Hamilton vs. Jefferson

After the election of George Washington as the first president of the United States in 1789, George Washington decided to choose the group of advisers called the cabinet to guide him in leading the country. Among these advisers, Alexander Hamilton became the Secretary of the Treasury, in charge of directing country’s finances and Thomas Jefferson became the Secretary of State, in charge of maintaining good relations with foreign countries. Almost from the beginning of their professional relationship, it became evident that they did not see eye to eye on many aspects of the government, especially when it came to interpreting the Constitution. During this time the first political parties began to develop, as the members of Washington’s cabinet disagreed that which direction the government should take (Erin ash Sullivan, 62). The conflict between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, which took shape in the 1790s, had a major effect on national politics in the early republic and even in today’s political arena.
Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11th 1757 in the island of Nevis, British West Indies. He moved to the United States in 1772 and was educated at King's College, New York City. While attending college, he developed strong political views and wrote a series of pamphlets in defense of the rights of the colonies against Britain. After joining the Continental Army in 1776 and became captain of arms. He also served as aide-de-camp to General George Washington. After the war, Hamilton studied law and eventually became a leading lawyer in New York and later, served as a member of the Continental Congress from 1782 to 1783. He became the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasure in 1789 and served at that post until 1795. During his tenure as Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton founded the Federalist Party, which controlled the government for much of the 1790s (Spartacus.schoolnet).
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13th, 1743 in Albemarle County, Virginia. At the age of sixteen, he attended the College of William and Mary and studied mathematics, metaphysics, and philosophy. Amazingly, he graduated in just two years with highest honors and moved on to study law. After finishing his law degree he became a lawyer in 1767. A member of the Revolutionary Party, Jefferson was elected in 1769 to the Virginia House of Burgesses. Five years later, he was a delegate at the Continental Congress and in 1776 he was the chairman of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson served as Governor of Virginia (1779-81) and as a member of the Continental Congress (1783-84). In 1785, he was appointed as Minister of France, a post he held for three years. His sympathy for the French Revolution brought him into conflict with Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson, along with James Madison, founded and led the Democratic-Republican Party which competed for power against Hamilton’s Federalist Party (Spartacus.schoolnet).
Hamilton led the federalists, who favored the strong central government acting in the interests of commerce and industry. He believed that this central government had to run by the wealthy and he distrusted the common people. “Even though he believed in republican form of government, Hamilton distrusted the common people of America […] Hamilton feared that if the ordinary farmers and tradesman had their way they would keep the national government weak and disorganized. He also believed that when the common people held power, they passed unfair laws that victimized the wealthy minatory of the population” (Steven H. Jaffe, 87). Hamilton issued a Report on Manufactures that called for congress to support industrial development. Even thought he fought to make America independent from Briton, he always admired England’s industrial strengths “Not only the wealth but the independence and the security of a country, appear to be materially connected with the prosperity of manufactures” rather than letting America be a nation of farms (Steven H. Jaffe, 87). On the other hand, Jefferson led the democratic- republicans, who favored a weaker central government and strong state governments. “Jefferson saw America as a group of farmers who were self sufficient that is, able to take care of their own needs” (Erin ash Sullivan, 62). He and the democratic-republican believed that it was up to the common people, the farmers and artisans, to keep the federal government from getting too powerful. “In the eyes of democratic-republicans, Hamilton introducing in to America ‘the corrupt and wretched system of British politics and finance’ and creating ‘an accumulation of great wealth in a few hands’” (Steven H. Jaffe)
In 1781, Hamilton had supported establishing the Bank of the United States (BUS) similar to the bank of England, which created national currency and credit system. “A public-private partnership, this mixed venture was to have both government and private direction. Under the control of wealthy private shareholders, this bank was to handle the government’s banking needs, which had been greatly enlarged by the assumption of the debts and the issuance of federal bonds” (William J. Rorabaugh,121). Jefferson disagreed with this plan. He argued that BUS favored the north not the south since most southern states had already paid their debts and most of the investors in BUS are from the north. Jefferson’s most convincing argument against bank was that it was unconstitutional. He was a strict constructionist, which means he believed that the constitution must be inferred word by word, so there were no terms in the constitution for the establishment of the bank. On the other hand, Hamilton was a loose constructionist, meaning he believed there was flexibility in the constitution. He argued that the implied power clause (elastic clause) gave the government the right to establish the bank because of the powers given to congress that allowed them to control trade and collect taxes (Kaplan, 112).
When the French Revolution began in 1789, there was a great sympathy in the United States for the French people, but the sympathy shrank as the France declared war on Austria. Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans were generally in favor of French. Hamilton and the federalist were in favor of Great Briton and they believed that United States had no business in supporting France, since they declared war on Great Briton. But President Washington, in 1793, issued the Proclamation of Neutrality, which declared that the United States favored neither England nor France.
Besides the many political differences between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, both men greatly helped in the shaping of the American nation. Jefferson, as the principle drafter of the Declaration of Independence and wartime governor of Virginia, risked his life in the American Revolution. As a soldier, Hamilton risked his life in American Revolution too. Hamilton gained the respect and favors of then General George Washington, an association that helped him on his post job as the member of constitutional convention of 1787 in Philadelphia. He had an active role in the making and adoption of the constitution of the United States. Washington based his domestic policy largely on Hamilton’s economic initiatives in the funding of the national bank. Both man played immensely important roles in directing the young republic under the new constitution. Even though they had many difference when it came to politics, they did respect each other. Hamilton was quoted as saying, "At least Jefferson was honest" (Steven H. Jaffe). In fact, Hamilton played a crucial role in helping Jefferson become the third president of the United States by supporting him during the presidential elections of 1800.