Power versus Liberty: Madison, Hamilton, Wilson, and Jefferson

Abstract

Does every increase in power of government entail a loss of liberty for people? James H. Read examines how four key Founders--James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Wilson, and Thomas Jefferson--wrestled with this question during first two decades of American Republic.Power versus Liberty reconstructs a four-way conversation--sometimes respectful, sometimes shrill--that touched on most important issues facing new nation: Constitution, Bill of Rights, federal authority versus states' rights, freedom of press, controversial Bank of United States, relation between nationalism and democracy, and elusive meaning of the consent of governed.Each of men whose thought Read considers differed on these key questions. Jefferson believed that every increase in power of government came at expense of liberty: energetic governments, he insisted, are always oppressive. Madison believed that this view was too simple, that liberty can be threatened either by too much or too little governmental power. Hamilton and Wilson likewise rejected Jeffersonian view of power and liberty but disagreed with Madison and with each other.The question of how to reconcile energetic government with liberty of citizens is as timely today as it was in first decades of Republic. It pervades our political discourse and colors our readings of events from confrontation at Waco to Oklahoma City bombing to Congressional debate over how to spend government surplus. While rhetoric of both major political parties seems to posit a direct relationship between size of our government and scope of our political freedoms, debates of Madison, Hamilton, Wilson, and Jefferson confound such simple dichotomies. As Read concludes, relation between power and liberty is inherently complex.