Hamilton vs. Jefferson:Balancing Order & Liberty

Personal Differences• Hamilton was born out of

wedlock in the British West Indies

• Orphaned at an early age• Benefactors provided him

with money to study in New York (King’s College – aka, Columbia)

• Served as Washington’s aide de camp during the Revolutionary War

• Drafted The Federalist Papers with Madison/Jay

• First Secretary of the Treasury

• Jefferson was born to wealthy parents in Virginia

• Had a relatively sheltered upbringing

• Studied at William & Mary College

• Served in the House of Burgesses and the Continental Congress

• Drafted the Declaration of Independence

• Served as Ambassador to France in the late 1780s

• First Secretary of State

Philosophical Differences• Hamilton distrusted the

masses, favored government by self-made men (elites)

• Believed that America would become an industrial/commercial power

• Supported strong central government to preserve order and secure liberties

• Argued for “loose” interpretation of the Constitution to give the central government power to deal with challenges

• Jefferson placed confidence in the “common man” (to an extent)

• Believed that America should be an agrarian republic of “virtuous citizen-farmers”

• Distrusted centralized government – favored states’ rights and individual liberties

• Argued for “strict” interpretation of the Constitution to limit national power and preserve liberty

Economic Policy• Hamilton’s financial plan

aimed to put the country on a firm economic footing

1. Funding of national debt and assumption of state debts

2. Tariffs and excise taxes to provide national revenue and protect “infant” industries

3. Central bank to provide a source of credit and a safe place for federal deposits

• Jefferson criticized the plan as a means of consolidating the financial power of the elite

• Challenged funding of debt because it would benefit speculators, not the original purchasers

• Considered assumption of state debts as unfair because it benefited northern states more

• Tariffs and a central bank also tended to help northern, urban interests at the expense of southern, rural Americans

George Washington• 1st President• Unanimously

voted by the Electoral College

The “Compromise of 1790”• Congress refused to pass

Hamilton’s assumption plan because of opposition from James Madison and other southerners

• Jefferson invited Hamilton and Madison to dinner at his townhouse in New York City and worked out a compromise

• Madison would support the assumption bill in exchange for Hamilton’s pledge to support the choice of the Potomac as the site of the nation’s permanent capital

Once an ally of Hamilton in the ratification debate, Madison distrusted Hamilton’s views on executive power

Foreign Policy• Hamiltonian Federalists

distrusted the radicalism of the French Revolution and sought to emulate the British system of strong banks and commerce

• Washington declared formal neutrality in 1793 to avoid involvement in the European crisis

• Supported the Jay Treaty (1794), which made concessions to Britain on trade issues but also avoided war

• Jeffersonian Republicans embraced the French Revolution and argued that the U.S. should remain loyal to its ally

• Jefferson officially supported neutrality but was attacked for his continued support of revolutionary France, he resigned from GW’s cabinet in 1793

• Republicans criticized the Jay Treaty as a “sell out” to the British

Use of National Power: The Whiskey Rebellion

• Washington led 15,000 militia into western Pennsylvania, the only time that a sitting president has led his troops into military action

• Western Pennsylvania farmers rebelled against high excise taxes on whiskey in 1794

• Washington responded by calling out the military to put down the rebellion

• Federalists argued that national power must be asserted to demonstrate the new country’s stability and to make the point that challenges to government policy must be peaceful

Washington’s Farewell Address• Washington warned against both

factionalism and “foreign entanglements” in his last published address as president (1796)

• He was especially concerned that the emerging split between Federalists (led by John Adams and Hamilton) and Republicans (led by Jefferson and Madison) would split the country apart along sectional lines

• The election of 1796 was the first two-party election in U.S. history; Adams won but Jefferson became vice-president

John Adams• 2nd President• Beats TJ by

slim margin• TJ becomes VP

Quasi-War & the Alien & Sedition Acts

By 1797, the French intercepted American vessels seeking to trade with Britain“XYZ Affair” – American officials sent to negotiate with the French were expected to pay a bribe

American outrage led to an undeclared naval war with France (the Quasi-War)

The Federalist-controlled Congress cracked down on dissent with the Alien & Sedition Acts (1798)

States’ Rights &the “Revolution” of 1800

• Jefferson and the Republicans responded with charges that the Federalists were abusing individual liberties under the First Amendment

• Madison & Jefferson drafted the Kentucky & Virginia Resolutions, which argued that states had the power of both interposition and nullification (the heart of states’ rights doctrine) to defend the rights of the people

• Republicans used the issue to help win the election of 1800 (first peaceful transfer of political power between parties in American history)

Economic and Social Change: 1788-1800Families/Work

•Farm Families•Everyone contributes to productivity

•~ 7 children

•Men

•Women/Young Children

White Women• legal position not significantly

affected

•Choice of Husband

•Children

•Double Standards

•Subordination to Men

•Republican Motherhood

•Education

Native Americans•Population/Territory Losses

•Reservations

•Demoralization

•Social Crisis• Handsome Lake: Spiritual Revival

•Goal: revive unity and self-confidence

•Euro-American Agriculture

African Americans•Temporary Improvement; then

worsening of conditions

•Self-Help

•1793 Fugitive Slave Law

•Rebellion•Saint Dominigue Uprising

•1800 Gabriel's Rebellion

•1793 Cotton Gin