Public Credit

1. What is “public credit”?  Why is it important that the public credit is good?  What makes it good and what makes it bad?

2. What was the status of the public credit of the United States in 1790?  Why? Hamilton speaks of “embarrassments”; what does he mean?

3. In general terms, what is Hamilton’s plan regarding the public credit?  Who stands to gain, and who to lose from this plan?  Or is it a win-win situation?

4. How, specifically, does Hamilton propose to finance his plan for public credit? 

 Manufactures

1. Near the beginning of the Report, there is a lengthy quotation, starting with “In every country…” and ending with “… and upon better terms.”  What is the point of this passage?  Keep this in mind as you read the rest of the Report, and see if Hamilton addresses all of the issues raised.

2. List and briefly explain the seven arguments which begin on page 980, for why manufacturing is important to a society.

3. Do you think that Hamilton’s arguments in favor of protecting US manufacturing fall under one of Adam Smith’s criteria for protection or not.  See in particular Hamilton’s discussion beginning on page 986.

4. Do Hamilton’s two reports complement or contradict one another.  Can he achieve the goals of both reports?

5. List and briefly explain the eleven different ways to encourage manufacturing. (These begin around page 1008.)  Try to use supply and demand graphs to illustrate some of them.

6. How does Hamilton propose to administer his system?