32 - Hamilton and Jefferson, Part 2
(THEME) VOICE ONE: THE MAKING OF A NATION, a program in Special English by the Voice of America.
(THEME)
I'm Maurice Joyce . Today, Blake Lannum and I tell more about two early American leaders: Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. They held opposing ideas about how the new nation should be governed. Their dispute helped create the political party system in the United States.
VOICE TWO:
The federalist party, led by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, supported a strong national government with a powerful president and courts. Federalists thought men of money and position should rule the country. And they did in the early seventeen-nineties. Federalists controlled the Congress. They also had great influence over the nation's first president, George Washington. The Republicans, led by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, did not want a strong national government with unlimited powers. And they believed political power should be spread throughout the population.
VOICE ONE:
The two sides carried on a war of words in their party newspapers. Historians believe Hamilton himself wrote much of what appeared in the Federalist paper. Jefferson, they believe, acted mostly as an adviser to the Republican paper. Both papers carried unsigned articles attacking the opposition. Both printed stories that were false. At times, the attacks were personal. Many people felt two cabinet secretaries should be above that kind of public fighting.
VOICE TWO:
Toward the end of president Washington's first administration, he received a letter from Jefferson. The Secretary of State said he planned to resign. He said he disagreed with most of the administration's national and foreign policies. He did not name Hamilton. It was not necessary. Washington knew what he meant. For Hamilton was the chief planner of those policies. The president tried to make peace between the two men. He liked them and respected them. He believed the new nation needed the skills of both men. However, the dispute had gone too far. It was now more than just a question of two strong men who could not agree. It was a battle of two completely different philosophies of government.
VOICE ONE:
Washington did not succeed in making peace between Jefferson and Hamilton. But Jefferson decided not to resign. In a letter to his daughter, Jefferson said: "the attacks on me have changed a decision which I did not think could possibly be changed. I must remain and fight." The idea of organized political parties was new in the United States. There were no laws saying what they could or could not do. There were no restrictions on the political activities of government officials. So, while continuing to serve as Secretary of State, Jefferson began working to get his supporters elected to Congress. He believed that was the only way to fight Hamilton. National elections were set for seventeen-ninety-two.
VOICE TWO:
There was no dispute about the highest office. In seventeen-ninety-two, everyone wanted George Washington to be elected president again. However, many Republicans saw no reason to re-elect John Adams as vice president. Adams was a patriot and had served his country well. But he was not democratic. He made no secret of his opinion that men born to the upper class should rule. Republicans had another reason to campaign against the Federalists. Hamilton's financial policies made it possible for bankers and other money lenders to invest in all kinds of deals. One man did this with information he got as a high-level Treasury Department official. His investments turned bad and his business failed. This caused other businesses to fail. There was a financial crash in New York City, the center of business in the United States.
VOICE ONE:
The Federalists were strong in the northeast. But the Republicans were gaining strength everywhere else. The election of Republican representatives to Congress in seventeen-ninety-two would make them an important force in the House of Representatives. The Republicans did not, however, win the vice presidency. That office went once again to Federalist John Adams. Perhaps the one thing that saved Adams was the belief of many Americans that President Washington wanted him again as vice president. Yet Adams did not win a clear victory. The electors from four states voted for Republican George Clinton of New York. One state voted for Jefferson, though he was not a candidate.