Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were two of the most important figures in the development of American political parties. Although these two men came from very different backgrounds, they both sought a way to expand and improve the American republic. Alexander Hamilton came from a life of poverty, but managed to rise to the top, graduating from King's College and serving as an aide to Washington during the Revolutionary War. Thomas Jefferson was born into a wealthy family and studied law, before serving in Virginia's House of Burgesses. The beliefs of Hamilton and Jefferson were the guiding principles of the Federalist and Democratic Republic parties, which, although both strove to perfect the nation, held sharply contrasting views. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayAlexander Hamilton was the founder of the Federalist Party in America. All of his political beliefs can be found in The Federalists Papers, a collection of pamphlets that he co-wrote with James Madison and John Jay, both Federalists. The main objective of this party was to advocate a strong central government. Hamilton believed that the government should be responsible for all aspects of running a country, because a strong central government would encourage unity and equality. For this reason, Hamilton and his supporters preferred a vague interpretation of the Constitution, which would allow the government to create institutions or organizations that they believed would benefit the nation. For example, in 1791, Hamilton proposed that the United States create a privately financed National Bank, which would essentially allow citizens to invest in the future of the country. This proposal encountered numerous oppositions. Hamilton defended the constitutionality of the Bank using Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, the "necessary and proper" clause (also known as the "elastic" clause), which gave the government the power to institute any policy that he believed would enable the nation to prosper. One of Hamilton's major priorities was the management of government by educated members of the elite. He considered these men to be scholars who understood the complexities of economic systems and political policies. He viewed ordinary people as uneducated and incapable of running a government effectively. When immigration began to increase in the new country, Federalists observed that the majority of these new immigrants were voting Democratic-Republicans. To prevent more immigrants from voting for the Democratic-Republicans in important elections, Hamilton and his supporters instituted a set of policies known as the Alien and Sedition Acts, which increased the number of years that a person must live in the United States to become a citizen. . (Divine, 164-165) (Knauer, 79, 86)Thomas Jefferson was the founder of the Democratic-Republican Party, initially called the Anti-Federalist Party, in America. Unlike Hamilton, he believed that ordinary people should be entirely responsible for government. After all, it was Jefferson who wrote, “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” in the Declaration of Independence. Although he was an educated man himself (one whom Hamilton would have considered favorably to govern the country), he expressed confidence in ordinary people to rule the country. One of the mostimportant for the Democratic-Republicans was the defense of states' rights. Jefferson and his followers believed in a very strict interpretation of the Constitution, going so far as to declare that any rights or powers not specifically stated or granted to the central government belonged to the state. It is clear that this party waged such a struggle against the Hamilton National Bank; they did not see him providing the nation with anything other than probable corruption. (Divine, 165,168) (Knauer, 86)Alexander Hamilton achieved his status by employing his charm, courage, and intellect to realize his inexhaustible ambition. Although he had many opportunities to become rich, Hamilton was not striving to get rich, but to build a good reputation among high-ranking men. He believed in the value of higher education as he was born into adverse conditions but still managed to attend King's College. Hamilton saw Britain as America's best possible ally. Although this belief received many negative reactions, Hamilton believed that America could create strong economic ties with the country from which it had separated. The European market was a very important economic center and could inspire America to make industrial and commercial improvements, which would finance the country and make it the sophisticated and developed nation that Hamilton dreamed of. (Divine, 164) Thomas Jefferson, like Hamilton, did not seek personal wealth; however, he strove to advance republican ideals, such as those he set forth in the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson firmly believed that the common man was capable of leading a nation, but he concluded that power led to corruption and warned the American public against "the avaricious and monopolizing spirit of commerce and commercial men." Locke's writings greatly influenced his own ideas. For example, Locke and Jefferson both defined government as an organization created by the consent of the people, run by the people, for their benefit. Because of his more democratic ideals, Jefferson preferred to ally with France rather than Great Britain. While Britain was content with its monarchy, the French could not stand their king, whom they saw as the Americans saw King George, tyrannical and inconsiderate towards his people. Jefferson also acknowledged that the French had helped the Americans during the American Revolution. The French seemed to be good allies until the start of the French Revolution, and an alliance with France lost its appeal. (Divine, 164, 168) (Knauer, 78, 86) Alexander Hamilton's most recognized achievement, besides his role as Washington's aide during the American Revolution, is his economic system for the new nation. This system had two basic parts. The first part is the encouragement of manufacturing and industry. The industrial revolution was strong in England and made it a very rich country. Hamilton wanted this for America, so he suggested that the United States focus more on manufacturing and selling mass goods than on agriculture, because goods produced in the United States would help reduce reliance on with regard to foreign trade. The second part consisted of Hamilton's three main reports on the American economy: the First Report on Public Credit (January 14, 1790), the Second Report on Public Credit (January 1791), and the Report on Manufactures (December 1791). ). These three reports calculated and proposed ways to repay national and state debts in 1790, created the Bank of the United States, and established.