In addition to sponsoring a national bank, Hamilton's other measures included an assumption of the state war debts by the U.S. government, establishment of a mint and imposition of a federal excise tax.

Among these were:[9] To ensure that the government could meet both the current and future demands of its governmental accounts, an additional source of funding was required, "for interest payments on the assumed state debts would begin to fall due at the end of 1791...those payments would require $788,333 annually, and... an additional $38,291 was needed to cover deficiencies in the funds that had been appropriated for existing commitments.

"[11] To achieve this, Hamilton repeated a suggestion he had made nearly a year before—increase the duty on imported spirits, plus raise the excise tax on domestically distilled whiskey and other liquors.

And with grief and shame, it must be acknowledged that his machine was not without effect; that even in this, the birth of our government, some members were found sordid enough to bend their duty to their interests, and to look after personal rather than public good.

It is well known that during the war the greatest difficulty we encountered was the want of money or means to pay our soldiers who fought, or our farmers, manufacturers, and merchants, who furnished the necessary supplies of food and clothing for them.

After the expedient of paper money had exhausted itself, certificates of debt were given to the individual creditors, with an assurance of payment so soon as the United States should be able.

But the distresses of these people often obliged them to part with these for the half, the fifth, and even a tenth of their value; and speculators had made a trade of cozening them from the holders by the most fraudulent practices, and persuasions that they would never be paid.

Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and James Madison led the opposition, which claimed that the bank was unconstitutional, and that it benefited merchants and investors at the expense of the majority of the population.

Like most of the Southern members of Congress,[13] Jefferson and Madison also opposed a second of the three proposals of Hamilton: establishing an official government Mint.

Furthermore, they contended that the creation of such a bank violated the Constitution, which specifically stated that Congress was to regulate weights and measures and issue coined money (rather than mint and bills of credit).

Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, argued that the bank was an effective means to utilize the authorized powers of the government implied under the law of the Constitution.

Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson argued that the bank violated traditional property laws and that its relevance to constitutionally authorized powers was weak.

While Hamilton's rebuttals were many and varied, chief among them were these two: On February 25, 1791, convinced that the constitution authorized the measure,[16] Washington signed the "bank bill" into law.

On March 19, 1791 Washington appointed three Commissioners for the taking of subscriptions for this new bank: Thomas Willing, David Rittenhouse, and Samuel Howell.

After Hamilton left office in 1795, the new Secretary of the Treasury Oliver Wolcott Jr. informed Congress that, due to the existing state of government finances, more money was needed.

A proposal to have it house the collection of the Philadelphia Civil War Museum was abandoned when funding from the state of Pennsylvania was not forthcoming.