1) (Page 22): How did Hamilton and Jefferson differ in their interpretations of the Constitution? Hamilton used the Constitutions elastic clause to make a national bank while Thomas Jefferson did not believe it was right to create a national bank because he believed it was unconstitutional.…
Hamilton advocated for strong central government acting on the interests of commerce and industry. From the ideas of the two men for America’s future compared with how things are today, it is obvious that most of Hamilton’s ideas did come true and were a much better approach to America and its problems. Just like Hamilton invasions, the economic system is mixed, with agriculture working alongside industry. “Hamilton’s Reports on Manufactures in 1791 called for a diverse economy based on agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing”(Brinkley, 100). He realized the importance of encouraging domestic industry and new it was key to strengthening and maintaining true independence. Also, manufacturing and trade produce a very prosperous economy, which Hamilton also envisioned. This…
Maurice Talleyrand sends 3 marshals to meet with them. The marshals try to make them give them a quarter million to see him.…
The book, Jefferson and Hamilton: A Rivalry that Forged the Nation, written by John E. Ferling was published on October 1, 2013. John E. Ferling has written other books in this subject area. Some of his other works include: The Loyalist Mind, A Wilderness of Miseries, and Almost a Miracle. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton are the main characters. Although, John Adams is a secondary characters who play a significant role in this nonfiction literature.…
During the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison, Republicans, such as Jefferson were seen as strict constructionists of the Constitution while Federalists, like Madison, were generally looser with their interpretations of the Constitution's literal meaning. While the constructionist ideas were part of what separated the two parties from one another, Jefferson and Madison are both guilty of not adhering to these ideas on many occasions. Jefferson writes in a letter to Gideon Granger expressing his idea that the United States is too large to have only one central government, and the states should receive more power, which goes against the fact that the Constitution was created in order to unite a new country. Also, when passing the Embargo Act, Jefferson demonstrates the federal power over the people, which goes against his Republican belief of allowing the states to have more power. As Madison prepares for his term in office, the citizens of the United States were most likely expecting him to be more open to suggestion in his interpretations of the Constitution. However, during a speech by Daniel Webster, a Federalist speaking on behalf of the entire Federalist Party, and a veto on internal improvements, Madison proves that he truly is not a loose constructionist as his party would have preferred him to be. Both Madison and Jefferson are guilty of frequently going against the general ideas of their parties in order to meet their needs at a certain time.…
Jeffersonians favored a strict interpretation of the Constitution to limit the powers of the central government and conserve state rights.…
The ideal society of Jefferson and his followers varied greatly to the federalists’ ideal society. The Jeffersonian Republicans wanted their society to have a central government that barely controlled the lives of the independent farmers. They preferred to have a strong state government. The sole purpose of the government was to protect one’s liberties that the Constitution granted. Jefferson expresses his ideal society in…
In the late 1700s to the early 1800s, the United States was in need of a political philosophy that interpreted the Constitution loosely, avoided possibly catastrophic wars, and built up the economy in the easiest and most efficient way possible, all which were found best in Alexander Hamilton.…
April 13, 1743 Albemarle County in the English colony of Virginia was the start of an American historical giant. Thomas Jefferson was born in affluence to his father, Peter Jefferson, a rising young planter in the Virginia colony, and his mother, Jane Randolph, who held a high status within the colony as well. Due to his father’s prosperity Jefferson was afforded the absolute best in the ways of education, starting with private tutors at the age of five, then moving on to learn how to read Greek and Roman in there original text and finally taking his studies to the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg which he would say is “…what probably fixed the destinies of my life…” pg 5. On the other side of the spectrum, a few years later another huge American historical figure is born. Presumably on January 11, 1755, Alexander Hamilton the bastard son of his father, James Hamilton, a Scotsman of a well-known family but never flourished on his own, and his mother, Rachel Fawcett Lavien, who had left her husband, John Lavien, to live with James Hamilton. There is very little said about Hamilton’s early life just that his father “drifted away” and his mother passed in 1768. Lacking wealth, Hamilton’s educational opportunities in his young life were nonexistent, this is not to say though that his youth was wasted it was here that he gained a vast knowledge of business and finance that he would later use in his service to President George Washington. Even in their early lives it was easy to see the great dissimilarities between these two patriarchs, now I will discuss further more issues that Jefferson and Hamilton shared some differences of opinions.…
Both leaders/groups contributed in the ratification of the Constitution, but interpreted the foundations and articles differently. For example, Jefferson believed that the proposed central government was unconstitutional because it was not written in the Constitution. In Doc. A, Jefferson stated "that all powers not delegated to the U.S. by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it by the states, remain with the people." Hamilton and the Federalists believed in loose interpretation of the Constitution, so that the central…
Jefferson had a good point showing that the rich and wealthy and wellborn should not rule, and that was a big point of Hamilton’s I did not believe in but, overall Hamilton’s views on who should govern passed Jefferson. For example, Hamilton wanted to raise voting qualifications meaning he didn’t want it to be so easy for anyone to vote, and that is how it should be, not everyone should be able to vote, it should be a privilege, and having anyone be able to vote like Jefferson believed, could hurt the government and who runs…
Over two hundred years ago people were asking how powerful should the president be? Is he too powerful now? Today, in the twenty-first century, political scientist, constituent, and even politicians are asking the same questions. One of the most notable debates over this subject stems from a disagree between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton preferred a larger executive while Jefferson preferred a smaller one. When George Washington declared neutrality during a war between Britain and France, Jefferson did not believe that Washington had the constitutional power to do this. Hamilton decided to respond; he did so by publishing articles under the pseudonym, Pacificus.…
He believed that the ability of the common citizen to govern himself was an effective way to dilute the power from any one person, and along that same train of thought, keep that one person from developing an affinity for that power and developing the tendency to abuse that power. He acknowledged the ability of the majority to sometimes make wrong decisions, but argued that a wrong decision made by the people is often better than any made by a king or by a tyrant. Jefferson was so devoted to the idea of freedom that he even supported the idea of rebellion, saying that it should be a necessary part of any true…
While Jefferson’s visions prove to be more idealistic, Hamilton’s views are more pragmatic for the future of America. Jefferson’s ideas focused mainly on morals and values, and didn’t focus on what the government needed for the economy. He states in his writing, The Importance of Agriculture, “Corruption of morals in the mass of cultivators is a phenomenon of which no age nor nation has furnished an example.” He believes that no one has ever achieved a completely moral nation, and that America should set the example for the rest of the world instead of focusing on working and making money. People cannot live like in a world like that, and ultimately Jefferson is contradicting himself by saying that America should set an example. If no one ever achieved a moral and virtuous nation, it was possibly because it did not move their country forward and help improve it. Although, Hamilton disagrees and believes industrialization will move the economy forward, which is what America needs. Hamilton responds to Jefferson by writing in his Report on the Subject of Manufactures, “It may be inferred that manufacturing establishments… a positive augmentation of the produce and revenue of the society.” He believes that manufacturing will bring a lot of money for society, and benefit the economy much more than simply farming. In order for the country to become bigger, richer, and more powerful, their economy needs to expand. In order to do so Hamilton believes we need industry. Jefferson feels that even though agriculture was morally good for the country, however, Hamilton thinks by not industrializing America would fall behind every country in the world. Hamilton writes, “Beget an earnest desire that a more extensive demand for that surplus may be created at home...” If America industrializes, then therefore, according to Hamilton, more countries will want the goods we produce. The more goods…
Jefferson and Hamilton had two very different views on politics. Many clear thinking Americans could tell you at least some facts about Thomas Jefferson. Far fewer would likely have an idea of who Alexander Hamilton was and what he provided as a Founding Father. Yet his idea of an American government was just as important as that of Jefferson. Both Jefferson and Hamilton foresaw the new nation as a future power, and both had very different ways to get it there. Jefferson believed the nation’s strengths lay in its agricultural roots. He favored an agrarian nation with most powers reserved for the states. He was very opposed to a sturdy central authority and believed that the citizens were the final…