On December 5th, 1791, Alexander Hamilton, then the first U.S. Secretary
of the Treasury, delivered to the House of Representatives a speech on
the state of the economy of the young nation, and the best ways to
promote it. This sixth edition, published in 1827, features two prefaces
that place in context this groundbreaking treatise. Quite literally a
foundational document of the United States, Hamilton's philosophy
heartily endorses industrial subsidies and trade tariffs and embraces
immigration and new technology. It established the underpinnings of the
American economy for a century, and more. A towering figure of
18th-century history, American Founding Father ALEXANDER HAMILTON
(1755-1804) was one of the new nation's first constitutional lawyers. As
one of the authors of the Federalist Papers, which interprets the intent
of the United States Constitution, his legal writings continue to be
consulted and even revered today.