{"id":106332,"date":"2023-06-24T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-24T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=106332"},"modified":"2026-03-09T16:53:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:53:35","slug":"alexander-hamilton-secretary-of-the-treasury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/alexander-hamilton-secretary-of-the-treasury\/","title":{"rendered":"Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury: His Duties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>How did Alexander Hamilton become Secretary of the Treasury? What were the major changes he made during his time in the role?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Ron Chernow&#8217;s biography <em>Alexander Hamilton<\/em>, Secretary of the Treasury was one of the biggest roles to fill after the Constitution was ratified. President George Washington appointed Hamilton as the first person to fulfill this duty and changed the course of the US economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Find out how Hamilton changed the US economy by imposing new taxes, which led to criticisms from other politicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-hamilton-as-treasury-secretary\"><strong>Hamilton as Treasury Secretary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After the Constitution was ratified by a majority of the states, politicians began formally organizing the government, and in 1789 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/hub\/society-culture\/people\/george-washingtons-presidency\/\">Washington was elected the first president of the US<\/a>. Chernow argues that Washington was the only possible choice for the job by the turbulent 1780s, since he commanded near-universal respect after leading the Revolutionary Army to victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Washington appointed a cabinet of ministers to assist him in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/methods-of-decision-making-crucial-conversations\/\">decision-making<\/a>, including Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury. This was the highest office Hamilton would ever hold, and Chernow claims that Hamilton left a permanent mark on the US economy, driving it toward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/capitalism-theory\/\">capitalism<\/a>, industrialization, and trade.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Imposing New Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As Secretary of the Treasury, <strong>Alexander<\/strong> <strong>Hamilton worked to establish the US banking system and impose federal taxes on trade<\/strong>. In a series of reports to Congress, he advised selling government bonds to help finance its operations for the next few years, printing paper money that could replace gold and silver as acceptable tax payments, consolidating individual state debts into a single national debt that Congress would have the responsibility of paying off, imposing taxes on foreign luxury goods like alcohol, tea, and coffee, and establishing the Coast Guard to prevent smuggling and ensure collection of customs duties. All of these policies were eventually adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: These policies\u2014having government bonds available for sale, using paper money, taxing imports\u2014have all survived and even been expanded in the modern-day US. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/blog\/happy-232nd-birthday-us-coast-guard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Coast Guard has also grown<\/a>, from fewer than a hundred initial members in 1790 to nearly 45,000 today. It is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uso.org\/stories\/2799-what-does-the-coast-guard-do-and-7-coast-guard-facts-to-know\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">both a military and federal regulatory agency<\/a>, whose duties outside of tax collection and anti-smuggling operations include search and rescue, enforcing fishing laws, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/marine\/uscg_broadcasts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">collecting data for the National Weather Service<\/a>, and operating as a branch of the US Navy during wartime.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chernow notes that Hamilton\u2019s economic policies were often controversial, particularly his tax policies. Any tax was unpopular, since the heavy taxes imposed by Britain had been a driving force behind the revolution. Hamilton\u2019s suggestion that domestic production of distilled spirits like whiskey be taxed led to the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, in which protestors attacked tax collectors. Washington had to personally ride out with over 10,000 militiamen to quell the uprising. Even so, <strong>Chernow credits Hamilton\u2019s policies with saving the young US from bankruptcy<\/strong>; by 1790, 90% of government income came from the import taxes he\u2019d proposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Taxes have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Federal-Taxation-America-Elliot-Brownlee\/dp\/1107492564\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">remained unpopular throughout US history<\/a>, though most of the taxes modern Americans are familiar with\u2014such as the income tax, sales tax, or taxes designed to fund Social Security\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/articles\/tax\/10\/history-taxes.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">originated in the early 20th century<\/a>, long after the Founding period. People have differing reasons for resisting taxes; while some argue that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.libertarianism.org\/columns\/is-taxation-theft#_ednref1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">taxes are theft by the government<\/a>, others use tax resistance as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/taxnotes\/2021\/07\/29\/thoreaus-arrest-for-tax-protesting-was-illegal---and-it-changed-the-world\/?sh=386f02904e04\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a form of conscientious objection<\/a> or oppose taxes that they feel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2014\/01\/23\/anti-poll-tax-amendment-is-50-years-old-today\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unjustly target certain groups<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Growing Resistance to Hamilton<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Hamilton\u2019s economic policies were often criticized by southern politicians like Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and Hamilton\u2019s former ally Madison, who broke with Hamilton over his debt reduction plan. They felt that Hamilton was gutting the rights of states by placing more and more regulatory power in the hands of the government, and in the Office of the Treasury in particular. They waged a particularly vicious attack on the Federal Reserve, arguing that the government had no right to establish credit and regulate commerce so directly. Hamilton retorted that the Constitution, by mentioning the federal government\u2019s right to collect taxes and regulate trade between the states, gave his office \u201cimplied powers\u201d over the economy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: The doctrine of implied powers has been <a href=\"https:\/\/constitutioncenter.org\/blog\/the-louisiana-purchase-jeffersons-constitutional-gamble\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">questioned repeatedly<\/a> throughout US history, as critics argue that it violates both the spirit of the Constitution and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thoughtco.com\/implied-powers-of-congress-4111399\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the text of the Tenth Amendment<\/a>. However, it would eventually be held up by the Supreme Court, the government body which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscourts.gov\/about-federal-courts\/educational-resources\/about-educational-outreach\/activity-resources\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has the power to dismiss laws<\/a> based on whether or not they violate the Constitution. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/supremecourt\/text\/17\/316\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>McCulloch v. Maryland<\/em> (1819)<\/a>, the Court ruled that \u201cimplied powers\u201d was a fair defense of the Federal Reserve, since the Constitution declares that the federal government should have as much power as is \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/constitution.congress.gov\/browse\/essay\/artI-S8-C18-1\/ALDE_00001242\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">necessary and proper<\/a>\u201d to carry out its duties.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chernow suggests that Jefferson\u2019s criticisms of Hamilton were partly motivated by resentment. Washington went to Hamilton for suggestions far more often than he went to Jefferson or even Vice President John Adams, who worked primarily in the Senate. Throughout Hamilton\u2019s career, critics would accuse him of being a closet authoritarian who manipulated Washington into passing undemocratic policies. However, Chernow points out that records of cabinet meetings show that Washington was unafraid to disagree with or override Hamilton\u2019s suggestions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: These accusations are an example of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/2148080\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">political trope of the manipulative advisor<\/a> or \u201cpower behind the throne,\u201d who is accused of using their personal relationship with a ruler to advance their own interests. While <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/history\/murder-rasputin-100-years-later-180961572\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">some genuine historical examples exist<\/a>, people often invoke this trope so they can criticize their government without directly attacking the ruler, instead scapegoating another, less important figure. The American revolutionaries used this rhetorical sleight-of-hand themselves in their <a href=\"https:\/\/avalon.law.yale.edu\/18th_century\/contcong_07-08-75.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1774 Petition to the King<\/a>, in which Congress claimed it was still loyal to King George III and merely resisted the unjust policies of Parliament.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How did Alexander Hamilton become Secretary of the Treasury? What were the major changes he made during his time in the role? According to Ron Chernow&#8217;s biography Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury was one of the biggest roles to fill after the Constitution was ratified. President George Washington appointed Hamilton as the first person to fulfill this duty and changed the course of the US economy. Find out how Hamilton changed the US economy by imposing new taxes, which led to criticisms from other politicians.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":14783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,39,33],"tags":[1074],"class_list":["post-106332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics","category-history","category-people","tag-alexander-hamilton","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury: His Duties - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury, but why was he so controversial? 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