In Chapter 2, What were the "Sharp differences" dividing the leadership of the revolutionary generation

Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, was a pompous, confrontational, and dramatic person who believed the government's survival was contingent on his plan. Jefferson would later claim that Hamilton's dramatic account is what encouraged him to host the dinner. Interestingly, the low-born Hamilton was an inherent elitist; he believed that a trickle-down model best served the nation.

Madison was equally convinced that his native Virginians will be ill-served by such a consolidation of economic policy. His support of states rights was not inherently ideological. As Ellis notes, his first argument concerned individuals who would be penalized by the Assumption Bill.