Editing Alexander Hamilton (section)

===Constitution===
{{See also|History of the United States Constitution}}
Hamilton's interpretations of the [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]], which are set forth in ''[[The Federalist Papers]]'', remain highly influential, and continue to be cited in scholarly studies and court decisions.<ref>Susan Welch, John Gruhl and John Comer, ''Understanding American Government'' (2011) p. 70</ref> Although the Constitution was ambiguous as to the exact balance of power between national and state governments, Hamilton consistently took the side of greater federal power at the expense of the states, which placed him at odds with [[Thomas Jefferson]] and other [[Founding Fathers]].<ref>Melvyn R. Durchslag, ''State sovereign immunity: a reference guide to the United States Constitution'' (2002) p xix</ref> Jefferson especially opposed Hamilton's support of a ''de facto'' central bank, which Hamilton believed was permissible under [[United States Congress|Congress]]'s constitutional authority to issue currency, regulate interstate commerce, and do anything else that would be "necessary and proper" to enact the provisions of the Constitution.<ref name="Thomas Frederick Wilson 1992 94">{{cite book |first=Thomas Frederick |last=Wilson |title=The Power "to Coin" Money: The Exercise of Monetary Powers by the Congress |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VIAbb1cKqp4C&pg=PA94 |year=1992 |publisher=M. E. Sharpe |page=94 |isbn=978-0-87332-795-4}}</ref>

Jefferson, however, took a differing view. Parsing text carefully, Jefferson argued that no specific authorization for the establishment of a national bank existed. The controversy between the two was addressed in ''[[McCulloch v. Maryland]]'', which largely adopted Hamilton's view, granting the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]] broad freedom to select the best means to execute its constitutionally enumerated powers and confirmed the doctrine of [[implied powers]].<ref name="Thomas Frederick Wilson 1992 94"/> The [[American Civil War]] and the [[Progressive Era]], Hamilton's defenders argue, demonstrated the sorts of crises and politics that Hamilton's administrative republic sought to avoid.<ref name="Tulis1987">{{cite book |first=Jeffrey |last=Tulis |title=The Rhetorical Presidency |url=https://archive.org/details/rhetoricalpresid0000tuli |url-access=registration |year=1987 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-02295-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/rhetoricalpresid0000tuli/page/31 31]}}</ref>{{how|This is an over-broad contention completely lacking in any context.|date=May 2020}}

Hamilton's policies have proven greatly influential on the development of the [[U.S. government]]. His constitutional interpretation, particularly of the [[Necessary and Proper Clause]], set precedents for federal authority that are still cited by courts and are considered an authority on constitutional interpretation. French diplomat [[Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord]], who spent 1794 in the United States, wrote, "I consider [[Napoleon]], [[Charles James Fox|Fox]], and Hamilton the three greatest men of our epoch, and if I were forced to decide between the three, I would give without hesitation the first place to Hamilton," adding that Hamilton understood the problems of European conservatives trying to adapt to a liberalizing world.<ref>{{cite book |first=Lawrence S. |last=Kaplan |title=Thomas Jefferson: Westward the Course of Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m9AXpiJXw48C&pg=PA284 |year=1998 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=284 |isbn=978-1-4616-4618-1}}</ref>

Both [[John Adams]] and Jefferson, however, viewed Hamilton as unprincipled and dangerously aristocratic. Hamilton's reputation was mostly negative in the [[Jeffersonian democracy]] and [[Jacksonian democracy]] eras. During the Jeffersonian era, Hamilton was criticized as a centralizer, sometimes to the point of accusing him of being a proponent of [[monarchy]].<ref name=chernow397-398>Chernow, [https://archive.org/details/alexanderhamilto00cher/page/n416 pp. 397–398].</ref> Conversely, during the later [[Progressive Era]], such figures as [[Herbert Croly]], [[Henry Cabot Lodge]], and [[Theodore Roosevelt]] praised Hamilton's leadership as a proponent of a strong national government. In the 19th and 20th centuries several [[History of the Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] wrote laudatory biographies on Hamilton prior to entering politics.<ref>Before they became [[United States Senate|senators]], for instance, [[Henry Cabot Lodge]] and [[Arthur H. Vandenberg]] wrote highly favorable biographies of Hamilton.{{cite book |first=Merrill D. |last=Peterson |author-link=Merrill D. Peterson |title=The Jefferson Image in the American Mind |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0QNrZoAgGAsC |year=1960 |pages=114, 278–280 |publisher=University of Virginia Press |isbn=978-0-8139-1851-8}}</ref>

According to [[Princeton University]] historian [[Sean Wilentz]], Hamilton and has been generally viewed favorably among contemporary scholars, who portray him as a visionary architect of a modern liberal capitalist economy and of a dynamic federal government headed by an energetic executive.<ref name=wilentz>{{cite journal |first=Sean |last=Wilentz |title=Book Reviews |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-american-history_2010-09_97_2/page/476 |journal=Journal of American History |date=September 2010 |volume=97 |number=2 |page=476}}</ref> Conversely, these modern scholars favoring Hamilton portray Jefferson and his allies as relatively naïve and  dreamy idealists.<ref name=wilentz/>