American Heritage: Jefferson, Hamilton, and the U.S. Constitution - Assignment Example

Teach Jefferson and Hamilton’s differences. Which of the two do you basically agree more than the other? Why? What benefits accrued to the American republic from their incessant conflict? What, if anything, did they agree on? Jefferson and Hamilton are like oil and water that cannot agree on anything and disagreed on almost everything except for their reverence for George Washington. They disagreed on the form of government where Jefferson believed in the minimalist role of the Federal government believing that laws should come from the state. For Jefferson, the government cannot act if laws were not explicitly stated in the Constitution owing to the fact that states should be the dominant entity in enacting laws. Hamilton on the other pushed for a strong and centralized government where laws would come from the Federal government instead of the states. He is for the loose interpretation of law so that the national government will have as much power as possible. He also called on the institution of a central bank that will issue our currency backed by the guarantee of a central bank, imposed taxes and regulate immigration. While this two might have incessant animosity for each other until they died, their conflict however crystallized many issues in the formation of the American government because it invited debate about its laws and interpretation, even its economy. As a result of these opposing points of views, the political perspectives being pushed forth by Jefferson and Hamilton was highlighted as they contrast with each other. Now, we benefit by having a better understanding of the advantage and disadvantage of our present form of government. Of the two, Hamilton is the pessimist and is very skeptical about government and society while Jefferson was an optimist. Perhaps this can be gleaned from their background where Jefferson had an optimistic outlook in government because of his aristocratic background where he did not suffer or experience the drudgery of life. Hamilton on the other hand is a skeptic because he was exposed to the realities of life and is not unfamiliar with the struggle of life coming from an immigrant from West Indies. His political position however is more appropriate today than Jefferson which explains why I am more likely to side with him. Experience has shown that states have a penchant to pass laws which are contradictory to American values and thus, cannot be trusted to be left on its own. The classic example I can give for this is the recent debacle about the Arizona Immigration Law or SB 1070 which in effect permits law enforcement agencies to ask any foreign looking individual for their documentation even without due cause or warrant from the courts. The law had been protested vigorously because it is discriminatory and therefore is not compatible with the democratic foundation of America that believes in equality. Even President Obama voiced his reservation about the law that it should be reviewed to make it consistent with American values. Recent development also shows that a strong central government is important for the stability of our economy. When the recent financial crisis struck, our economy would have slid into depression had it not been for Hamilton’s idea of a central bank and strong central government. The central bank helped ailing banks and financial institution from their collapse which could have been disastrous for the economy if we did not have the central bank or Fed. The central government, through President Obama’s Stimulus Package also bailed out key companies which would have gone bankrupt and thereby increasing unemployment rate. This was prevented and the ill effect of the crisis was mitigated by the measures instituted by the central bank and strong central government which were Hamilton’s idea. 2. Explain the separation of powers concept found in Articles I, II and III of the U.S. Constitution. Articles I, II and III defines the three branches of government of the United States. Article I defined Congress as the legislative body of the federal government consisting of House of Representatives composed of Representatives from each state in proportion to their population. Also the Senate which is composed of two Senators from each state. Article two states the executive department which is the Office of the President, Vice President, his cabinets and other officers of the executive department. Finally, Article defines the judicial body of the federal government which are our courts composed of the Supreme Court of the United States and lower courts as created by Congress. The separation of powers of these three branches of government as defined in Articles I, II and III ensures that there will be check and balance with each branch of the government. This ensures that democratic form of government will work as no single branch of government can have the monopoly of all the powers of the government. In the same vein, this also ensures that democracy will be practice as each branch of government can check the other branch of government in the event of abuse of power, unconstitutionality of practices and even incompetence of government officers. The President may be the highest office in the land but he cannot intervene with the decision of the court and in fact, he can even be kicked out of office by Congress if he commits culpable violation of the constitution. Congress may have the power to create laws and impeach the President but it cannot make laws contrary to the Constitution because the Supreme Court will nullify it. The Supreme Court Justice and its other officers on the other hand can also removed by office through the impeachment process of Congress. This separation of powers and mechanism of check and balance keeps each department on its toes to avoid being removed from office or being dinged as unconstitutional. This also prevents authoritarianism because there will be no government official, no matter how powerful or high his office is, can dictate other branches of the government. This mechanism also provides a means for redress in case people wanted to lodge complaints against unconstitutional laws or abuse of a certain government official. Read More