Thomas Jefferson By: Tan Ly

Essay by viethelldragonCollege, UndergraduateA+, February 2004

download word file, 5 pages 4.3

Thomas Jefferson was one of the most prominent politicians of his time. He was the author of the Declaration of Independence, and helped to create the political systems that are still present in America today. Jefferson served as Secretary of State in George Washington's cabinet, and later became the third President of the United States. Jefferson was an advocate of state rights to govern themselves, and was very anti- federalist. He helped built the political skeleton that the United States government is based on. Throughout the next few paragraphs, I will illustrate different views and opinions that Jefferson expressed during the birth of our nation.

After the American Revolution, America's national debt had swelled to $75 million dollars. Many federalists, notably Alexander Hamilton, thought that the establishment of a National Banking System would help provide unity to the nation, and a convenient means of debt consolidation, and taxation. Thomas Jefferson viewed the Constitution very strictly, believing that there was no room for interpretation of the document.

In Jefferson's mind, if a law or government action was not supported in bold print by the constitution, the government had no right to establish such laws. Therefore, the idea of creating a National Bank greatly troubles Jefferson. He didn't believe that the bank was delegated by the Constitution, and he even quoted the Constitution in his arguments. The Constitution states, "To make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into the enumerated powers." Jefferson did not view the National Bank as a necessary government entity, and therefore didn't view the establishment of the bank as constitutional. Throughout this period of debate, people began to see the formation of political parties. One of these political parties was largely based on the views of Hamilton, and the other was based on those views expressed by...