This documentary study of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton focuses on their differing views of society and government in the formative years of the new American nation. Interweaving more than 40 documents into 7 chronological chapters, the text follows the lives and careers of the two men from their youth, through the Revolutionary War, to the death of Hamilton in 1804. In each chapter, generous excerpts from their public papers and private letters reveal the two men's often divergent views on government and the Constitution, economic and foreign policy, and the military, and illustrate the roles they played in the emergence of political parties. Reading Jefferson's First Inaugural Address, the Report on Public Credit, the Kentucky Resolutions, and a host of other documents, students can explore firsthand the two men's philosophies and the impact these had on the emerging nation. Also included are 10 illustrations, a Jefferson/Hamilton chronology, a bibliography, and an index.

The rise of the Jeffersonian party is a phenomenon in American history that has often attracted the attention of historians. However, little examination has been made of the actual instrumentalities with which the principles of Jeffersonian democracy were implemented or rejected. This book traces, from its nebulous beginnings to its first great victory in 1800, the formation of the national party organization that lay behind the elevation of Jefferson to the presidency.
Originally published in 1958.
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