Hamilton, Alexander

Hamilton, Alexander (1755–1804), first secretary of the treasury and Federalist party leader.Alexander Hamilton was born out of wedlock on the island of Nevis to Rachael Paucett Lavien and James Hamilton, a Scottish merchant. In 1765 the family moved to St. Croix. Abandoned by James, Rachel apprenticed Alexander to a merchant firm, where he remained after her death in 1768. In 1772, his employer paid Hamilton's way to New York, where he attended King's College (now Columbia University). Opposing British imperial policy, he joined a local militia and in March 1776 was appointed an artillery captain by the New York legislature. With George Washington's forces when the British attacked Long Island, he participated in the retreat across New Jersey late in 1776 and in the successful counterattacks at Trenton and Princeton. In March 1777 he became one of Washington's aides‐de‐camp, an experience that sharpened his criticism of the weak Articles of Confederation government. In March 1780 he married Elizabeth Schuyler, daughter of General Philip Schuyler, a wealthy and prominent New Yorker. They had eight children. Resigning as Washington's aide in 1781 and given command of a battalion at Yorktown, Hamilton fought in the Revolutionary War's final major battle.

Returning to New York, he entered the bar and embarked on a political career. After service in the Continental Congress (1782–1783), he helped establish the Bank of New York (1784) and in 1786 was elected to the state legislature. At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Hamilton unsuccessfully argued for a government modeled on the English system. Writing under the name “Publius,” Hamilton—in collaboration with John Jay and James Madison—published a series of essays urging ratification of the Constitution. Collectively known as the Federalist Papers, they rank as classics of political thought.

As secretary of the treasury in the Washington administration, Hamilton prepared a set of influential reports on the nation's government and economy and how they might be strengthened. In Report for the Support of Public Credit (1790) he proposed that, to secure the credit of the new United States, the federal government should pay all foreign, domestic, and state debts remaining from the Revolutionary War. He also advocated an excise tax to supplement tariff revenues, and the establishment of a mint and a national bank. His Report on Manufactures (1791), written with Tench Coxe, (1755–1824), his assistant secretary, called for the protection and encouragement of nascent industries. Hamilton envisioned a powerful republic in which the national interest would be synonymous with the interests of the most economically successful and energetic citizens.

Most of Hamilton's proposals became law, but they also engendered mounting opposition. Clashes with Thomas Jefferson, Washington's secretary of state, over Hamilton's alleged meddling in foreign policy, and Jefferson's conviction that Hamilton was power‐hungry and corrupt, splintered the administration. The violence of the French Revolution and the outbreak of war between Great Britain and France further polarized American politics. Washington, Hamilton, and their “Federalist” supporters backed neutrality and Jay's Treaty, which resolved outstanding differences with Great Britain; Jefferson, Madison, and a growing “Republican” interest, fearing monarchical plots, supported a more pro‐French policy.

Hamilton resigned as treasury secretary in early 1795. Resuming his New York law practice, he remained immersed in the struggles between Federalists and Republicans. He substantially rewrote Madison's draft of Washington's Farewell Address, worked to assure that the Federalists would retain the presidency, and during John Adams's administration (1797–1801) offered advice to friends in the cabinet.

Personal setbacks and political blunders marked Hamilton's final years. A 1791 affair with Maria Reynolds became a public scandal in 1797. As inspector general of the army in 1798 he proved ineffective. In 1800 he attempted to prevent Adams's reelection by publishing a vitriolic personal attack on him. In 1801, his oldest son, Philip, died in a duel. In 1804, Hamilton attacked Aaron Burr, an old political enemy, when Burr ran for governor of New York. After the election, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. The two met at Weehawken, New Jersey, on 11 July 1804. Burr fatally shot Hamilton, who died the next day.

Despite contemporary suspicions of his motives, Alexander Hamilton played a monumental role in establishing the new nation, including his service as Washington's advisor and confidant, his brilliant collaborative defense of the Constitution in The Federalist, his shaping of the first national financial system, and his leadership of the Federalist party. His political thought, often contrasted with that of Jefferson, continued to influence American political discourse well into the twentieth century.
See also Bank of the United States, First and Second; Business; Conservatism; Croly, Herbert; Early Republic, Era of the; Economic Development; Factory System; Federal Government, Executive Branch: Department of the Treasury; Monetary Policy, Federal; Revolution and Constitution, Era of; Tariffs; Taxation.

Bibliography

Gerald Stourzh , Alexander Hamilton and the Idea of Republican Government, 1970.
Forrest McDonald , Alexander Hamilton: A Biography, 1979.

Paul G.E. Clemens