Rhett Hunt December 14, 2011 AP US History Mrs. Work Alexander Hamilton vs.

Thomas Jefferson Many view the founding fathers as holding a mass of homogeneous ideology. For some patriots, this was true, but for men like Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, thoughts, morals and political viewpoints were quite divisible. Jeffersons belief in a nation built by agriculture opposed by Hamiltons confidence of a country formed by industry contributed to a prolonged disagreement between these men. Each man, firm in their conviction, but whether correct or improper, these are the men who put their lives on the line to forge and design the great nation we live in today. These main differences, originating from national economy, the formation of a central government and foreign policy, will be discussed in the following paragraphs. Thomas Jefferson, Born in Shadwell, Virginia, was born into a wealthy plantation family with attachments to prominent families such as Isham Randolph of Dungeness who was a wealthy sailor and planter. His attachments to wealth and agriculture created the foundation for his dependence on cultivation to build the nations economy. Hamilton, on the other hand, was born in Charlestown, Nevis. This was a very poor British-ruled country. Hamiltons dependence on Industry can be traced from the humble conditions of his childhood, wishing to be wealthy like his superiors. Industry creates more job opportunities and builds credit for a nation. Agriculture has a more gradual slope of improvement on a nations economy. Hamilton

supported the assumption of state debts to be dealt with by the nation and creating a national bank. Jeffersons rebuttal was that states such as Virginia had already dissolved their debt s by themselves and it would be unfair for the other states to not do the same. He believed that the idea of a bank was against everything the constitution was erected for, because no idea of a bank was specifically mentioned. Hamilton supported levying tariffs which could have caused revolts from western farmers. He looked to a Strong Central Government to handle these problems. Jefferson opposed a Strong Central Government. Hamilton, foremost a soldier in the revolutionary war-the Little Lion of the Revolution, supported the idea of a strong central government for the aim that a central government is the least likely to be attacked. If you were to attack a neighboring country and one country had a strong government with an army, and the other with a weak government without a force to be rendered with, the weak country is the obvious choice. With a strong central government, the government supplies some form of welfare for the citizens without their needs taken care of. Hamilton, raised very poor needing to work to make ends meet, was looking out for the lower class such as himself. Jefferson went to school to become a lawyer. His idea of a weak central government made it easier to appeal to the wishes and desires of the people. Considering Jefferson was the chief drafter of the Constitution of the United States, and that the Constitution plans for a balance of power among government, it seems almost pointless to have a number of branches if the over-all plan was for a weak central government. Each branch of government enforces and supports the others unless the branches are spread out to the point of neglecting one another. Jefferson stated that, The purpose of government is to protect individual liberties That is the primary purpose but not th e single purpose of government.

Hamilton realized that one of the main purposes of government is to regulate trade and economy among the nation. Both men agree that economy is crucial to a nations government. With a strong Central Government, the economy can be up-held and supported. Concerning the idea of foreign policy, Jefferson remarked, The French Revolution is but an extension of our own Revolution. The heard round the world at concord was heard in Paris as well as Philadelphia At the time of the American Revolution, France was also experiencing a revolution. Citizens of France sailed to America to be released from the oppression of the revolt and the aristocrats. They were given refuge, in a matter of speaking, but the immigrants found Americas government less than ideal and did not hesitate to speak out about it. Because of this, the Alien and Sedition Acts were erected. These declared that non-American citizens could be arrested and deported for speaking out against the United States government. Hamilton strongly supported these Acts, whereas Jefferson was strongly opposed to it. Jefferson thought that the idea of the Acts was to the discrimination of nonnatural born persons on American soil. Hamilton bolstered an approach that was supported from a military stand-point. The Armed Forces were created to uphold the rights of individuals and if persons, such as the French refugees, outwardly oppose the government, they must be dealt with. He thought that if someone lived in the United States and supported the rules and ideas of democracy, they had the right to voice opinion. Regardless of voiced opinion, Jefferson was strong in the belief that the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. Jeffersons appeal to the civilian body can be seen by his movements again the Sedition Acts. As for the X, Y, Z Affair, Hamilton thought it was the most preposterous thing ever to occur! According to him, he was: Enraged by the treatment our representatives received in France He believed

that this was cause enough for America to jump into another war to defend the rights and name of the United States. Hamilton voiced that he would willingly be the commander in the field should they engage in warfare. The Alien and Sedition acts were created to prevent occurrences such at the X, Y, and Z Affair. Jeffersons argument was that Frances government has not yet stabilized. The American Revolution and the French Revolution were at nearly the same time, and so that is proof enough that Frances government is not top of the line because they could not settle in the time it took the American government. This idea supports Hamiltons view that Britain was a stronger ally and trading partner because of their st rong government and healthy economy. Jeffersons ideas, however, are supported by logic in the aspect that, like the newly formed United States, France had the Passion that was ignited when over throwing a government. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, both very influential men in the formation of America had many differences, but that just makes them human. They were both politicians and without opposition, one politician has not proven himself over the other. A fact of politics is that people will disagree with you. The proof of ability is the way that each man takes and reacts to the aversion from his/her fellow competitors. Both men were willing to die for what they believed in. Hamilton did, in fact, die standing up for his opinions; Stubborn and opinionated. Although these are only a few of the disagreements between these two great men, the fact that they disagreed and felt so strongly about their opinions just enforces that they were good at what they did.