Debate: Who had the more enduring vision of the United States? Hamilton or Jefferson?
Side: Alexander Hamilton

Sample from past student Nick Tsigas:First, look around you. You live in a country of industry: a legacy dating back to the invention of steam; a country with an innovative mindset, freedom, and structure. Now look at yourself. Where do you live, what is your nationality, who do you identify with? America. Not Texas, or Virginia, or any one state. The United States. A country with a strong government, representatives, the Federal Reserve, even a close alliance with Britain, and a Constitution that has been built on and expanded over the years. These all are the ideals of Alexander Hamilton and his Federalists, and now, over two hundred years later, they still provide the backbone of an ideal American society.Hamilton rose in an unprecedented manner from poverty and nothingness to become a shrewd politician and war hero. He was born abandoned and disowned and worked, on his own merits, to rise to a career in law, and Wasington’s aide-de-camp. In war he witnessed horrors none of us can imagine, including Jefferson. It is true that these past experiences influenced some of his ideas that seem defensive and untrusting towards the majority of society. But all people are influenced by the past, including Jefferson and his ‘sunnier’ background. Many of Jefferson’s ideas, while idealistic, are no longer relevant in today’s government; particularly his grand idea of an America of ‘yeoman’ farmers, and states all but separate in government. Any final vestiges of this illusion vanished in the 1800’s when America, like the rest of the modern age, became industrialized. This, Hamilton anticipated, and it came true.For those who doubt Hamilton, I say look no farther than the country around you today, for it is full of Hamilton’s ideas. People looking to hold an office in politics must prove to through campaigns that they are worthy of people’s trust, and not selfish and manipulative. Representatives, not the everyday man, go to Washington where the laws that affect all of us, state and citizen are made. Our economy is reflected in an abstract, but effective stock market. The Federal Reserve Bank of America is the cornerstone of our economy and growth, and even allowed for the dubious Louisiana Purchase. We export goods and services, and take a leading role in Foreign Relations. We have a close alliance with Britain and many other countries. Most importantly, we have a society in which, like Hamilton himself, the little man can make himself whatever he pursues in life. In short, we are a global superpower. All of these were the foresights, ideas and brainchildren of the great Alexander Hamilton, without whom we would not know the privileges our society has to offer.In conclusion, when the grand picture of history is taken into consideration, Hamilton is responsible for some of the most fundamental, progressive Ideals and Institutions that have made America the worldwide powerhouse that it is. Where some people provided a newborn America with words and principles, Mr. Hamilton gave it practicable ideas, institutions, and a forward-thinking attitude that prompted it into the actions that made it what is is today. And as they say, actions speak louder than words.