is, a dismemberment of the union would be worse (147).”