Alexander Hamilton and the Development of American Law
Publication Year: 2017
Published by: University Press of Kansas
Cover
Acknowledgments
There are so many whom I would like to gratefully acknowledge and thank
for their help and support, including the following people, institutions, and
four-legged creatures:
The University of Virginia has an excellent history department and law
school, with professors who are tremendous advocates...
Introduction: Alexander Hamilton, Lawyer and Lawmaker
Alexander Hamilton never handed down decisions from a Supreme Court bench, nor did he write influential treatises on law. Yet he became the central figure in the development of American law during the early republic era. Hamilton’s authority over the formation of a republican jurisprudence...
1. Creating the Federal Magistracy: Discretionary Power and the Energetic Executive
In the annals of American political science, Alexander Hamilton is often remembered for his prescription for a strong federal executive power: an administration replete with the necessary “ingredients” of “energy,” including unity, duration, adequate support, and competent powers.1 Although his...
2. Administrative Accommodation in the Federal Magistracy
Hamilton had a singular influence on the articulation and subsequent development of the executive’s prerogative powers, the first component of the federal magistracy. But the second part—a close, symbiotic relationship between the executive and the judiciary—was established by a more collaborative...
3. Creating the “Commercial Republic”: Neutrality and Law in the American Courts
The Washington administration’s 1793 decision to remain neutral during the French Revolutionary wars, followed by the federal government’s maintenance of this neutrality policy for almost two decades afterward, was the most important event to influence the development of American commercial...
4. Developing the Jurisprudence of Federalism: Hamilton’s Defense of Federal Fiscal Powers
During the particularly fraught summer of 1791—that season in which speculation in Bank of the United States scrip brought the young republic’s first financial panic to Philadelphia—treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton received an alarming piece of news from Boston. William Lowder...
5. “A Most Valuable Auxiliary”: Securing Foreign Capital with the Law of the Land
Alexander Hamilton often emphasized trade, banking, and manufacturing interests when he spoke of his commercial vision for the young republic, but he, like Washington and Jefferson, was also interested in maximizing the productive uses of American land and natural resources. For example...
6. Litigation, Liberty, and the Law: Hamilton’s Common Law Rights Strategy
Over the past five chapters, I have demonstrated how Alexander Hamilton created substantive American jurisprudence, influenced and guided by principles of English law. Hamilton used the law as an instrument to achieve his preferred statecraft, and by defining his policies through law, Hamilton legitimized...
Conclusion: The Federalist
Alexander Hamilton’s influence permeates American constitutionalism, beginning with the first part of his lasting, legal legacy: his dedicated use of inherited and selectively applied English legal tools to create a strong executive and an authoritative federal judiciary fit for a constitutional republic...
Back Cover
E-ISBN-13: 9780700624812
Print-ISBN-13: 9780700624805
Page Count: 328
Publication Year: 2017
OCLC Number: 999648771
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