Hamilton’s Crusade Essay, Research Paper

When the revolutionary war was over, the American colonists found themselves

free of British control. Now that they were free, they wanted to create their

own system of government where the tyranny and the arbitrariness of the British

monarchy of old, would be diminished. Originally, The Articles of Confederation

thinly united the thirteen states. This document had given the central

government no power to do what was needed. The central government had no power

to tax they only had the power to ask the states for money. They also had no

money to pay for an army to settle domestic disputes or fight off invaders.

These weaknesses and others in The Articles of Confederation caused the people

to consider amending the Articles that would correct these wrongs and at the

same time protecting the interests of the states. So in 1787, the states sent

delegates to a convention in Philadelphia to amend the Articles. It did not take

long for the delegates to scrap the Articles and to start writing a new

document, the Constitution. Even this new document created controversy. The

American people were divided into two groups: the federalists, with Alexander

Hamilton as the leader, and the anti-federalists or Jeffersonians because they

were led by Thomas Jefferson. The federalists believed that the Constitution

itself was good enough where as the Jeffersonians thought that it would not

protect the rights of the people. But both however decided that the government

should be based on the principles of federalism. The Bill of Rights was added to

the Constitution, to help the ratification of it and to insure the rights of the

people. The Federalist, a series of papers, was written to get support of the

Constitution in New York. These papers were written under the pseudonym, Publius.

The papers were actually written by three men: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison

and John Jay. Hamilton was the leader of these three for he had written 51 of

the 85 The Federalist papers. Through their efforts the New York legislature

ratified the Constitution. Even after the Constitution was ratified, the two

factions remained divided for several reasons. One reason was the creation of a

national bank. Hamilton was very supportive of a national bank and Jefferson was

against the idea of a national bank. The descendants of these first two factions

are seen today in the Democrats and the Republicans. Alexander Hamilton

accomplished many great things for the United States including: calling for a

stronger central government, setting up a national bank and a plan for economic

growth and inadvertently starting the two-party system. Alexander Hamilton the

Revolutionary and the Pater Familias Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11,

1755 (or 1757 according to Hamilton) on the West Indies Island of Nevis in the

town Charleston. He was born out of wedlock to Rachel Faucitt Lavien and James

Hamilton, who would later abandon the family in 1765. A local clergyman,

Reverend Hugh Knox, raised funds to send Alexander away to school in 1773. He

entered King?s College (Columbia University) in 1774. At the age of 19 he

wrote a pamphlet, A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress. This was in

response to a Tory?s pamphlet that called the Continental Congress ??a

parcel of upstart lawless Committee-men.?1 Alexander defended in his pamphlet

that the Congress was ??an august body of men famed for their patriotism and

abilities.? In the Revolutionary War, he distinguished himself in the eyes of

General Washington, and in 1777, Washington asked him to be one of his six

aide-de-camps (secretaries) with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Hamilton?s

main job was to, as Washington said, ??think for me, as well as execute

orders.? He rode beside Washington in the battles at Brandywine, Germantown

and Monmouth. Alexander married Elizabeth Schuyler in 1780, with whom he had

eight children. Hamilton had just wanted to lead a simple life and care for his

family or in his words ??retire a simple citizen and good pater familias

(father of the family.)? Sometimes Alexander Hamilton would have a hard time

in accomplishing this, as he was always away from home fighting for a new cause.

Alexander Hamilton the Lawyer Alexander turned to law at the end of the war to

support his new family. The New York Supreme Court passed an order in January of

1782 saying that those who had to cease their studies because of the war did not

have to have three years of clerkship. In October of 1782, he was admitted to

the bar association. However, since he was a delegate to Congress, he did not

start to practice law until November of 1783. At this time he moved his family

into a house on Wall Street and opened up his first law office. In the beginning

the majority of cases that Hamilton represented were the ones in which he

represented Tories. Hamilton represented Tories because they were experienced

businessmen and had money. He believed that if they were to be driven off due to

harsh laws, the nation could lose several hundred thousand dollars and their

experience, which the young nation badly needed. In February of 1784, he wrote

the charter for and became a founding member of the Bank of New York, the

state?s first bank. This experience would later help Hamilton in setting up

the nation?s first bank. The following year, he and his friend, John Jay,

founded the Society for Promoting the Manumission (freeing) of Slaves. The

primary purpose of the society was to create a register of freed slaves to make

sure that they were not deprived of their liberties. In 1786, the society

petitioned the state legislature to put an end to the slave trade. Alexander

Hamilton tried to stay out of public issues but this would not happen because of

his stance on these issues. Alexander Hamilton at the Constitutional Convention

In May of 1786 Alexander Hamilton was elected to the state assembly. He had been

asked to run several times before, but the positions did not offer enough money

he needed to support his growing family. He was soon asked to be a delegate to

the Annapolis Convention in Maryland. The convention was called to discuss

interstate commerce only. The convention itself was viewed as a failure since

only five states were there. Hamilton was determined not to leave the convention

without accomplishing something. He was a leader to draft a proposal to have

another convention in Philadelphia the following year. He wanted to have the

convention to have a broader agenda other than just interstate commerce.

Hamilton said that the convention should ??devise such provisions as shall

appear necessary to render the constitution of the Federal Government adequate

to the exigencies of the Union.? The convention was significant to Hamilton in

the respect that he was reunited with James Madison. Both were determined to

fight for a strong federal government. Shay?s rebellion was a key factor in

the states wanting to have the convention. Many people were still against the

convention fearing that they might lose control. One of these people was George

Clinton, governor of New York. The New York State assembly granted Hamilton the

five man federally minded delegation that he wanted. Clinton supporters in the

senate decide on a three-man delegation: Alexander Hamilton, John Lansing and

Robert Yates. Lansing and Yates were two of the biggest Clinton supporters

around; the senate did this to keep Hamilton in check. The convention opened

with three major propositions: the Virginia Plan, calling for a stronger federal

government; the New Jersey Plan, asking to retain state?s sovereignty: and the

Hamilton Plan, which was presented by Alexander Hamilton. He made this

presentation in a five hour long speech on June 18, which was the longest of the

convention. States practically lost all of their power under his plan. He

believed that the continuance of state governments would always hinder the

federal government?s progress. He had the idea of getting rid of the Articles

totally since state sovereignty was deeply embedded in it. Hamilton wanted the

convention to establish a new more powerful central government. He wanted the

new government ?? with decisive power, in short with complete

sovereignty.? Hamilton went on to say that the British system of government

was the best in the world and he wanted America?s system of government to be

patterned after the British. His legislative branch resembled the British

parliament in many ways. Everybody would vote for the assembly and the rich

could only vote for the Senate. The Senate was modeled after the British House

of Lords. For the executive branch, Hamilton proposed what was soon to be termed

?an elected king?. Hamilton was against the idea of terms for the

?Governor,? because he felt that the incumbent would spend his time in

office creating a political machine to ensure his reelection instead of working

full-time in his duties. To get rid of this, Hamilton proposed no set limits and

that the executive should serve during good behavior. The judiciary would

compose of a Supreme Court and such additional United States courts, as the

legislature should decide to create. Hamilton?s basic plan of government

looked like this: ? Two legislatures consisting of an assembly, directly

elected by the people to a three-year term; and a senate, chosen by electors

from senatorial districts to serve during good behavior. ? A judiciary

consisting of twelve justices to serve during good behavior. The judiciary would

have to be both original and appellate jurisdictions. ? An executive

?Governor,? whose election is made by electors chosen by the people from the

senatorial districts, to serve during good behavior. After his speech, many of

the delegates felt that Hamilton had gone too far and labeled him an extremist.

Much of what Hamilton proposed in his speech would end up in the Constitution

such as the prohibitions on ex post facto laws, bills of attainder, grants of

nobility, religious tests for government positions, and the establishment of any

religion. The executive being the commander-in-chief of United States forces,

being able to appoint heads of departments and make treaties and pardons with

the Senate?s consent and the idea of having electors to vote for the

executive?s head office are also in the Constitution. The day after Hamilton

made his speech, the delegates voted on the Virginia Plan to be the basis of the

government. Lansing and Yates did a good job of keeping Hamilton in check. He

grew frustrated and soon left to resume his law practice. In August some of the

delegates had left in disgust including Lansing and Yates. Upon hearing this,

Hamilton returned to the convention to cast his vote and to sign the

Constitution. Hamilton was still skeptical of the Constitution, but he felt that

it was better than nothing. Hamilton said in his last speech that, ?No man?s

ideas were more remote from the plan than his were known to be; but is it

possible to deliberate between anarchy and Convulsion on one side, and the

chance of good to be expected from the plan to the other.? Hamilton still felt

that it should give more power to the federal government and less to the states.

He was the only one to sign the Constitution for New York. Alexander Hamilton

and the Federalist Alexander Hamilton still had a long way to go before the

Constitution could be ratified. Governor Clinton had started as early as July to

form a defense against Hamilton and the Constitution. He started to write a

series of essays entitled the Federalist. He wrote the essays under the

pseudonym of Publius. The Clintonian/Anti-federalists had a majority over the

Federalists everywhere but in Manhattan, Hamilton?s district. Hamilton called

on his friends John Jay and James Madison to help him out on the essays. John

Jay would only write four because he grew sick. The first Federalist appeared on

October 27, 1777 and the last one appeared on May 28, 1788. The purpose of the

essays was to gain support of the Constitution by explaining it. The Federalist

is still considered one of the greatest works written on a constitutional

government. Even Thomas Jefferson (the future rival of Hamilton) claimed the

Federalist to be ?? the best commentary on the principles of government

which ever was written.? New York held its Constitution convention on June

17,1788. The Anti-federalists out numbered the Federalists two to one. Hamilton

called upon his power of persuasion to reverse the minds of the

Anti-federalists. The Federalists decided to hold out as long as they could so

they went over every piece of the Constitution. After more than a month of

debating, the convention ratified the Constitution by a 30-27 vote. New York did

not need to ratify the Constitution since ten states already did, but New York

had a geographical, commercial and population importance. Alexander Hamilton the

Secretary of Treasury On September 11, 1789, Alexander Hamilton became the first

secretary of the United States. He has a major task of setting up the nation?s

economy before him. Part of his workload was the 54 million-dollar deficit from

the Revolutionary War. Hamilton based his system after the British system, which

uses a national credit. He felt that, ?To be able to borrow upon good terms,

it is essential that the credit of a nation should be well established?by good

faith, by a punctual performance of contracts.? This Hamilton?s plan that

contained three basic provisions for the handling of the debt: ? As mandated by

the Constitution, the foreign debt and interest would be paid in full according

to the terms initially agreed to. ? The principle of the domestic debt would be

paid at par to the current bearers. ? The federal government would assume state

debts with interest payments deferred until 1792. When he announced his plan to

Congress in his Report on Public Credit, many were opposed to the ideas. One of

them was Hamilton?s friend James Madison. Madison felt that the people who

originally bough the bonds would be mistreated since they later sold the bonds

for a much lower value for cash. He also felt that those bought the bonds at a

low value would be making a huge profit. Madison was against the idea of

assumption of the states? debts too. Madison?s home state, Virginia, had

already paid off most of its debt and he thought that his constituents should

not have to pay for the other states? debts. A deal was made between Madison

and Hamilton. Madison would get votes in Congress from Virginia and Maryland, if

Hamilton would locate the capital on the Potomac in Virginia and Maryland.

Hamilton also called for the first Bank of the United States. Congress approved

and on February 25, 1791 it was established with a twenty-year charter and

$10,000,000 limit. This led to more conflict with Madison and Jefferson. They

were against it because the Constitution did not give the power to set up a

national bank to Congress. While Congress was still debating the bank, Hamilton

presented them with his report, On the Establishment of a Mint. In his report he

called for a bimetallic standard for the currency, coinage based on the decimal

system, and the establishment of a mint in Philadelphia. Hamilton was very

successful as the Secretary of Treasury. He accomplished everything he set out

to do: redeem the credit of the United States, increased revenues, expand the

supply of capital, and establish a standard currency. Alexander Hamilton and the

Republicans In the summer of 1787, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison created a

political party, Democrat-Republicans. They both did not like ?factions,?

but they felt that something needed to be done stop Hamilton. They thought that

Hamilton was exerting too much federal power and was infringing on the states.

Their main argument was the national bank. The Republicans thought that it was

unconstitutional and Hamilton felt that it was in Congress? implied powers.

Over the years the rivalry grew harsher as both Jefferson and Hamilton attacked

each other newspapers and throughout Washington, who wished that the two would

get along. Another topic of debate between the two factions was foreign policy.

Jefferson wanted to be aligned with France and Hamilton with Great Britain.

Hamilton won his case with Washington when he sent John Jay to Great Britain and

the Jay treaty was signed. There was opposition to it, but again Hamilton did

what he did best, persuade. The pro-French movement suffered a major setback due

to the scandalous ?X, Y, Z? affair. Hamilton soon turned away from his own

party. In 1800, the Federalists nominated John Adams for president. Hamilton did

not like Adams because he did not seek his advice on important issues as

president. The election of 1800 ended up being a tie between Aaron Burr and

Thomas Jefferson. The Federalist House wanted to vote for Burr since Jefferson

was their main antagonist. Alexander Hamilton hated and did not trust Burr and

urged Federalists to vote for Jefferson. The state and national elections of

1800 was the end of the Federalists in power. Alexander Hamilton and the

Infamous Duel Aaron Burr decided to run for governor of New York in 1804. He had

asked for the Federalists? support, but Hamilton refused to give him any and

the Republican candidate soundly defeated Burr. Burr blamed his defeat on

Hamilton and demanded Hamilton to apologize for his comments about him. Hamilton

refused and the date was set for a duel on July 11, 1804. The place was

Weehawken, New Jersey, where dueling was still legal. Burr shot Hamilton in the

abdomen and Hamilton shot in the air. Hamilton suffered the same fate as his son

did three years earlier and on the following day he died. There was an immense

outpouring of public grief at the news of Hamilton?s death. He had meant so

much to the United States as it meant so much to him. He had created an economic

system that would make the United States a global power in a short time. He was

the first one to use the Constitution?s extended powers in order to set up the

national bank. He was one of the first to defend the freedom of the press

(People v. Croswell 1804.) Hamilton kept a positive approach on America as he

built for the future. Jefferson even admitted, ?We can pay off his debt in 15

years: but we will never get rid of his financial system.? He often felt that

his efforts fell short for his country: ?Mine is an odd destiny. Perhaps no

man has sacrificed or done more the present constitution than myself?Yet I

have the murmurs of its friends no less than the curses of its foes for my

reward. What can I do better than withdraw from the Scene? Every day proves to

me more and more that this American world was not made for me.? For doing what

he did America owes much of its existence to a, as John Adams described

Hamilton, ??bastard brat of a Scottish peddler.?

5bd

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