Description

What George Washington called the “Great Experiment” has grown into the world’s largest economy. But when the 1st Congress convened in 1789 this was not the case. The biggest problem the newly formed government faced was the debt incurred while fighting the War for Independence. The delegates had no idea how to address the problem. They asked Alexander Hamilton as the Secretary of the Treasury to write a report that would detail how to manage the national debt. In 1790 he presented the “Report on Public Credit”; the following year he made his “Report on Manufactures”. These reports describe the capitalist foundation of the United States – the country’s most distinctive characteristic. This economic foundation has helped to create an entrepreneurial spirit of risk taking and innovation unmatched in the world.