Hamilton’s Economic Vision Essay Example for Free

Hamilton’s Economic Vision Essay Alexander Hamilton was a staunch Federalist who believed in maintaining power within the national government that is led by men of wealth, intelligence and talent and who are driven towards commercial development. His original proposal for the new constitution was very conservative but he had to accept a compromise if the Constitution was to be approved. Hence, the new government was launched with George Washington elected as President. Hamilton himself was appointed Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton envisioned a country of great strength and he believed that growth can only be achieved through domestic manufacturing and overseas trade. He aimed to emulate the stability and governing style of England. He looked admiringly upon competitive and ambitious self-starters who focused on financial successes and encouraged close association with them. Hamilton was determined to move the new government into the direction which he deemed was right and proper. He had a nation to build. Working his way towards such a goal, Hamilton submitted reports to Congress for their endorsement into law. His first was a â€Å"Report on the Public Credit† which came in two phases. The first phase included his recommendations for the funding of the remaining Revolutionary War debt and the federal assumption of debt. He hoped that these actions would â€Å"stabilize the government finances, establish its credit, build confidence in the new nation at home and tie business and commercial interests firmly to the new constitution. † Essentially, funding would allow the government creditors to exchange their much depreciated securities at face value for new, interest-bearing government bonds while the remaining state war debts would be assumed by the federal government. The South argued against the funding mainly because they would not get much benefit from it while arguments against the federal assumption of the remaining debts run came mainly from the States who had almost completely paid off all their debts. Other critics were able to see through Hamilton’s ploy anticipating that the central government merely plans to develop close with the wealth creditors/individuals as the central government will now be the one who will control who gets to be paid and when. Moreover, the central government would now have a justifiable reason to impose taxes. With a side deal of moving the government seat from New York to Philadelphia, Hamilton got his endorsement. The second phase involved the creation of a national bank that is able to handle the â€Å"government’s financial affairs and pooling private investment capital for economic development. † Opposition again came from the South who prefers to promote agrarian development as it sees lesser benefit for them and more for the northern merchants. It was nonetheless endorsed and signed into law by Washington upon the urging of Hamilton. His second on â€Å"Report on Public Credit† proposed the imposition of a series of excise taxes including one on the manufacture of distilled liquor. The Whiskey Tax as it was coined, set the precedent for the government to use its taxing authority to increase federal revenue. Hamilton believed that â€Å"the power to tax and spend was the power to govern. † It became law in March 1791. Finally, in his â€Å"Report on Manufacturers†, Hamilton called for tariffs on imported European goods. This would make the goods produced by American industries more competitive in terms of price. The resulting revenue will â€Å"encourage the expansion of commercial agriculture and a network of federally-sponsored internal improvements† which would â€Å"stimulate commerce and bind the nation more tightly together. † However, since this might reduce overseas trade, Congress did not endorse this. Work Cited Creating a Nation. Name of Book. XXX ed. Year Published.