Jeff and Ham essays

Jeff and Ham essays Jeffersonians and Hamiltonians had differing philosophies on the key issues of the late 18th century. These issues included the political opinions on how to pay off the debt, if the United States should have a bank, how we should deal with the French Revolution, and lastly the question of who should govern the country. There were many different thoughts on how the United States should deal with the issue of the nations debt. Hamiltonians, the wealthy Federalist Party, felt that there were two steps to take in funding the debt. The first step was funding at par, which meant that the federal government would pay off its debts at face value, plus accumulated interest. The second step was assumption; this was when Congress would assume the debts of the states. Hamiltonians believed that assumption was a good idea because it would tie the states closer to the federal government, making them depend on it. The Jeffersonians on the other hand did not exactly feel the same way about these philosophies. They did agree with funding at par, but were hesitant towards the policy of assumption. The Jeffersonians were the common people of the country who supported states rights, and they did not think that it was fair that the national government assume the state debt. They felt that some states had alr eady paid off their war debt, and that it was not righteous to assume them more debt. The two parties also had differing views on economic strategies on paying to run the government and the interest on the huge debt. The Hamiltonians thought that we should pay for them by a whiskey excise tax and a protective tariff. They believed that the Constitution stated that the Congress had the power to lay and collect taxes to pay the debts for the welfare of the United States. The Jeffersonians did not feel the same way about these taxes. They opposed the whiskey tax because they considered whiskey to be a necessity and not a luxur...