As Secretary of the newly-established Treasury Department, Hamilton sought to reorganize and standardize the procedures of U.S. Customs Houses. A year earlier, the First Congress had passed an act that brought the collection of tariffs and duties under the control of the federal government as outlined in the new U.S. Constitution.
For the efficient collection of customs duties, Hamilton sought to create a uniform system out of the 13 state agencies the federal government took over. Administration under the new U.S. Constitution was markedly different from that under the Articles of Confederation, and this was most apparent in financial matters. Where the old government was notoriously powerless to raise money, Treasury Secretary Hamilton proposed and pushed through a plan that would solidify the credit rating of the Unites States.
Read this letter, written 222 years ago today . . .
Rich in History 