How do certain members of the government address conflict?

To resolve these problems, President George Washington appointed Alexander Hamilton as the first Secretary of Treasury. Hamilton’s first job was to create a plan to eliminate the large debt. But that did not come easily, for Hamilton had people who strongly disagreed with him, like Thomas Jefferson. Background It was the year 1789, and the American Revolution had ended several years ago. The battle between the American colonists and the British government resulted victoriously for the colonists. But after the Revolutionary War, there was a huge $79 million dollar debt that caused unstable financial footing.

The Resolution The first part of Alexander Hamilton’s plan to solve the economic problems was to combine the state and federal debt into one, big federal debt the federal government pays off. This would remove the need for states to raise taxes, which would cause major democratic turbulence, as well as increasing the federal government’s power. However, the federal government does not have enough money to pay off the debt in full. So Hamilton proposed that the federal government fund the debt. This means that annual interest is paid to keep the creditors convinced that the government will pay the debt off. To further reassure them, Hamilton created a sinking fund. The sinking fund would be used to gradually redeem, or pay, the debt over the coming years. This will not only create a more stable financial footing, but also strengthen the nation as a whole.

Hamilton faced a lot of disagreement and conflict from Democrat-Republican Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton supported manufacturing and business, because manufacturing would make the United States less dependent on goods from Europe. He wanted to pass protective tariffs, which raise the price of foreign goods, causing Americans to buy U.S. products. As a result, American businesses and manufacturing would be protected from foreign competition. But Jefferson strongly disagreed. He believed that farmers were the most independent. They did not depend on other people to make a living. He wanted tariffs to be low, as to help the farmers by keeping the prices of the goods low.

Background on Abraham Lincoln A lot happened in the1850’s and 1860s’. Banks were opening, many more people were voting, and more presidents were being elected. Abraham Lincoln was voted president not once, but twice. (No thanks to the south who did not give a single vote to him.) This was the time of the civil war, and people arguing for and against slavery. Lincoln knew that the Federal government’s power to end slavery was limited by the constitution. This became a great conflict to Lincoln.

His solution Lincoln had many armies fight in the war, and try to capture/ recapture and/or take back places (for example the Gettysburg Address.) He made new generals, one by the name of General Grant. Grant fought the enemy General Lee, who after many years of war, finally surrendered. This was right before the re-election of 1864, when Lincoln won again. He was a religious man, and a lawyer before presidency. He promised many great things for the country, including peace among the U.S, and the other nations.

Connections Alexander Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln both tried to make changes based on what they thought was right. Hamilton had a solution to deal with his problem, but his changes altered the government to what a Federalist wanted it to be; a strong federal government. Which went mainly undetected, but Hamilton had people criticizing almost everything he said, like Thomas Jefferson. Abraham Lincoln’s solution to his conflict -the Civil War- was to keep the Union together, so he did anything he could to do just that, even if it caused some conflict and criticism.

Both Hamilton and Lincoln did not have a specific stance on slavery, but both supported manufacturing as the main part of the economy. Slavery and the economy were closely connected in both the 1700’s and the 1800’s. Slaves worked on the plantations, producing raw materials that can be manufactured and sold for profit. This helps the economy because businesses are making profits and employment rates increase. More money is made, so more money can be put into manufacturing and agriculture. More products are produced, and it becomes a cycle.

There is a big connection between slavery and the war There is a big connection between slavery and the war. Many slave states were voting for Lincoln and other representatives, but no southern state voted for Lincoln. He was voted for anyway, so those states were very angry. They protested the invasion for the war, and were very disappointed when there was. Some of these were not slave states, and were angry at Lincoln for the slaves. Even so, the federal governmental powers to end slavery were limited by the constitution.