汉密尔顿针对詹姆斯·麦迪逊和托马斯·杰斐逊的观点争锋相对地指出，各州在独立战争期间所积累的债务应该被认为是联邦债务。
Hamilton argued – against James Madison and Thomas Jefferson – that the debts accumulated by the states during the War of Independence should be assumed by the federation.