Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757 - July 12, 1804) was an American statesman and one of the founding Fathers of the United States. He is an influential translator and promoter of the US Constitution, as well as the founder of the state finance system, Federalist Party, Coast Guard, and The New York Post newspaper. As the first Minister of Finance, Hamilton was the lead author of the economic policy of the George Washington administration. He leads in the funding of state debt by the Federal government, as well as the establishment of national banks, tariff systems, and friendly trade relations with the UK. His vision includes a strong central government headed by a strong executive branch, a strong commercial economy, with national banks and support for manufacturing, plus a strong military. Thomas Jefferson is his opponent, arguing for agrarianism and smaller government.
Hamilton was born out of wedlock in Charlestown, Nevis. Being an orphan as a child, he was taken by a prosperous merchant. As a precocious teenager he was sent to New York to continue his education. Hamilton took an early role when the American Revolutionary War began. In 1777, he became senior aide to General Washington in running a new Continental Army. After the war, Hamilton was elected vice-president of the Confederation Congress of New York. He resigned to practice law, and founded Bank of New York.
Hamilton was the leader in seeking to replace the weak national government, and led the Annapolis Convention in 1786, which spurred Congress to call on the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. He helped achieve ratification by writing 51 of 85 Federalist Papers' installments, which to this day remain the most important reference to the interpretation of the Constitution.
Hamilton leads the Treasury as the first member of President Washington's trusted cabinet. He was a nationalist who emphasized a strong central government and succeeded in arguing that the implicit Constitutional powers granted legal authority to fund national debt, bear state debt, and create a government-backed United States Bank. These programs are funded primarily by import tariffs, and later also by the controversial tax on whiskey. To overcome localism, Hamilton mobilized the national network of government friends, especially bankers and businessmen, who became the Federalist Party. The main problem in the emergence of a two-party American system is the Jay Treaty, which was largely designed by Hamilton in 1794. It established friendly trade relations with Britain, which left France disappointed and supporters of the French Revolution. Hamilton played a central role in the Federalist party, which dominated national and state politics until losing the 1800 election of the Jefferson Democratic Party.
In 1795, he returned to law practice in New York. In 1798-99, under President Adams, Hamilton called for mobilization against France and became the newly re-established Commander of the US Army, modernized and prepared for war. Hamilton's army did not see any fighting in Quasi-War, and Hamilton was furious by Adams's diplomatic aversion to the battle with France. His opposition to the re-election of Adams helped lead to the defeat of the Federalist party in 1800. Jefferson and Aaron Burr were bound for the presidency at the electoral college in 1801, and Hamilton helped to defeat Burr, whom he found unprincipled, and chose Jefferson despite his philosophical differences.
Hamilton continued his legal and business activities in New York City, and was active in ending the legality of international slave trade. Vice-President Burr ran for New York State governor in 1804, and Hamilton campaigned against him as improper. Feeling guilty, Burr challenged him to a duel in which Burr shot and wounded Hamilton, who died the next day on July 12, 1804.
Video Alexander Hamilton
Childhood in the Caribbean
Alexander Hamilton was born and spent part of his childhood in Charlestown, the capital of the island of Nevis in the Leeward Islands (then part of the British West Indies). Hamilton and her brother James Jr. (1753-1786) was born out of wedlock with Rachel Faucette, a married woman of half-Britain and half-French Huguenot, and James A. Hamilton, a Scot who was the fourth son of Laird Alexander Hamilton of Grange, Ayrshire. The speculation that Hamilton's mother is a mixed race, albeit persistent, is not proved by verifiable evidence. He is listed as a white person on the tax list.
It is unclear whether Hamilton's birth year is 1755 or 1757. Much of the historical evidence after Hamilton's arrival in North America supports the idea that he was born in 1757, including Hamilton's own writings. Hamilton recorded his birth year as 1757 when he first arrived at the Thirteen Colonies, and celebrated his birthday on January 11th. Later, he tends to give his age only in round numbers. Historians received 1757 as the year of his birth until about 1930, when additional documentation about his early life in the Caribbean was published, initially in Denmark. A paper of wills from St. Croix in 1768, compiled after Hamilton's mother's death, enrolled it as 13 years old, which has caused some historians since the 1930s to support the year of birth of 1755.
Historians have speculated on possible reasons for two different years of birth have appeared in historical documents. If 1755 is right, Hamilton may try to appear younger than his classmates in college, or may want to avoid standing as older. If 1757 is true, a single judge's probate document showing the year of birth of 1755 may only include mistakes, or Hamilton may have given him 13 years after his mother's death in an effort to look older and easier to employ. Historians have pointed out that the document of validation letters contains other proven inaccuracies that show that the document is not entirely reliable, and Richard Brookhiser notes that "a man is more likely to know his own day of birth than a court of judges."
Hamilton's mother had been married earlier with Johann Michael Lavien, at St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, then ruled by Denmark. They have one son, Peter Lavien. In 1750, Faucette abandoned her husband and first son, and went to St. Kitts where he meets James Hamilton. Hamilton and Faucette moved together to Nevis, his birthplace, where he inherited the property from his father.
James Hamilton left Rachel Faucette and their two sons, James Jr. and Alexander, who allegedly "spar [e] [him] bigami accusations... after knowing that her first husband intended [divorced] to divorce her under Danish law on the grounds of adultery and desertion." After that, Rachel moved with young Hamilton to St. Croix, where he supports his children by storing a small shop in Christiansted. He contracted a yellow fever and died on February 19, 1768, 1:01, leaving Hamilton an orphan. This may have severe emotional consequences for him, even by the standards of his 18th century childhood. In the court of probate, Faucette's first husband confiscated his possessions and obtained some valuable possessions, including some of the household silver. A lot of items were auctioned off, but a friend bought family books and returned them to Hamilton.
Hamilton became a clerk at the local import export company Beekman and Cruger traded with New York and New England; he was assigned to the firm for five months in 1771 while its owner was at sea. He and James Jr. were briefly taken by their cousin Peter Lytton; However, Lytton committed suicide. The brothers were then separated. James apprenticed with a local carpenter, while Alexander was given home by Nevis merchant Thomas Stevens. Some clues have led to speculate that Stevens might be the biological father of Alexander Hamilton: his son Edward Stevens became a close friend of Hamilton, the two boys portrayed looking very similar, both fluent in French and sharing the same interests. However, this accusation, based largely on Timothy Pickering's comments about the similarities between the two men, is always unclear and unsupported. Rachel Faucette had lived in St. Kitts and Nevis for many years at the time Alexander was conceived, while Thomas Stevens lived in Antigua and St.. Croix; also, James Hamilton never refused paternity, and even in later years, signed his letters to Hamilton with "Your Very Loved Dad."
While Hamilton continued his work, he remained a diligent reader and later developed an interest in writing. He started wanting life outside the island where he lived. He wrote a letter to his father who was a detailed account of a hurricane that destroyed Christiansted on August 30, 1772. Hugh Knox, a minister and journalist, published a letter on the Danish-American Gazette. Biographer Ron Chernow found the letter remarkable for two reasons; firstly, that "for all its bombastic excesses, it seems astonishing [that] a highly educated employee can write with such vigor and zeal," and secondly, that a male teenager produces a "fire-and-sulfur" apocalyptic sermon. storm as "a divine rebuke against human pride and arrogance." The essay impressed community leaders, who raised funds to send Hamilton to the North American colony for his education.
Maps Alexander Hamilton
Education
The Church of England refused membership of Alexander and James Hamilton, Jr.-- and education at church schools - because their parents were not legally married. They receive "personal guidance" and classes at private schools headed by a Jewish principal. Alexander completes his education with a family library of 34 books.
In October 1772, he arrived by ship in Boston, and traveled from there to New York City, where he stayed with Hercules Mulligan, the brother of a merchant who assisted Hamilton in selling cargoes that would finance his education and support. In 1773, in preparation for college, Hamilton began filling a void in his education at Elizabethtown Academy, a preparatory school run by Francis Barber in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. He was under the influence of William Livingston, a prominent intellectual and revolutionary, with whom he stayed for a while at Liberty Hall.
Hamilton entered King's College (now Columbia) in New York City in the fall of 1773 "as a private student", and was officially accepted in May 1774. His roommate and lifelong friend Robert Troup spoke very clearly of Hamilton's clarity by briefly explaining the patriots. The case against England in what is credited as Hamilton's first public appearance, on July 6, 1774 at Liberty Pole at King's College. Hamilton, Troup, and four other students formed an anonymous literary society that was considered the precursor of the Philolexian Society.
The Church Priest of England Samuel Seabury published a series of pamphlets promoting the cause of Loyalists in 1774, in which Hamilton responded anonymously to his first political writings, the Full Verification of the Measures of Congress and Refuted Farmers. Seabury is basically trying to provoke fear in the colony, and his main goal is to stop potential unity among the colonies. Hamilton publishes two additional sections that attack the Quebec Act, and may also write fifteen anonymous installments "The Monitor" for Holt's New York Journal . Hamilton was a supporter of the cause of the Revolution in this pre-war phase, although he did not approve of mass retaliation against the Loyalists. On May 10, 1775, Hamilton won a credit for saving the president of his colleague Myles Cooper, a Loyalist, from an angry mob by talking to the crowd long enough for Cooper to escape.
Hamilton was forced to stop his studies before graduation when college closed its doors during the British occupation of the city. When the war ended, after several months of self-study in July 1782, Hamilton passed the bar exam and in October 1782 was licensed to debate the cases before the New York State Supreme Court.
Revolutionary War
Early military career
In 1775, after the first engagement of American troops with the British at Lexington and Concord, Hamilton and other King's College students joined a New York volunteer militia company called Corsicans, later renamed or reformed as Hearts of Oak.
She was drilled with the company, before class, at the St. Chapel's cemetery. Paul is nearby. Hamilton studied history and military tactics and was immediately recommended for promotion. Under fire from HMS Asia , he led a successful attack on British guns on Battery, the arrest that resulted in Hearts of Oak being an artillery company afterwards.
Through his connections with influential New York patriots such as Alexander McDougall and John Jay, Hamilton appointed the New York Province Artillery Company of sixty people in 1776, and was elected captain. It took part in the 1776 campaign around New York City, particularly in the Battle of White Plains; at the Battle of Trenton, it was placed at the high point of the city, meeting Warren and the Current Streets, to keep the Hessian pinned at Trenton Barracks.
Hamilton participated in the Princeton Battle on 3 January 1777. After the initial setback, Washington deployed American troops and led them in a successful offensive against British troops. After making short positions, the British retreated, some left Princeton, and others took refuge in Nassau Hall. Hamilton took three cannons and told them to light a fire on the building. Then some Americans rush to the front door, and destroy it. England then put a white flag outside one of the windows; 194 British soldiers walked out of the building and laid their hands, ending the battle in American victory.
George Washington's Staff
Hamilton was invited to be assistant to William Alexander, Lord Stirling and one other general, perhaps Nathanael Greene or Alexander McDougall. He declined this invitation, believing his best chance to improve his position in life was the glory of the battlefield. Hamilton finally accepted the invitation he felt he could not refuse: to serve as Washington's assistant, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Washington felt, "Aides de camps are people where all confidence should be placed and it requires people who have the ability to perform their duties politely and freely."
Hamilton served for four years as Washington's chief staff assistant. He handled letters to Congress, state governors, and the most powerful generals in the Continental Army; he composed many of Washington's orders and letters in the latter direction; he finally issued an order from Washington on Hamilton's own signature. Hamilton was involved in high-level duties, including intelligence, diplomacy, and negotiations with senior army officers as Washington envoys.
During the war, Hamilton became close friends with several officers. His letters to the Marquis de Lafayette and John Laurens, using a sentimental literary convention at the end of the 18th century and alluding to Greek history and mythology, have been read by Jonathan Ned Katz, as revealing homosexual or perhaps homosexual relationships. On the other hand, biographer Gregory D. Massey rejects all the speculation about Laurens-Hamilton's relationship as baseless, describing their friendship as pure platonic fraternity and placing their correspondence in the floral handwriting context of the time.
Field command
While at Washington's staff, Hamilton long sought command and returned to active combat. As the war drew closer, he knew that opportunities for military glory were diminishing. In February 1781, Hamilton was somewhat reprimanded by Washington and used this as an excuse to resign from his staff position. He asked Washington and the others for a field order. This continued until early July 1781, when Hamilton sent a letter to Washington with his commission closed, "thus quietly threatening to resign if he does not get the orders he wants."
On July 31, 1781, Washington succumbed and commissioned Hamilton to be the commander of the light infantry battalion of the First Regiment and 2d New York and two interim companies from Connecticut. In planning for an attack on Yorktown, Hamilton was given command of three battalions, who would fight alongside the allied French forces in taking Redoubts No. 2. 9 and No. 10 from the English castle in Yorktown. Hamilton and his battalion fought bravely and took Redoubt No. 1. 10 with bayonets in the evening action, as planned. France also fought valiantly, suffered many casualties, and took Redoubt no. 9. These measures forced the British to surrender all troops in Yorktown, Virginia, effectively ending major military operations in North America.
Confederate Congress
After the Battle of Yorktown, Hamilton resigned from his commission. He was appointed in July 1782 to the Confederation Congress as New York's representative for the term which began in November 1782. Prior to his appointment to Congress in 1782, Hamilton already shared his criticism of Congress. He expressed these criticisms in his letter to James Duane on September 3, 1780. In this letter he writes, "The fundamental flaw is the desire of power in Congress... the confederation itself is corrupt and needs to be changed, unsuitable for war, or peace."
While at Washington's staff, Hamilton became frustrated by the decentralized nature of the Continental Congress in wartime, especially his dependence on states for voluntary financial support. Under the Confederate Budget, Congress has no power to collect taxes or ask for money from the state. This lack of stable funding sources has complicated the Continental Army both to obtain the necessary provisions and to pay its soldiers. During the war, and for some time afterwards, Congress obtained what funds it could get from subsidies from the King of France, from requested assistance from some states (which often can not or would not contribute), and from European loans.
Amendments to Articles have been proposed by Thomas Burke, in February 1781, to grant Congress the power to collect 5% impost, or duties on all imports, but this requires ratification by all states; securing his path because the law proved impossible after being rejected by Rhode Island in November 1782. James Madison joined Hamilton in influencing Congress to send delegates to persuade Rhode Island to change his mind. Their report recommends that delegates argue that the national government requires not only the degree of financial autonomy but also the ability to make laws that supersede the laws of each country. Hamilton sent a letter stating that Congress already has the power to impose taxes, because it has the power to correct the amount to be paid from several states; but Virginia's cancellation of its own ratification ended the negotiations of Rhode Island.
Congress and soldiers
While Hamilton was in Congress, dissatisfied soldiers began to pose a danger to the youth of the United States. Most of the soldiers were then stationed in Newburgh, New York. Those in the army fund much of their own inventory, and they have not been paid in eight months. Furthermore, after Valley Forge, Continental officers were promised in May 1778, retiring half of their wages when they were released. In the early 1780s, due to the government structure under the Confederate Budget, there was no power to impose a tax either to increase income or to pay its soldiers. In 1782 after months without charge, a group of officers organized to send a delegation to lobby Congress, led by Captain Alexander McDougall. Officers have three demands: Army salaries, their own pensions, and the change of pensions into lump-sum payments if Congress is unable to pay a half-salary pension for life. Congress rejected the proposal.
Some members of Congress, including Hamilton, Robert Morris and Gouverneur Morris (no relation), attempted to use this Newburgh Conspiracy as an influence to gain support from the state and in Congress for national government funding. They encourage MacDougall to continue its aggressive approach, threatening unknown consequences if their demands are not met, and defeating proposals that will resolve the crisis without specifying general federal taxation: that countries assume debt to the army, or that an established determination is dedicated for the sole purpose pay the debt.
Hamilton suggested using the Army's claim to win in the state for the proposed national funding system. Morrises and Hamilton contacted Knox to advise him and the officers to oppose civilian authorities, at least by not dissolving if the soldiers were not satisfied. Hamilton wrote Washington to show that Hamilton was secretly "taking the lead" from the officers' efforts to secure compensation, to secure continental funding but keep the army within the limits of moderation. Washington wrote Hamilton back, refusing to introduce the army. After the crisis ended, he warned of the dangers of using soldiers as an influence to gain support for the national funding plan.
On March 15, Washington defused the Newburgh situation by greeting officers personally. Congress ordered the Army to be officially dissolved in April 1783. That same month, Congress issued a new measure for the twenty-five year assignment - which Hamilton rejected - again requiring the consent of all countries; it also approved the replacement of officers' pensions for up to five years of full payment. Rhode Island once again opposed this provision, and Hamilton's assertion of a national prerogative in the previous letter was widely considered excessive.
In June 1783, a different group of dissatisfied soldiers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, sent a petition to Congress to demand their repayment. As they began marching toward Philadelphia, Congress accused Hamilton and two others by intercepting the masses. Hamilton requested the militia from the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, but was rejected. Hamilton instructed Assistant Minister of War William Jackson to intercept the men. Jackson did not work. The masses arrive in Philadelphia, and the soldiers continue the betrayal of Congress to pay them. Continental President of Congress, John Dickinson, worries that the Pennsylvania state militia is unreliable, and refuses his help. Hamilton argues that Congress should postpone to Princeton, New Jersey. Congress agreed, and moved there. Frustrated with the central government's weakness, Hamilton while at Princeton drafted a call to revise the Confederate Budget. This resolution contains many features of the US Constitution in the future, including a strong federal government with the ability to collect taxes and collect soldiers. It also includes the separation of powers into the branches of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.
Return to New York
Hamilton resigned from Congress and in July 1782 graduated bar and started practicing in Albany after six months of self-education. When England left New York in 1783 he trained there in partnership with Richard Harison. He specializes in defending the Tories and English subjects, such as at Rutgers v. Waddington, where he defeated claims for damage done to a brewery by an Englishman who held him during a military occupation in New York. He appealed to the Mayor's Court to interpret the laws of the state consistent with the Treaty of 1783 of Paris which had ended the Revolutionary War.
In 1784, he founded Bank of New York, one of the oldest banks still in existence in America. Hamilton is one of those people who returned King's College as Columbia College, which has been postponed since 1776 and badly damaged during the war. Long dissatisfied with the weak Confederate Budget, he played a major leadership role in the Annapolis Convention in 1786. He drafted resolutions to constitutional conventions, and in doing so brought his longstanding desire to have a stronger, more financially independent federal government. one step closer to reality.
Constitution and Federalist Papers
Constitution and Ratification of the Constitution
In 1787, Hamilton served as a parliamentarian from New York County in New York State Legislature and was elected a delegate to the Constitutional Convention by his father-in-law Philip Schuyler. Although Hamilton has been a leader in calling for new Constitutional Conventions, his direct influence on the Convention itself is very limited. Gov. George Clinton's faction in the New York parliament has selected two other New York delegates, John Lansing, Jr. and Robert Yates, and both opposed Hamilton's goals from a strong national government. So whenever two other members of the New York delegation were present, they decided on a New York vote, to ensure that no major changes were made to the Confederate Budget.
At the beginning of the convention, he made a speech proposing the President to Life; it has no effect on convention deliberations. He proposes to have an elected President and elected Senator who will serve a lifetime, relying on "good behavior" and subject to abolition due to corruption or abuse; this idea then contributed to a hostile view of Hamilton as a monarchist sympathizer, held by James Madison. According to Madison's notes, Hamilton said in terms of executives, "The English model is the only good thing about this." The hereditary attraction of the king is so intertwined with that of the nation, and his personal emoluments are so great, that he is placed on top of corrupt hazards from abroad... Let an executive be appointed to a life that dares to execute its power. "
Hamilton argued, "And let me observe that an executive is less dangerous for the freedom of people when serving for life than for seven years.It can be said this is an elective monarchy... But by making an executive subject to impeachment, the term 'monarchy' can not applied... "During the convention, Hamilton drafted the Constitution on the basis of convention debates, but he never presented it. This draft has most of the features of the actual Constitution. In this bill, the Senate will be elected in proportion to the population, to two-fifths of the size of the House, and the President and Senator must be elected through a complex multistage election, in which elected voters will elect smaller voting bodies. ; they will hold office for life, but released by mistake. The President will have an absolute veto. The Supreme Court will have direct jurisdiction over all lawsuits involving the United States, and the state governor must be appointed by the federal government.
At the end of the Convention, Hamilton was still dissatisfied with the latest Constitution, but signed it as a major overhaul of the Confederate Budget, and urged his delegates to do so as well. Since two other New York delegates, Lansing and Yates, had already resigned, Hamilton was the only New York signatory to the United States Constitution. He then took a very active part in a successful campaign for ratification of documents in New York in 1788, which was an important step in his national ratification. He first used the popularity of the Constitution by the masses to force George Clinton to sign, but to no avail. The state convention in Poughkeepsie in June 1788 pitted Hamilton, Jay, James Duane, Robert Livingston, and Richard Morris against the Clinton faction led by Melancton Smith, Lansing, Yates, and Gilbert Livingston.
The Hamilton faction opposes any conditional ratification, under the impression that New York will not be accepted into the Union, while the Clinton faction wants to amend the Constitution, while retaining the right of the state to escape if their efforts fail. During state conventions, New Hampshire and Virginia became the ninth and tenth states to ratify the Constitution, respectively, have ensured any delays will not happen and compromises must be achieved. Hamilton's argument used for ratification was largely a working iteration of The Federalist Papers, and Smith eventually went for ratification, though it was more due to the needs than the Hamilton rhetoric. Votes in the state constitution were ratified 30 to 27, on 26 July 1788.
In 1788, Hamilton served a second term in what proved to be the last session of the Continental Congress under the Confederate Budget.
The Federalist Papers
Hamilton recruited John Jay and James Madison to write a series of essays that defended the proposed Constitution, now known as The Federalist Papers, and made the greatest contribution to the effort, writing 51 of 85 published essays (Madison wrote. 29, Jay only five). Hamilton oversees the entire project, asks the participants, writes most of the essay, and oversees the publication. During the project, everyone is responsible for their area of ​​expertise. Jay covers overseas relations, Madison covers the history of the republic and confederation, along with the anatomy of the new government and Hamilton covers the most relevant branches of government for him: the executive and judicial branches, with some aspects of the Senate, and covering military and taxation matters. This paper first appeared in the The Independent Journal on October 27, 1787.
Hamilton wrote the first paper signed as Publius, and all further papers were signed with that name. Jay wrote the next four papers to describe the confederate weaknesses and the need to unite against foreign aggression and fight divide into rival confederations, and, except for Number 64, was not involved any further. The key points of Hamilton include the discussion that although the republic has been guilty of disturbances in the past, advances in "political science" have fostered principles that ensure that violations are preventable, such as power sharing, independent legislative checks and balances. courts, and legislators represented by the electorate (No. 7-9). Hamilton also wrote an extensive defense of the Constitution (No. 23-36), and discussed the Senate and executive and judicial branches in Numbers 65-85. Hamilton and Madison work to describe the state of an anarchist confederation in numbers 15-22, and have been described as not entirely different in thought over this time period, in contrast to their violent opposition later on. A subtle distinction arises with both when discussing the importance of standing armies.
Reconciliation between New York and Vermont
In 1764 King George III had decided to support New York in a dispute between New York and New Hampshire over the territory which later became the state of Vermont. New York later refused to recognize property claims derived from a grant by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth for the previous 15 years when the territory was set up as a de facto part of New Hampshire. As a result, people from disputed territories, called New Hampshire Grants, refused New York law enforcement in Grants. Ethan Allen militia calls the Green Mountain Boys, noted for success in the war against England in 1775, initially set up for the purpose of fighting the colonial government in New York. In 1777 the statesman of the Grant declared a separate state to be called Vermont, and in early 1778 had established a state government.
During 1777-1785, Vermont was repeatedly rejected by its representatives at the Continental Congress, mainly because New York insisted that Vermont was legally part of New York. Vermont took that position because its petition to enter the Union was rejected, it was not part of the United States, not subject to Congress, and free to negotiate separately with Britain. The last Haldimand negotiations led to several prisoner-of-war exchanges. The 1783 peace treaty that ended the war included Vermont within the borders of the United States. On March 2, 1784, Governor George Clinton of New York asked Congress to declare war on the heels of overthrowing the Vermont government, but Congress made no decision.
In 1787 the New York government almost completely submitted a plan to subdue Vermont, but still claimed jurisdiction. As a member of the New York legislature, Hamilton firmly and firmly supports the bill to recognize the sovereignty of the State of Vermont, against many objections to its constitutionality and policy. The bill's consideration was postponed to a later date. In 1787 to 1789 Hamilton exchanged letters with Nathaniel Chipman, a lawyer representing Vermont. In 1788, the new United States Constitution came into force, with plans to replace the Unicameral Continental Congress with a new Congress comprising the Senate and the House of Representatives. Hamilton writes:
One of the first subjects of discussions with the new Congress was the independence of Kentucky [at that time still part of Virginia], which would make the southern states worried. The northern part would be happy to find a counterweight in Vermont.
In 1790, the New York legislature decided to submit New York claims to Vermont if Congress decides to accept Vermont to Union and if negotiations between New York and Vermont on the border between the two countries are concluded. In 1790, negotiators not only discussed the limits, but also the financial compensation of the New York landowners whose Vermont grants refused to be recognized because they were contrary to previous grants from New Hampshire. Compensation in the amount of 30,000 Spanish dollars was approved, and Vermont accepted at the Union in 1791.
Secretary of the Treasury
President George Washington appointed Hamilton as the first US Treasury Secretary on September 11, 1789. He left the office on the last day of January 1795. Most of the United States government structures were done in those five years, beginning with the structure and function of the cabinet itself. Forrest biographer Forrest McDonald argues that Hamilton saw his office, like the office of the First Lord of the Treasury of England, just like the Prime Minister. Hamilton oversaw his colleagues under George Washington's elective government. Washington asked Hamilton's advice and assistance on matters outside the Ministry of Finance. In 1791, while Secretary, Hamilton was elected a Fellow at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Hamilton submitted financial reports to Congress. Among these are the First Report on Public Credit, the Operation of the Layout of Duties on Imports, Reports to the National Bank, the Formation of Mint, the Manufacturing Report, and the Plan Report for Further Support of Public Credits. So, the big company in Hamilton's administrative republic project is the formation of stability.
Report on Public Credits
Prior to the Postponement of the House of Representatives in September 1789, they asked Hamilton to make a report on suggestions to improve public credit in January 1790. Hamilton had written to Robert Morris as early as 1781 that fixing public credit would win their independence goals. The sources used by Hamilton range from Frenchmen such as Jacques Necker and Montesquieu to British writers such as Hume, Hobbes, and Malachy Postlethwayt. While writing the report, he also sought advice from contemporaries like John Knox Witherspoon, and Madison. Although they approve additional taxes such as refineries and import duties and land taxes, Madison is concerned that securities from government debt will fall into foreign hands.
In his report, Hamilton felt that securities should be fully paid to their rightful owners, including those who took the financial risk of buying government bonds that most experts thought would never be redeemed. He argues that the freedom and security of property can not be separated and that governments should honor contracts, because they form the basis of public and private morality. For Hamilton, the proper handling of government debt will also allow Americans to borrow at affordable rates and will also be a stimulant for the economy.
Hamilton divided the debt into national and state, and subsequently divided the national debt into foreign and domestic debt. Although there is agreement on how to handle foreign debt (especially with France), nothing relates to the national debt held by domestic creditors. During the Revolutionary War, prosperous citizens have invested in bonds, and war veterans have been paid with promissory notes and IOUs that slump in prices during the Confederation. In response, war veterans sell securities to speculators for as little as fifteen to twenty cents.
Hamilton feels money from bonds should not be handed over to soldiers, but speculators have bought bonds from soldiers, who have shown little confidence in the country's future. The process of trying to keep track of the original bondholders together with the government shows discrimination among the holder classes if war veterans should be compensated also weighed as a factor for Hamilton. As for state debt, Hamilton suggested consolidating it with national debt and labeling it as federal debt, for efficiency on a national scale.
The last part of the report relates to debt relief by using a reserve fund that will retire five percent of the debt annually until it is paid off. Since bonds traded well below their face value, purchases will benefit the government as the price of securities rises.
When the report was submitted to the House of Representatives, critics immediately began to oppose it. The idea of ​​a program resembling evil English practice along with the balance of power that shifts away from the Representative to the executive branch is some of the prejudices that reside within the House. William Maclay suspects that some congressmen are involved in government securities, seeing Congress in an unholy league with New York speculators. Congressman James Jackson also spoke out against New York, with allegations of speculators trying to cheat people who have not heard about Hamilton's report.
Their involvement in Hamilton's circles such as Schuyler, William Duer, James Duane, Gouverneur Morris, and Rufus King as speculators were unfavorable to those who opposed the report, either, although Hamilton himself did not own or deal with the share of debt. Madison finally spoke out against it in February 1790. Although he did not fight the current government debt holders for profit, he wanted an unexpected fortune to go to the original holder. Madison did not feel that the original holders had lost confidence in the government, but sold their securities in despair. The compromise was seen as terrible for both Hamiltonians and their dissidents like Maclay, and Madison's vote was defeated by 36 votes to 13 on February 22.
The struggle for the national government to assume state debt is a longer problem, and lasts for four months. During that period, Hamilton's resources applied for state debt payments were requested by Alexander White, and rejected because Hamilton was unable to prepare the information on March 3, and was even delayed by his own supporters despite configuring reports the following day (comprising a series of additional tasks for fulfilling interest on state debt).
Several other issues involving Hamilton surpassed the growing problem of slavery in Congress after Quaker petitioned for his abolition (although he returned to trouble the following year), Duer resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and voting turned down 31 votes to 29 on 12 April.
The provisional location of the capital of New York City also plays a role, as Tench Coxe is sent to talk with Maclay to talk about a temporary capital stationed to Philadelphia, as one vote in the necessary Senate and five in the House for a bill to pass. The bill was passed in the Senate on 21 July and in the House of Representatives 34 votes to 28 on July 26, 1790.
Report on National Bank
Hamilton's report to the National Bank is a projection of the first Report on Public Credit. Although Hamilton had formed the ideas of a national bank as early as 1779, he had collected ideas in various ways over the past eleven years. These include theories of Adam Smith, extensive studies on the Bank of England, Bank of North America blunders and his experience in founding Bank of New York. He also uses American data from James Wilson, Pelatiah Webster, Gouverneur Morris, and from his secretary's assistant, Tench Coxe.
Hamilton suggested that Congress should charter the National Bank with a capitalization of $ 10 million, one fifth of which would be handled by the Government. Since the Government has no money, it will borrow money from the bank itself, and repay the loan in ten annual installments. The rest will be available to individual investors. The bank will be governed by twenty-five board members representing the majority of private shareholders, whom Hamilton deems important because it is under personal direction. Hamilton's bank model has much in common with the Bank of England, unless Hamilton wants to exclude the Government from engaging in public debt, but provides a large, decisive and elastic money supply for normal business functions and ordinary economic development, among other differences. For tax revenue to turn on the bank, it is the same as previously proposed; increased on imported spirits: rum, liquor, and whiskey.
The bill passed the Senate practically without problems, but objections from the proposal increased by the time it reached the House. It is generally held by critics that Hamilton serves the interests of the Northeast through banks, and people from an agrarian lifestyle will not benefit from it. Among the critics was James Jackson of Georgia, who also sought to disprove the report by quoting from The Federalist Papers. Madison and Jefferson also oppose bank bills. Potential capital is not transferred to Potomac if the bank has a solid stance in Philadelphia (the current capital of the United States) is a more significant reason, and actions taken by members of the Pennsylvania Congress to maintain the capital there. making both men anxious.
Madison warned Pennsylvania congressman that he would attack the bill as unconstitutional in the House, and follow up on his threat. Madison put forward his case where bank power could be established within the Constitution, but he failed to influence members of the House, and his authority on the constitution was questioned by some members. The bill was finally passed in extraordinary ways 39 to 20, on 8 February 1791.
Washington hesitated to sign the bill, as he received advice from Attorney General Edmund Randolph and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson rejected the 'necessary and appropriate' clause as an excuse for the formation of a national bank, stating that the forces mentioned one by one "can all be executed without a bank." Along with Randolph and Jefferson's objections, Washington's involvement in the capital's movement from Philadelphia is also regarded as the reason for his hesitation. Responding to the objection from the 'necessary and appropriate' clause, Hamilton stated that "Required often means no more than necessary, necessary, incidental, useful, or conductive to", and the bank is "the middle comfortable species in which they (taxes) must be paid. "Washington will eventually sign the bill into law.
Setting US Mint
In 1791, Hamilton submitted a Report on Mint Formation to the House of Representatives. Many of Hamilton's ideas for this report came from European economists, the resolution of the Continental Congress meeting of 1785 and 1786, and from the likes of Robert Morris, Gouverneur Morris and Thomas Jefferson.
Since the most widely circulated coin in the United States at the time was the Spanish currency, Hamilton proposed that printing the United States dollar weighing almost the same as the Spanish peso was the simplest way to introduce the national currency. Hamilton differs from European monetary policymakers in his desire for gold overprice relative to silver, arguing that the United States will always receive silver influx from the West Indies. Despite his own preference for the monometallic gold standard, he eventually took out the bimetallic currency at a fixed 15: 1 silver ratio to gold.
Hamilton proposed that the US dollar should have a fractional coin using decimals, not an eighth like the Spanish currency. This innovation was originally suggested by Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris, with whom Hamilton corresponded after examining one of Nova Constellatio Morris's coins in 1783. He also wanted the printing of small coins, such as ten-cent silver and copper cents and half-cents, to reduce the cost of living for the poor. One of the main goals is that the general public is accustomed to handling money frequently.
In 1792, Hamilton's principles were adopted by Congress, which resulted in the Law on Money Laundering 1792, and the creation of the Mint of the United States. There will be a ten-dollar Gold Eagle coin, a silver dollar, and a fraction of money from one half to fifty cents. Coining silver and gold was issued in 1795.
Service Revenue Cutback
American offshore smuggling was a problem before the Revolutionary War, and after the Revolution it was more problematic. Along with smuggling, the lack of shipping control, hijacking, and income imbalances is also a big issue. In response, Hamilton proposed to Congress to impose a naval police force called a revenue cutter in order to patrol the waters and help customs collectors by seizing contraband. The idea is also proposed to help control tariffs, improve the American economy, and promote marine traders. It is thought that his experience gained during his apprenticeship with Nicholas Kruger was very influential in his decision-making.
Regarding some details of "System of Cutters", Hamilton wants the first ten cutters in different parts of the United States, from New England to Georgia. Each of the cutters must be armed with ten rifles and bayonets, twenty pistols, two chisels, one wide ax, and two lanterns. The screen cloth is made domestically; and provisions are made for food supplies and employee etiquette when boarding. Congress established the Cutting Service on August 4, 1790, which is seen as the birth of the Coast Guard of the United States.
Whiskey as tax revenue
One of Hamilton's main sources of income approved by Congress for approval is the excise tax on whiskey. In his first Bill Tariff in January 1790, Hamilton proposed to raise the three million dollars needed to pay government operating costs and interest on domestic and foreign debt by increasing import duties of wine, refined drinks, tea, coffee and liquor. the domestic spirits. Failed, with Congress in accordance with most of the recommendations excluding excise taxes on Whiskey (Madison fare in the same year was a modification from Hamilton involving only import duties and endorsed in September).
In response to income diversification, since three quarters of the revenue collected came from trade with the United Kingdom, Hamilton tried again during the Public Credit Report when it presented it in 1790 to impose import duties and domestic spirits. The tax rate is proportional to whiskey evidence, and Hamilton intends to match the tax burden on imported beverages with imported and domestic liquor. Instead of excise taxes on production residents can pay 60 cents by gallon spending capacity, along with the exception of small stills that are used exclusively for domestic consumption. He was aware of the hatred that taxes would be accepted in rural areas, but the thought of taxing spirits made more sense than the land tax.
The opposition originally came from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives protesting against taxes. William Maclay has noted that even Pennsylvanian legislators were unable to enforce excise taxes in the western part of the state. Hamilton is aware of the potential difficulties and the inspectors have put forward the ability to search for refinery buildings devoted to storing their spirits, and will be able to search for illegal storage facilities suspected to seize smuggled goods with a warrant. Although inspectors are not allowed to search for houses and warehouses, they visit twice a day and file weekly reports in detail. Hamilton warned against accelerated judicial means, and supported jury trials with potential offenders. Soon after 1791 local residents began to avoid or threaten the inspectors, as they felt the method of interrogation was disturbing. The inspectors were also poured and smoothed, blindfolded and whipped. Hamilton tried to calm the opposition by lowering the tax rate, but that was not enough.
The strong opposition to the whiskey tax by home producers in remote, rural areas erupted into Whiskey Rebellion in 1794; in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, whiskey is a fundamental and fundamental export product for the local economy. Responding to the rebellion, believing obedience to the law was crucial to the formation of federal authority, Hamilton accompanied it to the rebellion of President Washington, General Henry "Lightweight Harry" Lee, and more federal troops than ever gathered in one place during the revolution. This extraordinary power appearance intimidates the leaders of the uprising, ending the insurgency virtually without bloodshed.
Manufacturing and industry
Hamilton's next report is Manufacturing Report . Although he was asked by Congress on January 15, 1790 for a report for manufacturing that would extend the independence of the United States, the report was not submitted until December 5, 1791. In that report, Hamilton quotes from Wealth of Nations and uses the physiocrats France as an example to reject agrarianism and physiocratic theory; each. Hamilton also denied Smith's idea of ​​government interference, as it would harm trade with other countries. Hamilton also considers the United States as an agrarian country to be especially disadvantaged in dealing with Europe. In response to agrarian critics, Hamilton stated that the interests of the peasants will be enhanced by manufacturing, and that agriculture is as productive as manufacturing.
Among the ways that the government can help in manufacturing, Hamilton mentions customs procurement of foreign imported goods also produced in the United States, to withdraw duties imposed on raw materials needed for domestic manufacturing, restrictions on money, and encourage immigration for people to improve themselves in similar job opportunities. Congress suspended the report without much debate (except for Madison's objection to Hamilton's formulation of the General Welfare clause, which Hamilton interpreted freely as the legal basis for his extensive program). Hamilton's view of immigration changed later. Phillip Magness argues that "Hamilton's political career may be legitimately marked as a continuing deviation into nationalistic xenophobia."
In 1791, Hamilton, along with Coxe and several entrepreneurs from New York and Philadelphia formed the Society for the Establishment of Useful Mill, a private industrial company. In May 1792, the directors decided to leave The Passaic Falls. On July 4, 1792, community directors met with Philip Schuyler at the Abraham Godwin hotel on the Passaic River, where they would lead a tour of the area to buy a national factory. Initially it was suggested that they dig a long trench mile and build a factory away from the waterfall, but Hamilton argued that it would be too expensive and exhausting.
Locations in Great Falls The Passaic River in New Jersey was chosen because of access to raw materials, it was inhabited solid, and had access to hydropower from the fall of Passaic. The factory town was named Paterson after New Jersey Governor William Paterson, who signed the charter. The profits come from certain corporations rather than the benefits that will be given to the nation and citizens, which is unlike the reports. Hamilton also suggested the first stock to be offered at $ 500,000 and eventually increased to $ 1 million, and welcomes both national and national government subscriptions. The company never succeeded: many shareholders denied the payment of shares, some members soon went bankrupt, and William Duer, governor of the program, was sent to the debtors' prison where he died. Regardless of Hamilton's efforts to remedy the disaster, the company folded.
The emergence of a political party
Hamilton's vision was challenged by Virginia aggressors Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who formed rival party, the Republican party of Jefferson. They love strong country governments based in rural America and protected by state militias as opposed to strong national governments backed by national and naval forces. They criticized Hamilton for being insufficient for republicanism, too friendly against corrupt Britain and the monarchy in general, and too city-oriented, business and banking.
Political parties are starting to emerge. A Congressional caucus, led by Madison, Jefferson and William Branch Giles, began as an opposition group for Hamilton's financial program. Hamilton and his allies began to call themselves Federalists. The opposition group, now called the Democratic Party-Republic by political scientists, at that time called itself the Republic.
Hamilton gathered a national coalition to rally support for the Government, including extensive financial programs Hamilton had made the Administration policy and especially the policy of presidential neutrality in the European war between Britain and France. Hamilton's publicist campaign attacked French minister Edmond-Charles GenÃÆ'ªt (he called himself "Citizen GenÃÆ'ªt") who tried to appeal directly to voters, whom the Federalist opposed as foreign interference in American affairs. If Hamilton's administrative republic was successful, Americans should see themselves as citizens, and experience a proven administration and demonstrate the concepts found in the Constitution of the United States. The Federalists did impose some internal direct taxes but they departed from the greatest implications of Hamilton's administrative republic as a risk.
The Jeffersonian Republicans opposed banks and cities, and favored France. They are building their own national coalition against the Federalists. Both sides received support from local political factions, and each side developed its own partisan newspaper. Noah Webster, John Fenno, and William Cobbett are energetic editors for the Federalists; Benjamin Franklin Bache and Philip Freneau are fiery Republican editors. All of their newspapers are characterized by intense personal attacks, great magnifications, and artificial claims. In 1801, Hamilton set up a daily newspaper published in the New York Evening Post (now New York Post), and brought William Coleman as his editor.
The argument between Hamilton and Jefferson is the most notable and historically most important in the history of American politics. Hamilton and Jefferson mismatches are increasing by each other's willingness to become Washington's most trusted counselor.
An additional partisan irritation for Hamilton was the election of the United States Senate 1791 in New York, which resulted in the election of Republican-Aaron Democratic Republican candidate, formerly the State Attorney of New York, over Senator Philip Schuyler, the Federalist and Hamilton's father-in law. Hamilton blamed Burr personally for this result, and the negative characterization of Burr appeared in his correspondence thereafter. The two men worked together from time to time afterwards on various projects, including Hamilton's 1798 soldiers and the Manhattan Air Company.
Jay and English Agreement
When France and Britain went to war in early 1793, the four members of the Cabinet were asked what they should do. They and Washington unanimously agreed to remain neutral, and sent Gen's home. However, in 1794 the policy towards Britain became the main point of contention between the two sides. Hamilton and Federalists hope for more trade with Britain, the country's largest new trading partner. Republicans see Britain as a major threat to republicanism and instead propose a trade war.
To avoid war, Washington sent Supreme Court Justice John Jay to negotiate with the British; Hamilton wrote a lot of Jay's instructions. The result is the Jay Agreement. It was criticized by Republicans, but Hamilton mobilized support across the country. The Jay Agreement passed the Senate in 1795 by exactly the two-thirds majority needed. The treaty resolved the remaining issues of the Revolution, prevented war, and allowed ten years of peaceful trade between the United States and Britain. Historian George Herring noted "the extraordinary economic and diplomatic advantages and coincidences" generated by the Treaty.
Some European countries have established the League of Armed Neutrality against attacks on their neutral rights; The Cabinet also consulted on whether the United States should join, and decided not to. It made the decision a secret, but Hamilton personally disclosed it to George Hammond, the British Minister to the United States, without telling Jay or anyone else. His actions remained unknown until Hammond's posts were read in the 1920s. This "extraordinary statement" may have limited effect on negotiations; Jay did threaten to join the League at one point, but England had another reason not to view the League as a serious threat.
Second Report on Public Credits and resignation from public office
Hamilton submitted his resignation from office on December 1, 1794, giving a two-month notice to Washington, behind the abortion of his wife Eliza when she was absent during her military repression against the Whiskey Rebellion. Prior to leaving office on January 31, 1795, Hamilton submitted the Report on Plans for Further Support of Public Credits to Congress to curb debt problems. Hamilton grew dissatisfied with what he saw as the lack of a comprehensive plan to fix public debt. He hopes that the new taxes passed on with the older taxes are made permanent and state that surpluses from liquor taxes will be promised to reduce public debt. His proposal was put into the bill by Congress within a month less after his departure as finance minister. A few months later Hamilton continued his legal practice at Ne
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