ABSTRACT
Jefferson came home to the acclaim of his neighbors, with general approval of his appointment. The nation was lucky to have in Washington, Jefferson, and Hamilton a ruling triumvirate whose ability and distinction matched the comparable governing elite of any of the older nations of Europe. Hamilton had a brilliant intellect, a sure orientation to power, a long-range vision of what was required in the process of nation making, and a capacity to seize upon any subject, whether war, monetary and financial policy, or foreign affairs, and master its principles and tactics. What Jefferson added to these two was his flair for ideas, feeling for the mood of a people and era, his mastery of phrase, and a weighty sense of strategy and decision making in foreign policy. Jefferson and Hamilton worked at the start in effective harness. Jefferson was forty-seven at the time, Hamilton a remarkably mature and self-confident thirty-three, and each at the height of his powers.
