Alexander Hamilton's National Debt Is Not A Blessing Or A Curse?

Hamilton believed the federal government had to play a much stronger role in the establishment of a national economic system. With the creation of institutions including a national bank and a national mint, Hamilton sought to establish a system to allow a free flow of commerce within the United States and with foreign countries. As illustrated throughout Hamilton’s Financial Plan, “The American economy had traditionally rested upon large-scale agricultural exports to pay for the import of British manufactured goods. Hamilton rightly thought that this dependence on expensive foreign goods kept the American economy at a limited level, especially when compared to the rapid growth of early industrialization in Great Britain.” this shows hamilton was effective in forming great stability in the united states economically.

In the book Hamilton’s Blessing, Gordon uses economic history and theory to explore the start, rise and decline of the United States debt. Gordon opens his book by stating that this country was born in debt, and this debt has become so high that concerned individuals no longer think of it. Throughout the book, he traces the history of the national debt dating back from 1791, when the central bank of the United States was created, up to modern days. The intellectual architect of this creation was Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury Secretary as well as a central figure who had a deep impact on the economic development of the United States. The title of the book clearly recalls Hamilton's statement that a national debt, "if not excessive,

Hamilton was appointed by President George Washington as the first Secretary of the Treasury Department. Hamilton was a Federalist and wanted a strong central government which means it should have more power than the states. Hamilton believed in a loose interpretation of the constitution which means the document allowed everything if it did not forbid. During the French Revolution, Hamilton supported and was an ally of Britain. Hamilton wanted elite rule America. The Federalist Party would be one of the “rich, the able, and the well-born” (Foner, Give Me Liberty, I, 295) as Hamilton stated. Hamilton favored a close relationship with Britain and he wanted America’s economy like Britain where trade and manufacturing were priorities. Hamilton desired to develop the economy and financial stability of the United States, so he established an economic five-program in 1790 and 1791. The first part was to establish the new nation’s credit worthiness which means people

Hamilton drew inspiration from the “British national banking system” and saw fit a federal bank to aid the Union with war debts, establishing a national currency, securing taxes and enforcing “government subsidies to encourage American manufactures” (Pearson). Naturally, Jefferson and his Republicans were horrified by the idea of granting the national government more authority, claiming that endorsing a bank charter would mirror British

After the Revolutionary War the United States had a massive debt to deal with, but because of the Articles of Confederation the federal government could not raise taxes to pay off the debt (Blake). States were responsible

Financial Problems Hamilton's plan a. In 1790 Hamilton proposed that the new government pay off the millions of dollars in debts owed by the confederation government to other countries and to individual american citizens. b. The states had fought for nation's independence. C. Hamilton also believed that federal payment of state debts would give the state's strong interest.

Due to the weak powers and poor economic state resulting from the Articles of Confederation, Hamilton took the opportunity, under the new Constitution, to fix these issues. As a result, many controversial, yet positively-resulting actions were taken. For one, an excise tax was placed on domestic goods in order to alleviate the troubles emitting from the federal debt. Furthermore, he established a national bank in order to further expand and unify the country, putting them all under a controllable banking system rather than having several different systems, each with their very own currency. Prior to the ratification of the Constitution, the country was rather divided and the federal government had no control over fixing such problems in their country. As a result, especially during this point that he now has the power to mend the drawbacks of their old system, he saw “federal debt” as a sort of commonality between the states. Now that they’re all under a stronger government, they were forced to deal with this issue together. This created a sense of united between the nation and, overall, was an immense motivator of bringing the country together for the good of its future

After the American Revolution, the American economy was in financial chambles because of the debt that was created due to the war. Under the new constitution, Alexander Hamilton was appointed as the secretary of the treasury. Knowing the repercussions of how national debt would prevent America from earning the status of a world power like Great Britain, Hamilton urged for a bold proposition that would pay the debt at face value which was highly effective since the debt was paid fully almost two decades later. That was part of his 3 reports that would help the american economy. The institution of a national bank was the second report, he wanted to create a influx of the money supply by issuing out federal bank notes. His final report was about raising government revenue and was established by placing high tariff on imported goods to ensure the stable stream of income for the federal government and to boost the growth of the American

Another intriguing fact is that Hamilton, supporting a strong central government, insisted that the U.S. government pay its debts in full and pay off the national debt entirely. Today the allocation of the central

After the Revolutionary War, there was a large debt that needed to be paid. However,

Hamilton saw this as an opportunity to create the country 's government credit, pay off finally

Hamilton believed that the new government needed the help of the aristocracy, and in order to get the support of the elite of society, the elite would have to be given a part in the success. Hamilton’s program was mainly composed of three objectives. It involved having the government take the responsibility of the public debt (born due to the revolution), take the debt of each individual state accumulated also during the revolution, and create a national bank. Hamilton’s goal was not to pay off the national debt, but to maintain a permanent, large national debt. Bonds would be issued by the government that would be paid by new bonds and those bonds would be paid by newer bonds and so on. This would prompt the wealthy gentry to lend money to the government knowing that they would be paid back, and keep them investing because they now needed the new government to survive. The national band would introduce loans and more business. In addition to this, the national bank would introduce two new types of taxes: the distillers of alcoholic liquors tax and tax on imports. This new program caused a lot of controversy. The ideas of having the government take on each individual state’s debt unsettled some citizens. Say for example that New York’s debt was greater than Rhode Island’s; if the government took both their debts and paid them off with taxes,

Thanks to Alexander Hamilton the United States was able to repay what the government had owed. Hamilton's Financial Plan had helped unify the country, mainly because of the creation of the National Bank. The National Bank had established a national currency, and created a place for the government to safely deposit and withdraw money. However Hamilton's plan had also led to the creation of political

We hear about the debt almost every day: news talks about it, politicians argue about it, even President Obama gives speeches on it. So what is the significance behind it? In this article I am going to explain briefly what the national debt is, how big it is, and what it has to do with us.

In the American nation, he developed love of regulation, efficiency and organization. Hamilton strongly showed that America must possess credit for the development of government operations, trade, industry and business activities. He stressed the importance of the central government to take over the debts of the state that were unpaid in the Revolutionary period (Scott, 2008). The central government was endorsed by the American Constitution to charge and collect taxes as well as pay liabilities (Robertson, 2005). Such operations can be professionally handled by a central bank. Therefore, Hamilton was characterized by thinking creatively and critically as he observed the potential of the trade industry’s immense power (Pancake, 1974).