Taxation with Representation.

In 1789 the first secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton, understood the importance of establishing a solid financial basis for the new republic. In order to achieve that goal Hamilton needed to find a way to relieve the heavy burden of debt that plagued many of the states. Hamilton's overall plan included the assumption of state debts by the federal government. This was no small matter because it implied a new, greater role for the federal government. Hamilton's plan to raise funds necessary to pay the debt included a small excise or internal tax on liquor. In 1791 Congress authorized this excise on whiskey. Despite the fact that the excise marked an important assertion of federal power, support for the excise was generally bipartisan: the senators representing North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia supported it. James Madison, who had opposed Hamilton's debt...