Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of Treasury, and Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of State, were brought together in the cabinet by George Washington. Jefferson and Hamilton had differing views on the economy, the Constitution, the Bank of the United States, and the government’s financial state. They both wanted the best for the country, but they saw different means to get to that end.

Initially, Jefferson and Hamilton disagreed over the need for a Bank of a United States. Hamilton, a Federalist, saw the Constitution as guidelines rather than rules, and he saw the Bank as a necessity to take care of the government’s financial needs. Jefferson, a Democratic Republican and strict follower of the Constitution, saw the Bank as a convenience rather than a necessity. He thought it was unconstitutional because the idea was not clearly spelled out in the Constitution.

They also disagreed on how the country should be run. Hamilton favored the rich to make the decisions and lead. He said, “One great error is that we suppose mankind more honest than they are.” Jefferson, on the other hand, thought that the best men for the job were the ones who would be most affected by the policies that were made – the common but educated man. Jefferson said, “I have such reliance on the good sense of the body of the people and the honesty of their leaders that I am not afraid of their letting things go wrong to any length in any cause.” Hamilton favored urban manufacturing, and Jefferson preferred agricultural development. And Hamilton and Jefferson knew they were not in agreement. Said Jefferson, “Hamilton and I were daily pitted… like two fighting cocks.”

The election of 1800 was a revolutionary one because it involved the first peaceful transfer of power in the States. Before this, the Federalists held political power in the United States. Jefferson’s win in the election against John Adams in 1800 marked the beginning of the Democratic Republican Rule and the beginning of the fall of the Federalist party. Jefferson and Hamilton’s differing political views formed new policies, ways to handle those policies, and eventually the fall of the Federalist party.