History

The two great leaders of America, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, helped America to be shaped the way it is now. They were, however, on exact opposites in their thoughts of how the people should be governed. Much like today, the political parties of early America had different beliefs. And if Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were alive in the present day, Jefferson would be a Democrat and Hamilton would be a Republican.

Jefferson, a strict constructionist, contributed much to his country during his presidency, even though he had to go against his belief to make a decision. He believed in having an agrarian economy which, if it was completely agrarian, we would never have had the industrial revolution. Also, Thomas Jefferson believed in a small central government, he believed that the power should be given to the states. If he held those same beliefs in the present day he would line up almost perfectly with the Democratic Party. Just as Jefferson wanted a weak central government with little intervention, the Democratic Party believes that the government should respect and protect individual rights and freedoms. Even though he was a deist and believed in God (but was not religious) he made an effort to separate the church from the state because he believed that the matters of the church and the matters of the state are not to be mixed supporting his statement with the first amendment. Democrats also believe that the affairs of the church and state are to be separate, but are free to believe whatever you want.

Hamilton, on the other hand, was a loose constructionist, with a belief that people should be governed with a strong central government. His belief of imitating Britain to maintain the government is much like the present day, where we believe that handling money is important. Some even see the Federalist Party as a successor to the Republican Party (John Adams and Alexander Hamilton were the leaders of the Federalist Party). Also, both Hamilton and the Republican Part believe in freedom of enterprise, to encourage business, thus increasing profit.

The beliefs of Jefferson and Hamilton, when seen in the perspective of Republican and Democratic beliefs have qualities that make it plausible that the leaders would advocate to these parties.

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