Friday-Night Program: Hamilton vs. Jefferson

Our speaker is a Distinguished Professor in the Depts. of American Studies and History at Rutgers-New Brunswick.  This program is funded by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, Public Scholars Program (PSP).

Hamilton is experiencing a well-deserved revival. Often forced to take a back seat to other Founding Fathers, his vision of America as an economic powerhouse with an energetic government as its engine has found many followers. Hamilton helped get the Constitution ratified, helped found the Federalist Party, and served as the first Secretary of the Treasury. An orphan born in the West Indies, he was like a son to George Washington and perhaps should have been like a brother to Thomas Jefferson. But Jefferson fought bitterly against the Federalists and his election as president ushered in the “revolution of 1800.” Jefferson articulated a different vision from Hamilton’s, promoting an agrarian democracy built upon geographic expansion—an “empire of liberty,” he called it. In this PSP session, participants will learn more about the battle between them how it influenced the new nation.

Open to the public; Members – Free; Non-Members – $5