The Imperial Presidency: The Legacies of President Alexander Hamilton and President Andrew Jackson

Published in New York City, New York (2009)

"... President Hamilton was unlike his predecessors, in that he believed that a strong and powerful federal government was best for the fledgling American republic. While the first three presidents believed that there needed to be a firm balance between the state governments and the federal government, President Hamilton sought to tip the balance in the federal government's favor. Before he took office, he wrote in his journal that, "for the past twenty-five years, the United States has prospered due to the stability and strength of our national government. It is time to expand upon it." Indeed, it was unsurprising that once he assumed office, he proposed a slew of radical reforms that were all aimed at strengthening the federal government. The American public was certainly not surprised, as Hamilton was a radical member of the Union Party, who won the nomination and the presidency through his political connections and proposals for sweeping reforms. Even so, the tenacity of President Hamilton and his drive to push through his reforms were surprising to even the most devout Unionists. While less than half of these proposed reforms were passed (and many of the ones that were passed were modified to make it more "moderate"), the fourth president left behind a powerful legacy that is still felt to this day...

Much like the first president, Hamilton submitted several Consent Executive Orders at the very beginning of his term to set the tempo for his presidency. Consent Executive Orders #28, #29, #30, #31, and #32 were all of Hamilton's initial attempts to push through reforms and each of them were unique and progressive in their own ways (owing to Hamilton's progressive outlook and beliefs). All five of these C.E.Os passed, though one of them was an edited version of Consecutive Executive Order #29...

Consent Executive Order #28 created the United States Special Forces and the Special Operations Command. C.E.O #28, which was named the "Military Specialization Act," called for the formation of a "specialized group of American military personnel to deal with difficult tasks that require specific sets of skills and experience." The reasons for this Act was easily recognizable. With the agreement established between Squire Boone and Alexander Hamilton, the new president needed to end the threat that the Free Sioux Nation imposed in the west. Due to the fact that most of the Free Sioux Nation occupied the Spanish Louisiana Territory, President Hamilton recognized that a direct military operation into Sioux held territory would provoke the Spanish. While America was more than capable of fighting Spain in the North American theater, the American government sought to avoid a costly and expansionist war that would drop America's already low standings in Europe. Thus, the United States Special Forces was formed in order to carry out covert operations within the Spanish Louisiana Territory and to surgically strike the Native Americans that fought under the Free Sioux Nation.

The creation of the United States Special Forces was not out of President Hamilton's impulse to root out the Free Sioux Nation. Indeed, the forty-nine-year-old president immediately sent out peace feelers after inhabiting the White House. This was due to his desire to accommodate the Native Americans within the Free Sioux Nation and to establish a permanent peace between the two nations. However, he saw that the previous president (President Madison), failed in this regard and created the United States Special Forces as a necessary fallback plan in case the peace negotiations fell apart. His fears were only reaffirmed when the Free Sioux Nation demanded the entirety of the Wisconsin Territory and the Anikegama Territory in exchange for a ceasefire. This prompted him to deploy the Special Forces in order to swiftly deal with the Free Sioux Nation. His plan was to either force the Free Sioux Nation back to the peace talks, or to push them into the interior of Spanish Louisiana so they no longer posed a threat to the United States. After the USSF achieved success against the Free Sioux Nation, C.E.O #28 became one of Hamilton's greatest military legacy...

Consent Executive Order #29 was a radical proposal to standardize education in the United States and to establish a single, national curriculum. Named the "Education Standardization Act of 1805," it was the first attempt to create a uniform set of subjects taught at federal schools.

The Act would have enacted the following guidelines for all federal primary schools (which hosts students from the ages of ten to eighteen):

"1) Students from the ages of ten to twelve will be considered "Entry Level Students." A ten-year-old student will be 1st grade, an eleven-year-old student will be 2nd grade, and so on. They will be taught how to read and write, basic arithmetic, basic critical thinking, and creativity (arts, music, dance, etc). If a student is young but is able to pass a designated exam given by a federal school, then they will be able to move straight to the "Intermediary Level."

2) Students from the ages of thirteen to fifteen will be considered "Intermediary Level Students." Here, they will receive a more advanced education. Students at this level will learn about general science and science history, world history, geography, basic algebra and geometry, introductory courses on calculus, writing skills, reading skills (students will be expected to read and analyze moderately difficult pieces of literature), and health classes. Depending on the location of the state, foreign languages can be offered as well (or in some cases, local languages). Additionally, students will be able to take "electives" that will allow them to take classes of their own, personal interest (which includes woodworking, metalworking, horse riding, sports, shooting, etc). From this point onward, students will receive a letter grade based on their performance of each of the core subjects (Science, World History, Geography, Mathematics, English, Health, and Languages). Students will be encouraged to think independently and critically, and to discover their attunement in a certain field of study.

3) Students from the ages of fifteen to eighteen will be considered "Advanced Level Students." They will prepare for graduation (which they will receive a certificate verifying that they have graduated from a federal primary school). Additionally, any students that desire to pursue an education degree in a private, public, or federal university will be encouraged. Students will be required to take advanced science (biology, physics, and chemistry), advanced mathematics (including statistics), government and sociology, American history and law, economics, personal finance management, nutrition/cooking, and psychology. Electives and Languages will still be offered. Students will learn extensively about the American republic and learn the various rights and liberties they have as citizens. Additionally, Advanced Level Education will primarily push for students to have greater independence, an advanced perspective of the world, useful knowledge, and the ability to become productive citizens of the United States. Students will receive performance reports as they did in the Intermediary Level, but that will also be used to help determine their future career path and college education. "

Under the Act, teachers would be banned from physically disciplining their students. Instead, alternative punishments would be used to discipline any rule breakers, and teachers would be expected to teach their students sincerely and encourage them to pursue their goals. The Act also proposed a branch under the Department of Research and Education called the "Evaluation Agency" to rank each federal schools and their instructors Additionally, the Act called for an increase to the salary of teachers in order to make teaching an appealing career choice.

In compensation for the "federal overreach," individual states would be allowed to offer their own electives and languages, all teachers would be hired locally, and the state government would have the power to petition for a change in the curriculum should they feel like its unnecessary. Also, each respective state government was to have a member of the state government to keep tabs and oversee the federal primary school in their state.

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Unsurprisingly, this C.E.O failed spectacularly and was only supported by a few select members of each party. Many Congressmen believed that the Act gave far too many concessions to the federal government for far too little in return. Additionally, each state had different priorities and beliefs that would have made the implementation of this Act far too difficult. For example, Frontier University specialized in farming due to the agrarian nature of the region while the University of Quebec focused on medical biology and engineering. And that was just the federal universities. The federal primary schools were different by state and nearly all the states valued their own, independent education system. Also, this was contrary to what Congress desired. Congress desired more schools, not a more standardized school system. With the rapidly growing population of the United States, the demand for schools was spiking. There were numerous bills that were passed to accommodate the growing number of young students in the nation. However, due to complications in acquiring suitable land for the schools, along with the necessary infrastructure in order to support a larger school system, Congress needed to pass a bill to accommodate new students yearly.

Thus, President Hamilton shifted gears and proposed Consent Order #30, the "Hamilton Act." It was the classic stick and carrot approach utilized in politics. The Hamilton Act would allow the states to acquire federal lands to build new schools to keep up with demand. This included all the federal territories owned by the American government out in the west (which would allow even territories to build schools within their borders). The federal government would also pay for all the costs associated with the construction of the schools. In exchange, the Department of Education (which was to be separated from the Department of Research and Education) would establish a very broad set of curriculums (specifically, all students were to be taught English, General Science, History, "Life Skills [which included finances, health, and a few other necessary skills for independent adults], Government and Politics, and General Math). Additionally, the Department of Education would be allowed to assess the schools every three years and submit a report to the federal government for review. Schools that performed poorly would be potentially closed by the federal government or be forced to reform to help improve the school's standards. While it was not entirely satisfactory for some members of Congress, especially those in the opposition (the Democratic Party was very against the Act), the Hamilton Act was passed through both chambers of Congress and made into law on September 5th of 1805 and would pave the road for the explosion of literacy, education, and innovation in the United States...

C.E.O #31 was an entirely different area of interest. The "Criminal Reform and Justice Bill" introduced the idea of "rehabilitation" instead of "incarceration." Additionally, the Bill provided a safeguard against prison guards from exploiting prisoners. Interestingly, President Hamilton provided an extensive study made by the New York state government on the effectiveness of rehabilitation. New York was considered one of the most progressive states in the Union, due to the presence of Samuel Kim (who became increasingly progressive after finishing his two terms in office) and Alexander Hamilton. Indeed, it was the first state to implement a variety of rehabilitation programs and "community service" events for imprisoned criminals. After ten years of experimenting with the new policies, New York saw a significant drop in reoffending criminals and many inmates that were released after their stay in prison found themselves in a much better place to acquire a job and change their standings in society. It is important to note that this study was inherently flawed and utilized by President Hamilton to push through the bill. Not all former inmates were tracked and the ones that succeeded in being "rehabilitated" were exemplified over the ones that didn't. However, the Criminal Reform and Justice Bill was crafted in a manner to only apply these policies to federal inmates and prisons. Thus, Congress was more than willing to accept such a proposal, especially when it was revealed that placing prisoners in prisons longer was more costly than providing basic relief programs. In addition to this, the Bill would also create the first mental institutions to help treat mentally disabled American citizens and open up space where they could seek help and care by specialists. Hamilton's justification for this addition to the bill was that there was a potential for mentally disabled citizens to break laws unknowingly or in times of distress. Thus providing them help and treatment would be the best way to help them recover and becoming contributing members to society...

The Criminal Reform and Justice Bill also provided a new set of standards for the police force across each state. Realizing his mistake from the original "Education Standardization Act of 1805," President Hamilton listed "broad" requirements that were critical to the future of the police. Police officers were now required to have at least three years of training, with the training focusing on law, communications, societal outreach, and combat equally. Any police found breaking the law or abusing their positions of power would be met with the "three-strikes" system. The first offense would result in a month's suspension without pay and a "re-training" course. The second offense would lead to a year's suspension without pay with the officer being permanently placed on the local police watchlist. The last offense would result in immediate termination and a blacklist from all federal agencies. Of course, the charges would need to be proven and thus a separate division under the Department of Internal Affairs (named the "Police Accountability Division" or PAD) would oversee the matters. The bill also emphasized the mission statement of the police, which was to uphold the law and protect American citizens equally. While America did not have major problems with the police at the time, the fourth president recognized the potential for the police to abuse their powers and acted accordingly to ingrain a professional and just mindset into the police force early on. Thus, the police part of the Criminal Reform and Justice Bill would establish a very rigid standard for future generations of police officers...

Finally, C.E.O #32 was an anti-monopoly bill. "The Hamilton Anti-Monopoly Act" was considered a fairly unusual bill during the time period. The bill prohibited anticompetitive agreements and unilateral conduct that monopolized or attempted to monopolize the relevant market. President Hamilton claimed in a public speech that "economic competition and individual innovation [were] two important aspects of the American spirit and to allow several individuals to hold immense economic power [was] not only unreasonable but against everything America [stood] for." During this time, monopolies were incredibly uncommon, as the United States simply lacked the infrastructure or communications network to develop such a trend. However, there were individuals that did hold incredible economic sway, such as Pelissier, who owned most of the steel production and forges in Quebec, or Kim, who owned a vast share of New York's industrial and newspaper sectors. As such, it's not entirely surprising that Hamilton, a man who was the first Secretary of the Treasury and a very progressive-minded individual, saw the threat that monopolies would pose in the future. Congress was split on the issue, but the decisive blow for the bill came when the former first president publicly supported the bill and stated that Hamilton's ideas were "for the future." This immediately resulted in the passage of the bill and the first anti-monopoly laws in the United States were formed before monopolies could even take root. Many historians agree that this was possibly Hamilton's greatest achievement, as it helped increase the competitiveness and drive of the American economy. Especially when the United States overtook Britain in terms of economic production and population, and sailed beyond...

The early victories for Hamilton gave him an enormous confidence boost. Hamilton managed to pass many of the reforms he promised during his race to the White House and was already considered a very productive president. However, the remainders of Hamilton's presidency would not be as easy as the first several years, as the president's attempts to pass equal women's rights, nationalize the railroads (which was just beginning to emerge at the beginning of Hamilton's presidency), acquire the Louisiana Territory, diffuse the growing trade war with Britain, and counter the emergence of the "French Empire" on northern Saint Domingue would all result in failures. Even so, the first several years of the Hamilton presidency proved to be a crucial turning point in American history and the beginning of the "Imperial Presidency" that started with President Hamilton and ended with President Andrew Jackson..."