“So the federalists were ‘conservative’ “.
The Federalists were more conservative than any politician today — by definition of the word “conservative”.
“Like Hamilton who wanted a king?”
Hamilton’s most considered, and most important, opinions are found in the Federalist Papers.
In them he defines the term “original intent” of our Founders Constitution.
You might remember that Hamilton was one of Washington’s loyal officers, and was long accustomed to speaking for Washington.
Together with Madison and a few others, they were the most important of our Constitution’s Founders.
Hamilton was a loyal, competent officer. He was also a far more honest man than Federalists such as John Marshall. Nevertheless, his views always tended in the end toward the leviathan state, even if that was not what he hoped for. His advocacy of central banking and national debt is just one of his unfortunate legacies. As for the Federalist Papers, they were a sales and marketing tool for a more powerful federal government, and he could only push what was on offer in the Constitution, and that wasn’t a monarchy.
Madison would not agree that he, Hamilton, etc. were the most important “Founders”. Madison rightly said that the true founders were the men who met in each state to ratify the Constitution on behalf of the state. He is absolutely right about that. I would also suggest that Sam Adams and his generation were more important to the founding than Madison or Hamilton.