Existing comment:
Thomas Jefferson: Franklin B. Sawuel, editor
The Complete Anas of Thomas Jefferson, 1903
Hamilton had one main rival for President George Washington's ear: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Their political philosophies put them constantly at odds with one another, and each felt comfortable trespassing on the other's territory in the Cabinet. Jefferson here reminisces bitterly about debating how to French diplomat Edmond-Charles Genet, who attempted to use American ports, sailors, and soldiers against the British and Spanish, despite the United States' official neutrality in the European conflict. Jefferson wanted to show solidarity with the French Revolution, while Hamilton worried that angering the British would devastate the American economy. Eventually, Genet's behavior became so outrageous that even Jefferson conceded that he should be recalled. |