Jefferson must have regretted having arrived so late. He had no doubt that the original holders of government paper had been cheated of rightful gains by speculators who were "fraudulent purchasers of this paper. . . . Immense sums were thus filched from the poor and ignorant and fortunes accumulated by those who had themselves been poor enough before."42 Jefferson's objections to Hamilton's plan had philosophical roots. In his view, the smaller the government, the better the chances of preserving liberty. And to the extent that a central government was necessary, he wanted a strong Congress with a weak executive. Most of all, Jefferson wished to preserve state sovereignty against federal infringement. Since Hamilton's agenda was to strengthen the central government, bolster the executive branch at the expense of the legislature, and subordinate the states, it embodied everything Jefferson abhorred.
( Ron Chernow )
[ Alexander Hamilton ]
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