Big Education Ape: Thomas Jefferson VS Alexander Hamilton: The Battle For Sex Education

Friday, April 16, 2010

by Leonard

If we go back to the beginnings of the United States, there were two views contending for what this country should take. One, as propounded by Hamilton was based to some extent on the old European order and the idea of noblesse oblige or simply stated the upper-class had the property, education and culture to ensure the country's success -- because these attributes assured their active involvement in what needed to be done while giving them the ability to do so. The continuity necessary over time could not be guaranteed by the other classes of Americans who at any given time could just pick up and move on.

Jefferson on the other hand felt that a competitive advantage was gained by empowering the citizens with the best education possible, based on the simple logic that government relies on the support on a majority of its population to respond to ever changing economic, political, and cultural issues. A well-educated society therefore stood the best chance of succeeding. If one thinks about it, Jefferson's approach is probably the only rational justification for a democratic system of government.

Although the Jeffersonian view seemed to have prevailed at the beginning of the 19th century with the taking of both the Executive and Legislative branches of United States government, the rapid expansion westward and the