Compare and contrast the political views and public policies of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson - Essay Example

 Compare and contrast the political views and public policies of Alexander Hamilton and ThomasJefferson. It may well be noted that the formation of political parties was caused by the conflicting political views and public policies of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton since the time the Constitution was drafted. Jefferson is well known to advocate governance of the country by common people whereas Hamilton believed in the ‘rule of the few’ or that the country be run by the elite who he argued could be trusted for being selfless as opposed to the greedy brutish trait of the common ones (Trey).

In a way, this had extended to their positions regarding the issue of government centralization wherein while the Federalist Hamilton expressed belief in a strong central government, Democratic-Republican Jefferson perceived weakness in it yet imagined strength and solidarity in public control at its height. By the time certain economic decisions and policies were deliberated upon, taking foreign affairs to account, these revolutionary U.S. leaders further acquired opposing perspectives on addressing how the national debt should be managed.

According to Hamilton, national debt ought to be kept permanent for the sake of a healthy economy for the nation and that such debt must be paid off by the government to the party in current possession of the certificate at the time. On the other hand, Jefferson contradicted the permanence to national debt and asserted that it should be the original bearer of the certificate who must get paid off, knowing that this would be advantageous to the common citizens. However, the following enactment approved the proposition made by Hamilton instead and the affluent became even wealthier, having purchased the certificate from their common counterparts (Trey).

Similarly, the two greatly differed in terms of financial principles concerning the U.S. Bank. To Hamilton, the federal bank would help the Constitution to take in relevant effect as the country progressed in terms of debt settlements. Most merchants from the north highly complied to this view for their benefit but the ordinary people of the south and several others were unable to find worth in a centralized bank especially for the case of the farmers. Thus, Jefferson earned their favor by supporting the philosophy that incorporation of a central bank is beyond sensible necessity.

Works Cited Trey, Mike. “Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.” 6 Aug 2009. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2016098/alexander_hamilton_and_thomas_jefferson_pg3.html?cat=37. 14 July 2011. “Hamilton/Jefferson.” 2011. http://www.docshare.com/doc/198863/Hamilton/Jefferson. 15 July 2011