Question

What do Jefferson and Madison mean when they say, “you don’t have the votes...you’re gonna need Congressional approval and you don’t have the votes.”

Answer 1

They meant that Hamilton didn’t have Congressional approval for what he was trying prove, and people didn’t vote for what he was trying to prove.

Answer 2

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison meant that Alexander Hamilton did not have enough support in Congress to approve their propositions, neither the support of the people.

We are referring to the permanent disputes between Hamilton and Jefferson, regarding the politics of the new nation. Alexander Hamilton was the Secretary of the Treasury in the first cabinet of President George Washington. James Madison was the Vice President, and Thomas Jefferson was the Secretary of the States. The continual differences and tensions that confronted Jefferson and Hamilton were because Hamilton's ideas of a strong federal government and Jefferson's ideas to have a restricted federal government and more liberties for the states.