Comparing Views Of Hamilton And Jefferson

1121 Words5 Pages

• Both Hamilton and Jefferson saw our nation as having a future where America would be a great power; however, their plans to arrive there were very different. Federal Government- • When it came to federal government Hamilton favored a strong central authority. He believed that a strong central government was necessary to provide order. This order would make it so that the industrial world could grow in America. Hamilton wanted a thriving commercial republic, and he wanted the national government to gain additional powers. With this commercial republic in mind he believed that where America would be in the future depended on the creating of a powerful fiscal-military state. Hamilton was nationalist, as well as someone you would see as a “stiff neck” (elitist), which made him eye democracy with suspicion. Hamilton’s vision of American was ran by the educated and wealthy. One reason, I believe Hamilton probably felt as strongly as he did about a strong central government was from his service in the Revolutionary War. He had become Washington’s personal aide; he had firsthand experience of the difficulty the Continental army had when it came to the ineffectual congress. Due to the weak congress having no real power, it was not able to raise funds to pay for supplies and food. When it came to the constitution, Hamilton preferred an …show more content…

He believed that the people should be the final authority in government. In turn, Jefferson wanted to limit the federal government’s power to achieve protecting the states’ authority. Him and his followers, the republicans (antifederalists), believed that their liberty could plume only if the states could remain powerful enough to protect their citizens from the new federal government. Jefferson believed the nation’s strength laid in its agricultural roots. His vision of America would be built on independent

Open Document