THE MAKING OF A NATION #32 - Hamilton andJefferson, Part 2
By Christine Johnson
Broadcast: Thursday, October 02, 2003
(THEME) VOICE ONE: THE MAKING OF A NATION,a program in Special English by the Voice of America.
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I'm Maurice Joyce . Today, Blake Lannum andI tell more about two early American leaders: Thomas Jefferson and AlexanderHamilton. 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 TreasurySecretary Alexander Hamilton, supported a strong national government with apowerful president and courts. Federalists thought men of money and positionshould rule the country. And they did in the early seventeen-nineties.Federalists controlled the Congress. They also had great influence over thenation's first president, George Washington. The Republicans, led by Secretaryof State Thomas Jefferson, did not want a strong national government withunlimited powers. And they believed political power should be spread throughoutthe population.
VOICE ONE:
The two sides carried on a war of words intheir party newspapers. Historians believe Hamilton himself wrote much of whatappeared in the Federalist paper. Jefferson, they believe, acted mostly as anadviser to the Republican paper. Both papers carried unsigned articlesattacking the opposition. Both printed stories that were false. At times, theattacks were personal. Many people felt two cabinet secretaries should be abovethat kind of public fighting.
VOICE TWO:
Toward the end of president Washington'sfirst administration, he received a letter from Jefferson. The Secretary ofState said he planned to resign. He said he disagreed with most of theadministration's national and foreign policies. He did not name Hamilton. Itwas not necessary. Washington knew what he meant. For Hamilton was the chiefplanner of those policies. The president tried to make peace between the twomen. He liked them and respected them. He believed the new nation needed theskills of both men. However, the dispute had gone too far. It was now more thanjust a question of two strong men who could not agree. It was a battle of twocompletely different philosophies of government.
VOICE ONE:
Washington did not succeed in making peacebetween Jefferson and Hamilton. But Jefferson decided not to resign. In aletter to his daughter, Jefferson said: "the attacks on me have changed adecision which I did not think could possibly be changed. I must remain andfight." The idea of organized political parties was new in the UnitedStates. There were no laws saying what they could or could not do. There wereno restrictions on the political activities of government officials. So, whilecontinuing to serve as Secretary of State, Jefferson began working to get hissupporters elected to Congress. He believed that was the only way to fightHamilton. National elections were set for seventeen-ninety-two.
VOICE TWO:
There was no dispute about the highestoffice. In seventeen-ninety-two, everyone wanted George Washington to beelected president again. However, many Republicans saw no reason to re-electJohn 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 tothe upper class should rule. Republicans had another reason to campaign againstthe Federalists. Hamilton's financial policies made it possible for bankers andother money lenders to invest in all kinds of deals. One man did this withinformation he got as a high-level Treasury Department official. Hisinvestments turned bad and his business failed. This caused other businesses tofail. There was a financial crash in New York City, the center of business inthe United States.
VOICE ONE:
The Federalists were strong in thenortheast. But the Republicans were gaining strength everywhere else. Theelection of Republican representatives to Congress in seventeen-ninety-twowould make them an important force in the House of Representatives. TheRepublicans did not, however, win the vice presidency. That office went onceagain to Federalist John Adams. Perhaps the one thing that saved Adams was thebelief of many Americans that President Washington wanted him again as vicepresident. Yet Adams did not win a clear victory. The electors from four statesvoted for Republican George Clinton of New York. One state voted for Jefferson,though he was not a candidate.
VOICE TWO:
The year seventeen-ninety-three saw achange in Alexander Hamilton's political powers. The Republicans in the Houseof Representatives demanded answers to questions about his financial programs.Why did the treasury secretary refuse to give Congress all the facts aboutgovernment plans to borrow, to lend, and to tax? For four years, the House hadpassed all the laws Hamilton asked for without being told why the laws wereneeded. In his opinion, that was the only way to govern. Now, the House wantedto know more.
VOICE ONE:
Hamilton considered the request an insult.Yet he answered it. He produced four reports about treasury departmentactivities. Republicans searched the reports for proof that Hamilton and hisFederalist friends had been dishonest. They found no such proof. And they didnot accuse him of taking money for himself. But they attacked him on severalother issues. For example, they said Hamilton had not followed PresidentWashington's instructions for dealing with the nation's foreign loans. Theysaid he paid too much interest to the National Bank of the United States. Andthey said he did not carefully obey laws passed by Congress concerning the useof government money.
VOICE TWO:
Federalist members of Congress answered theaccusations. They declared again and again that the Republicans had not beenable to prove even one criminal act by the Treasury Secretary. The attempt toforce Hamilton out of office failed. But Hamilton himself was ready to leave.He was satisfied with the work he had done. More than any other man, he hadshaped the policies of the United States for the first five years of itsexistence. He was sure the young nation would continue to be governed by thepolitical ideas he supported. Hamilton went to New York City to work as alawyer and spend more time with his family.
VOICE ONE:
Most Americans were not excited by thedebate between Federalists and Republicans on such issues as the bank of theUnited States. Farmers and laborers did not understand economics. But theFrench Revolution was something else. Federalists opposed the FrenchRevolution. They denounced the violence and the murder of the king and queen.They also wanted closer economic and political ties with Britain. Republicanswelcomed the revolution. They saw it as a fight for liberty and democracy --the same ideas they fought for against Britain. Besides, they said, Britain wasno friend of America. Britain still held land in the western United States inviolation of the peace treaty between the two countries. Britain still paidnative American Indians to kill white settlers in frontier areas. And Britainstill took sailors off American ships and forced them to serve in its navy.
VOICE TWO:
The revolution in France put the UnitedStates in a difficult situation. The situation became worse when the kings ofEurope sent their armies against the new French republic. The United States hada treaty with France. It had agreed to aid France if France were attacked. ButPresident Washington firmly believed the United States should not becomeinvolved in the politics of Europe. So he declared the United States wouldremain neutral.
VOICE ONE:
The declaration was a victory for theFederalists. They still had a great deal of influence over PresidentWashington. But what would they do after seventeen-ninety-six? Washington'ssecond term would come to an end that year. And he had announced he would notrun again. At that time, the Constitution did not limit the number ofpresidential terms. Yet George Washington felt two was enough. Who was the mostlikely candidate to succeed him? That will be our story next week.
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VOICE TWO:
You have been listening to THE MAKING OF ANATION, a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Your narratorswere Maurice Joyce and Blake Lannum . Our program was written by ChristineJohnson.
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