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To What Extent Was Alexander Hamilton's Creation Of Federal Government

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In 1789, Alexander Hamilton took office as the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton believed in centralized government and wanted to create ways for the nation as whole to pay off all war debts, raise government revenues, and create a national bank.
Amongst many of Hamilton’s duties as Secretary of Treasury; was to formulate a financial plan to alleviate the country’s hefty debt from the Revolutionary War. He believed that since most of the war debt was incurred by the States but for the benefit of the entire nation, the debts from the war should be assumed by the federal government. Many states in the South had already repaid most of their debt and they wanted to restrict centralized power, they opposed the notion; while Northern states that were still carrying heavy debt loads supported the notion. He also pointed out the country incurred a debt as whole in order to secure their independence which is what lead to the creation of a federal government in the first place. The nation’s finances were a wreck due to the Revolutionary War. Hamilton understood that in order to win the respect of the citizens of the United States as well as foreign nations, he had to prove to them that the United States could be trusted and …show more content…

He issued a report on Public Credit arguing for financing public debt and proposing excise taxes He favored taxes on imported goods, such as shoes and textiles. He believed that these taxes would raise money for the government and encourage the American industries to grow. These taxes would help to pay foreign nation debt that incurred over the Revolutionary War, and also would help to keep the centralized government up and running. The Democratic Republicans opposed Hamilton’s proposal by imposing international tariffs and funding American economic

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