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Alexander Hamilton And The Founding Fathers

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Politicians for two hundred years have invoked the Founding Fathers to defend their beliefs. It is understandable that as a society we place figures like Washington, Franklin and Jefferson on a pedestal, they were key figures in the United States achieving its independence. Implying that the Founding Fathers ideas were in concurrence with each other though is something that is erroneously done far too often. These men, while intellectual giants in their own right, found little common ground on public policy. Heated debates, slander, and disagreement are as defining of the construction of the country as anything. Alexander Hamilton was perhaps the most volatile and contentious of the Founding Fathers. His upbringing played a significant role in how he reacted to insults or perceived slights. His feud with Thomas Jefferson is well documented and analysis of their feud has been exhausted. The two men had diametrically opposing views on the future of the country and they were both highly defensive of their views. While Jefferson is rightly portrayed as Hamilton’s politically diametric foe, his opposition with another Founding Father was just as significant. John Adams was a member of the Federalist Party, the same party as Hamilton, and served as George Washington’s Vice-President, yet he and Hamilton initially had a strictly professional relationship that quickly devolved into a war of words. These two men who shared the same party and had a similar vision for the country
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