The First Keynesian - Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton was the first Keynesian, although he lived a couple hundred years before Lord Keynes.  In 1790, he promoted redeeming government debt at full-face value to the current holders, who had paid as little as 10% of the value to the original holders, who were usually soldiers who had been given the notes in exchange for the service.

Representative James Madison vigorously led the opposition to Hamilton’s “redemption”, though he fully supported the development of good credit. In his address to the House on February 11, 1790, he characterized Secretary Hamilton’s “redemption” as a formula to defraud “battle-worn veterans of the war for independence”  and a handout to well-to-do speculators, mostly rich northerners, including some members of Congress. Madison’s “discrimination” promised to correct these abuses in the names of financial rectitude and natural justice. --wikipedia

Why did Hamilton want to do this?  To promote confidence in the public debt to and promote crony capitalism (my words), err, to strengthen commercial investment by concentrating capital into fewer hands and to give wealthy, influential investors a stake in the national government.  Also to make debt "answer most of the purpose of money".

He was the father of centralized government.  Of course the federal government was a vast improvement over the Articles of Confederation, but he made it this omnipotent entity in a financial sense.  I don't know his position on the gold standard, but he wanted debt-backed money to be equivalent to hard currency.

That is why he will survive on the ten dollar bill and Andrew Jackson will be banished into the Hall of Shame of racist, white supremacists.

See also In Hamilton's Debt by Paul Krugman.  Krugman adores Hamilton and uses the occasion to argue for MOAR DEBT and to damn the fiscal scolds.  "it would be better for almost everyone, the story goes, if governments were to issue more debt, investing the proceeds in much-needed infrastructure even while providing the private sector with the collateral it needs to function. And it’s a very persuasive story to just about everyone [except the global warming/debt "deniers"] who has looked hard at the evidence."