Hamilton wanted a new national government that had complete political
authority. He disliked state governments and believed that they
should be eliminated entirely. In fact, Hamilton believed that the
perfect union would be one in which there were no states at all. At
the same time, however, Hamilton realized that eliminating the states
was impossible, at least at the Philadelphia Convention, because
there were too many other Americans who favored the rights of the
states over a strong national government.
Hamilton drafted a proposal for a new national government
that would centralize power but still allow states to retain many
of their rights and individuality. Hamilton devised his plan so
that the new government would combine the best aspects of different
governmental systems throughout the world. He strongly believed
that the best form of government was the British system, which
consisted of a strong monarch, an assembly of aristocrats called
the House of Lords, and another assembly of commoners called the
House of Commons. This system permitted the people to participate
in government via representation in Parliament, but fostered national unity
and centralized power under the king or queen. Hamilton's plan
for a new United States government reflected this preference for
the British system.
Hamilton believed that the new American government should
be divided into three branches: the executive branch, the legislative congress,
and the judiciary branch. Dividing the government into three segments
would provide checks and balances to prevent any one branch from
becoming too powerful, and Hamilton also believed that by working
together, the three different branches could centralize their power
over the states. The executive of the government would be the President
of the United States, and would be elected by a system of electoral
colleges to serve a life term. Hamilton thought that serving for
life–or rather, during good behavior–would give
stability to the executive office. He reasoned that if presidential
terms were limited to a few years, the president would have difficulty
achieving policy goals for the good of the country and would probably
accomplish very little. Hamilton also thought that short service
terms only encouraged politicians to focus on reelection, rather
than ruling the nation. The Congress, Hamilton thought, should
be bicameral: the upper chamber, called the Senate, would consist
of the nation's elite aristocrats, while the lower chamber, known
as the Assembly, would be the seat of democracy for the American
people. Senators would be elected for life and Assemblyman would
be elected for a term of three years. Finally, the judiciary system
would consist of a Supreme Court and a series of smaller national
courts. All national court justices would serve life terms.
Clearly, Hamilton's system closely mirrored the British
system of government, but it also closely resembles the form of
government that the delegates
in Philadelphia eventually agreed upon. The United
States Government under the Constitution is tripartite, with executive,
legislative, and judiciary branches. The Congress consists of two
houses, the upper designed as a distinguished body, while the lower
is more populist and democratic. A Supreme Court and a series of
smaller circuit courts exist as well, and the justices are appointed
to serve life terms. In the end, the delegates chose to abandon
the Articles of Confederation and draft a completely new document
to outline the new government of the United States. The committee
that drafted the Constitution presented the finished draft to the
assembly on September 17, 1787. Although Hamilton held deep reservations
about the new government, he signed the Constitution because he
felt that it met his basic requirements for a central government.
Hamilton also knew that in order for the fledgling United States
to survive, this new government had to be approved. He therefore
not only signed the document, but encouraged the other delegates
to do so as well. The delegates at the Philadelphia Convention
approved the new document and then presented the Constitution to
the states. According to the laws in the Articles of Confederation,
nine of the thirteen states had to ratify the Constitution in order
for it to become law.
Hamilton rushed home to New York to begin his campaign
to convince the people of New York to ratify the Constitution.
This task was the most difficult of the entire process, because
many state leaders and citizens feared that a strong national government
would violate the freedom they had recently won from Great Britain.
The campaign was particularly difficult for Hamilton in New York, where
his former colleagues Robert Yates and John Lansing had been working
with Governor George Clinton to campaign against ratification of
the new Constitution. New Yorkers were essentially convinced that
any new and stronger national government would eliminate their
liberty.
To combat the Anti-Federalists in his home state, Hamilton decided
to write a series of essays to convince the people that the Constitution
was essential to their liberty. Hamilton enlisted John Jay and
James Madison to assist him in writing the essays, which were eventually
published as pamphlets and magazine articles throughout the United
States. On the average, four essays were published each week, and
these became collectively known as the Federalist Papers. All three
authors used the pseudonym Publius to make it seem
as if a single common man had written all the essays. Historians
therefore do not know exactly how many essays Hamilton wrote, but
from the tone of the essays, it is believed that he authored fifty-two
on his own, and may have assisted in writing at least fifteen others.
The Federalist Papers were not meant
to be an impartial analyses of the benefits and drawbacks of the
new Constitution–rather, they were written as intellectual propaganda.
The content of the Federalist Papers can be divided
into five distinct sections. The first deals with the benefits the
nation would receive from a strong national government. The second
segment addresses the weakness of the Articles of Confederation.
Hamilton wrote the third section entirely by himself to address
the strengths of the Constitution.
The fourth section defends the Constitution against claims that
it violates "Republican principles." Finally, the last section
explains the details of the new government and its different parts
Hamilton's plan worked. New Yorkers throughout the state voted
for ratification of the Constitution, and became the eleventh state
to do so. New York's ratification can be attributed almost solely
to Hamilton's efforts as coordinating author of the Federalist Papers and
as a speaker and debater.
