Upon assuming office, he first sought to deal with the $83 million national debt. He began eliminating much of Hamilton's Federalist fiscal system with his Secretary of Treasury Albert Gallatin. Jefferson's would first eliminate the whiskey excise and other taxes by getting rid of what he considered useless establishments and expenses. He wished to disassemble the national bank and prevent its increasing national debt, but he was convinced by Gallatin that this was a bad idea. Jefferson decreased much of the Navy, seeing that it unnecessary in peacetime. Instead, he replaced them with smaller, inexpensive gunboats used only for defense from foreign hostilities. After only two terms, he had lowered the national debt from $83 million to $57 …show more content…
After the loss of Fort Sumter, Lincoln that he must take over leadership of the war and prepare a plan defeating the rebellion. Lincoln duties as commander-in-chief were unlike any before him and would the standard for those that follow, taking on unprecedented powers. He increase the war powers of the executive branch; he would use the navy to shut down Confederate shipping ports, allocate defense spending without approval from Congress, and would arrested thousands that were believed to support the Confederate cause. Lincoln was able to do this because he had the full backing of Congress and the north, much like Bush after 9/11. Where Lincoln seemed to have the greatest issue to start with were the Border States where they would need reinforcing, due to the fact that that was where most of the battles would take place. What Lincoln learned early on was that he would need the full support to win the war and that any compromise would anger both sides. When came to slavery for instance, northern democrats wanted him to compromise on slavery while Republicans wanted him to stop delaying the inevitable On August 6, 1861, Lincoln would begin the process by enacting the Confiscation Act that allowed the confiscation and freeing slaves who were used in Confederate war effort. In reality, the law had little effect on slaves or the war but it did signaled the beginning of the end of