Alexander Hamilton Changing America Analysis

Changing America; Alexander Hamilton

The Articles of Confederation was an agreement among the thirteen original states and served as its first constitution. Drafting of the Articles was done by the Second Continental Congress and began on July 12, 1776. An approved version was sent to the states for ratification in late 1777 but wasn’t completed until early 1781. The Articles of Confederation had many flaws and became a concern for some key nationalists. Alexander Hamilton was one of many nationalists who saw the flaws in the Articles of Confederation and helped influence Congress to create a new constitution. Alexander Hamilton was a strong believer who emphasized a strong central government. He helped achieve ratification for a new constitution by writing 51 of the 85 installments of The Federalist Papers. In Federalist Paper No. 21, Hamilton’s main point was proving the disabilities of the American central government under the Articles of Confederation (The Federalist Papers). Hamilton summarized his objections to the existing central government under several different headings. First, he accentuated that the main defect in the national government was its “total want of a

Beard was a history professor but his influence came from interpretive studies in both history and political science. He presented evidence that the framers of the Constitution were less interested in “furthering democratic principles than in protecting private property and the interests of the wealthy class” (Beard). To Beard, the Constitution was a counter-revolution, set up by rich bondholders in opposition to the planters and farmers. Richard Hofstadter, as a consensus historian, rejected Beard’s interpretation of history as a succession of socio-economic group conflicts. Hofstadter had pointed out that liberty and democracy often clash (Hofstadter). Hofstadter was an iconic historian and his influence is still ongoing, as modern critics admire the depth of his