Has Europe’s Hamilton moment arrived? On June 19, 2018, the Meseberg declaration featured a proposal by France and Germany to establish a Eurozone budget in that spirit, starting in 2021. However, Europe remains far from any political agreement on the assumption of common debt and tax-raising capabilities, which were the defining characteristics of the role of the federal government in US economic history. Besides, economic stabilisation was not the preoccupation of the American founding fathers. Instead, military expenditures played a dominant role in the growth of the US federal budget in the early 19th century. In essence, the federal budget was there to pay for wars and the protection of borders in order to consolidate the very existence of a new political entity. Can lessons be drawn for Europe today?