Compare and contrast the philosophical and political views and beliefs of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.
Seldom have two cabinet members serving together in the same administration disagreed so fundamentally on so many issues as Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Indeed it is a tribute to the administrative ability of George Washington that he was able to keep two such able men with such sharply contrasting viewpoints working in tandem for the benefit of the new nation. The clash over specific political issues stemmed from basic philosophical differences.
Hamilton, as Secretary of the Treasury, had primary responsibility for the fiscal affairs of the country. Jefferson, as Secretary of State, was charged with the administration of foreign policy. Yet each man spoke out on issues effecting the other's area of responsibility because of strongly held views or beliefs on the underlying questions about: (1) the nature of the national government and its powers, (2) who should control the government, (3) how the Constitution should be interpreted, and (4) the economic future of the nation.
Hamilton believed in an all-powerful federal government with the capacity to override the states' political authority. He had seen the disastrous results of an Articles of Confederation government with very limited powers. Jefferson, conversely, favored a weaker centralized government with individual states having most of the political power. He remembered suffering under an all-powerful English parliament and sought to prevent a recurrence of such a situation. Hamilton thus sought to expand and Jefferson to limit the new national government.
As a believer in a natural aristocracy of wealth Hamilton argued that control of the government should be vested in the hands of a wealthy elite. As a champion of the "common man" Jefferson felt that the sturdy, self-reliant, independent farmer should have a dominant voice in governmental affairs. This "elitist" versus "democratic" argument permeated every issue under consideration. Jefferson was a strong believer, for example, in civil liberties of individuals while Hamilton saw the need to use the power of the government to suppress any "threats" to the new government, such as the "Whisky rebellion."
Hamilton, in keeping with his view of the need for a powerful national government, stressed the flexibility of the Constitution under the so-called "elastic clause." He developed the doctrine of "implied powers" from the constitutional provision that the Congress had the power to pass any law which "shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers." Sharply contrasted with this "broad interpretation" of the Constitution was Jefferson's strict or "narrow interpretation." He held that the national government had only those powers explicitly granted to it by the Constitution.
Hamilton's vision of the nation's economic future was that of a thriving, expanding industrial, commercial economy. Manufacturing should be encouraged by the government. Jefferson held just as steadfastly that the nation's economic base should continue to be an agrarian one. Jefferson feared and disliked what he felt large industrial cities would do to the nation. Once again Hamilton's idea of a wealthy industrial elite clashed with Jefferson's view of a nation of independent, yeoman farmers.
These divergent viewpoints were reflected in the debates over each of Hamilton's proposals as Treasury Secretary. Hamilton felt that the nation should establish its credit by funding the national debt at face (or "par") value. Jefferson argued that such a scheme would benefit only the wealthy speculators in government securities who had acquired government bonds at greatly reduced prices. Hamilton contended that those who took the economic risk of purchasing bonds deserved their reward. Jefferson saw only that the "common folk" would be saddled with the taxes necessary to pay for these windfall profits for the rich.
Hamilton proposed the creation of national bank, 80% of whose original funding would be subscribed by private bankers who would then select 4/5ths of the bank' directors. Jefferson opposed the bank on the basis that it would not only be the creature of a wealthy elite and hence undemocratic, but that it would be unconstitutional since a national bank was not specifically provided for in the Constitution. Hamilton once again prevailed with his argument that Congress had the power to create a bank because of the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution and thus had a "implied power."
To pay off the nation's debt Hamilton sought passage of a whisky tax. Jefferson once again fought the measure on the grounds that the burden of taxation would fall upon the farmers who distilled their grains into whisky. It reduced transportation charges to ship "corn liquor" rather than bushels of corn. When Hamilton's tax was passed farmers in western Pennsylvania rose up in protest in the so-called "Whisky rebellion." Hamilton used the occasion of this "rebellion" to raise an army of 10,000 men to put down the protest and demonstrate the power of the new national government.
Only on his "Report on Manufactures," which proposed government encouragement of manufacturing through such incentives as high protective tariffs on imported manufactured goods did Hamilton fall short of legislative success. Under Jefferson's (and Madison's) influence congress "shelved" the report. Even so it later passed a protective tariff. Hamilton's views on economic affairs thus clearly prevailed over those of Jefferson. The net result was to stabilize and then promote the growth of the national economy.
On only two issues did the two men agree. One was on their shared belief that George Washington deserved a second term as president. The other was on the issue of what stance the nation should take when a war between Britain and France erupted in 1793. Even though Hamilton was basically pro-British while Jefferson was more pro-French both men felt that United States involvement in the war was not in the national interest and that neutrality was the wisest course to follow. Washington concurred and issued a Proclamation of Neutrality.
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