What were the main differences between Jefferson and Hamilton concerning the power of the nations government?

Alexander Hamilton, by John Trumbull, ca. 1806. Andrew W. Mellon Collection [1940.1.8]. (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.)

Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale (Wikimedia)

Matters weren't helped by Hamilton's habit of speaking frankly-usually, too frankly-about his political views. Luckily for historians (though, not so luckily for Hamilton), Jefferson often recorded such moments for potential future use.

For example, as Jefferson recounted in a note to a friend, one evening in 1791, Secretary of State Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Vice President John Adams were dining together at Jefferson's home. When dinner was over and the cloth was removed (as they put it in the 18th century), the conversation strayed into the subject of the British constitution.

As Jefferson recalled it, “Adams said, '[P]urge that constitution of its corruption, and give to its popular branch equality of representation, and it would be the most perfect constitution ever devised by the wit of man.” At this point, “Hamilton paused,” Jefferson wrote dramatically, “and said, '[P]urge it of its corruption, and give to its popular branch equality of representation, and it would become an impracticable government: as it stands at present, with all its supposed defects, it is the most perfect government which ever existed.”

To Jefferson, this story held the key to Hamilton's politics. “Hamilton was not only a monarchist,” he wrote, “but for a monarchy bottomed on corruption.” It was Hamilton's corruption- defined by Jefferson as his ability to sway Congress to his will -that most disturbed Jefferson. As he complained to Washington in 1792, Hamilton had at his disposal a "squadron devoted to the nod of the treasury." Out of the public eye and able to serve their own interests, such men would "form the most corrupt government on earth." To Jefferson, it was Hamilton and his self-interested friends, not the people, who reigned supreme.

Jefferson himself, he proclaimed repeatedly, had determined "to intermeddle not at all with the legislature... If it has been supposed that I ever intrigued among the members of the legislature to defeat the plans of the Secretary of the Treasury, it is contrary to all truth." As he explained it, he was guilty only of enunciating his "sentiments in conversation, and chiefly among those who, expressing the same sentiments, drew mine from me." In Jefferson's mind, such innocent conversations could scarcely be considered congressional intrigue. Jefferson’s protestations are convincing until we look more closely at the unfolding of some of his innocent dinner parties, which were sometimes deliberate attempts to test and reinforce the sympathies of potential supporters in the House.

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When it comes to Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton the main difference between the two was their political party. The basis of each of their political parties set the boundaries for their beliefs and their views as politicians. Both men were founding fathers of our country, and made a huge impact on history as we know it. Without these men, our country's government might not be what it is today.

One of the only similarities of Jefferson and Hamilton was their want to diminish national debt. Each one had their own view of how to do this, but it was a main goal of both politicians. Alexander Hamilton was a founding father and leader of the Federalist party. Hamilton wanted America to be just like Great Britain. He believed that in the best interest for the country, the government should be run by elite people with lots of money. Hamilton was The United States Secretary of Treasury, during this time, and proposed many of his reform ideas to Congress. He wanted the US to pay off their debt. By doing

The conflict that took shape in the 1790s between the Federalists and the Antifederalists exercised a profound impact on American history. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, who had married into the wealthy Schuyler family, represented the urban mercantile interests of the seaports; the Antifederalists, led by Thomas Jefferson, spoke for the rural and southern interests. The debate between the two concerned the power of the central government versus that of the states, with the Federalists favoring the former and the Antifederalists advocating states' rights.

Hamilton sought a strong central government acting in the interests of commerce and industry. He brought to public life a love of efficiency, order and organization. In response to the call of the House of Representatives for a plan for the "adequate support of public credit," he laid down and supported principles not only of the public economy, but of effective government.

Hamilton pointed out that America must have credit for industrial development, commercial activity and the operations of government. It must also have the complete faith and support of the people. There were many who wished to repudiate the national debt or pay only part of it. Hamilton, however insisted upon full payment and also upon a plan by which the federal government took over the unpaid debts of the states incurred during the Revolution.

Hamilton also devised a Bank of the United States, with the right to establish branches in different parts of the country. He sponsored a national mint, and argued in favor of tariffs, using a version of an "infant industry" argument: that temporary protection of new firms can help foster the development of competitive national industries. These measures -- placing the credit of the federal government on a firm foundation and giving it all the revenues it needed -- encouraged commerce and industry, and created a solid phalanx of businessmen who stood firmly behind the national government.

Jefferson advocated a decentralized agrarian republic. He recognized the value of a strong central government in foreign relations, but he did not want it strong in other respects. Hamilton's great aim was more efficient organization, whereas Jefferson once said "I am not a friend to a very energetic government." Hamilton feared anarchy and thought in terms of order; Jefferson feared tyranny and thought in terms of freedom.

The United States needed both influences. It was the country's good fortune that it had both men and could, in time, fuse and reconcile their philosophies. One clash between them, which occurred shortly after Jefferson took office as secretary of state, led to a new and profoundly important interpretation of the Constitution. When Hamilton introduced his bill to establish a national bank, Jefferson objected. Speaking for those who believed in states' rights, Jefferson argued that the Constitution expressly enumerates all the powers belonging to the federal government and reserves all other powers to the states. Nowhere was it empowered to set up a bank.

Hamilton contended that because of the mass of necessary detail, a vast body of powers had to be implied by general clauses, and one of these authorized Congress to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper" for carrying out other powers specifically granted. The Constitution authorized the national government to levy and collect taxes, pay debts and borrow money. A national bank would materially help in performing these functions efficiently. Congress, therefore, was entitled, under its implied powers, to create such a bank. Washington and the Congress accepted Hamilton's view -- and an important precedent for an expansive interpretation of the federal government's authority.

How did the debate between Jefferson and Hamilton shape the political system of the United States?

Answer

In George Washington’s Farewell Address (1796), the retiring president warned that the creation of political factions, “sharpened by the spirit of revenge,” would most certainly lead to “formal and permanent despotism.” Despite Washington’s cautionary words, two of his closest advisors, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, helped to form the factions that led to the dual party system under which the U.S. operates today. Other men, most notably James Madison and John Adams, also contributed to the formation of political parties, but Hamilton and Jefferson came to represent the divisions that shaped the early national political landscape.

Although both men had been active in the Revolutionary effort and in the founding of the United States, Jefferson and Hamilton did not work together until Washington appointed Jefferson the first secretary of State and Hamilton the first secretary of the Treasury. From the beginning, the two men harbored opposing visions of the nation’s path. Jefferson believed that America’s success lay in its agrarian tradition. Hamilton’s economic plan hinged on the promotion of manufactures and commerce. While Hamilton distrusted popular will and believed that the federal government should wield considerable power in order steer a successful course, Jefferson placed his trust in the people as governors. Perhaps because of their differences of opinion, Washington made these men his closest advisors.

Hamilton’s economic plan for the nation included establishing a national bank like that in England to maintain public credit; consolidating the states’ debts under the federal government; and enacting protective tariffs and government subsidies to encourage American manufactures. All of these measures strengthened the federal government’s power at the expense of the states. Jefferson and his political allies opposed these reforms. Francophile Jefferson feared that the Bank of the United States represented too much English influence, and he argued that the Constitution did not give Congress the power to establish a bank. He did not believe that promoting manufactures was as important as supporting the already-established agrarian base. Jefferson deemed “those who labour in the earth” the “chosen people of God . . . whose breasts he has made his peculiar deposit for substantial and genuine virtue.” He advised his countrymen to “let our work-shops remain in Europe.”

When George Washington’s administration began, the two camps that formed during the Constitutional ratification debates – those groups known as the Federalists and Anti-Federalists – had not yet solidified into parties. But, disagreements over the nation’s direction were already eroding any hope of political unity. In May of 1792, Jefferson expressed his fear to Washington about Hamilton’s policies, calling Hamilton’s allies in Congress a “corrupt squadron.” He expressed fear that Hamilton wished to move away from the Constitution’s republican structure, toward a monarchy modeled after the English constitution. That same month, Hamilton confided to a friend that “Mr. Madison cooperating with Mr. Jefferson is at the head of a faction decidedly hostile to me and my administration, and . . . dangerous to the union, peace and happiness of the Country.”

By the time Jefferson and John Adams vied for the presidency in 1796, political factions had formed under the labels “Republicans” and “Federalists.” In fact, by 1804 the advent of political parties necessitated a constitutional amendment that changed the electoral process to allow president/vice president tickets on the ballot. The Federalists dominated the national government through the end of the 18th century. Despite President Washington’s efforts at unity, political differences proved to be too deep to promote consensus. The Republican Party emerged as organized opposition to Federalist policies, and despite Jefferson’s assurances in his first inaugural address that Americans were “all republicans” and “all federalists,” faction had solidified into party.

George Washington, “Farewell Address,” Yale University, Avalon Project.

Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1784, in David Waldstreicher, ed., Notes on the State of Virginia, and Related Documents. Boston: Bedford St. Martins Press, 2002. Can also be found online at the University of Virginia Library’s Electronic Text Center.

Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, May 23, 1792 and Alexander Hamilton to Edward Carrington, May 26, 1792 in Jefferson vs. Hamilton: Confrontations that Shaped a Nation, ed. by Noble E. Cunningham, Jr. Boston: Bedford St. Martins Press, 2000.

Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, 1801. Papers of Thomas Jefferson, ed. by Barbara Oberg. Princeton University Press, 2006. vol. 33: 148-152.

Thomas Jefferson Papers

Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. ed. Jefferson vs. Hamilton: Confrontations That Shaped a Nation. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s Press, 2000.

Read, James H. Power versus Liberty: Madison, Hamilton, Wilson, and Jefferson. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2000.

Staloff, Darren. Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson: The Politics of the Enlightenment and the American Founding. New York: Hill and Wang, 2005.