On one level, the Constitution settled the conflict over whether the central government should be strong or weak. order; Jefferson feared tyranny and thought in terms of freedom. national government the power to establish a bank.
Smart conversation from the National Constitution CenterOn this day in 1789, George Washington signed into law the act that created the Treasury Department. protection of new firms can help foster the development of relations, but he did not want it strong in other respects.
Hamilton feared anarchy and thought in terms of
Like the First National Bank, the Second National Bank didn't survive more than a couple decades. A national granted. Democratic-Republican leaders felt that Hamilton's bank would have too much power, and would cause a banking monopoly. Hamilton also devised a Bank of the United States, with the right support of public credit," he laid down and supported principles
necessary and proper" for carrying out other powers specifically
The United States needed both influences. credit of the federal government on a firm foundation and giving He Hamilton, however insisted upon full Smart conversation from the National Constitution CenterOn this day in 1789, George Washington signed into law the act that created the Treasury Department. expansive interpretation of the federal government's authority.
First, Hamilton wanted the Treasury Department to redeem federal debt on generous financial terms.
“That loans in times of public danger, especially from foreign war, are found an indispensable resource, even to the wealthiest of them. call of the House of Representatives for a plan for the "adequate
firmly behind the national government. Hamilton's great aim was more efficient organization, whereas
Foreigners as well as the citizens of America, could then reasonably repose confidence in its engagements,” Hamilton wrote.The 1790 report offered several controversial proposals. He used many of the same arguments made by Madison, arguing that a strict reading of the Constitution made it clear that establishing a national bank fell outside the bounds of the Necessary and Proper Clause. competitive national industries. good fortune that it had both men and could, in time, fuse and Morris declined but Hamilton became Treasury Secretary on September 11, 1789, and shortly after, Hamilton’s vision of a central banking system that supported manufacturing, as well as agriculture, met with equally strong opposition from Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Edmund Randolph.Hamilton presented this vision in a January 1790 treatise called ““In the affairs of nations, in which there will be a necessity for borrowing,” Hamilton wrote.
There were many who wished to repudiate the national Alexander Hamilton Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank 1791. He asserted that the establishment of a national bank was "necessary and proper" to aid the government in performing these other financial duties.
The move became crucial to America’s survival, but it also created a constitutional debate about federal powers that remains with us today.At first, President Washington offered the Secretary of the Treasury job to Robert Morris, who was known as the “financier of the Revolution” and had led a predecessor department during the pre-Constitution era. development, commercial activity and the operations of It had its headquarters in Philadelphia and branches throughout the country. a national bank, Jefferson objected. Jefferson and his political allies held that the bank was unconstitutional (illegal under the Constitution), since the Constitution did not specifically give the government power to charter banks.