What Is The Theme Of The Debt In Hamilton's Blessing

835 Words2 Pages

The national debt is usually a frightening topic citizens of any country, however, in the United States, twenty trillion dollars of national debt is one of the major fears of the economy. Along with this fear comes every politician claiming to be the person to lower this astronomical debt to ease concerns in the modern American economy. In Hamilton’s Blessing, John Steele Gordon tries to alleviate these concerns by showing a plethora of benefits and good the debt has been able to do throughout the history of the United States. The central premise of the book and the main guideline for John Steele Gordon’s thinking is that the debt was used to save the Union in the 1860’s, the American economy in the 1930’s, and the wellbeing of mankind during …show more content…

It also doesn’t just paint a positive picture of traditional views as well. Although the theme was about the benefits of the national debt, the author also raised concern about the way the national debt is being used today as he states that the debt is, “an escape valve for political pressure.” This way successfully combines the necessities of the national debt, and the fears of its abuse make this work enlightening to the reader to gain knowledge on the …show more content…

The title stems from when Alexander Hamilton wrote to Robert Morris about funding for the new nation stating, “‘A national debt, if not too excessive, will be to us a national blessing.’” The author makes an emphasis on this quote by showing how the United States has used the debt to fund and then pay off huge projects such as The Civil War, The Great Depression and World War II. If these events haven’t been funded using the national debt, than the country as we know today could have been dramatically

Show More
Related

  • Relationship Between George Washington And Alexander Hamilton

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    Alexander Hamilton planned to retire the old depreciated obligations by borrowing new money at a lower interest rate. In the beginning, Alexander Hamilton proposed the idea for solving the debt problem the United States to George Washington. George Washington wasn't too thrilled about that idea because he thought it violated the constitution and did not support Alexander Hamilton's idea on solving the United States dept. Alexander Hamilton later advocated his idea of the national bank of exerting objections by Thomas Jefferson explaining that it wouldn't violate the constitution to congress and George

    Read More

  • The Argument that the US Constitution Favors the Elite

    1466 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beard, Charles Austin. An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1998. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed February 23, 2014

    Read More

  • Alexander Hamilton's Five Points Plan

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    The day that Alexander Hamilton was first placed into the United States Government would be the day which would forever change our nation. The time when he would start and create a fantastic economy out of scratch. He did it with one brilliant five point plan. But there were three parts of the plan which were the body of this project. These were the assumption of state debt, the whiskey tax, and the construction of a national bank. All of these together would enhance our economy, before the tyrant Jackson would destroy them (bank). Nevertheless, his plan dealt with and solved the tough issues such as federal debt, government money supply, and economical shape throughout our nation. So for these answers he gave to our people, we must be grateful

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson: Pragmatics over Doctrine

    624 Words  | 2 Pages

    Unfortunately, the President’s consistency with Republican principles in matters of political power was not nearly as strong as his resolve to reduce the national debt. Under Jefferson and Madison, the federal government assumed political powers that the Constitution did not allot for. While prior to his presidency, Jefferson, then a strict constructionist had argued that the government should not assume any power unless specifically provided for in the Constitution, the Louisiana Purchase where America purchased a vast tract of land for $15 million, compromised these lofty ideals. In terms of the military, Thomas Jefferson had come to power vowing to reduce military size and power. Contrary to those principles, the Barbary War, where for nearly three years the American military exercised a naval blockade of the North African coast wasted millions of dollars of the people’s money and unconstitutionally violated states rights and strict constructionist principles, in their place asserting an alien un-Republican nationalism.

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson: A Controversial President

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin the process of removing debt, Andrew Jackson blocked every bill to spend money (“npr.org”). After that, he began selling all of the land in the west because, there was a large demand as the country was expanding (“waltercoffey.com”). After Andrew Jackson was able to remove the debt, he said, “Let us commemorate the payment of the public debt as an event that gives us increased power as a nation and reflects luster on our Federal Union. (Encyclopedia of Presidents)” However, this perpetual bliss could not last forever.

    Read More

  • Hamilton And The Economy

    1445 Words  | 3 Pages

    During his term as secretary of the treasury, he acted with the power and commanding force of a Prime Minister. None of the other founding fathers contributed as much to the economy’s growth, and the shape of the country in general, as he did. Alexander Hamilton was the most influential of the United States’ early politicians in the development of the country’s economy. One of the earliest examples of Hamilton’s power was his role in the national assumption of state debts. After the Revolutionary War, individual states had varying amounts of debt.

    Read More

  • The Inefficiency of the U.S. Constitution

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    3. Beard, Charles A. "An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States". American Politics. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, MA. 1999. (Pages 27 -- 33).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Common Good For All Americans

    1540 Words  | 4 Pages

    “No nation ought to be without debt”, states Thomas Paine” (35). However, “a national debt is a national bond…America is without a debt, and without a navy (35).” In the chapter “Of The Present Ability of America, With Some Miscellaneous” Paine paints a picture of the present day 1776 position of the military. He claims that the America’s position of defending herself is minimal due to a nonexistent navy which has been blocked by England. Great Britain’s debt level is high; rather, the compensation for her debt is the investment of a strong navy to defend herself and the American people. Conversely, “our land force is already sufficient, and as to naval affairs, we cannot be insensible, that Britain would never suffer an American man of war to be built, while the continent remained in her hands” (34). Paine understands the important role of a navy, and he warns the American public that America is vulnerable to attack and destruction because the British will never sacrifice their manpower for America’s liberty and freedom from other countries. Paine points out that America has an opportunity to “leave posterity with a settled form of government, an independent constitution of its own, the purchase at any price will be cheap” and prosper with a constitution and a military of her own to defend herself and her people in times of turmoil and crisis because “a navy when finished is worth more than it cost” (34, 36). “Commerce and protection are united,” and America’s “natural produce” of timber, iron tar, leave the American ports to gain marginal profits for the colonial states across the Atlantic in Europe

    Read More

  • Seidman's Senseless Scheme of Constitutional Disobedience

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    A “Financial Crisis”, an “Economic disaster on a scale few nations have ever experienced”(1), the “Great Recession”, the “Lesser Depression”, the “Long Recession”, the “Global Recession of 2009”(2) and the “Financial Implosion”(3) are all expressions used to describe the economic situation the United States found itself in 2012. Louis Michael Seidman, a Harvard graduate and Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Constitution Law at Georgetown University Law Center, referred to it as “fiscal chaos”. It is Professor Seidman’s belief that the cause of this great chaos is the “archaic, idiosyncratic and downright evil provisions” of the Constitution. Seidman wrote an article in the New York Times entitled, “Let’s give up on the Constitution”, and argues, due to his personal philosophy, that the Constitution should be abandoned. (4) Seidman fails to acknowledge poor fiscal banking policy, lending to non-qualified borrowers, government bailout of private corporations or perhaps the repeal of the Glass Steagall Banking Act (5) as the sources contributing to the financial crisis. Instead, he places the entire blame on the founding fathers. In spite of Seidman’s ridiculous quibbles, the Constitution should be up held to maintain both the solidity and freedom the United States offers its citizens.

    Read More

  • Jeffersonian Era

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    After the first War for Independence, The United States was approximately $52 million in debt. Due to having such bad financial problems, the United States created a national Bank to create one unified currency, to take away all state debts, and to issue loans to the people to promote growth. This National Bank was created by Alexander Hamilton who was a Federalist, and once Jefferson came to be the President, he continued the idea of the national bank because it was helping to reduce the national debt. The primary reason for the National Bank being a representation of a Federalist idea was because since it was issuing loans to people it was able to promote industrial growth which was one of the main goals of the Federalist party. From Jefferson continuing the use of the National Bank thru his presidency he demonstrates his need to continue a loose constructionist idea.

    Read More

  • The National Debt

    1565 Words  | 4 Pages

    The US has been in and out of debt countless times throughout history, going as far back as the Civil War. However, debt did not become a truly relevant problem until much later, in the 1980s (Budget Deficits). Up to that point, large budget deficits were generally only allowed during wartime, but this pattern ended after the Great Depression. Roosevelt’s New Deal meant that the government spent much more than it previously did, even after the economy improved (Budget De...

    Read More

  • Declaration Of Independence

    1583 Words  | 4 Pages

    In today’s society, The Declaration of Independence is still a living document. Many ingredients are still an enormous part of our lives and the way our government handles diverse matters. One of the clauses, however, is being completely taken out of context and should be addressed immediately. The United States’ Foreign Policy is an ongoing problem and will continue until we as nation get back to our roots an...

    Read More

  • Alexander Hamilton

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    “[T]he man on the ten-dollar bill is the father of the American treasury system, a signer of the Constitution, one of the primary authors of the Federalist Papers, and the loser of the infamous duel with Vice President Aaron Burr. Alexander Hamilton's earlier career as a Continental Army officer is less well known. Yet Hamilton's first experience in public service is important, not only because it was the springboard to his later career, but because it also deeply influenced his values and thinking” (Hamilton).

    Read More

  • Nuclear Issue in the North Korea from the Eyes of Neorealism and Neoliberalism

    2055 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...issue. In this case, neoliberalism not only helps states to make a more rational decision, but also gives a birth of the institution forming the norms for the states’ solving crisis in the future. To conclude, both of them are important, while they are not contradictory, but complementary.

    Read More

  • New Deal

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    Franklin Roosevelt’s “optimism and activism that helped restore the badly shaken confidence of the nation” (pg. 467 Out of Many), was addressed in the New Deal, developed to bring about reform to the American standard of living and its low economy. It did not only make an impact during the Great Depression. Although, many of the problems addressed in the New Deal might have been solved, those with the long lasting effect provide enough evidence to illustrate how great a success the role of the New Deal played out in America’s history to make it what it is today.

    Read More

More about What Is The Theme Of The Debt In Hamilton's Blessing

Open Document