Midterm 2

Question Alexander Hamilton’s on manufactures and Thomas Jefferson’s s on the of Virginia were similar because they both addressed the state of economy as supported by manufacturing or agricultural production. The two documents, however, were different on their author’s viewpoints on embracing manufacturing or agricultural production. Hamilton proposed manufacturing as the pillar to economic prosperity, while Jefferson proposed increased agricultural production.
According to the mercantilist theory that was popular in the 1700s, the prosperity of a nation depends on its supply for money. For a country to increase its species, it had to export more than its imports. Since manufactured goods were highly expensive compared to agricultural products, nation’s importing manufactured goods were richer. Mercantilism recommended Britain to import agricultural products from its colonies such as America and sell them manufactured goods.
After independence, America intended to manufacture it citizens’ expertise to limit their dependence Jefferson, however did not consent to the decision. When answering a French diplomat, Marbois, on the state of manufacturing, commerce, and interior trade, Jefferson recommended that the county should not focus on manufacturing but rather concentrate on agricultural production.
He recommends that the county Virginia should focus on agricultural production and let the British manufacture what he see as a partnership. He believed that small sufficient farmers were the best citizens and that God chose the labours in earth. This is because they were hard working, more trustworthy and more moral.
Alexander Hamilton, in 1791, proposed an economic program aid for the national infant industries, through high tariffs (Hamilton 5). Economic program aid aimed at protecting American companies from foreign competition government subsidies and improvement of internal transport, which could make transport cheap for American industrial use. The intension was to clear the British manufacturing hood in America. He argues that manufacturing does not only earn revenue but also render the produce of greater importance. Unlike Jefferson, he was determined to make the nation self-dependent by fully producing products that its citizen may depend. Finally, he gives it an economical view that the country can export its products to earn it more income, unlike Jefferson’s partnership view
Question 2
Both the declaration and common sense enlightened Americans to advocate their rights to equality and freedom from oppression by the British. The two documents both addressed the intention by the colonies to attain self-governance from the British. While the declaration was a summary of statement of intention, common sense was a comprehensive document that outlined key concerns of the colonies.
Thomas Paine published the Common Sense in 1776 in which he challenged the authority British government and royal monarchy. Paine, through the Common Sense, enlightened Americans to advocate their quest for independence. The Declaration of Independence was a summary of the justification for independence presented by the colonies (Jayne 175). It outlined the nation’s reasons for eliminating the colonists and royal monarchy to attain self-governance.
The Declaration outlined equality among citizens. The government retains the mandate to protect citizens’ rights. Similarly, Paine highlights that the government serves to protect citizens’ lives, properties, and liberty.
Paine discussed monarchy, which he argues demands all men to comply with the decision of a King. According to Paine, monarchy promotes injustice. He relates the situation to the Israelites in the bible stating that kingship was not God’s will for the Israelites. In the Declaration, colonies expressed their dissatisfaction with the leadership or King George III. Paine had initially alarmed that the British were diverting from caring for their colonies to suppressing them through hardship and forced labour.
Works Cited
Jayne, Allen. Jeffersons Declaration of Independence: Origins, Philosophy, and Theology. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.
Hamilton, Alexander. Report on the Subject of Manufactures. New York: Cosimo Classics, 2007. Print.