Economic Chaos And Confusion Following The American Revolution

When Thomas Jefferson took office in 1801, after an intense realignment of the majority of office holders from Federalist to Anti-Federalist in the “Revolution of 1800”, there were many policies headed by former Treasurer Alexander Hamilton that were still in place. Instead of doing what would have been expected of him by his peers, and taking steps

The American Revolution modeled the path taken by a social and economic movement in many more aspects than that of a political and intellectual movement. Even though political reasons existed for the cause the Revolution, the revolution should be considered an economic movement based on the idea of “no taxation without representation.” The colonists believed that the British rule in the colonies was extremely unfair, but these intellectual causes are greatly outnumbered by economic causes such as taxes and trade.

Washington had a great impact on the amount of power the federal government brandished, and his foreign and domestic policy set an example for future presidents to follow. George Washington used his executive powers to appoint Supreme Court judges as soon as he took office. The majority of the men Washington appointed to serve as Supreme Court justices were Federalists. Chief Justice, John Jay, was also a Federalist which helped ensure that federalist ideas remained prominent in the Supreme Court. Washington also handpicked the first Cabinet of the United States. The Cabinet, meant to be comprised of intelligent men of integrity, served two purposes: advise George Washington and supervise their assigned departments. George Washington appointed Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton’s economic plans, Reports on the Public Credit and Reports on Manufactures, were created in order to increase national power, expand manufacturing, establish a national bank, and pay off the war debt acquired under the Article of Confederation. Hamilton wanted to use implied powers, powers not directly stated in the constitution, to create a tax that would raise revenue and establish international credit. Hamilton created a tax on whiskey which would eventually cause the Whiskey Rebellion. Washington handled domestic disputes, such

30, Alexander Hamilton writes all about taxes and taxation in this essay. He has much to say about taxes and the good that they are doing in shaping the nation. He believes that the power to collect taxes when necessary is extremely important for the governmental success. Recently, someone tried to pick apart this essay and state that some senators had the power to limit that excessive amount of spending that the goverment has been up to lately. However, this essay came back into play and proved that idea wrong. Everything was set back into place because of Hamilton's brilliant

After the Revolutionary War the economy was not thriving. Paper money that had issued during the war was basically worthless, and there was a debt. These issues needed to be resolved and James Hamilton was the man whose hands this task fell on. Hamilton's plan was to retire old obligatuons and to borrow money at a lower interest rate. Hamilton proposed that teh government take all of the debt of the federal government and all the states. Many states that had already paid off their debts did not understand

Hamilton’s economic policies were a plan of economic nationalism, in which Hamilton intended to solve the economic problems that had been destroying the United States since the American Revolution. He began with the Report on the Public Credit. The Report on the Public Credit was one of three major reports on economic

Out of all the obstacles that the federalists had faced, the economy was, by far, the most problematic and the most difficult to find a solution for all parties. The country was not in a very stable position because of the recent crises like the whisky rebellion, or money-producing ideas such as bonds. Hamilton, Madison, and Jefferson played major roles in establishing the economy of the United States at the time, and also had a large role in the development of today’s government and economy. Without the ideas of these men, the United States economy may have the same problems today that the federalists faced then. And in the end, even though the idea of a national bank was redundant, that is what removed the United States from

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

Alexander Hamilton was one of the most influential figures to shape American finances. He made his contribution through the The Hamiltonian Economic Program. The goal of his plan is to improve the American economy through three steps. The first is to pay off the nation’s national debt in order for states to focus on business. This way maximum profit can be achieved. The second step is to place tariffs on imported goods to gain money. Lastly is to create a national bank in order to regulate money flow and currency. However, Thomas Jefferson strongly disagreed with Alexander Hamilton’s views which was evidently seen in the political parties, the Democratic Republicans and the Federalists. One of the main differences between the two is regarding the type of government America would have. Hamilton favored a strong federal government while Jefferson favored a small local government.

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 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

On June 21st of 1788 the United States of America was an optimistic place to live. The newly formed country had officially ratified their Constitution on this date, and within a year George Washington would become its first President. These events signified an unofficial end to the American Revolution, which had its start in part, because Americans had rejected the notion of taxation without representation. This modern form of government, however, did, have some problems it needed to deal with. Unable to levy taxes in previous years the federal government had found itself deep in debt. This federal debt also included all the states debt as well (Chernow, 2004, 297). The government desperately needed to find a source of revenue to pay off

To Alexander Hamilton, that was just a small part of economics though. He needed to fund the government, and so he was willing to do so via tariffs, taxes, and bonds. This plan just called upon the clearing of the national debt, and didn't even cover the vast amounts of commerce and mercantilism that he hoped would emulate England.

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).

It is easy to interpret the American Revolution simply as a struggle for freedom. The magnanimous phrases of the Declaration of Independence have embedded in our hearts and minds glorious images of the Founding Fathers fighting for the natural rights of man. The American Revolution, however, also had a darker side to it, the side of self-interest and profit. The signers of the Declaration represented various classes – the working class, the wealthy land owners and merchants, the intellectuals, and the social elite. Each of these strata had its own set of expectations and fears, which lent a new dimension to the cause of the Revolution. The pressure of these internal, and often overlapping groups, combined with the oppressive external