Alexander Hamilton, was born January 11, in either 1755 or 1757, the exact date isn’t precisely known. The British West Indies was where he called his first home, as a child, and his mother, until she fell ill and died in 1768 at the age of thirty-eight, raised him. His first job, as a clerk in a mercantile in St. Croix at the young age of eleven, introduced him to global trade, including slave trade, and learned the importance of money as well. When he was sixteen, he left for New York in search of a better life; not by choice. He attended King's College, now Columbia University, but, despite his interest in global economics, showed more interest towards politics than academics. Before he could graduate, he left to join the Patriots and their …show more content…
Their mission was simple, fix the Articles of Confederation. At this point, the Articles were fragile and couldn't support the Union any longer. At this meeting of delegates, he made clear his feelings about developing a new, sturdier government. Hamilton, while not necessarily having a major role in the actual drafting and finalization of writing the Constitution, he did powerfully influence of its ratification. However, he didn't accomplish this task alone; he was assisted by John Jay and James Madison. Together, they wrote a collection of eighty-five essays in defense and support of a new Constitution. Hamilton is credited with 51 essays, 29 to James Madison, and 5 to John Jay. This collection, known early as The Federalist, later became known as The Federalist Papers, and we still refer to them as such, today. The Federalist Papers were posted in local newspapers on September 17, 1787, until August 16, 1788. Their efforts proved rather useful and influential in the state of New York. It was New York, who once convinced, agreed to ratify the Constitution. The remaining eight colonies then followed quickly behind to show their support for the …show more content…
Though, a compromise between Madison and Hamilton eased citizens’ minds when, on June 20, 1790, Hamilton agreed to establish the nation’s capital near the Potomac. In return, Madison stopped stalling Congress, particularly the Virginia representatives, from deciding on policies that help promoted a central government with more power instead of states' individual rights. Hamilton stepped down from his position as Secretary of the Treasury in 1795, leaving behind a strong economic system to support the new federal
Not only did their differences in the way Jefferson and Hamilton were brought up differ, especially their ideas and views on government and the Constitution. Jefferson, our first Secretary of State had differing ideas on government that Hamilton. Jefferson said about the Constitution, “…I like the organization of the government into Legislative, Judiciary, and Executive…” This quote states that he favors a more viewpoint in which he favored a small government and states’ rights. Today, he would have been part of the Republican Party. He also believed that the Majority should always be victorious, and that the nation should stick to an agricultural lifestyle. Since he favored the Constitution and wrote a majority of it, there were things that upset him when he was
Hamilton married a young lady by the name of Elizabeth Schuyler; she was the daughter of a general. This put Alexander Hamilton in the middle of New York’s politics. In 1782, Hamilton was elected to the Continental Congress. As Alexander Hamilton’s political career began to get under way, things seem to be going as planned. He played a major role in the constitution. He was one of America's first Constitutional lawyers, and wrote most of the Federalist Papers, a primary source for Constitutional interpretation. He was perhaps the best lawyer in America at the time of his death and his views were remarkably consistent and coherent. He also had a clear vision of the new nation and believed that it could learn much from British economic policy and governmental practice.
George Washington had recognized Hamilton’s leadership abilities and promoted him as Lieutenant Colonel. He was also an innovator of military design, where he designed reports on the defects and how there could be improvement in the military. While Hamilton was working as an adviser for Washington, Hamilton had come to realize the Congress' weaknesses, including jealousy between states, which he believed came from the Articles of Confederation (http://www.ushistory.org/). In 1782, Hamilton was convinced that establishing a strong central government was the key to achieving America’s independence.
Alexander Hamilton was born in Charlestown, the capital of Nevis in the British West Indies. There are disputes regarding his actual birth date. In the probate court papers from St. Croix, when his mother died, Hamilton was only 13 years old. This indicates 1755 as the year of his birth. However, throughout his life, Hamilton identified 1757 as his birth year. His early education consisted of
During the Revolutionary War, he served as General Washington’s right hand man, writing Congress for supplies and convincing more people to help with the war effort. At the time he was only twenty-two. After the war he went back to New York and practiced law, quickly rising in status and influence. As it was decided that this country could not be sustained under the Articles of Confederation, the Continental Congress was formed, to which Hamilton was elected the New York junior delegate. “In 1786 he played the leading role in the convention at Annapolis, which prepared the way for the great Constitutional Convention that met at Philadelphia in 1787” (Rodger). His ideas and words were powerful among the framers of the Constitution. Even after the Constitution was written people were not sure if this document truly created the government they wanted. Without Hamilton’s brilliant turn of phrase, the US Constitution as we know it may never have been ratified. Hamilton led James Madison and John Jay in writing the Federalist papers defending the document to the public, writing fifty-one of the eighty-five essays himself. “He [was also] leader of the Federalist Party until his death,” a party that was created to form the style of government that still rules this country today; a system
The Articles of Confederation had a weak central government. Alexander Hamilton believed that the more powerful state governments would take over. In Federalist Paper 16, he states that the death of the confederacy would be the result of the lack of a large national defense. Hamilton says the government should have control over the individual as well as the states so that the government can protect the “hopes and fears” of the individuals. Government is important to the unity of its country, and Hamilton claims that no government can always avoid or control those who will be disorderly, but it would be “vain to hope to guard against events too mighty for human foresight or precaution, and it would be idle to object to a government because it
A meeting, called the Continental Congress, took place where representatives from each state would discuss how they could improve it. Hamilton was one of the three representatives from New York, but he was the only Federalist of the three, which means he was the only one that was in favor of a strong national government. Eventually, the Continental Congress agreed on the Constitution. It would take more work than that though. After the Constitution was agreed upon by the Continental Congress, it had to get ratified by each state, and New York would be one of the hardest to get the Constitution ratified in. Hamilton, knowing that it was going to be hard, took a stand alongside James Madison and John Jay, and the wrote a series of essay entitled The Federalist, defended the new U.S. Constitution. The three of them combined wrote a total of eighty five essays, of which Hamilton himself wrote fifty one. The essays convinced the people of New York City of how important it would be, but upstate farmers were holding out. It wasn’t until New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution and thus make it law, that New York realized that holding out wouldn’t benefit them and accepted the new Constitution, on the condition that there would be a list of amendments that we now call The Bill of
Hamilton expressed dissatisfaction with both of the plans brought forward to the convention. The Virginia plan, which was a proposal to completely abandon the Articles of Confederation, and replace it with a bicameral national legislature, an executive branch selected by the legislature, a judiciary, and a council of revision with the power veto, and the New Jersey plan, which suggested to keep the Articles of Confederation, but revise it to give Congress the power to tax, regulate commerce, and choose plural executive and members of a supreme court. Hamilton felt both these plans lacked a strong central government. He was specifically displeased with the New Jersey plan “being fully convinced” Madison writes “that no amendment of the Confederation, leaving the States in possession of their Sovereignty could possibly answer the purpose.” pg 18-19. He feared that either of these plans would leave the newly founded country weakened and “…would ultimately destroy the confederation…” pg 20. Finally, though Hamilton would given the federal government more power, he supported what was to be and is now the Constitution of the United States of America and he became one of its leading supporters during the ratification process. Though Jefferson was unable to join the convention due to his duties in France as
Even though he was not perfect, Hamilton did make many important economic decisions that would later impact the future of the U.S. Beginning with he returned to New York, Hamilton finished his studies and worked as a Pro Bono Lawyer, a lawyer who worked without pay, helping ordinary people with everyday problems, (Fowler, Russell). Following this Hamilton attended the Constitutional Convention hinting his support for a strong federal government, which would later lead to the foundation of the Federalist Party, ("Alexander Hamilton. " Dictionary of American Biography).
He had achieved many goals in his career once he went to college. Before the Revolutionary War, George Washington, the future president, had noticed Hamilton for his writings in college. Washington also noticed Hamilton when Hamilton was leading a small group of men during the war. This eventually led to Hamilton becoming Washington’s writing aide, then getting field command. Once the war was once and the country started to develope, he made his own form of government. He proposed this idea at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. While explaining his plan, he rambled on for five to six hours. Many people didn’t like this idea of his government because it sounded too much like a king. The county fell into a deep pile of debt. Hamilton’s plan was the best way to get them out of trouble. His plan was approved on July 27, 1788, and George Washington was inaugurated president on April 30, 1789. Washington, when choosing his cabinet secretaries, chose Hamilton to be his Secretary of Treasury. During all of this, Hamilton’s wife, Eliza, was home taking care of their children. Philip Hamilton, the oldest son, would later grow up to be just like his father. Hamilton was apart of a countless number of duels. Philip died in his first duel with George Eacker. Eacker was bad mouthing Hamilton, and Philip would not allow it. At the duel, Eacker shot Philip just above his right hip, while Philip’s bullet missed. Fourteen hours later,
Alexander Hamilton was most likely born on January 11, 1757, although the exact year of his birth is unknown. Hamilton was born on the Caribbean island of Nevis or St. Kitts to Rachel Fawcett and James Hamilton, but he spent the majority of his youth on the island of St. Croix. His formal education as a child was minimal. When his mother died in 1768, Hamilton took his
Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755 or 1757 (the exact date is unknown) in Charlestown, Nevis,
Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755 in Charlestown, Nevis, in British West Indies. While working at a shipping company in Nevis, he gained recognition from local contributors who offered him a formal education. This led to Hamilton coming to New York at the age of seventeen (1772) to earn an education at Kings University, which is now Columbia University. During his college career, Hamilton caught an interest in American politics, specifically, the American Patriots. Eventually, he became a huge supporter of the patriots’ revolutionary movement against pro-British loyalists. Hamilton educated himself on the revolutionary movement enough to write political articles that legitimized revolutionary actions. These articles caught the attention of many people and political
In my opinion, Alexander Hamilton should be replaced on the $10 bill. The non-advocates of this change are arguing that Hamilton is known as a man who strongly impacted the American Revolution; they are discussing other attributes that consider his face on the bill as an honor as the man who helped “build” America. Although these assertions are substantial reasons, there are women who are widely known for their role in shaping American history. If an enlightened history person observed a bill, he or she could reminisce about hearing stories about the impact that figure had in history. This is not necessarily true for an influential woman who, speaking from personal experience, is not learned about until a person has to take a history course
Alexander Hamilton was born January 11, 1755 in Charlestown Massachusetts. He passed away on July 12, 1804, in New York City, New York. Alexander Hamilton was a founding father. He gave us our financial system and yet until Hamilton, the musical, no one knew who he was. When Hamilton was in the womb he was left by his father, James A. Hamilton. A thirteen years later, his mother, Rachel Faucette Buck, died on February 19, 1768. Rachel was in an abusive relationship before meeting James. She wasn’t allowed to remarry back then because of the little amount of rights women had before.