The Political Designs of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson

There are two different political designs in the initial stage of constructing the United States: federalism and democratic republicanism. Hamilton is a proponent of federalism who have deep non confidence with the citizen while Jefferson advocates democratic-republican party with strong confidence in the crowds. It is proposed that the idea of Jefferson is better for the development of the United States than Hamiltonism on the following three aspects: attitudes toward the common people, the proposals for state rights, and the views about the bank. First of all, Jefferson’s idea, characterized by the appreciation of the people, is conducive to preserving freedom and democracy of the country. According to Jefferson, community members can fall into those who distrust the masses and those who are confident in the common people. All men are created equal and free without being governed by the rich who are well-born. If the government is only controlled by the rulers rather than supervised by the public, freedom and democracy are likely to be destroyed by the dictatorship and autocracy.

On the contrary, people with proper knowledge can be relied on to manage their own country because they value their hard-won freedom and democracy. It is said that people can be turbulent and imprudent so that they can make unreasonable judgments or decisions. Nevertheless, they will uphold freedom and safeguard public interests when they are properly informed. Moreover, Jefferson’s fighting for state rights at the expense of the powerful central government will help to avoid massive corruption and unnecessary waste. If the powers are highly centralized in the hands of the federal government, the public interests can be easily neglected or even infringed by the oppressive regime.

Apart from that, the country will be threatened by massive corruption since the United States is too large to be governed by a single government. Some leaders may avail themselves of the full use of power to seek personal gains due to lack of efficient restrictions or supervision. Besides, the vast country cannot be well managed with a single government and every state should be given considerable autonomy to deal with its internal affairs. The states know how to cope with all the details and thus they will try their best to reduce waste and eliminate corruption. When the country is faced with external threats or dangers, they will also unite to fight together. However, the national government can be greatly influenced by the states at the expense of efficiency and safety. If they are properly restricted in support of the national government, such drawbacks can be eliminated. Finally, Jefferson’s view about the bank can be a quintessential example for the preservation of the state powers or the upholding of the Constitution. He argues that a bank is not necessary to the state and thus it is not authorized by the Constitution in reference to the Tenth Amendment in the Bill of Rights.

A bank is established for the convenience of collecting taxes although all the country can operate well without the existence of such a bank. In other words, the Bank of the United States is not necessary for the performance of all the laws and systems. If such unnecessary organs are constructed, the powers that are delegated to the states can be gradually engulfed. Certainly, the construction of a bank can serve to a good end for managing the property of the United States. But it should not be a good reason to breach against the Constitution. In conclusion, Jefferson’s political idea of democratic-republican is much better than Hamilton’s federalism. Democratic-republican is more sound for America because it attaches the importance to the general public, the state rights as well as the Constitution.