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Today, Maurice Joyce and Shep O'Neal continue the story of Alexander Hamilton. As we said in our last program, young Alexander Hamilton wanted to be a military commander. He hoped to demonstrate his bravery by fighting in a war. So, when the thirteen American colonies rebelled against Britain in the seventeen seventies, he joined a militia in New York state. It was not long before Hamilton met the commander-in-chief of American forces, George Washington. General Washington invited Hamilton to become one of his assistants. One of Hamilton's jobs was to get money and supplies for the army. He asked the thirteen state governments. He also asked the Congress, which had little political power at that time. He got almost no help from either. Hamilton felt the American system of government was too weak and disorganized. He did not like democracy, rule by the people. Instead, he liked aristocracy, rule by a rich upper class. Alexander Hamilton was a proud man. He was quick to criticize others. He even criticized George Washington. Once, during the war, he was late to a meeting with the general. Washington protested. Hamilton resigned. Washington was sorry.

He had a high opinion of Hamilton's abilities. That is why he was willing to forget the incident and appoint Hamilton to the new Treasury Department. The job would be difficult. The new nation had to find ways to bring in money and pay what it owed. The new Constitution said the national government was responsible for re-paying the states' wartime loans. One way to get money was to borrow it. But no one wanted to lend money to the United States unless they were sure they would get it back. So, the Congress asked Treasury Secretary Hamilton to write a report about how to build up the government's credit. Hamilton's report said the government must pay back the full amount of all its debts. This caused a dispute. Many of the debts were in the form of government notes. The notes promised to pay someone for supplying food, clothing, and weapons to the rebel army. Some promised to pay soldiers for joining the army. The notes really were worth nothing, however. The wartime Congress had no money. People who got them lost hope of ever getting re-paid. So they sold them to anyone willing to pay even part of the value. Hamilton's plan would repay the full value of the notes to those who owned them last.

This meant the people who first got the notes from the government would receive nothing. And the people who bought them at low cost would receive much more than they paid. Congressman James Madison of Virginia protested. He said the people who bought the notes at low cost should be paid, but not in full. Some of the money, he said, should go to those who got the notes in exchange for supplies or services. Madison made an emotional speech in Congress. He described the situation of former soldiers forced by hunger to sell their government notes for almost nothing. He noted that the Union was established to protect the people against such injustice. Hamilton said the purpose of his plan was greater than simply paying debts. He said it was a way to build up the nation's credit so it could borrow money more easily in the future. Hamilton believed that those who bought the notes had a right to earn money from them. These men took a chance that the worthless notes would be worth something, someday. The government could not deny them their profits. Many members of Congress felt sorry for the poor soldiers and their families. Yet they voted against Madison's proposal and supported Hamilton's plan. Hamilton's plan raised old fears. The agricultural south was sure he was trying to make the industrial north more powerful. Hamilton did not deny this.

His purpose was to strengthen the nation. He believed all areas would be helped if industry and commerce were stronger. Still, to win support for his plan, Hamilton had to make a political deal with several Congressmen. They would support his financial plan. But he had to use his influence to get the capital of the United States moved. At that time, the capital was in the north, in New York City. Two Congressmen from Virginia wanted it in the south near their homes along the Potomac River. Several Congressmen from Pennsylvania agreed. But they said the capital first must be moved to Philadelphia, the biggest city in their state. And it must remain there ten years. Congress accepted this plan by a close vote. President Washington signed it. It was well known that George Washington wanted the capital closer to his Virginia farm, Mount Vernon. Yet, there is no evidence that he ever asked any member of Congress -- or anyone else -- to help get it moved there. Alexander Hamilton's plan to re-pay the nation's debts caused much protest. However, another one of his financial plans caused even more. It was his plan to create a national bank. Hamilton argued that there were central banks in Britain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

He said the banks greatly helped those countries' commerce, industry and agriculture. Hamilton said a central bank in the United States would increase the flow of money throughout the country. It would help the national government negotiate loans and collect taxes. Critics argued that a national bank would give too much power to a few rich men in the north. It would take control of state banks, on which southern farmers and small businessmen depended. It would increase the use of paper money, instead of gold and silver. James Madison led the opposition against Hamilton's plan in Congress. Madison believed the United States should not put all its wealth in one place. So, he proposed a system of many smaller banks in different parts of the country. He also argued that the idea of a central bank was unconstitutional. No one knew more about the American Constitution than James Madison. He was given credit for most of the ideas in it. Everyone respected his explanation of its wording. Madison noted that the Constitution gives Congress a number of powers, which are stated. Congress has no powers beyond this. For example, he said, Congress has the power to borrow money. But it is permitted to borrow money only to re-pay debts, to defend the country, and to provide for the general good of the people. Madison rejected the idea that the right to create a central bank came from the power to provide for the general good of the people.

He said such an idea twisted the meaning and purpose of the Constitution. That, he said, was most dangerous. Madison's argument was powerful. Yet, once again, Hamilton won more Congressional support. He got enough votes to approve his proposal to establish a national bank. Still, President Washington had to sign the bill into law. He worried about the possibility that the bill was not constitutional. So he asked three men for advice: Attorney General Edmund Randolph. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. And Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. Randolph had no firm answer. Jefferson agreed with Madison. Creating a national bank violated the Constitution. Hamilton, of course, disagreed. He said the Constitution gave the government certain powers, and named them. But it included others, without naming them. It did this so the government could put its powers to work and act like a government. Such was the purpose of the Constitution, Hamilton said. These arguments did not completely answer all of President Washington's questions. But he went ahead and signed the bill to establish a national bank in America. Hamilton and Jefferson came to disagree on most issues. Their struggle for power in the new government led to the creation of America's political party system. That will be our story next week.

参考译文

今天，莫里斯·乔伊斯和谢普·奥尼尔继续为您讲述亚历山大·汉密尔顿的故事。正如我们在上一期节目中所说，年轻的亚历山大·汉密尔顿想当一名军事指挥官。他希望通过战争来展现自己的勇敢。因此，当18世纪70年代美国的13个殖民地反抗英国时，他加入了纽约州的一个民兵组织。不久，汉密尔顿会见了美国军队最高指挥官乔治·华盛顿。华盛顿将军邀请汉密尔顿担任他的助手。汉密尔顿的职责之一就是为军队筹集资金和物资。他询问了13个州的政府。他还问了当时几乎没有什么权力的国会。他几乎没有得到任何帮助。汉密尔顿认为，美国的政府体制过于软弱，太没有组织性了。他不喜欢这种由人民统治的民主，相反，他崇尚由富裕阶层统治的贵族政府。亚历山大·汉密尔顿是一个骄傲的人。他经常批评别人。他甚至批评乔治·华盛顿。在战争期间，有一次他和华盛顿将军一起参加一次会议。华盛顿批评了他。汉密尔顿接受了华盛顿的批评。华盛顿表达了抱歉。他高度评价了汉密尔顿的能力。这就是为什么他愿意宽恕这件事任命汉密尔顿为新财政部长的原因。担任财政部长是很困难的。这个新成立的国家必须设法筹集资金，偿还所欠的债务。新宪法规定，国家有责任偿还各州战时的债务。筹钱的一种方法是借。

但是，没有人愿意借钱给美国，除非美国确信能把钱收回。因此，国会要求财政部长汉密尔顿撰写一份关于如何提高政府信用的报告。汉密尔顿在报告中表示，政府必须偿还全部债务，这引起了一场争论。许多债务是以政府票据的形式出现的。这些票据承诺向提供食物、衣服和武器的人支付报酬。有些票据则承诺为参军的士兵支付报酬。然而，这些票据真的一文不值。战时，国会没有钱。得到这些票据的人没指望能够得到偿还。所以他们把票据卖给愿意支付部分钱的任何人。汉密尔顿的计划是要向那些最后持有这些票据的人全额偿还债务，这意味着，第一个从政府拿到票据的人将一无所获。而那些低价购买的人会得到比他们支付的多得多的钱。弗吉尼亚州国会议员詹姆斯·麦迪逊提出抗议，他说，那些以低价购买这些票据的人是应该补偿他们，但不是全部。他说，其中一部分钱应该给予那些用票据来换取物资或服务的人。麦迪逊在国会作了一次激动人心的演讲。他描述了以前的士兵因饥饿而被迫无偿出售政府票据的情况。他指出，合众国的建立是为了保护人民免受这种不公正的待遇。汉密尔顿说，他的计划不仅仅是偿还债务。是为了建立国家信用体系，这样国家在未来就能更容易地借钱。汉密尔顿认为，那些购买纸币的人有权从他们购买的票据中赚钱。

这些人给这些没有什么价值的票据在某一天又有了价值的机会，政府不能剥夺他们的利润。许多国会议员为这些贫穷的士兵和他们的家人表示歉意。然而，他们投票反对麦迪逊的提议，支持汉密尔顿的计划。汉密尔顿的计划引发了由来已久的担忧。南方的农场主确信汉密尔顿是在努力使北方的工业更加强大。汉密尔顿没有否认这一点。他的建议就是加强国家的力量。他认为，如果工商业更加强大的话，那么所有的地区都会因此而受益。然而，为了使计划得以通过，汉密尔顿不得不与几位国会议员达成政治协议。这些国会议员支持他的财政计划。但是他必须利用自己的影响力来迁都。当时，首都在北方的纽约市。来自弗吉尼亚州的两名国会议员希望首都能迁往波多马克河沿岸的家乡附近的南部。几位来自宾夕法尼亚州的国会议员表示同意。但是他们说，首都首先必须迁往他们州最大的城市费城，并且必须在费城十年。国会通过投票接受了这个方案。华盛顿总统签署了该协议。众所周知，乔治·华盛顿希望首都离他在弗吉尼亚的弗农山庄农场更近。然而，没有证据表明他曾要求任何国会议员或任何其他人促成此事。

亚历山大·汉密尔顿重新偿还国家债务的计划引起了广泛的抗议。然而，他的财务计划中的另一项计划却引起了更加激烈的抗议。这一计划就是创建国家银行。汉密尔顿认为，英国、法国、德国和荷兰都有中央银行。他说，这些银行极大地促进了这些国家的商业、工业和农业的发展。汉密尔顿表示，美国成立一个中央银行将加快全国范围内的资金流动。也将有助于国家政府协商贷款和征税。批评人士认为，北方的少数富人将掌握国家银行更大的权力，将控制南方农民和小商人所依赖的各州银行。国家银行将增加对纸币的使用，减少对金银的使用。詹姆斯·麦迪逊领导国会反对汉密尔顿的计划。麦迪逊认为，美国不应该把所有的财富放在一个地方。因此，他提议在全国各地创建一个金融体系，成立许多小银行。他还认为，成立中央银行的想法是违宪的。没有人比詹姆斯·麦迪逊更了解美国宪法。他因宪法中反映了他的绝大部分思想而受到人们的信任，每个人都尊重他对宪法的解释。麦迪逊指出，宪法赋予国会许多权力。国会不具备宪法之外的权力。例如，他说，国会有权借钱。

但是允许为了偿还债务、保卫国家和为人民的共同利益而借钱。麦迪逊拒绝接受这样一种观点，即创建中央银行来源于为人民提供共同利益。他说这样的想法扭曲了宪法的意义和目的，这是最危险的。麦迪逊的论点很有力。然而，汉密尔顿再一次赢得了国会的支持。他得到了足够的选票，他的建立国家银行的提议得到了批准。尽管如此，华盛顿总统还是签署了法案使之成为法律。他担心这项法案可能不符合宪法。于是他向三个人寻求建议：司法部长埃德蒙·伦道夫、国务卿托马斯·杰斐逊，以及财政部长亚历山大·汉密尔顿。伦道夫没有明确的回答。杰斐逊同意麦迪逊的观点。创建国家银行违反了宪法。汉密尔顿当然不同意。他说，宪法明确赋予政府一定的权力。但是包括其他没有明确的权力，正因如此政府能够行使自己的权力。汉密尔顿说，这就是宪法的宗旨。这些论点并没有完全回答华盛顿总统的所有问题。但是他还是签署了在美国创建国家银行的法案。汉密尔顿和杰斐逊在大多数问题上意见不一。他们在新政府中的权力斗争导致了美国政党制度的诞生。这就是我们下周要讲的故事。