Political Career of Alexander Hamilton - Essay Example

Hamilton served as Secretary of the Treasury during the Washington administration from September 1789 until January 1795. During his stint, he was deemed to have significantly helped position the US under a sound economic regime.

He presented a comprehensive financial program to the first Congress ("Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia"). To illustrate this point, his works such as the Report on Public Credit (1790) proposed to the federal government the redemption of confederation government securities and full payment of debt accumulated by the Continental Congress. As part of his financial program, this provision resolved and nationalized financial chaos inherited from the Revolution (Foner & Garraty). Apart from this, Hamilton also generated the Report on Manufactures (1791), wherein he impelled the federal government to encourage manufacturers and proposed protective laws including the imposition of tariffs on imported manufactured goods and a series of excise taxes both to preserve home market and generate revenue for the government to pay its debt (Burt).

Moreover, he helped found the Bank of the United States, which is patterned after the Bank of England (Foner & Garraty), as well as the Bank of New York. He proposed the creation of this national bank to help the government meet its financial obligations and generate revenue from interest on loans and enable the government to create a national currency through the issuance of public credit ("Wikipedia"). Albeit his propositions were met with massive opposition, as his policies were deemed to alienate agrarian interest and bring about concentration of power in the federal government, Congress adopted the Hamiltonian program ("Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia").

Given the above, it can be seen that Hamilton played a critical role in shaping domestic and foreign policy during the first decade of the founding of the Republic. He is credited with the establishment of public credit, the foundations of American capitalism, and the stock and commodity exchanges. He was among the first to recognize the need for larger transformations of industry and capitalism specifically the trend toward larger-scale manufacturing financed through credit ("Wikipedia").

Despite the various controversies he faced throughout his political career, Hamilton is regarded as one of the key political figures in the history of the nation through advocating the principles of strong centralized government and supporting the establishment of strong business institutions, and commitment to economic growth ("Wikipedia").