How Did Hamilton Support Centralized Government

In 1791, under the advisement of Alexander Hamilton, congress passed the whiskey tax. This tax, put a twenty-five percent tax on whiskey. Hamilton created this tax in hopes of the federal government gaining more money to help pay of the nation’s debt. However, in doing so, this angered many people, especially farmers in western Pennsylvania, because they distilled the extra grain they had to make whiskey and sell it to make extra income. These small operations in western Pennsylvania rebelled by erecting liberty poles and taring and feathering tax collectors. George Washington, who was president during this time, saw the outburst and decided to take action against the angered farmers. Washington gathered about 13,000 men from the militia to put an end to this rebellion. In doing so, Washington showed that the government help the power over the citizens. In The Whiskey Rebellion, by Thomas Slaughter, he describes different consequences that arise from the whiskey tax. Slaughter presents three main points, which include conflicts between the east and west, two political systems that begin to develop, and the actual rebellion.

In the preamble of the Constitution, one of the reason given as to why it was drafted is to “insure domestic Tranquility.” Washington’s response to the rebellion proved that the federal government was not going to let anyone threaten the peace in the union. Additionally, Washington’s response showed the power that was granted to the President with in the constitution. Article two section three of the constitution gives the president the responsibility to see that laws are being “faithfully executed”. As members of the United States, the farmers had an obligation to pay the tax whether they agreed or disagreed with it. That is why Washington felt that it was so important it send troops to Pennsylvania to quell the rebellion. In addition to stopping the gathering of rebels, Alexander Hamilton saw it necessary to exert the full force of the law in punishing those who could be proven involved. Even though the tax was repealed, it was a significant stand by the federal government proving they had the power to enforce the laws. In addition to proving the power of the federal government, the whiskey rebellion showed the citizens that they needed to have a more active role in government. If they had an issue with a law, their response could not be to go burn down a house. They needed to leverage the powers of a democracy and the liberties granted in the constitution to create the change they want to

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

Political parties today started to form in the late 1600’s. In 1787, Hamilton and other leaders joined and called themselves the Federalist. The Federalist party is the party which is most qualified for the presidency because the Federalist want a central government, want to avoid foreign affairs, and also want a central banking system. First a strong central governments.

Hamilton wanted us to start to push our own goods. Industrialization was essential in his views. (Farless) He believed that a strong government would provide a good business that would allow industries to grow. He established a National Bank and funded the National Debt so that the United States would have a national credit that would standardize a national currency. Hamilton argued that the bank would provide stability to the specie-starved American economy by making loans to merchants, handling government funds, and issuing bills of credit; much as the

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.

Alexander Hamilton never achieved the highest position in office, but he was a few of America's Founding Fathers. He first joined the army during the Revolution and became an aide for George Washington. Hamilton quickly moved up in society. Political parties began to form during the struggle over ratification of the Federal Constitution of 1787. The attention changed for the creation of a new Federal Government to the question of how powerful the Federal Government would be. Led by the Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton, a Federalist, really wanted a strong central government. Alexander Hamilton's view on human nature was shaped by his war experiences. People had their own hobbies, interests, and money put above patriotism and of the country. Another role that Hamilton played in establishing the U.S. Government was that he really depended on the United States developing a strong economy. In all, there were three roles Alexander Hamilton used in establishing the U.S Government which were forming a strong central government, his view on human nature, and developing a strong economy.

The Whiskey Rebellion occurred soon after an excise tax was placed on Whiskey. Many people living in Western Pennsylvania and Maryland produced Whiskey from their homes, which they then sold or used as a form of currency. A fairly large group of men protested in an extremely violent way. The men attacked a tax collector, formed mobs, attacked arsenals, and “raised liberty poles” (Document A). Rumors about rebels negotiating with England and Spain frightened the federal government, as stated in Document A. As a response to this destructive behavior, President Washington led an army of 12,950 militiamen to suppress the rebellion. It is evident that George Washington’s response to the Whiskey Rebellion showed that the Constitution had fixed the

Those who protested, mainly American farmers, saw these new taxations as corruption under that Massachusetts legislature. This rebellion shed some light on how inadequate the federal government was under the Articles of Confederation. The Whiskey Rebellion (1791-1794) was in response to an attempt by the Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, to lower the debt that America had acquired from the Revolution by taxing whiskey. This tax, however, was met with much resistance from Americans who lived on the frontier and made much of their profit from whiskey. Those most affected saw the tax as a deliberate attempt at their livelihood. It seems that the American government was put in the same position as the British had been and they each faced the same kind backlash. Just as the tax on stamps imposed by the British was met with opposition by Americans, so were the taxes Americans were attempting to put into place. The American government was trying to fix their debt just as the British were when they began putting tariffs in place among the

During the Whiskey Rebellion, which was caused by the tax placed on whiskey, George Washington personally led his troops to go stop the rebellion. This was the first realization of the need for a stronger central government. Although many Americans did not like the strong central government style of leading because it reminded them of their past rulership, it was needed for America to become stable. Washington's response to the uproar helped build relations between people and the tax collectors, which

Introduction: “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” stated Thomas Jefferson. The thirteen colonies created the Article of Confederation to establish a national government during the Revolutionary War. Several years later, the delegates met at the Constitutional Convention and created a new document known as the United States Constitution in 1787. However, it resulted in two major political parties, Federalists and Anti-federalists, that debated over the nature of the government.

In the United States beginning in 1791, the Whiskey Rebellion was one of the challenges during the presidency of George Washington. People refused to pay tax on whiskey in Western PA, and the first tax imposed was called the Whiskey Tax. George Washington was the president during this challenge and in 1794 Washington took charge and sent 12,000 troops and rebellion dissolved. This was the first time ever that force was used to dissolve problems. The Whiskey Rebellion was the first serious problem to federal authority and it started with a tax on whiskey. The rebellion fell apart, when Washington called out the militia. This event occurred after the Revolution and this rebellion was significant in the early days of the new government. As a result, there were financial problems such as debt and Hamilton’s 4 Part Plan was to pay of debt and one of his examples was the Whiskey

“When the sword of rebellion is drawn, the sheath should be thrown away.” The Whiskey Rebellion, a tax protest in the United states beginning in 1791, ending in 1794, during the presidency of George Washington. This so called “whiskey tax” was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed government. Although the tax applied to all distilled spirits, whiskey was by far the most popular beverage in 18th century America. The Whiskey Rebellion in the United States was immediately controversial because the protesters despised it, the government became stronger and it added on the legacy of George Washington.

They did not like the way the national government was representing the people. The farmers not only saw this tax to be unreasonable but they saw this as an "infringement on their rights". The main reason that the rebellion happened was because the farmers were extremely angry as they did not have money to pay for the tax.This excise tax was a very bad idea according to them since the whiskey prices would go up, resulting in a low demand which would have further increased their hardship. During September 1791, representatives of the four westernmost Pennsylvania counties met at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to discuss how to persuade the congress to repeal the tax that was imposed on whiskey. Hamilton later labeled them as

He believed that the United States needed a stronger sense of central government. Sorting after a large scale government focused on manufacturing and commerce; Hamilton was an advocate for international trade and strengthening bonds with other countries. He also stirred up controversy when he wanted the United States to associate with Britain again even after the young nation had just gotten away from the empire of Britain. Republican by definition is,” (of a form of government, constitution, etc.) belonging to, or characteristic of a republic.”