Chp 10 What were the philosophical and political disagreements between Hamilton and Jefferson that led to the creation of the first American political parties?
Clemmer  
 

The philosophical and political beliefs of Hamilton and Jefferson were on opposite sides of the spectrum. At one end, there was the man who believed a stronger centralized government was necessary to maintain a balanced society, whereas the other felt states’ rights were vital to the success of America. These differences of opinion resulted in the creation of the first two American political parties, the Federalists and the Democrat-Republicans. Alexander Hamilton was a man whose unquestioned genius made his stance for his country appeared to some as though he favored it more than the countrymen. Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury shaped the nation’s economy around the wealthy class. His idea was that the propertied class would fatten, thereby allowing their new wealth to trickle down to the masses. Evidence of such genius was seen in his use of assumption. This idea allowed the states debts to be regarded as a national obligation. By doing this, it would alleviate some of the debt for those states with great debt, hence making the federal economy stronger and unified. Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of State, believed in the strength of the states as opposed to a centralized government. Much of the old school and revolutionary school of thought, Jefferson didn’t favor Hamilton’s fiscal policies at all. This clash of philosophies erupted into the creation of political parties, founded upon those very principles each man was campaigning so vigorously for and against.

            Federalists and Democrat-Republicans emerged from the debate between Hamilton and Jefferson. Those who favored the centralized government [Federalists] featured the ideology of being ruled by the best people. By this, they were not in favor of extending the raw ideals of democracy and thereby had a loose interpretation of the Constitution. The powerful central government they promoted was paid for at the expense of states’ rights. By utilizing a tariff and the British, the government would be in control of the economy and trade. Capitalistic enterprises would foster business and concentrate wealth where it belonged. The expanding bureaucracy and a central bank promoted national debt as a properly funded blessing. Military application included a strong navy to provide support for their trading interests. On the other hand, the Democrat-Republicans were of the school led by the informed masses. Very friendly toward the extension of democracy, they promoted a strict interpretation of the Constitution. This idea reinforced the belief in states rights and shunned the idea of a strong, centralized government controlling the people. Thus, there were no special privileges for the manufactures or for business; those members of the Democrat-Republicans favored agriculture. Favoring the French, national debt became a bane an encouragement on states banks rather than the central bank was the practiced idea. These very opposing approaches to government brought forth by the differences of Hamilton and Jefferson, both philosophically and politically, initiated the creation of the first political parties.

Fodor  
 

Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury and Thomas Jefferson, the secretary of state disagreed on many different subjects having to do with the government.  They had opposing thoughts on the Bank of the United States.  Jefferson passionately promoted states’ rights, while many of Hamilton’s doings in the government went directly against states’ rights.  These political and philosophical dissimilarities led to the emergence of the first American political parties, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. 

One of the leading arguments between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton was over the proposal of a Bank of the United States.  Hamilton, who proposed this idea, modeled the bank after the English Bank of England.  This bank would be primarily owned by the government, would hold government money, and would also print money.  Jefferson believed that this bank was unconstitutional since the constitution did not call for a bank like this.  Seeing as Thomas Jefferson held the idea that states’ rights should be honored, he also thought that the states should be allowed to create their own banks.  Hamilton then argued that since the constitution did not prohibit a national bank the government was allowed to create the Bank of the United States.  He also reasoned that the constitution stated that Congress is allowed to pass any laws that are “necessary and proper” to help the government agencies.  The bank, according to Hamilton, would greatly help the government in taxing and trading.  In the end of these arguments, Washington allowed there to be a Bank of the United States, which was created by Congress in 1791.

This Bank of the United States conflict showed the opposing beliefs of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson on the translation of the constitution.  Jefferson believed in a strict translation of the constitution while Hamilton believed in a loose translation of the constitution.  The two beliefs led to the development of two theories, the theory of  “strict construction” and the theory of “loose construction.”  These two secretaries both had their own followers who also had similar ideas about the Constitution.  These two theories also caused Jefferson and Hamilton to disagree on the subject of who should have more power, the states or the federal government.  Jefferson believed that the states should have a great deal of power, while Hamilton wanted a bigger federal power.  These disagreements also contributed to the appearance of the two Political parties. 

Before the 1790’s, no two political parties were able to remain for very long; previous to this time, parties only existed until either they won or until their idea lost popularity.  Jefferson and Hamilton’s competition allowed to parties to form and to remain for a very long time.  Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were political rivalries that disagreed on many subjects.  Two of these were the Bank of the United States and the translation of the Constitution.  Many of Hamilton’s dealings with the government went directly against the rights of the states, and also against the beliefs of Jefferson.  In the 1790’s two political parties consequently came into existence.  There were the Hamiltonians, or the Federalists, who supported Alexander Hamilton and there were the Jeffersonians, also known as the Democratic-Republicans, who supported Thomas Jefferson.               

Ortiz  
 

Hamilton and Jefferson disagreed with each other on many levels. Hamilton believed that if the Constitution didn’t forbid anything, it allowed it; while Jefferson thought that if something wasn’t explicitly permitted, then it was prohibited. Hamilton also believed in creating a national bank and began the process that shaped it, all while Jefferson vehemently protested it. Hamilton was also a strong federalist, but Jefferson believed that states’ rights were more important. Their disagreements fueled the emergence of political parties.

Hamilton’s federalist beliefs supported his “loose” interpretation of the Constitution. If the Constitution was strictly adhered to and the clause that Congress could pass any laws “necessary and proper,” then states would have much more control. If the Constitution allowed laws that were “necessary and proper” then the Federal government could put many more laws into effect and overrule state laws. This would work to Hamilton’s favor because of his strong federalist feelings. A national bank was one of the main things that Hamilton fought for. The central government would have to take control and exercise it’s power to put a national bank in place. Therefore, in order for Hamilton’s national bank to work, the Constitution would have to be loosely interpreted so that the federal government would have the power to put something that large and influential into place.

Jefferson was an adamant and dedicated anti-federalist. He believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution because then the central government’s power would be limited, and states could take more control. He also argued that a national bank wouldn’t be Constitutional because there was no “written authorization… for such a financial octopus.” (194) He believed that the power to “charter banks” (194) should be left up to the states.

Hamilton and Jefferson’s disagreements became public because of widely read newspapers that spread their political messages. Before long the beginnings of political parties emerged. Although national political parties were unknown when the new government first began, there had been factions before hand. Although very dedicated to their beliefs, these factions; such as the Whigs, Tories, federalists and anti-federalists; had disappeared when their cause no longer needed their support. None of the Founding Fathers imagined the forming of permanent political parties, but the two-party system has kept the system balanced and ensures that politics never stray too far from the wishes of the people.

Ponder  
   
Proto  
 
 Alexander Hamilton was the treasury secretary during 1789.  He was a virtual financial genius that worked very hard to improve the national credit.  He believed that if the economic policies of the administration were in favor of the upper class, they would return their financial and moral support.  This would in turn help the government a lot.  In the year of 1790, Alexander Hamilton persuaded congress to fund all of the national debt.  This means Congress would have to pay the whole debt as well as some interest.  Hamilton also urged Thomas Jefferson to have Congress fund all of the debts as well.  Virginia was opposed to having the state debts assumed, yet they did want the federal district, rather the District of Colombia, to be located on the Potomac River in Virginia.  Because of this, Hamilton planned to put the federal district in Virginia and assumed all of the state debts in the year 1790.
        Hamilton’s persistence to have the Congress assume the national and state debts caused the national debt to rise to a staggering 75 million dollars.  Oddly, this didn’t worry Hamilton.  Apparently, he had plans to lower the debt.  He put a tariff on imported goods of eight percent in the year 1789.  In order to raise more funds, Hamilton also had congress put a tax on a few domestic items in the year of 1791.  One of the many items was whiskey.  Whiskey was extremely important to many people; it was even used as currency occasionally. 
        Hamilton had a grand idea to create a Bank of the United States to hold onto the federal treasury’s surplus money.  The bank would also print paper money to keep the currency rate stable.  Jefferson argued that it was not constitutional for there to be a single bank made by congress.  He thought that each individual state should be able to create a separate bank.  Jefferson and Hamilton argued thoroughly over creating a national bank.  Primarily, they argued over their very different beliefs.  Hamilton believed in a loose translation of the constitution, while Jefferson believed in a very strict interpretation.  In the year 1791, congress created the first Bank of the United States.  The government was responsible for one fifth of the bank, and the remaining stocks were sold to the people.
        In the year 1794, disgruntled whiskey owners fought against the excise tax on whiskey during what is known as the Whiskey Rebellion.  They ceased the tax on whiskey by tarring and feathering many revenue officers.  Washington then sent an army of about thirteen thousand men to put a stop to this rebellion.  In the end, the Whiskey Rebellion was stopped.  George Washington’s government was in turn was better respected for the strength they used to overcome it.  Yet many anti-federalists believed that George Washington used much too much power to stop such a small group of rebels. 
        Hamilton’s financial accomplishments, such as assumption, the excise tax, funding, the bank, as well as the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion, led to his good credit rating.  The schemes that Hamilton performed caused there to be a growing opposition against him.  The intense rivalry between Hamilton and Jefferson, grew a created to political parties to slowly be formed.  At that time, these parties were known as the Hamiltonians and the Jeffersonian.  These parties later developed to the Republicans (Hamiltonians) and the Democrats (Jeffersonian).
 
Schepman  
 

The Lasting Quarrel

            Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson are historic enemies.  They had very different ideas for interpretation of the Constitution as well as financial and economic ideals.  They are responsible for initiating the first political parties of the United States; the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans.  The separation in opinions aroused because of Alexander Hamilton’s desire to explore new economic options.  Many people of the time, including Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were highly opposed to any such proposition.  The federalist and Democratic-Republican parties became bona fide parties in 1794, after Jay’s Treaty.

            Alexander Hamilton was a masterful Treasurer, who developed insightful new techniques to bring the United States out of debt.  He thought it a good idea to establish a nation wide bank, and to deflate the national debt by supporting the national debt at par.  Because the United States of America was a newly formed democracy, it was imperative that someone develop a plan to rid the nation of debt.  Jefferson and others strongly disagreed with these economic principles, as well as other philosophical principles.

            Thomas Jefferson was the Secretary of State during Alexander Hamilton’s reign as Secretary of the Treasury.  He believed that the Constitution should be interpreted very strictly, and that nothing should be taken lightly with such a revolutionary document.  Jefferson disagreed with Hamilton’s National Bank proposition.  He felt that the people should primarily rule the economic and political powers. 

Hamilton believed that the Constitution should be interpreted loosely.  He also believed that the United States government should be centralized.  He did not have a very large amount of trust for the people, and believed that the best way to rule a government was to put more money into the government, and charge the American people a larger amount of taxes.  This type of political and philosophical beliefs was formed under the Federalist Party.  Jefferson’s Democratic Republican Party was created because of the large disagreement between the sides.  Jefferson believed that the Constitution should be strictly interpreted, and that the people held the power.  He believed that the government should control as little as possible, and that taxes should be limited.  This political dichotomy caused a division amongst politicians; which in turn, aroused the separation ideals to be put into place, by initiating the Party system.

Jefferson and Hamilton were influential members of early American society.  They were also quite essential to the development of the famous American democracy.  They single-handedly established Parties in American society, which, to this day, are still used during Presidential, Congressional, and House of Representative elections.  Hamilton and Jefferson’s disagreements sparked the beginning of a new democratic era; one which has lasted, even until the twenty-first century.