Editing Alexander Hamilton (section)

===Revenue Cutter Service===
{{main|United States Revenue Cutter Service}}
[[File:USRC Massachusetts (1791).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A 19th-century portrait of a Revenue Marine cutter, which may be of either the [[USRC Massachusetts (1791)|USRC ''Massachusetts'']] or its replacement, the ''Massachusetts II'']]

Smuggling off American coasts was an issue before the Revolutionary War, and after the Revolution it was more problematic. Along with smuggling, lack of shipping control, pirating, and a revenue imbalance were also major problems.<ref name=Gibowicz07>Gibowicz, p. 256.</ref> In response, Hamilton proposed to Congress to enact a naval police force called [[Revenue Cutter Service|revenue cutters]] in order to patrol the waters and assist the custom collectors with confiscating contraband.<ref name=chernow340>Chernow, [https://archive.org/details/alexanderhamilto00cher/page/n359 p. 340].</ref> This idea was also proposed to assist in tariff controlling, boosting the American economy, and promote the merchant marine.<ref name=Gibowicz07/> It is thought that his experience obtained during his apprenticeship with Nicholas Kruger was influential in his decision-making.<ref name=chernow32>Chernow, [https://archive.org/details/alexanderhamilto00cher/page/n47 p. 32].</ref>

Concerning some of the details of the System of Cutters,<ref>Gibowicz, pp. 256–257.</ref> Hamilton wanted the first ten [[Cutter (boat)|cutters]] in different areas in the United States, from New England to Georgia.<ref name=chernow340/><ref>Storbridge, p. 2.</ref> Each of those cutters was to be armed with ten muskets and bayonets, twenty pistols, two chisels, one broad-ax and two lanterns. The fabric of the sails was to be domestically manufactured;<ref name=chernow340/> and provisions were made for the employees' food supply and etiquette when boarding ships.<ref name=chernow340/> Congress established the Revenue Cutter Service on August 4, 1790, which is viewed as the birth of the [[United States Coast Guard]].<ref name=Gibowicz07/>