Many men were involved in the establishment of government, laws governing states and peoples, and individual rights in building the United States of America. Two men stand out as essential to our founding principles: Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Thomas Jefferson was an educated, eloquent, and accomplished man from a well-respected family. He had a great understanding of agriculture and the relationship between man and his environment, working diligently to balance the two in the best interest of everyone. He “considered himself above all and always as a man of the earth” (Jewett, 2005). His vision of the New World was one of true, idealistic freedom with limited government involvement; an educated farmer, a moral man who wanted to support himself from the very land on which his freedom rested. Alexander Hamilton was born a bastard child in the West Indies and demonstrated great intellectual potential from an early age. He was sent to New York for his education and studied at King's College, now Columbia University. His vision of America took a more capitalist tone and “he was determined to transform a group of economically weak and conflicting states into a powerful global force” (Tindall and Shi, 2010). Hamilton advocated a strong central government. He was bold and persuasive and his philosophy was quite extraordinary for his time. Jefferson's view of agriculture was very different from Hamilton's view of manufacturing. Although they both envisioned a great and prosperous nation, they had differing opinions on how it should happen. Hamilton, a federalist, believed that the rich and powerful should be the central government for all, because they knew best how to foster and protect the em...... middle of paper ......der Hamilton shaped the New World and the way politics were managed. The current American government reflects more the ideas of Alexander Hamilton, but it seems that the majority of its people prefer the vision of Thomas Jefferson; the idealistic dream of true freedom and the ability to shape one's own destiny. Would it be the opposite if the current state of government were reversed? It is certain that if one vision had prevailed over the other, the result would be substantial in modern society; Hamilton's vision would have created another England and Jefferson's – who knows? Works Cited Jewett, T. (2005). Thomas Jefferson: agronomist. Retrieved from http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2005_summer_fall/agronomist.htm Tindall, GB & Shi, DE (2010). America, a narrative history 8th edition. New York, NY: WW Norton & Company, Inc. p..205-212.