Founding Father’s Vision A nation ruled by an enlightened aristocracy – Gentlemen of leisure with the knowledge and understanding to debate issues – Rule judiciously Keys to government to be controlled by the powerful and wealthy few – Industrialists & bankers literally owned the government and turned it to their personal enrichment

A Stark Contrast Alexander Hamilton Thomas Jefferson Urban, Industrial Society Rural, Agrarian Society

Hamilton & Federalists’ Vision A strong Federal Government – Assist merchants & industry in order to create a buoyant, market based nation A strong Financial Plan – Consolidate War debt as national debt—gaining support of wealthy – Consolidate states’ loans into national debt— making states obligated to national gov’t

Federalist Vision Raise revenue: sale of bonds & public lands establishment of tariffs, imposition of an excise tax on whiskey Creating the First Bank of the United States to hold gov’t revenue and issue paper money

Anti-Federalist, Democratic-Republicans Confederation of States, a more direct democracy – Honoring all debts unfair, people forced to sell bonds in 1780s ; now speculators would be unfairly rewarded – Nationalizing state debts unfair because many states had begun paying their debts by selling western lands; thus assuming all state debts would be unfair to those who had already paid off theirs.

– Creating a national bank was not within the Constitutional rights of the national government – Creating a national bank would only benefit financiers and merchants Wanted an explicit Bill of Rights to safeguard individual rights

Jeffersonian Ideal An agrarian nation made up of independent farmers, not laborers and industrialists dependent on others – Agrarian nation, allowed for, indeed depended on, the perpetuation of slavery

Historic struggle The Powerful The Powerless J. P. Morgan Jay Gould Rockefeller Indians Working poor Immigrants women Homesteaders

Post Civil War Craven Materialism Hopelessly corrupt political practices