Lecture 4 - Hamiltonian Federalism Part 1
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Transcript of Lecture 4 - Hamiltonian Federalism Part 1
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8/14/2019 Lecture 4 - Hamiltonian Federalism Part 1
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Ali Ghafoori
America in the Aftermath of the Revolution (1783-1800)
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Lecture Date: February 20, 2008
Hamiltonian Federalism:
Alexander Hamilton was the first secretary of Treasury and built up the
Treasury Department as the largest department within the executive
branch.
Purpose of Hamiltonian Reforms Hamiltons fundamental vision was to
have a strong national government. His sole experience was working with
the national government and he had little affinity for the states since he had
not grown up in the states. Furthermore, he considered himself an
aristocrat by birth.
Philosophy Hamiltons approach was grounded in his elitist outlook.
According to this view men are motivated by love of money or love of
power. Furthermore, the people are divided into two groups: the mob and
the elite. The elite are educated and have interest in pursuing the public
good. Public good in his conception was a strong national government. So
he sat about building support for the national government amongst the
elite.
Report on the Public Credit, 1790:
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Ali Ghafoori
America in the Aftermath of the Revolution (1783-1800)
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The US owed US $ 75 million in federal and state debts which were not
serviced because of Congresss inability to collect taxes. With no service for
the debts, government bonds had devalued to their 15 % original value.
While originally held by farmers and soldiers, the bonds were purchased by
speculators (mostly the rich elite). Hamilton introduced his Public Credit
report arguing that:
1. The US government needs credit.
2. Credit can be maintained by servicing and handling the debt.
3. The debt can be serviced/handled through funding and assumption.
Funding meant assuming more debt to pay off existing debts. He proposed
that all existing national debt be brought into the government and
exchanged for face value plus back interest for new debt. This tied the elite
holding the debt to the national government. The government could service
and pay-off the debt through taxation.
Assumption meant that the state debts will be transferred to the national
government. This centralized the finances of the state and made the
national government strong by increasing the stake people had in the
national government (especially the elite).
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Ali Ghafoori
America in the Aftermath of the Revolution (1783-1800)
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There were two criticisms leveled at the Hamiltonian credit program:
1. It entailed payment of interest to speculators.
2. Some states had already paid off their debts and were unwilling to
assume the debts from other states.
To overcome criticism, Hamilton agreed to the transfer of capital from New
York to the south.
The outcomes of this program were:
1. It provided credit for the national government thereby strengthening
it further.
2. Gave the elite a stake in the government by tying their interest to the
survival of the national government.
To service the debt, new taxes were needed. The Whiskey Tax was
introduced which affected mostly Western states and involved taxing the
whiskey produced in more remote states for ease of transportation.