Hamilton’s Concept of a Unified America
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have been converted into little more than provinces directed by a central
government.
Even if most Americans had been willing to accept such a centralized
political structure—and they clearly were not willing in 1787 to do so—
its operation would have been difficult. The United States encompassed
an immense area and was growing rapidly westward. Communication
among the States and even within the States was still chiefly by ship or
boat. There was no body of civil servants to carry on the administration
of a central government. That the Virginia Plan was even seriously considered by the delegates at Philadelphia was made possible only by the
high reputation of George Washington, who was known to favor the
Plan, and by the skillful management of James Madison.
Thus, the leading men of Virginia in 1787 were the most vigorous advocates of political centralization. By contrast, only twelve years later,
the State of Virginia adopted the famous Virginia Resolutions protesting Federal usurpations of State powers under the Alien and Sedition
Acts. And it was principally James Madison who wrote both the resolutions of the Virginia Plan in 1787 and the Virginia Resolutions of 1798. In
1787, however, it seemed as though Virginia would dominate national
policies. The Virginia delegation to the Convention, except for George
Mason, envisioned a powerful central government in which Virginia
would play a dominant role.
Two weeks passed before opponents of the Virginia Plan were ready
to offer an alternative design. Meanwhile, discussion of the Virginia Plan
as the basis for a new constitution advanced. On June 15, William Paterson proposed the New Jersey Plan. He was supported by his own delegation and by the delegations from Connecticut, New York, and Delaware, and by one or two delegates from Maryland. Before debate on the
alternative New Jersey Plan could commence, however, the young delegate from New York, Alexander Hamilton, proposed a third plan for a
new governmental system.
Hamilton’s Concept of a Unified America
For Hamilton, neither the New Jersey Plan nor the Virginia Plan went far
enough. He made it clear that he desired for the United States a completely centralized government resembling that of England, one able to