Thomas Jefferson versus Alexander Hamilton: Confrontations That Shaped a Nation (The Bedford Series in History and Culture): 1

Cunningham Jr, Noble E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312085850 ISBN 13: 9780312085858

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000

This documentary study of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton focuses on their differing view of society and government in the formative years of the new American nation. Interweaving more than forty documents into seven 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, at the start of Jefferson's second term as president. 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, and Kentucky Resolutions and a host of other documents, students can explore first-hand the two men's philosophies and the impact these had on the emerging nation. Also included are ten illustrations, a Jefferson/Hamilton chronology, a bibliograpy and an index.

Product Description:

Title: Jefferson vs. Hamilton( Confrontations That Shaped a Nation) <>Binding: Paperback <>Author: Cunningham <>Publisher: BedfordBooks

Review:

'Cunningham has composed a well-written, fluid and engrossing text that covers the major political difference between Jefferson and Hamilton. He has developed a well-defined theme that holds throughout the chapters and one that is very appropriate for an undergraduate audience ... The documents are major strengths; they allow the reader to see Jefferson and Hamilton as real people with real fears and concerns about the world in which they lived.' - Gene A. Smith, Texas Christian University

'The selection of documents is terrific, showing imagination as well as knowledge of the sources. The author is particularly adept at using the two men, through their own words, as a springboard to discuss broadly conflicting conceptions of the nature and ideology of the new republic.' - Carl Prince, New York University