How Did Alexander Hamilton Bolster The Government

Improved Essays
Alexander Hamilton was the Secretary of treasury from 1789 to 1795; Hamilton had great foresight with his aspirations on how to solve the national debt. There were a few people that didn’t support Hamilton’s plans and some of his loudest opposers were James Madison who at one time was his protégé and fellow Congressman Thomas Jefferson.
Alexander Hamilton was interested in raising revenue for the new federal government, he was a believer in capitalism and he was steadfast in his belief that he could help turn America into a power nation. One of the first and most logical was raising the tax on imports. After his success with raise in tariff, Hamilton presented to Congress an outline of programs that could help further bolster the government’s

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Thanks to Jefferson’s secret dinner Madison and Hamilton managed to make a compromise that placed the capital on the Potomac, but more importantly caused the approval of Hamilton’s financial plan. As the first financial plan of the United States it made great strides in improving the country’s financial…

    • 990 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Alexander Hamilton was an immigrant from the Caribbean, “a top aide to General George Washington” during the Revolutionary War, and the first ever “Secretary of the Treasury under President George Washington.” When he took his position as the Secretary of Treasury, he “inherited a bankrupt nation” with a tremendous war debt and a “shortage of sound currency and bank credit stifled commercial growth.” Hamilton saw the necessity of a solution if the newly formed nation was to prosper. Having already “received a crash course in international commerce as a clerk for a trading firm” in the Caribbean and he “read extensively on economics and finance” , he was proficient at forming a financial plan. He studied the “history of the Bank of North America, chartered by the Continental Congress in 1781”…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Hamilton raises taxes on everything! In the United States 1790, Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of Treasury, is planning to abolish all economy problems. The plan includes the following: creating a national bank, creating an import tariff, raising taxes on everything, paying off debt from the American Revolution, paying bonds at the original value, and paying foreign nations back. The creation of the national bank will help hold the money for the national government and taxes.…

    • 176 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the New Nation period, the Articles of Confederation are abolished and the Constitution is established. The country, on the other hand, is still trying to find a place in the world as a stable country. In the world, there is an international war between Great Britain and France. Also France is dealing with the French Revolution or a change in government.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hamilton proposed to aid the nation’s infant industries. He hoped to break Britain’s manufacturing hold on America through high tariffs that would protect American industry from foreign competition. A big problem at this time was the national debt, so Hamilton came up with the Assumption plan. He proposed that government should assume the entire debt of the federal government and states. However, states like Virginia were not happy with Hamilton’s idea because they had already paid off their debts and saw no reason why they should be taxed by the federal government to pay off the debts of other states.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson had one common goal altogether. There goal was to create a fair government for the United States of America that would work and can be set into place for a long period of time. This being said, there are many things they disagree on and have many different viewpoints in government. Both, Hamilton and Jefferson had and wanted two different ideas of how as well as who should control government likewise how government should be controlled. The main ideas and differences that Hamilton and Jefferson had were type of government (local and federal specifically), interpretation of the constitution, and the people involved in the ideal government set forth by both men.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Tensions rode high within their party and hostility remained, "[W]e have another proof that the present government have renounced the true republican principles of Jefferson 's administration on which they raised themselves to power, and that they have taken up, in their stead, those of John Adams..." (Doc F). Outlining the true amount of appeasement Madison ruled with, John Randolph goes as far to compare Madison to John Adams, a prominent Federalist, and condemn Madison for forsaking Jefferson 's achievements. Randolph hoped to stop the proposed tariff of 1816, appealing especially to the Democrats who wanted to preserve a Democratic government. Jefferson strongly…

    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to Gordon, Hamilton is one of the most important figures in American history as he established the foundation for the economic power that America would become. In fact, “Historians and political scientists commonly credit Alexander Hamilton’s economic plans for revitalizing the American economy and providing the impetus for extended economic progress.” (489) Hamilton’s ideas quickly became central aspects of the modern capitalist economy that would continue to develop and flourish over time. In fact, Hamilton’s financial program was very successful as it led to the development of the New York Stock Exchange which is now the largest financial exchange in the world. Overall, Hamilton’s financial plan for the new government proved to be successful as his ideas were continually carried out even after his death.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    With the Congress’ inability to tax the American citizen, they could only hope that the states will meet their appointed claims and cooperate in order vital areas (Magill, 289). However, the colonies, who noted the funds, proved to be exceedingly reluctant to pay for the aftermath of the revolutionary war (Reynolds, 59). Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Robert Morris (an affluent Philadelphia financier) endowed part of the war and proposed a five percent import duty but a number of states refused to cooperate (Reynolds, 59). The power to print and borrow money remained in the powers of the states causing a massive inflation and…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    As our first Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton conducted a financial plan to help our nation’s economic problems. He proposed three steps to improve the nation’s economy. First of all, we will pay off all the war debts. However, Hamilton needed the central government to pay off the war debts of the states. Nonetheless, sectional contrasts emerged over reimbursement of state debts.…

    • 242 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During this time, he began to see the weaknesses in the federal government and began to think of new ways to approach these weaknesses. This is where Hamilton 's…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this paper I will discuss the way that war and economics have shaped the the development the United States. I want to focus on the two to three main points of history in each topic. On the economic side of things, I want to discuss Colonial America, Slavery, and The Great Depression. On the war side of things I want to discuss The Revolutionary War and The Civil War. Now there are more topics that I could dive into, but I would like to focus on some of the events and not all.…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Michael Vipond Mr. Haindfield APUSH 1 November 2017 Unit 6 Reaction Paper In the 1780s and 1790s, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton had vastly different ideas on how the economic future would be for the United States. Both of them envisioned a prominent nation, but with both different ideas on how to get there. Despite Jefferson’s view of a future of agricultural economy, which was based on farming, no national bank, and strong state governments; Hamiltons view of an industrial economy, which was based on manufacturing, a national bank, and a strong national government, prospered. The extent in which each of their visions affected the United States were reflected by strikes done in the labor work force, the repeal of the national bank by Andrew Jackson, and the growing number of textiles in the U.S. between 1810 and 1840.…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Alexander Hamilton’s plan was to take away old obligations by borrowing money at a low interest rate. Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Virginia, saw no reason why they should be taxed by the federal government to pay off the debts of other states. A debate started in Congress. Hamilton's debt program was a success, by demonstrating that American’s were capable of paying their debts, that also foreign investors were interested. European investments even popped up trying to invest.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Washington’s first order of business was taking care of the large amount of debt that had amassed once the Revolutionary war was finally over. Alexander Hamilton the secretary of the treasury, proposed a financial plan that insisted on raising taxes and establishing a national bank that would “collect all tax revenue...…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays