Writing Assignment Two Essay

Submitted By Laurentoopretty
Words: 683
Pages: 3

Lauren Hudson
Writing Assignment 2
History 1301-14919
October 30, 2014

The first party system of the United States was the result of many different events and ideas. There were two particular men who had the most influence on the formation of these parties, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Because of the very different points of view, the ideas of these two men created the Federalist and Democratic Republican parties. One of the main differences in ideas between the two men were who should govern. The two men were born into completely different lifestyles. Jefferson was born rich, whereas Hamilton was born a poor, illegitimate child. One would believe that a man would side with the community in which he were born, but that was not the case here. Despite Jefferson’s wealthy background, he had more faith in the common man. He believed that the opinions and ideas of a rich man should not be of greater value than the ones of a less fortunate citizen. Hamilton, however, believed that common people have a tendency to behave foolishly. For that reason he believed the rich and well educated should be in charge. Jefferson and Hamilton also had different opinions on voting qualifications, Jefferson wished to lower them but Hamilton wanted them raised. Another big difference was their beliefs on structure of the government. In Hamilton’s mind, strengthening the central government would ensure freedom for every American citizen by uniting the people to think and speak with a single voice. Hamilton had witnessed firsthand the political and economic confusion under the Articles of Confederation. He though that the only way for the country to survive and prosper was for the central government to take control of the people and all of their decisions. The Federalists adopted the idea of a loose interpretation of the United States Constitution that granted the Federal government “implied powers”, powers that were not specifically granted to them by the Constitution. Jefferson on the other hand believed the complete opposite. Democratic Republicans put large amounts of power directly in the hands of the states. Jefferson distrusted the central government in fear that the will of the people would become irrelevant. Jefferson also believed in a very strict interpretation of the Constitution, he believed that if it was not written in the constitution it didn’t need to be done. Which brings us to the issue of the national bank. Federalists wanted to establish a National Bank, modeled after the Bank of England. Jefferson and the Democratic Republicans were of course, completely against this. The reason for this is that in the 9th amendment it says that banks should be