Alexander Hamilton
Given the durability of the Constitution of the United States, it is difficult to remember that its provisions
did not originally meet with general approval. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was in many ways
a counterrevolution, proposing to discard the Articles of Confederation under which the peoples of the
former British colonies had fought a desperate war and won a generous peace, and to replace them with
an entirely new form of compact. Many regarded the framers of the Constitution with suspicion and feared
that the stronger and more centralized government they proposed would be the tool of the wealthy and propertied
classes of the new nation.
Having only recently won their independence of a monarchy, many Americans were particularly wary of the
powers to be accorded to the Executive Branch of the new government. The former colonial subjects had
no tradition of separating executive from legislative power and concentrating it in an individual except
for the royal governors formerly imposed upon them. Governing councils had been the rule during the revolution,
and even military officers had to accede to the decisions of their subordinate officers when the latter
met in a council of war.
Consequently, the advocates of the new Constitution directed much of their attention to convincing their
fellow citizens of the advisability of a unitary and, what was for the time, a powerful executive. In
writing to the people of New York, Alexander Hamilton offered a somewhat ingenuous argument: A strong
executive is necessary for a strong state, and a state needs to be strong to achieve its proper ends.
The fact that the government of New York itself was based upon a strong executive may have made Hamilton’s
argument appear more powerful than it was in fact.
Three months after the publication of Hamilton’s essay, the Constitution was approved by the ninth state
and thus became operative, although not without the assurance of amendments that would limit the power
of the federal government. The matter was not yet settled, however. The outbreak of the French Revolution
in 1789 revived the revolutionary fervor of many Americans, and, in their desire to stem the influx of
radical European influences, the Federalists were led to use the powers of the new government in such
a way that they undermined their own position and opened the way for the election of Thomas Jefferson
in 1800.
What does Alexander Hamilton mean when he refers to "energy"? Just as his fellow Federalist
Papers author Madison did in No. 55, Hamilton makes an appeal to history in No. 70. What specific
appeal to history did Hamilton make, and what affect did he hope this appeal would have? According to
the author, what is required for an "energetic" executive? Do you think Hamilton’s arguments
still apply today? |
