AMERICAN POLICY EXAMINER. A Tea Party Activist's Guide to American Political Science.

Secretary Alexander Hamilton (1755 [or 1757] - 1804)

Biography

Coming from a troubled background where he was orphaned at an early age, Alexander Hamilton worked his way into King's College (Columbia University) and graduated early. He joined the New York Militia and eventually joined George Washington's staff, becoming its chief operator. Hamilton became one of the earliest delegates to the Continental Congress and advocated the need for a new Constitution and central government. He was author of more than half of the Federalist Papers, was the only signer of the Constitution from the State of New York and became the first Secretary of the Treasury. As Secretary, Hamilton advocated for a national bank and became the major figure of the Federalist Party. He continued to be a prominent figure in politics after resigning and died in a duel with his chief rival Aaron Burr of the Democratic-Republican Party.

Alexander Hamilton was born to the unmarried couple of Rachel Faucett Lavien and James A. Hamilton in Charlestown of the British West Indies on January 11, 1755 (or possibly 1757 – reports are conflicting). Because the couple were not legally married, the Church of England refused Hamilton of a state education. Instead, Hamilton was tutored individually and classes at a private Jewish school. Additionally, Hamilton had access to a family library of 34 books which included Greek and Roman classics.

Hamilton's father James abandoned him and his family at a young age, leaving Rachel to support them by keeping a small store in Christensted, Saint Croix (Virgin Islands) . However, in February of 1768, Hamilton's mother contracted a fever and was unable to recover. She died just over an hour after midnight on February 19, leaving Hamilton an orphan as a young teenager. Hamilton would shuffle among family until he was adopted by Merchant Thomas Stevens, who may have been Hamilton's biological father.

During his teenage years, Hamilton worked as a clerk for Beekman and Cruger, an import-export firm that traded in New England. While working, Hamilton continued to self-educate himself and proved to be an exceptional reader and writer in his youth. By 1773, Hamilton moved to Elizabethtown New Jersey, where he prepared for college and was deeply influenced by William Livingston.

By the end of 1773, Alexander Hamilton enrolled at King's College in New York City (Columbia University), mainly because they accepted his wishes to study on an expedited curriculum where he could finish college early. While at the college, Hamilton became vocal in his support for the American dissidence to England. Two notable works are “A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress” and “The Farmer Refuted,” where he countered Church of England clergyman Samuel Seabury's publications in favor Britain. He also wrote many anonymous articles in favor of the prewar Revolution, although he was against violent uprisings and at one point Hamilton had to save his college's president from a mob.

By 1775, Alexander Hamilton joined the “Hearts of Oak,” a New York volunteer militia company while continuing his studies. To supplement his education, he pursued an independent curriculum of military history and he eventually won the rank of lieutenant. Soon thereafter Hamilton, with the help of influential patriots Alexander McDougall and John Jay, developed the New York Provincial Company of Artillery and was elected captain. It engaged in several battles around New York City, of which included Battle of White Plains and the Battle of Trenton.

Alexander Hamilton sought a position in General George Washington's staff and became an aid on March 1, 1777 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Alexander served Washington for four years as his chief operator. He was in charge of correspondence with Congress, governors and the generals of the Continental Army. By the end of his service, Hamilton began to seek out a command position in the army and was granted it at the battle of Yorktown, where he worked with three battalions two forts of the British fortification at Yorktown. The battle at Yorktown became the last straw for the British military and ended the war.

Working with Washington's staff during the Revolution undoubtedly had a considerable influence on his ideas after the war ended. During the war, the Continental Congress was impotent in its ability to collect revenue for the war and relied on each state for support, of which was very limited. The war debt grew greatly as the army had to borrow money from Europe. Congress believed that there needed to be a strong central government in order to not only defend itself in war but also to effectively govern domestically.

After Yorktown, Alexander Hamilton sought to become a representative in the Congress of Confederation, where he would have great influence in advocating the need for a stronger central government and a new Constitution. He was elected a Representative of New York in November of 1782. During the same month of Hamilton's election, Rhode Island shot down an amendment that would give the central government the power to collect a 5% duty on imports. Because an amendment required ratification from all states, the ability for Congress to get the authority to solve the demanding problems of the national government proved impossible.

The ineffectiveness of Congress could not be understated. Its impotence is best demonstrated in what was its inability to pay Continental Army for its service. Hamilton tried to exploit the Army's demands in the hopes that it would force Congress to change its Constitution. However, at the time, Hamilton's ploys proved to be dangerous to the new nation, and only after George Washington pleaded with the soldiers did the tension settle.

Hamilton resigned from Congress in 1783 after expressing frustration at the ineffectiveness of the government. He returned to New York where he was admitted to the Bar after months of self-education. He would then begin practicing law in New York City. It was only a year later that he founded the Bank of New York and began an effort to resurrect his college, which had been damaged in the war. By 1786 he resumed his public service, attending the Annapolis Convention as a delegate. There, he drafted a resolution for a Constitutional convention.

In 1787, Alexander Hamilton served in the New York State Legislature and became the first chosen delegate of the Constitutional Convention. At the Convention, he spoke on the need for a strong central government and proposed the leading office as being a President-for-Life and the office holder along with the Senators would only be changed in the case of corruption. Of course, these proposals had little influence on the body, but it did make him the target of accusations from James Madison that he was a 'monarchist sympathizer.' During the convention, Hamilton drafted a Constitution that was never presented. This draft reflected the content of the debates and was quite similar to the one that ultimately became the official Constitution of the United States.

Although Hamilton was not content with the final Constitution, he signed it because he believed it was much better than the Confederate system and he soon would become an ardent supporter of its ratification.

Over the course of several months from 1787 to 1788, Alexander Hamilton began campaigning for its ratification with the help of two of his colleagues: James Madison and John Jay. Hamilton wrote more than half of a series of anonymous articles in publications that explained the details of the proposed Constitution in the hopes that it would not only sway public opinion in New York, but more importantly, the opinions of the delegates who were the deciders of whether the new Constitution would become the new law of the land or not. These anonymous publications became known as the 'Federalist Papers' and have had immense influence over contemporary interpretation of the Constitution.

In the lead up to ratification, Alexander Hamilton was extremely influential in persuading the majority of the New York Legislature to ratify the Federal Constitution. This was also a time where divisions within party turned into the formation of political parties. In 1791, Hamilton's political rival Aaron Burr won the election of Senator over Hamilton's pick. The division between Aaron Burr who helped form the Democratic-Republican Party in New York and Alexander Hamilton, who became the political leader of the Federalist Party, never subsided.

Once President George Washington was inaugurated into the presidency, he appointed Alexander Hamilton to the position of Secretary of the Treasury. As Secretary, Hamilton played a prominent role in beginning a precedent for structuring the president's Cabinet and the government bureaucracy. He served until January of 1795 at which time he resigned.

During his five years of service, he issued several reports, which included First Report on Public Credit, Operations of the Act Laying Duties and Imports, Second Report on Public Credit, Report on the Establishment of a Mint, and Report on Manufactures. These reports were the start of a precedent of Cabinet members formulating federal programs, writing reports and lobbying Congress on their implementation which has lasted to present administrations.

In his reports on the public credit, Hamilton controversially proposed the federal government assume state debts from the Revolution, but this was vehemently opposed by Secretary Thomas Jefferson and his Democratic-Republican Party, who believed that some states would benefit more from the incursion of debt into the federal government than others. In the end, a compromise was reached between Hamilton, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.

The founding of the U.S. Mint was perhaps the most important and long-lasting of the actions Hamilton took as Secretary of the Treasury. Along with the U.S. Mint as a source of printing money, Hamilton also fought for the First National Bank to manage government revenues and the Revenue Cutter Service to prevent smuggling of goods as a means of avoiding tariffs. Hamilton also put in place a complex system of duties, tariffs, and excises to help fund the government. These moves helped replace the outdated and inefficient system from the Confederacy. It streamlined revenues to fund programs and pay the accruing debt.

During the later years of Hamilton's service as Secretary, President Washington's Cabinet became fractious, with Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson opposing many of the new economic programs Hamilton was advocating, of which included the First National Bank. Additionally, a natural tension in foreign affairs became divisive as well. While Hamilton was very much supportive of Britain during the European wars, Jefferson favored France. This division was most present in the results of the Jay Treaty, in which Democratic-Republicans believed that the United States gave too many concessions to Britain without receiving much in return.

Although he resigned in 1795, Hamilton kept a presence in political life. While returning back to practicing law, Hamilton stayed near Washington D.C. where he kept in contact with his Federalist Party in Congress. During the election of 1796, John Adams ran with fellow Federalist Thomas Pinckney of South Carolina. Hamilton favored Pinckney because he believed John Adams was not presidential material. Hamilton tried to manipulate the election so that Pinckney would receive more votes from the Federalists. However, the northern members of the party found out and the plan backfired, leaving Thomas Jefferson with the second highest number of votes, giving him the Vice Presidency.

Although John Adams was a Federalist president, he kept George Washington's Cabinet, which had been heavily influenced by Hamilton. As a result, many of Adams Cabinet members kept their loyalties with Alexander Hamilton, despite him not being in political office. This undercut Adams and divided the party beyond repair. And in the presidential election of 1800, Hamilton once again tried political stunts to undercut John Adams and elevate his running mate. In September of 1800, Hamilton wrote a pamphlet entitled “Letter from Alexander Hamilton, Concerning the Public Conduct and Character of John Adams, Esq. President of the United States.” This letter was highly critical of Adams and was intended for Federalist allies. However, it got in the hands of the opposition party and was made public. This in effect demoralized the Federalists and divided the party even more. As a result, John Adams came in third place to both of the Democratic-Republican candidates, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, who both received 73 votes. Because Hamilton resented Burr, he convinced Congress to seat Jefferson as President. Burr became Vice President. As a result of the confusion about how a tie was to be broken, the Twelfth Amendment was promptly proposed and adopted.

In the following election, it became clear early on that Burr would not be asked to run for reelection. Instead, he went back to New York to seek the governorship. At this time, Hamilton intervened and his forces were able to prevent a Burr victory. In the following days, a feud broke out between the two rivals and a duel was soon scheduled. At dawn on July 11, 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr shot Hamilton after Hamilton had first fired, breaking a tree branch above Burr's head. The next day, Alexander Hamilton died from the shot to the abdomen.