What Was the Disagreement between Hamilton and Jefferson That Caused Them to Be Rivals

Jefferson left the cabinet and retired from public life in 1794. Hamilton followed a year later. Convinced that the “Philosopher of Monticello" remained obsessed with becoming president, Hamilton did not expect retirement to last. Yet during Jefferson`s three-year absence, Hamilton spoke little in public about his rival and even remained silent when rumors circulated about Jefferson`s alleged sexual relationship with one of his slaves. Jefferson also did not comment when Hamilton`s extramarital affair with Maria Reynolds became public in 1797. A House committee appointed by James Madison originally provided that changes to the rights of the individual would be included in the constitutional body and would not be added as a supplement. This report of the committee of 28. July 1789, presented by John Vining (1758-1802) of Delaware, clearly shows the founding plan with rights scattered throughout the Constitution. At his end, Jefferson shared a past similar to Washington`s: both were Virginia planters, both married to Martha, and both distinguished themselves during the Revolution – Jefferson by writing the Declaration of Independence; Washington by winning the war. Faced with Britain`s refusal to leave the fortresses of the western frontier and respect neutral navigation rights, President George Washington sent Chief Justice John Jay (1745-1829) to London in 1794. The resulting treaty, which did not solve the problems but prevented war with Britain, was extremely unpopular with Jefferson`s Republicans. The Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation was quickly called the “Jay Treaty" and became a lightning rod for political parties and a point of contention between the president and Congress over ways to implement it.

However, they quickly contrasted deep philosophical differences. As Hamilton had predicted, his rival ran for president in 1796. Throughout the campaign, Jefferson came under furious attack from federalists, who portrayed him as a hypocrite—an elitist who spewed out dishonest notions of equality. Jefferson lost to John Adams and had to settle for vice president. Two years later, events occurred that worried him more than anything else since Hamilton`s economic policies. Spurred on by America`s “Cold War" with France, Congress enacted the Aliens and Sedition Laws, repressive measures drafted by federalists, including Hamilton. Jefferson called the legislation “despicable" and “worthy of the 8th or 9th century" and regarded the federalist government as a “witch`s reign." This rule became even more frightening when Congress ordered the creation of a large standing army, which Hamilton commanded with Washington`s help. Jefferson declared Hamilton “our Buonaparte" and predicted that federal forces would be used against national dissidents. (He wasn`t entirely wrong on this point: Hamilton said privately that he would not hesitate to “subjugate a fireproof and powerful state.") Jefferson himself, he repeatedly proclaimed, had decided “not to interfere at all in the legislature." If one were to assume that I had already fascinated the members of the Legislative Assembly to thwart the plans of the Minister of Finance, that contradicts all the truths. As he explained, he was only guilty of his “feelings in conversation and especially among those who expressed the same feelings, drew mine from me." In Jefferson`s eyes, such innocent conversations could hardly be considered a congressional plot. Jefferson`s protests are compelling until we take a closer look at the unfolding of some of his innocent dinners, which were sometimes deliberate attempts to test and strengthen the sympathies of potential supporters in the house.

Jefferson called his election the “Revolution of 1800," and over the next quarter century, much of the world he had first imagined in 1776 took shape: the United States was portrayed as an egalitarian democracy that effectively wiped out the social hierarchies of the colonies, and as the state was easier to buy, the percentage of work has increased. who were involved in agriculture. Although they had, like so many politicians who succeeded them, quarreled over economic and foreign policy issues, nothing less than the form of a new nation was at stake. And both knew it. Political factions or parties began to form during the struggle for the ratification of the Federal Constitution of 1787. Friction between them increased as attention shifted from the creation of a new federal government to the question of the power of that federal government. .