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Jefferson Vs Hamilton: Confrontations That Shaped A Nation

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JEFFERSON VS HAMILTON: CONFRONTATIONS THAT SHAPED A NATION 2

This book documents the studies of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, focusing

on their diverging views on society and the government in the infant years of the American

nation. From my reading, I have learnt that the book is actually a collection of not less than 40

documents, which have been developed into 7 chronological chapters. The lives of the two men

are followed, right from their youth, then during the Revolutionary war to Hamilton’s death in

1804. The book’s plot development is such that, in every chapter, there are excerpts from these

two men’s public papers as well as their private letters. These papers and letters reveal the men’s

often differing views, not only on the government but also on the constitution. Differences are

also brought out vividly on these men’s discordant views on the military, foreign and economic

policy and illustrate their roles in the coming up of political parties.

Prior to reading this particular book, I admit that I could only have listed the basic facts

on Thomas Jefferson. In addition, I had a vague idea about the person of Alexander Hamilton

and his contributions as one of America’s founding fathers. Now I know better. Both of them

could foresee this nation as a future super power. What differed was each individual’s map on

how to get the country there. For instance, on the one hand, Jefferson preferred an agricultural

nation, whose power resided in the states (Noble 2007, p. 32). The book clearly highlights his

opposition to a centralized authority. On the other hand, Hamilton emphasizes a strong

centralized authority that would provide order to enable business and industries grow. The book

clearly cuts an industrialist figure in Hamilton. Unlike Jefferson, Hamilton was for the idea that

the government ought to be run by the educated and the wealthy and not by the “mob.”

Any lover of American history and politics would surely be interested knowing how the

different political parties evolved. After reading this particular book, I was able to get to the root


of this. It was the conflict between Jefferson and Hamilton that gave rise to the political parties

system (Noble 2007, p. 53). This conflict polarized the factions on the divergent political sides.

The book shows the evidence that both men had a good vision for future America.

Towards the end of the book, it is likely that any critical reader would find it important to

evaluate the two men’s views. To me, I can not, in definite terms; state whether either of the two

views was better or worse for the American nation. However, if I were to make a choice between

Jefferson and Hamilton, I would most probably be inclined towards Hamilton’s view. This is not

to say that Jefferson’s ideas were entirely wrong, though. In the book, Hamilton comes out as a

strong, visionary industrialist. Moreover, he advocates a centralized authority and this idea were

credited with the nation’s ability to sustain it during the early days. For example, during the

Shayes Rebellion crisis, order was reinstated (Noble 2007, p. 76).

Are you into the American history and also have a craving for knowing how the politics

of the early America shook out? If yes, then this book is a great study. It also brings about some

comfort to know that, as bad as we take today’s politicians to be, politics has always been a dirty

game. According to Ecclesiastes, “there is nothing new under the sun.” The book provides the

reader with an excellent angle detailing how the federalists and anti-federalists shaped the

American nation via the press and debates. The book also provides a collection public papers and

letters from both Presidents. This is important because the reader is left to interpret the

personalities and stances of the two men for themselves. However, I feel that Noble, E.

Cunningham left out valuable information by limiting the number of pages, considering the fact

that there are large volumes of available materials from and on the two men.


Bibliography

Noble, E. Cunningham Jr. 2007. Jefferson vs. Hamilton: Confrontation That Shaped a Nation.1st

ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

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