Alexander Hamilton was originally chosen to be president George Washington's Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton set out to correct the economic problems that had caused the Articles of Confederation to fail. He wanted to shape the financial policies under Washington to favor the wealthier groups. These groups, he believed, would lend the government economic and moral support. The new central government would flourish, the class of landowners would increase, and prosperity would trickle down to the masses. Hamilton went about achieving these goals in a number of ways and greatly promoted economic growth of the United States.
             Hamilton's first goal was to boost the national credit. Without public confidence in the government, Hamilton could not secure the funds he needed to float his risky schemes. Therefore, he asked Congress to fund the entire national debt at par and to assume the debts of the states that had been acquired during the recent war. The federal government would pay off it's debts at face value plus accumulated interest. This came to be over $54 million leading many people to believe that the Treasury was incapable of meeting those obligations and government bonds had decreased to ten or fifteen cents per dollar. When Congress was asked by Hamilton to assume the debts of the states which totaled around $21.5 million, Hamilton had to present a convincing case. He said the state's debts could be considered as a proper national obligation because they had been brought about by the war for independence. More importantly, Hamilton believed that the assumption of the debts would chain the states more closely to a "federal chariot." Therefore, Hamilton would shift the attachment of wealthy creditors from the states to the federal government. The support of the rich would in turn strengthen the national government.
             Customs duties derived from a tariff was Hamilton's second policy that he
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