Explaining the Hamiltonian Split from Anti-Standing Army Sentiment
When viewed through a narrow lens, Hamilton’s defense of the army clause comes across as dismissive of tradition and even reminiscent of Caesar, according to some of his contemporaries.[33] However, when examined from the broader scope of Hamilton’s plan for an ideal America, his nationalist rhetoric becomes justifiable. Far from being one of the “crafty and aspiring despots,” Hamilton distinguished himself as a nationalist who desired to rebalance the distribution of power between state governments and the proposed national government.[34] While Madison and other Federalists sought to convince others of the viability of a “compound republic,” Hamilton sought to introduce his view of the nation-state to a historically sectionalized country.[35]His iconoclastic plan intended to strengthen national unity by deemphasizing America’s federalist past and instilling legitimacy in the national government.
To fully appreciate Hamilton’s plan it is essential to understand what he believed to be endangering the nation. Entering into the ratification debates, Hamilton understood there to be two types of threats facing the U.S., both of which would be exacerbated if not for the army clause. The first threat, foreign powers testing the strength of an underdeveloped and largely unprotected U.S., was largely shared by Anti-Federalists and Federalists alike.[36] The second threat was, as Richard H. Kohn describes it, a conglomerate of “centrifugal forces inherent in a weak central government.”[37] To Hamilton and his select group of likeminded peers, these forces were fueled by the federal system formally established under the Articles. States took advantage of the amount of influence they could exercise, expanded their authority to be the “immediate and visible guardian of life and property,” and consequently attracted the “popular obedience and attachment” of their respective residents.[38] This was problematic for multiple reasons. Should the states become too powerful and removed from the national government, they could secede, weaken the union, and potentially promote the creation of a precarious, European-like balance of power in America. Additionally, the weakening of the union could allow for the organization of rowdy, dangerous mobs with little fear of repercussion or resistance from the central government. These two threats of foreign encroachment and civil division or usurpation helped persuade Hamilton that the army clause could be an effective tool within his envisioned national government.