American System

A system of political enterprise was first proposed publicly by Alexander Hamilton for America,  he based his concept upon the English Monarchy system of favor and profit by central authority and monopoly. His concept was rejected by most founders save the tight-fisted yankee mercantilists, industrialists, bankers and lawyers who recognized the profit potential. He and his associates desired a central government of all encompassing power from which to purchase commercial and political favor. An interesting historical note is that he (Hamilton) was more than likely a paid agent of the Rothschild London Banking interest since he relentlessly lobbied, then succeeded in starting the First Bank of the United States in 1791 while Secretary of the Treasury. He was also a close associate of Jacob Franks of New York. Jacob was the American agent for his father Moses Franks of London who was owner of Franks Army Purveyors Syndicate (contracted arms merchants and suppliers to the British Army in North America) and an intimate of the London Rothschild banking family. Also in that circle was Jacob Franks’ son, David Franks of Philadelphia, who had no small hand in the ruination of Benedict Arnold. Alexander Hamilton’s ambition passed to Henry Clay who passed the Whig American System to Abraham Lincoln and the newly formed Republican Party. Perhaps the best description of the American System was penned by Edgar Lee Masters in his 1931 book Lincoln: The Man. On pages 26 and 27 we find, “On the other hand Clay (follower of Hamilton and idol of Lincoln) was the champion of that political system which doles favors to the strong in order to win and to keep their adherence to the government. His system offered shelter to devious schemes and corrupt enterprises…He was the beloved son of Alexander Hamilton with his corrupt funding schemes, his superstitions concerning the advantage of a public debt, and a people taxed to make profits for enterprises that cannot stand alone. His example and his doctrines led to the creation of a party that had no platform to announce, because its principles were plunder and nothing else, and which chose as its candidates nonentities…” The American System as proposed by Hamilton was by its very nature devoid of virtue and based solely upon greed and expediency. This is evidenced by the fact that as the first Secretary of the Treasury he advocated assumption by the Federal government of the individual States war bonds that were issued to Revolutionary War veterans for their war service in lieu of pay. However, before news could reach the countryside his cronies and agents busied themselves buying up the bonds from the veterans for pennies on the dollar, making many of those in his New York circle millionaires. Thus, when the bonds were subsequently bought by the Federal government few veterans received their just payment for their service. This is why and how elected officials leave “public service” wealthier than when they entered; as individuals lacking virtue they are drawn to the promise of power and wealth provided by the inside-trading that has infected the halls of government under the laws and code of the American System. Virtuous individuals seldom succeed in that environment as they are seldom included in committee deliberations and lobbying deals that include how a particular pie will be divided. Since honest elected public servants don’t “play ball” they are often looked down upon or ridiculed as old fashioned or extreme and thus tarred and feathered with negative labels.