章 78: Alexander Hamilton and Samuel's Run for the Presidency
New York City, the United States of America
April 1st, 1779
Alexander Hamilton woke up early in the morning and went to work almost immediately after waking up. After his honorable discharge from the Continental Marines, he spent his time passing the bar exam and preparing himself for an elected position, state or federal. Reading about his fate in the other world left him extremely intrigued by politics, and he decided to enter the political arena early on. He knew that due to his age and inexperience, it would be an uphill climb to reach Congress (he knew he was all but guaranteed a spot in the state legislature through his connections), but he was determined to change the future of the nation for the better. And to ensure that he did not meet an early demise as he did in the other history.
That all changed rapidly within a span of a week.
At the end of March, President Washington announced publicly that he was not going to run in the first presidential elections and endorsed Samuel Kim in his stead. His move set off a chain of events that rocked the very foundation of the new nation. The man's endorsement was on the front page of every newspaper, even the New York Times. Hamilton knew that Samuel was still reluctant to nominate himself for the presidency. But he was coming around slowly to the idea and contacted many individuals in planning for the long road ahead. From the public's reaction, it seemed like there was considerable support for Samuel's ascendency into office. From New Englanders who watched as Samuel fought for their colonies to Quebecois that witnessed the man's gentle way of administrating the French-Canadian colony to Southerners, where thousands were either liberated or compensated by him personally. Samuel had no shortage of national acclaim and attention. Added to the fact that some other prominent members of society (such as Jefferson and Franklin) also backed the man's nomination, the Korean-American was surprisingly riding a wave of optimism and positivity. It also helped that he was one of the leading officers that defeated the British at every turn. Some were even calling him the "Iron Commandant" of the Marines, an undefeatable and unshakable man who forged the path for America's independence.
That was where Hamilton came in. To the young man's surprise, he was asked to serve as Secretary of the Treasury if the Asian man was elected president. Maybe it wasn't too surprising, as he did serve as the first Secretary of Treasury in the other history. However, he wasn't like the other "Alexander Hamilton." He had never opened up a bank (he planned to, but it was a work in progress), served as a lawyer in two trials so far (and none of them were as remarkable as some of his cases in the other history), and he was still young. He would turn twenty-five just before next year's inauguration. He still had his educational background and theories, but they were extremely inadequate for the role he was to fill.
Thankfully, he was given documents on some of his works in the other history and had the help of another member of the Watchmen Society, one who was more well-versed in economics than he was. The two were asked to review the documents, look at the other history, and come up with a comprehensive plan for the future of the American economy.
While he waited for his partner to come, Hamilton went through a list of the things his other self did in order to secure revenue for the federal government.
"Whiskey tax... A rebellion right when we're getting started is the last thing we need," Hamilton grumbled, "Sure west Pennsylvania has shrunk a bit, but there are plenty of farmers and frontiersmen in the region. A whiskey tax would irritate, if not enrage people in the west. Especially more so since our nation is bigger... Maybe if the law was modified to prevent the farmers in the western regions from being unfairly treated, I could perhaps pull this off. It would still be a very sensitive issue, but it would certainly help boost finances. Another reason for that "Whiskey Rebellion" was due to the lack of economic and social welfare in the region. Since the frontiers are fairly secured, and the government will be looking westward early, perhaps that could also remedy the problem in itself..."
A knock on Hamilton's door rocked him out of his thoughts. He made his way to the front and opened the door to see Robert Morris, former Pennsylvanian Delegate to Congress, waiting patiently. The man greeted Hamilton with enthusiasm, "It's good to see you again, Alex."
"We saw each other yesterday, Robert."
"Alas, but we have so much work to do!" Morris entered the house and went straight to his usual place at Hamilton's study. His documents and writing materials (many of them which were "future" tools such as ballpoint pens, wooden pencils, and erasers) were already laid out neatly for him to begin work immediately, "Now then, what were you working on while I was on my way here?"
"The Whiskey Tax," Hamilton replied.
Morris let out a groan, "For God's sake, Alex! You've been stuck on the Whiskey Tax for a day now. Haven't we agreed that it won't be necessary for some time?"
"But it would be a good backup, just in case the other items are unsuccessful."
"How much does Congress owe in terms of debt currently?"
"Approximately four million pounds."
"How much did Congress owe in the other history?"
"Twenty-eight million."
"Exactly!" Morris slapped the desk hard, "Our financial situation is very stable compared to the other history. We don't need to worry about paying the troops because they have been paid. We don't owe much foreign debt, our biggest concern is state debts which we can address through other means."
Hamilton nodded at his "mentor" and sighed, "I apologize. Now, let us review then the proposed ways of revenue for the future government."
He pulled out a document and laid it out on his desk. The list wasn't long, but it was detailed, "The first is a land tax. It'll be adjusted based on value and usage in order to prevent farmers and any landowners in the west from rioting in protest. Of course, this will take some time to implement, but if done correctly, it can provide us a good, steady source of revenue without much controversy."
"The second item on the list is an excise tax, specifically on tobacco, cotton, soap, candles, steel, and a few other manufactured goods. The key is to balance out the interests of the north and the south. Especially since the south had been hit hard by the war. The excise tax on tobacco and cotton will be purposely low for the time being, while the north will take the brunt of the excise tax burden."
"The third item on the list is customs duties. Manufactured goods from Britain, sugar, molasses, and a few other things will be targeted in order to prevent Britain from flooding our markets with their own goods in the early days and to get our own economy in order. Thankfully, with the improvement in farming tools and such in the North, I'm sure the customs duties on manufactured goods won't be a huge issue for the southern colonies."
"All in all, these are just proposals and will need to be studied carefully to find the right point of maximum productiveness of each duty and tax. We do also have Samuel's magical gold bag, which will help us prop up the government in the short term. But we shouldn't be reliant on him too much. Even if he is elected as the president, leaving one man in charge of the entire nation's finances will only bring trouble."
Morris patted him on the back, "Excellent! You're just as sharp as your other history's self."
The New Yorker gave a small smile to the businessman, "I had your help and the help of my other self as well. I can't take all the credit for this."
"But you stitched these policies together! You might be young, but you have just as much potential as your other self had. Now then, I have the expenditure proposal given to me by Samuel. Have a look at them yourself and see which ones might be feasible."
A long piece of parchment was handed to Hamilton, who read the list in silence. His eyes grew wider as he went through the list, "I did not expect him to have such a comprehensive agenda already."
"Well, it'll need to go through Congress first. Samuel informed me that he wants to prevent the Executive from having a big say in the annual budget. Said he was going to write an executive order for it and convince Congress to pass it, which I have no doubts they will. But he wanted to know which of them were viable enough to be passed by Congress and asked if you could modify the ones that weren't viable so they would be viable."
"Hmmm," Hamilton twirled the ballpoint pen in his hand, "It seems like he's placed a heavy emphasis on education, which won't be too much of a problem if the nation's income is steady. The idea of national universities throughout the nation, even in regions like the west, will be greatly appealing to many. A "test' of primary education schools in bigger cities won't be a huge problem as well, especially if it's not entirely focused on the north.
"A national military... That was a given. A thirty thousand men Army with the best equipment and officers, along with an officers school in the north and south each. A fifty-ship Navy, with five third-rates, twenty redesigned Continental Frigates, and a number of sloops, brigs, and support ships. A separate number of ships will be set aside to defend the coast and counter smuggling. A ten thousand men Marine Corps, with its own academy in Georgia and a few small boats for the branch's use as well. I will need to run the numbers on this, but it should be possible not immediately but after a few years. Perhaps the military can start out small and then bolster its strength as time goes on. If we set these goals as the goals for the military at the end of Kim's second term, if he is elected to two terms, then they might be feasible."
"A research department to develop new technologies, chemicals, industries, and weapons... That is interesting, though there is no doubt that we will need experts and teachers first before this ever gets off the ground."
"A federal saving that is to be saved yearly, with a portion of the federal budget going towards this saving. It's to be used in times of emergencies or financial crises... It might be useful seeing how much debt the United States accumulated in the other history."
"Improvements to health, city layouts, and sanitation. I'm sure with the information we have now, we can make considerable changes to prevent some of the worst from happening. I'm sure many would agree with this."
"National infrastructure upgrades across the board, certainly a huge plus for those in the frontier, as well as those in the more populated areas."
"An additional national fund to compensate slaves and to purchase any slaves and free them in the US. It'll certainly help former slaves to get back on their feet and also help save slaves from certain doom..."
"There are far too many positives on this list; I'll need to narrow it down to see which ones hold priority," Hamilton stated with a sigh.
"Take your time," Morris replied, "We still have a few months."
"Don't you also have that voyage to China coming up soon?"
Morris grinned, "Ah yes, the Empress of China. It'll be sailing next year. Thankfully, Samuel has provided me with a... hefty amount of silver to trade with the Chinese. Along with this!"
He pulled out a small booklet that looked organized and cleanly printed, "A book to help me with words and phrases in Cantonese and Mandarin. Apparently, the Chinese speak a few different languages within its borders, and the area I'm planning to visit speaks mainly Cantonese. It'll be useful for trade and a good way to show some respect for our future trading partners. I've been asked to represent the United States as best as possible and deliver very agreeable terms to them. Apparently, Samuel wants to visit China in the near future, so I'll be sailing there to lay the groundwork for his visit later on."
"China?" Hamilton asked, "What about Korea?"
"He doesn't want to talk much about Korea, but from what I've managed to learn, it's not a very nice place to visit for foreigners or himself. He did have an interest in buying and freeing Korean slaves and bringing them back to the US to set up a community here, but he says he's still considering it..."
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