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Since Hamilton mainly focused on shaping America to be a major commercial and military power, Jefferson shifted toward the other direction. During this period in American history, George Washington was the first president of the United States, and America mainly focused on politics and the future of the nation. Many Americans both shared the same view that the primary focus of America was on freedom. American leaders believed that the success of the new government depended, above all, on maintaining political harmony.1 Both Hamilton and Jefferson had opposing views regarding politics. Jefferson also believed that the government should be “rigorously frugal and simple.” Thomas Jefferson’s approach to governing America was more realistic than Hamiliton.
Thomas Jefferson executed his political viewpoints through a liberalistic perspective. Jefferson was a true believer in “America would flourish if a limited government allowed its citizens to be free to regulate their own pursuits.”1“Hamilton and His idea was to “dismantle” the Federalist system as much as possible. He loathed the way Hamilton envisioned American politics. During his two years of presidency, Jefferson cut the amount of “government employees.” He also reduced the amount of people in the army and the navy. He “abolished all taxes except the tariff, including the hated tax on whiskey, and paid off part of the national debt.”1 He basically did the opposite of what Hamilton would do.
Regarding the Judicial Review, Jefferson had similar views with Hamilton. Jefferson never trusted the judiciary because they were unelected figures who had power they did not earn on their own. He believed in the “primacy of local self-government.”1 He trusted local governments more than the wide scale federal government. The primary leader of the Supreme Court of Justice was “Federalist John Marshall.” He[Marshall] was a Federalist and he had served “John Adams as secretary of state and was appointed by the president to the Court shortly before Jefferson took office.” He was also a very strong believer in a government system based on “national supremacy.” The first landmark decision of the Marshall Court came in 1803.1 It was the widely known case of “Marbury v. Madison 1. Four judges sued in order to keep their spot in office. Marshall’s decision declared unconstitutional the section of the Judiciary Act of 1789 that allowed the courts to order executive officials’ to deliver judges’ commissions.1
One of Jefferson’s major accomplishments during his presidency was the Louisiana Purchase. “This resulted not from astuate American diplomacy but because the rebellious slaves of Saint Domingue defeated forces sent by the ruler of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, to reconquer the island.”1 Jefferson immediately viewed this as an opportunity to purchase Louisiana. In order for Jefferson to buy the immense portion of land, he had to disregard “his conviction that the federal government was limited to powers specifically mentioned in the Constitution, since the Document said nothing about buying territory from a foreign power.”1 The Louisiana territory stretched from “the Gulf of Mexico to Canada and from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains.”1 That entire area of land had be lost from France to Spain in “1762 as part of the reshuffling of colonial possessions at the end of the Seven Years War.” Napolen was the leader who offered to sell the Louisiana Territory. The cost of the territory came with a hefty price tag of fifth teen million dollars. Regarding the value of the dollar today, that same area of land would cost around “$250 million dollars.” With Jefferson’s purchase, he basically doubled the size of America, and he also removed the French from America. The Federalists and Hamiliton were immediately outraged.
One event caused by Jefferson that is widely known was the Embargo Act in 1807. Basically, the United States put a halt on a all foreign trade. “Jefferson regarded the embargo as an idealistic experiment—a moral alternative to war. He believed that economic coercion would convince Britain and France to respect America’s neutral rights. The truth was that the embargo act was a failure that drastically hurt the American economy. Instead of the alternative to war, the embargo was a cause of widespread smuggling.1 Exports fell from $108 million in the 1807 to just $22million. 2 Farm prices fell. Shippers also suffered. This period of history lasted for 19 months. During that time, “the British went without American trade. Food shortages, mounting unemployment, and increasing inventories of unsold manufactured goods finally convinced Britain to end their restrictions on American trade.
In conclusion, Jefferson had the better approach to running a government. Even though the economy basically fell through the embargo act, he did double the size of America. Jefferson believed that America should be an by the people and for the people. America was founded on the belief that the country should be run by the people and for the people. Hamiliton wanted America to a country based on an elite military. And Jefferson wanted the opposite.
NOTES
1. Foner, Eric. Securing The Repulic. In Give me liberty!: an American history.. Brief 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 223.PBS. “Hamilton and the U.S. Constitution.” 320.
2. Digital History. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=2986
Thomas Jefferson executed his political viewpoints through a liberalistic perspective. Jefferson was a true believer in “America would flourish if a limited government allowed its citizens to be free to regulate their own pursuits.”1“Hamilton and His idea was to “dismantle” the Federalist system as much as possible. He loathed the way Hamilton envisioned American politics. During his two years of presidency, Jefferson cut the amount of “government employees.” He also reduced the amount of people in the army and the navy. He “abolished all taxes except the tariff, including the hated tax on whiskey, and paid off part of the national debt.”1 He basically did the opposite of what Hamilton would do.
Regarding the Judicial Review, Jefferson had similar views with Hamilton. Jefferson never trusted the judiciary because they were unelected figures who had power they did not earn on their own. He believed in the “primacy of local self-government.”1 He trusted local governments more than the wide scale federal government. The primary leader of the Supreme Court of Justice was “Federalist John Marshall.” He[Marshall] was a Federalist and he had served “John Adams as secretary of state and was appointed by the president to the Court shortly before Jefferson took office.” He was also a very strong believer in a government system based on “national supremacy.” The first landmark decision of the Marshall Court came in 1803.1 It was the widely known case of “Marbury v. Madison 1. Four judges sued in order to keep their spot in office. Marshall’s decision declared unconstitutional the section of the Judiciary Act of 1789 that allowed the courts to order executive officials’ to deliver judges’ commissions.1
One of Jefferson’s major accomplishments during his presidency was the Louisiana Purchase. “This resulted not from astuate American diplomacy but because the rebellious slaves of Saint Domingue defeated forces sent by the ruler of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, to reconquer the island.”1 Jefferson immediately viewed this as an opportunity to purchase Louisiana. In order for Jefferson to buy the immense portion of land, he had to disregard “his conviction that the federal government was limited to powers specifically mentioned in the Constitution, since the Document said nothing about buying territory from a foreign power.”1 The Louisiana territory stretched from “the Gulf of Mexico to Canada and from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains.”1 That entire area of land had be lost from France to Spain in “1762 as part of the reshuffling of colonial possessions at the end of the Seven Years War.” Napolen was the leader who offered to sell the Louisiana Territory. The cost of the territory came with a hefty price tag of fifth teen million dollars. Regarding the value of the dollar today, that same area of land would cost around “$250 million dollars.” With Jefferson’s purchase, he basically doubled the size of America, and he also removed the French from America. The Federalists and Hamiliton were immediately outraged.
One event caused by Jefferson that is widely known was the Embargo Act in 1807. Basically, the United States put a halt on a all foreign trade. “Jefferson regarded the embargo as an idealistic experiment—a moral alternative to war. He believed that economic coercion would convince Britain and France to respect America’s neutral rights. The truth was that the embargo act was a failure that drastically hurt the American economy. Instead of the alternative to war, the embargo was a cause of widespread smuggling.1 Exports fell from $108 million in the 1807 to just $22million. 2 Farm prices fell. Shippers also suffered. This period of history lasted for 19 months. During that time, “the British went without American trade. Food shortages, mounting unemployment, and increasing inventories of unsold manufactured goods finally convinced Britain to end their restrictions on American trade.
In conclusion, Jefferson had the better approach to running a government. Even though the economy basically fell through the embargo act, he did double the size of America. Jefferson believed that America should be an by the people and for the people. America was founded on the belief that the country should be run by the people and for the people. Hamiliton wanted America to a country based on an elite military. And Jefferson wanted the opposite.
NOTES
1. Foner, Eric. Securing The Repulic. In Give me liberty!: an American history.. Brief 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 223.PBS. “Hamilton and the U.S. Constitution.” 320.
2. Digital History. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=2986