Introduction
Hamilton is known to be one of the key figures in the participation of the constitution-making in the USA. He was born of a very humble family in West Indies. As he grew up, he was involved in speaking and came to love politics from a very young age. He is said to have been involved in various public speaking in his school life and very active in writing revolutionary articles. After his marriage to Elizabeth who was born in a major general family, he was able to rise socially and also politically which was to his political advantage. He started participating in major political movements such as the Federalist movement. He also started fighting for vibrant developments in capitalism for example through his participation in the building of the first bank and other major industrial projects in the United States (Wright 276). He was also elected to the position of secretary for the treasury where he was known to have played major roles in funding the federal movement.
Hamilton’s Interpretation on the Constitutional Design for the Executive Branch
He is known to be a very strong Nationalist who fought to have a constitution that allowed the president to be central in Authority. He admired the British system of leadership although he was against the absolute powers that were bestowed on the president arguing they would lead to dictatorship. In Federalist no. 70, he claims that shared powers or partnerships would not bring desirable results in the USA and that a president should be open and honest to the people (White 1). His position was that it was important to avoid inconsistency in leadership while at the same time putting some limitations in the American Constitution that would prevent the president from adapting autocratic leadership. From his ideas, it is clear that he believes that people perceive the same stimuli differently hence it is likely that they always have differences when discussing common issues (Elkins and McKitrick 86). He says that when differences come up in leadership, there is a possibility of weakened authority which hinders the implementation of plans in the process of unifying the different opinions by those they share powers with.
He argues that a good government is that which has enough powers enough to protect the state from enemies. It should be able to assure the society of safety to their lives, their properties, ensure justice to all people. People should also be allowed to have liberty other than having a leader who would dictate them. The executive government should be united to allow easier decision-making, implementation of activities and ensuring secrecy (Wright 283). This can be achieved if no two equal principles have been bestowed equal powers. Only one person should have powers over the others and the rest should act as advisors to him. The other argument is that more leaders reduce responsibility hence little accomplishments.
Although his federalist party did not last for long, his principles which were recorded in the federalist papers were adopted in the later years. His major focus was a defense for the citizens or the State as a whole and financial growth. Through his expertise in law, politics and desire for a capitalist economy, his principles have been viewed as a key to the freedom of the nation as a whole and a way forward for economic growth in today’s developing world.
How the US Have Failed to Apply Hamilton’s Principles Today
In the current day, we can observe that there are some violations of Hamilton’s perception and recommendation of good governance. In the modern-day, the government has not been able to guarantee the states of safety from the enemies. They have had many conflicts with Afghanistan and Iraq and up to this day, they have not been able to resolve the best method of dealing with this challenge. The agencies involved have always had different opinions on how to carry on with the resolutions to the problem. Although they all agree that it is a future threat to the United States, they do not offer a sufficient solution (Elkins and McKitrick 96). This is an issue that should be dealt with by the central government but has been delegated to the Department of Defense leading to half solutions to the problems. The major problem noted is that there are no constitutional powers given to at least one agency to come up with a proper solution.
On the wealth accumulation, although the United States has had a major thrive economically, they have been suffering from late due to economic inflation. Hamilton argues that for there to be economic growth, the government must be in support of businesses by formulation of policies that will enable many people to invest in businesses (White 1). He was against free trade which was practiced by the British government. In recent times, the USA has been engaged in free trade among other things. Economic inflation can be attributed to problems of central leadership. There is no single agency in the United States that is independently controlled and hence the major problems in sectors including financial institutions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Hamilton had adequate knowledge in law, philosophy, and politics which enabled him to come up with proper principles to govern the nation. From what he says, men are created to be reasoning issues that come up other than reasonable creatures. This is so to cultivate positive thinking which will enable individuals to counterbalance the issues such as diseases, and finances among others.
Works Cited
Elkins, Stanley and McKitrick Eric. Age of Federalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. Print.
White, Richard. “Political Economy and Statesmanship: Smith, Hamilton, and the Foundation of the Commercial Republic.” Public Administration Review 60 (2000). Web.
Wright, Robert. One Nation Under Debt: Hamilton, Jefferson, and the History of What We Owe. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print.