preview

Similarities Between Hamilton And Thomas Jefferson

Decent Essays

While both Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson played tremendous roles in the development and founding of the United States, their beliefs were vastly different. Hamilton believed that America’s power should be based in a federal government. On the other hand, Jefferson believed that the power should be distributed amongst the states construed of local governments. These beliefs and views on the order in which America should be run, strongly influenced their actions and how they supported and changed the American government. Jefferson and Hamilton strongly opposed each other in regard to the practicality of a national bank and believed that the bank should act in different roles. Before you take a close observation of Jefferson and Hamilton’s …show more content…

Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, was born into a wealthy family in Virginia. He first started out as a tobacco farmer. He then later became a politician in Virginia. From early in his life, Hamilton was a federalist. Hamilton and his party strongly believed that the country should be governed by the wealthy and upper class because they were the ones who were best suited to hold positions of power. Jefferson supported a Republican party that completely opposed the idea that the “elite” should lead the country. The main objective of Jefferson’s party was to leave little power in the hands of the government in order to prevent tyranny. Hamilton and Jefferson were also opposed in where they thought the power should be concentrated. The federalists believed that the federal government should have national power. The Republicans and Jefferson wanted the American power to be divided among the states. Along with the government, both men thought the American economy should have been supported in different areas. Hamilton thought that the already agricultural-economy could improve with the addition of manufacturing and shipping. Jefferson, stemming from a farming background, believed that the economy could …show more content…

Of all their disagreements, the debate over the bank was probably one of the most popular topics that the two men argued. Soon after Hamilton’s rise into politics, he created a plan for the for the government to establish a national bank. The idea that Hamilton set forth seemed to reflect the Bank of England because he admired the system that the English government had. Hamilton’s intricate banking system was created to have many branches placed across the States and create a common currency for the entire country. Hamilton also supported that the National Bank should be able to loan money to the government and act as a place to deposit their money. Hamilton created a very descriptive plan for a national bank that he offered to the Congress in December of 1790. To quickly confront America’s problem, Hamilton’s idea wanted the bank to pay off all debts the country had. Hamilton wanted to use this national bank in order to turn the economy in the right direction and strengthen the financial interests in America. Thomas Jefferson disagreed with the ideology of a national bank completely. Jefferson’s argument was that he believed the formation of a national bank under the government was unconstitutional and that the government didn’t have the power to do so. In Jefferson's Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank, Jefferson says that

Get Access