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Jefferson was a philosopher who argued from principle. Outraged by Congress's passage of the repressive Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798 and 1799, Jefferson secretly drafted resolutions passed by the Kentucky legislature that claimed that states had the right to "nullify" federal laws they found obnoxious. Indeed, Jefferson wrote James Madison, states might even find themselves driven to secede "from that union which we so value, rather than give up the rights of self-government which we have reserved."
Hamilton was a practical man and a problem-solver. As secretary of the treasury, he proposed programs to tie the interests of the rich to the government. His enemies accused him of handing out favors to his wealthy friends, but Hamilton insisted that the new nation needed the support of the rich, who would not be patriotic unless they could make money doing so. The United States, said Hamilton, had to prove to business and professional men who "thought continentally" that government would pursue "such measures as will secure to them every advantage they can promise themselves under it."
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