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HAMILTON, Alexander, a Delegate from New York; born on the island of Nevis, British West Indies, January 11, 1757; immigrated to the United States in 1772, where he received educational training in the schools of Elizabethtown, N.J., and King’s College (now Columbia University), New York City; entered the Continental Army in New York in 1776 as captain of Artillery; appointed aide-de-camp to General Washington March 1, 1777, and served in that capacity until February 16, 1781; Member of the Continental Congress in 1782, 1783, and 1788; member of the Annapolis Convention of 1786; served in the New York State assembly in 1787; member of the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention in 1787 which adopted the Constitution of the United States; member of the State ratification convention in 1788; studied law; was admitted to the bar and practiced in New York City; Secretary of the Treasury in the Cabinet of President Washington 1789-1795; returned to New York and resumed the practice of law; mortally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr at Weehawken on the Hudson, and died in New York City the following day, July 12, 1804; interment in Trinity Churchyard.
No one was better prepared to defend the Constitution than New Yorker Alexander Hamilton. In 1787-88 he worked with John Jay and James Madison to write series of 85 essays in support of the Constitution. Known as "The Federalist," these remarkable essays proved critical in achieving ratification of the document in New York, as well as the rest of the nation. The essays were published under the pen name Publius. Hamilton himself wrote more than two-thirds of them.
In the first of the essays, Hamilton set the stage for those that would follow, proclaiming that "the vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty." The essays were churned out at a remarkable pace, especially considering the rational, learned, and eloquent defense of the Constitution that Hamilton and co-writers developed. Among the topics covered by Hamilton were "Dangers from Dissensions Between the States," "Defects of the Present Confederation," and the "General Power of Taxation."
Today's scholars consider "The Federalist" classics of political literature. At the time, they proved effective in gaining allies for the Constitution. But perhaps nearly as remarkable as the writing of "The Federalist" feat was, was Hamilton's performance at the New York ratifying convention in Albany.
By the time the convention met in June, 1788, several major states, including New York and Virginia, had not yet ratified. Hamilton and 19 other Federalist delegates faced a seemingly immobile and palpably oppositional group of 47 Anti-Federalists. Hamilton was outnumbered. Without New York, the new government would inevitably split into separate confederacies.
Alexander Hamilton in courtOver the next month, Alexander Hamilton presented the convention with his case for ratification. Day after day, hour after hour, the eloquent attorney spoke, hammering away at the Anti-Federalists' arguments. The ratification of the Constitution by Virginia bolstered his case, but the supreme logic and persuasive abilities of Hamilton proved critical as well. Opposition evaporated, and the Constitution was approved.
Hamilton had helped to save the Constitution. But creating a government on paper and actually operating that government were two different matters. Hamilton had helped to ensure the Constitution's ratification. And now, as Treasury secretary under President George Washington, he would build the economic system that enabled the new nation to survive.
Even before the Revolution began, Hamilton had recognized that the future of America lay in business and industry. And he understood that to develop into an industrial power, America would need a powerful economic system. But during the Revolution and the years that followed, the economy had been a shambles. The Continental Army had been nearly paralyzed by the Continental Congress' inability to collect taxes. The war had been funded largely by the issue of bonds, most of which went unpaid at war's end. And the new government lacked a revenue source to pay these debts -- or to pay for funding defense or other national projects.
In his position on Washington's cabinet, Hamilton worked assiduously to solve these problems. Again, he would have to overcome some skepticism. Taxes had been a major reason for throwing off British rule. But Hamilton understood taxes were a necessary evil. And he developed a plan that would pay off America's debts and set the nation on course for an economically prosperous future.
Hamilton's course of action, delivered to the House of Representatives in his "Report on Credit" of January 14, 1790, was threefold. First, the government should pay off the war bonds it had issued. To fail to do so, he argued, would establish the federal government as a bad debtor. Second, the government should assume the debts of the states. Although many argued that this was another unnecessary expansion of central government, Hamilton realized that to have all states manage their debts was inefficient. Finally, he proposed that the government establish a steady revenue stream by taxation of imported goods.
For months, Hamilton's proposals languished in Congress. The final sticking point was the federal assumption of state debts. Some states had made good on their promise to pay off war debts, but others had not. If the debts of states that had failed to pay were shifted to the federal government, citizens in states that had paid their debts would end up paying twice.
Alexander Hamilton had driven the Constitution through the New York convention with impeccably focused logic. But he would use a bit of old-fashioned horse trading to get his financial plan through Congress. Among the states opposed to assumption of state debts was Virginia. Virginians were also unsettled about the planned location of the federal capital in New York. Hamilton realized he could use this issue as leverage.
Late in June, Hamilton met in private with Virginia Congressman James Madison. A deal was struck: Virginians would support assumption of state debts, and President Washington's administration would support moving the capital to a location on the Potomac River. With the backing of Virginia, Hamilton's proposals were approved.
Hamilton's economic wizardry was not yet finished. Later in 1790 he proposed the creation of a federal bank. When this, too, was approved, his vision was complete. America was on a solid footing and prepared for a prosperous future. In fact, Hamilton had probably saved the economy from ruin.
In a span of just under fourteen years, in his efforts to pass the Constitution and develop a sound monetary policy, Alexander Hamilton had provided invaluable service to his nation. But in this struggle, he had made powerful enemies. Demonized by the republicans as a would-be dictator or a promoter of monarchy, he saw political power slip from his grasp in 1800, when Thomas Jefferson became president and Aaron Burr vice president. Hamilton's decision to accept Burr's challenge was a last despairing attempt to stay in politics. It was an attempt that ended in tragedy.
No one was better prepared to defend the Constitution than New Yorker Alexander Hamilton. In 1787-88 he worked with John Jay and James Madison to write series of 85 essays in support of the Constitution. Known as "The Federalist," these remarkable essays proved critical in achieving ratification of the document in New York, as well as the rest of the nation. The essays were published under the pen name Publius. Hamilton himself wrote more than two-thirds of them.
In the first of the essays, Hamilton set the stage for those that would follow, proclaiming that "the vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty." The essays were churned out at a remarkable pace, especially considering the rational, learned, and eloquent defense of the Constitution that Hamilton and co-writers developed. Among the topics covered by Hamilton were "Dangers from Dissensions Between the States," "Defects of the Present Confederation," and the "General Power of Taxation."
Today's scholars consider "The Federalist" classics of political literature. At the time, they proved effective in gaining allies for the Constitution. But perhaps nearly as remarkable as the writing of "The Federalist" feat was, was Hamilton's performance at the New York ratifying convention in Albany.
By the time the convention met in June, 1788, several major states, including New York and Virginia, had not yet ratified. Hamilton and 19 other Federalist delegates faced a seemingly immobile and palpably oppositional group of 47 Anti-Federalists. Hamilton was outnumbered. Without New York, the new government would inevitably split into separate confederacies.
Alexander Hamilton in courtOver the next month, Alexander Hamilton presented the convention with his case for ratification. Day after day, hour after hour, the eloquent attorney spoke, hammering away at the Anti-Federalists' arguments. The ratification of the Constitution by Virginia bolstered his case, but the supreme logic and persuasive abilities of Hamilton proved critical as well. Opposition evaporated, and the Constitution was approved.
Hamilton had helped to save the Constitution. But creating a government on paper and actually operating that government were two different matters. Hamilton had helped to ensure the Constitution's ratification. And now, as Treasury secretary under President George Washington, he would build the economic system that enabled the new nation to survive.
Even before the Revolution began, Hamilton had recognized that the future of America lay in business and industry. And he understood that to develop into an industrial power, America would need a powerful economic system. But during the Revolution and the years that followed, the economy had been a shambles. The Continental Army had been nearly paralyzed by the Continental Congress' inability to collect taxes. The war had been funded largely by the issue of bonds, most of which went unpaid at war's end. And the new government lacked a revenue source to pay these debts -- or to pay for funding defense or other national projects.
In his position on Washington's cabinet, Hamilton worked assiduously to solve these problems. Again, he would have to overcome some skepticism. Taxes had been a major reason for throwing off British rule. But Hamilton understood taxes were a necessary evil. And he developed a plan that would pay off America's debts and set the nation on course for an economically prosperous future.
Hamilton's course of action, delivered to the House of Representatives in his "Report on Credit" of January 14, 1790, was threefold. First, the government should pay off the war bonds it had issued. To fail to do so, he argued, would establish the federal government as a bad debtor. Second, the government should assume the debts of the states. Although many argued that this was another unnecessary expansion of central government, Hamilton realized that to have all states manage their debts was inefficient. Finally, he proposed that the government establish a steady revenue stream by taxation of imported goods.
For months, Hamilton's proposals languished in Congress. The final sticking point was the federal assumption of state debts. Some states had made good on their promise to pay off war debts, but others had not. If the debts of states that had failed to pay were shifted to the federal government, citizens in states that had paid their debts would end up paying twice.
Alexander Hamilton had driven the Constitution through the New York convention with impeccably focused logic. But he would use a bit of old-fashioned horse trading to get his financial plan through Congress. Among the states opposed to assumption of state debts was Virginia. Virginians were also unsettled about the planned location of the federal capital in New York. Hamilton realized he could use this issue as leverage.
Late in June, Hamilton met in private with Virginia Congressman James Madison. A deal was struck: Virginians would support assumption of state debts, and President Washington's administration would support moving the capital to a location on the Potomac River. With the backing of Virginia, Hamilton's proposals were approved.
Hamilton's economic wizardry was not yet finished. Later in 1790 he proposed the creation of a federal bank. When this, too, was approved, his vision was complete. America was on a solid footing and prepared for a prosperous future. In fact, Hamilton had probably saved the economy from ruin.
In a span of just under fourteen years, in his efforts to pass the Constitution and develop a sound monetary policy, Alexander Hamilton had provided invaluable service to his nation. But in this struggle, he had made powerful enemies. Demonized by the republicans as a would-be dictator or a promoter of monarchy, he saw political power slip from his grasp in 1800, when Thomas Jefferson became president and Aaron Burr vice president. Hamilton's decision to accept Burr's challenge was a last despairing attempt to stay in politics. It was an attempt that ended in tragedy.