Schemes of Ambition

Traditionally, the framing and adoption of the Constitution have been interpreted as an attempt by the social and economic elite to halt the democratization of American political life. In contrast, recent scholarship on the Constitution have argued that the rationale behind constitutional reform was the need to create a central government that could address political problems arising from inter-state and international relationships. An important aspect of this reform was the centralization of fiscal and financial powers that would allow the federal government to act vigorously on the international arena in defence of American interests.