Protecting the Frontiers: Defense Policy and the Tariff Question in the First Washington Administration

Abstract

O_ N December 5, I79I, Alexander Hamilton presented his Report on Manufactures to the House of Representatives. Three months later a bill for the implementation of certain aspects of this important proposal began a troubled journey through Congress. The result was the Tariff of I792, another in the string of legislative successes that marked Hamilton's career as secretary of the Treasury. is surprising that the political contest over the enactment of this tariff has never been detailed, for the Federalist period has long been an attractive area of historical investigation. Moreover, the victory did not come easily. The struggle of Hamilton and his congressional supporters with the emerging opposition led by James Madison was so bitter that by the time Congress adjourned in May I792 Hamilton was in an extremely agitated mental and emotional state. In a long and revealing letter to Virginia's Edward Carrington he explained that for some time, in spite of differences that had developed between them, he had been unwilling to believe that Madison was really his political enemy. It was not till the last session, he wrote, that certain events had forced 'him to the reluctant conclusion that Madison, together with Thomas Jefferson, headed a faction that was decidedly hostile to me and my administration.1 According to Hamilton, two events proved decisive in convincing him of the enmity of the Virginians. Of secondary importance were some