Which of the following was not one of the ways that Alexander Hamilton planned to pay off America’s debt?

Which of the following was not one of the ways that Alexander Hamilton planned to pay off America’s debt?

a. Negotiating reduced debt settlements with parties to whom America owed money
b. Selling government bonds
c. Imposing tariffs on imported goods
d. Charging sales tax on whiskey
e. Subsidizing American manufacturers

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Disclaimer: This question is just for testing your knowledge of AP US History… it is not intended to be a “sample question” from the AP US History Exam! That’s what APUSH practice tests are for.

a. Negotiating reduced debt settlements with parties to whom America owed money

So… umm we owe you a lot of money. Can we just pay you less and call it even? Yeah… that never happened. Reduced settlements may be a popular tactic of collection agencies today, but they weren’t really a thing in late 18th century America.

Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures, however, was a thing, and Congress liked most of it but dumped the part that called for subsidizing American industry. Still, that subsidy was part of his plan even though it wasn’t immediately adopted.

Don’t forget that Hamilton’s plan also ticked off the grain farmers because the whiskey tax would make their lives even harder than they already were. A whole lot of angry farmers got together and staged the Whiskey Rebellion, but George Washington was having none of it and responded with a militia force that was 13,000 strong. The farmers took off before the militia arrived and, in the process, they learned an important lesson: don’t mess with the federal government.

If a summer festival ever gets raided by the feds, it’ll definitely be this one