AND THE FEDERALIST PARTY 125 



alist forces was Melanchthon Smith, an extremely able 

 debater, no mean antagonist even for Hamilton. He 

 must have been a man of rare candour, too, for after 

 weeks of debate he owned himself convinced. The 

 Clintonian ranks were thus fatally broken, and the 

 decisive vote showed a narrow majority of three in 

 favour of the Constitution. Seldom, indeed, has the 

 human tongue won such a victory. It was the Water- 

 loo of Anti-federalism. In the festivities that followed 

 in the city of New York, when the emblematic federal 

 ship the ship of state was drawn through the 

 streets, it was with entire justice that the name of 

 Hamilton was emblazoned upon her side. 



A new chapter was now to begin in Hamilton's 

 career. President Washington, in endeavouring to 

 represent in his cabinet the nation rather than a party, 

 selected Jefferson as his Secretary of State and Ham- 

 ilton as his Secretary of the Treasury. Nothing but 

 strife could come out of such relations between two 

 such powerful and antagonistic natures. The dissen- 

 sions between the two leaders and the great division 

 between American parties arose gradually but rapidly, 

 as Hamilton's bold, aggressive financial policy declared 

 itself. It was a time when bold measures were needed. 

 At home and abroad American credit was dead, be- 

 cause the Continental Congress had no power to tax 

 the people and therefore could get no money to pay 

 its debts. Now, under the new Constitution the House 

 of Representatives could tax the people, and the 

 problem for Hamilton was to suggest the best means 

 of using this new, unfamiliar, and unpopular power, so 

 as to obtain a steady revenue from the very start with- 

 out arousing too much hostility. A preliminary part 



