George Washington and Thomas Jefferson

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are perhaps the most revered of the Founding Fathers. Even during their time, they were looked at as the leaders of the fledgling republic before they became the leaders of their respective parties. Their beliefs, as well as their actions, established a political struggle that has persisted to this day, where the debates are as lively as they were during the framing of the constitution.

Washington and Jefferson's respective beliefs took on special significance in the area of "internal improvements." Larson uses the 1780's term "internal improvement" to refer to all kinds of public works programs designed to encourage security, prosperity, and enlightenment among the people. Internal improvements implicated the two leaders because of the heavy involvement of the federal government in public works programs. Thesis: Washington and Jefferson adopted opposing positions on the role of the federal government because they had different views about human nature.

Washington believed the average person was selfish and would not do the right thing, so the federal government has to do the right thing for him. Jefferson believed that the average person was capable of being a good citizen if given the space and abundance to cultivate himself, which would be impossible if the federal government is too powerful. Development of Beliefs Thomas Jefferson and George Washington had many similarities. They were both from Virginia, owned huge farms, and practiced the doctrine of self-sufficiency.

Throughout their lives, they were curiously reluctant to take on more power. In a sense, they were true aristocrats, representing the ideal of the gentleman-farmer. Washington referred to people like Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and himself as part of a distinct social class, the "monied gentry." According to Larson, this class "…assumed a right to lead based on superior knowledge, patriotic feeling and what they called their "wisdom." Indeed, many men of this class were truly brilliant.

They were not only intellectual elites relative to their American countrymen, but intellectual elites when compared with their contemporaries in Europe, the great statesmen and philosophers of their day. Men like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison possessed brilliance in historic proportions and were the equals of Locke, Hobbes, and De Tocqueville. In addition to being talented, the monied gentry were uniquely industrious, paternalistic and patriotic. It was if the Republican experiment was their little baby in need of nurturing and guidance, of which only they could provide.

They truly cared for the welfare of the American people, although but they probably cared more deeply about the success of their Republican experiment. The Role of Washington's Beliefs in Internal Improvement Projects Although he had a fatherly concern for the welfare of the American people, Washington held deep suspicions about the character of his countrymen. He had doubts about their ability to "do the right thing," to put the interests of the nation before their own interests.

Generally, he thought the average American was lazy, selfish, and short-sighted, especially when compared to the founding fathers. This view is indicative of the Federalist attitude in general. For Washington, the lack of civic-mindedness among his countrymen was especially frustrating. He believed that the nation had to make huge sacrifices and investments up front to make the Republican experiment work. Washington, a highly self-sacrificing individual, expected the same from others.

He understood the Republican experiment as a chance for his nation to "do the right thing." For Washington, the preservation of liberty required a strong federal government that "would do the right thing" when selfish individuals would not. Jefferson, though a member of the monied gentry himself, differed from Washington in his opinion of common people. He believed in the innate capacity of human beings and attributed their low level of development to misgovernment, neglect, and exploitation by the religious and aristocratic authorities of the old world.

He believed that anyone can become a dutiful, civic-minded citizen if given sufficient space and resources to cultivate himself. For Jefferson, this space could only be created through the removal of oppressive government intrusion. Jefferson had his own understanding of the Republican ideal. He believed that the mission of Republican experiment in the United States was not just to guarantee the liberty of Americans, but to invent a "…natural, rational, and egalitarian order & #8230;" Jefferson had a universal, humanist perspective of the American revolution.

He was the idealistic philosopher to Washington's practical general. Washington started out with very similar orientation to Jefferson. In fact, Washington might have turned out much like Jefferson. However, Washington's experience in the Revolutionary war engendered in him, along with his adjutant Alexander Hamilton, deep concerns about the weakness of the Federal Government. Also, Washington, being a general, was very observant of material conditions throughout the nation, particularly infrastructure. Unlike Jefferson, Washington travelled extensively, for business and pleasure, and saw many pockets of America that Jefferson did not see.

He held a particular fascination with the American interior, which was still largely a frontier region at the time. He saw huge commercial potential in the resources of the more fertile West. However, he also noted a lack of ambition and work ethic among the inhabitants. He attributed this to the abundance of land and fertility of the soil. Thus, the American interior would have to become "Americanized" with the values of industry and self-sufficiency before it could realize its full potential.

The Role of Beliefs in Internal Improvement Projects The first generation of American internal improvement works was shaped almost exclusively by the monied gentry, a particularly talented and self-confident class of leaders. These men planned their public projects on a large scale over a long-term. Washington envisioned a "…channel of commerce between Great Britain and the American interior. To realize this vision, he emphasized the construction of roads, canals, and bridges," most notably the Potomac River Canal.

These internal improvements were also meant to achieve another goal, the interconnectedness of the Republic. The transportation infrastructure was partly meant to prevent the individual states from becoming insular and neglectful of the larger republic. The planners desired the exchange of ideas and experiences as much as the exchange of goods. The cost and scale of the projects envisioned by Washington required a strong federal government. This could only be granted through the consent of the individual states.

At the Constitutional Convention, many states were reluctant to empower the federal congress in the areas of trade, finance, and foreign policy. Washington himself was disappointed with the resulting Constitution, blaming it on the short-sightedness of the states. The Role of Jefferson's Beliefs in Internal Improvement Projects Jefferson's strict Republican views led him to oppose many of the Federalists' most important projects. Jefferson campaigned to block the creation of the National Bank.

He also sought to prevent the development of a deepwater Navy, knowing that it would lure the United States into a commercial empire. Such an empire would not only enrich the federal government through tariffs but would also demand the creation of federal institutions to oversee the nation's trade relations with other nations. Jefferson and the Republicans chose to stem the growth of federal power through the obstruction of individual.