What's some of the differences between a Hamilton Federalist and a Jefferson Republican ?

Answer 1

Hi Colby,

There were many differences between the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans. The main one was in the size of government, the Federalist party wanted a large central government with much of the power centralized in the federal government, while the Democratic Republicans wanted a very small federal government with the power being held by smaller state governments. The federalists also believed that there needed to be an elite group who had the knowledge and the information to rule, while Democratic Republicans believed that any land owning white man could be entrusted with a say in self government. They also differed when it came to support of the Constitution, but this does shift a bit. Generally, Federalists supported the Constitution and Democratic Republicans thought that the Constitution was too powerful and therefore opposed the document. Because of this split, the Democratic Republicans believed there needed to be an added Bill of Rights, while the Federalists thought the Constitution protected all the rights that needed protection.

Answer 2

Hamilton and the Federalists believed in a strong federal government led by elite, educated, land-owning men. Jefferson and the Democratic Republicans believed that power should remain in the hands of individual states rather than a centralized government. In Jefferson’s plan, regular citizens (as long as they were white men) should be entrusted to govern. 

To summarize, Hamilton wanted a central government with elite leaders and Jefferson wanted states to rule themselves with the common man in control. I hope this helps!