Two of our greatest Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, loathed each other. The political philosophy of Jefferson, the leader of the Republican Party, was diametrically opposed to that of Hamilton, the de facto head of the Federalist Party. Jefferson believed in a minimalist federal government in which the states wielded most powers, while Hamilton promoted a powerful federal government that held primacy over the states.
And yet, ironically, when Jefferson’s inauguration as our third president occurred this week (March 4) in 1801, not only was he beholden to Hamilton for his election, but also it was Hamilton who, in a manner of speaking, was the first Federalist to endorse Jefferson’s presidency.
Because of an electoral quirk (later resolved by the 12th Amendment), the election of 1800 was decided in the House of Representatives. The original Constitution instructed each presidential elector to vote twice — once for president, once for vice-president — but there was no distinction as to which candidate the elector intended to be president and which vice-president. As a result, Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr received the same number of electoral votes, necessitating that the House determine the winner.
At the time, the Federalists controlled the House and Hamilton had great influence over how his fellow Federalists would vote. Hamilton may have hated Jefferson, but he knew him to be a loyal patriot, whereas Hamilton was terrified of Burr because Burr’s only loyalty was to his own ambition. So Hamilton supported Jefferson for president, and his influence helped Jefferson win the House election.
Still, the Federalists, including Hamilton, had deep misgivings about Jefferson, whom they knew opposed the Constitution’s vesting of so much power in the federal government. How could Jefferson “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution, Federalists wondered, when his goal was to weaken the federal powers created by it?
It was then that Hamilton gave one of the most “damn-him-with-faint-praise” (and amusing) defenses of an opposition politician ever spoken. “I admit that his politics are tinctured with fanaticism …” Hamilton admitted, “that he has been a mischievous enemy to the principle measures of the past administration, that he is crafty and persevering in his objects, that he is not scrupulous about the means of success, nor very mindful of truth, and that he is a contemptible hypocrite.”
But, Hamilton explained, it was because Jefferson was a two-timing liar and hypocrite that he was likely to backtrack on his previous positions, especially when faced with tough opposition. Thus most of the federal government’s powers would be preserved.
History does not record Jefferson’s reaction, if any, to this unprecedented political endorsement. But, as Hamilton predicted, Jefferson did leave much of the federal government’s powers intact.
