Alexander Hamilton

At 47 years old, Alexander Hamilton has this physical status:

Alexander Hamilton (1755–1774) was a American statesman, economist, law scholar, advocate, and economist, as well as an economist.

He was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

He served as an influential interpreter and promoter of the United States Constitution, as well as the creator of the country's financial system, the Federalist Party, the United States Coast Guard, and the New York Post newspaper.

Hamilton, Treasury's first Secretary, was the primary author of George Washington's economic policies.

He was instrumental in the formation of a national bank, a system of tariffs, and friendly trade relations with Britain.

His vision called for a strong central government led by a brash executive branch, a booming industrial economy, a national bank, and industrial assistance, as well as a strong military.

Early childhood

Alexander Hamilton was born and spent part of his childhood in Charlestown, the capital of the Leeward Islands (then part of the British West Indies). Hamilton and his older brother James Jr. (1753–1786) were born out of wedlock to Rachel Faucette, a married woman of half-British and half-French Huguenot descent, and James A. Hamilton, a Scot who was the fourth son of Alexander Hamilton, the fourth son of Ayrshire's fourth son.

It's not clear whether Hamilton was born in 1755 or 1757. Hamilton's arrival in North America supports the belief that he was born in 1757, as well as Hamilton's own writings. When he first appeared in the Thirteen Colonies in 1757, Hamilton noted his birth year as 1757 and commemorated his birthday on January 11. He tended to give his age only in round figures in later life. Historians accepted 1757 as his birth year until about 1930, when more forensic evidence of his early life in the Caribbean was published, first in Danish. A probate paper from St. Croix in 1768, which was drafted after the death of Hamilton's mother, listed him as 13 years old, prompting some historians to favor a birth year of 1755.

Historians have speculated over possible reasons for two years of birth to be included in historical records. Hamilton may have been attempting to appear younger than his college classmates, or perhaps she was afraid of being seen older. 1755 was correct. Hamilton may have mistakenly stated his age as 1755 in an attempt to appear older and more employable if 1757 is correct. Historians have pointed out that the probate paper contained other errors, demonstrating that it was not entirely trustworthy. "A man is more likely to know his own birthday than a probate judge," Richard Brookhiser wrote.

Hamilton's mother had been married on St. Croix in the Virgin Islands before being decided in Denmark by Denmark, to Johann Michael Lavien, a Danish or German merchant. Peter Lavien had one son, Peter Lavien. Faucette left her husband and first son in 1750 and then moved to Saint Kitts, where she met James Hamilton. Hamilton and Faucette migrated together to Nevis, her birthplace, where she had inherited a seaside lot in town from her father.

After finding out that her first husband intend[ed] to divorce her under Danish law on the grounds of adultery and desertion, James Hamilton dropped Rachel Faucette and their two sons, James Jr. and Alexander. Rachel and her two children followed them to St. Croix, where she continued to help them by owning a tiny store in Christiansted. She contracted yellow fever and died on February 19, 1768, leaving Hamilton orphaned. And by the standards of an 18th-century childhood, this may have had serious emotional consequences for him. Faucette's "first husband" confiscated her property and retrieved the few valuables she had owned, including some household silver, in probate court. Many items were auctioned off, but a friend bought the family's books and returned them to Hamilton.

Hamilton joined Beekman and Cruger, a local import-export company that traded with New York and New England, as a clerk. Their uncle, Peter Lytton, took him in for a brief period of time; however, Lytton died in July 1769, leaving his house to his mistress and their son, and the Hamilton brothers were then separated. James apprenticed with a local carpenter, while Alexander was given a house by Thomas Stevens, a Nevis merchant. Some clues have led to rumors that Stevens was Alexander Hamilton's biological father: his son Edward Stevens became a close friend of Hamilton, and both boys were described as being fluent in French and shared common interests. However, this allegation, mainly based on Timothy Picker's remarks on the resemblance between the two men, has always been vague and unsupported. Rachel Faucette had been living on St. Kitts and Nevis for years, long before Alexander was born, while Thomas Stevens and St. Croix disclaimed paternity, and James Hamilton never denied paternity, and in later years, he wrote to Hamilton "Your Very Affectionate Father" (meaning "good morning, please."

Hamilton, despite being young and inexperienced, was able to take over the company for five months in 1771, when the owner was at sea. He remained a voracious reader and later developed an interest in writing. He began to long for life outside of the island where he lived. On August 30, 1772, he wrote a letter to his father that was a detailed account of a storm that had engulfed Christians. Hugh Knox, a tutor and mentor to Hamilton, wrote the letter for publication in the Royal Danish-American Gazette. The letter was extraordinary for two reasons; first, that "for all its bombastic excesses, it does appear [that a] self-educated clerk] could write with such confidence and gusto," and second, that a teenage boy delivered a "divine rebuke to human pride and pomposity." The essay captured community leaders, who gathered a fund to send Hamilton to the North American colonies for his education.

Education

Because their parents were not legally married, the Church of England refused to admit Alexander and James Hamilton Jr. — and education in the church academy. In a private school run by a Jewish headmistress, they received "individual tutoring" and classes. Alexander continued his education with the help of his family's collection of 34 books.

Hamilton arrived by sea in Boston in October 1772 and migrated from there to New York City. He took lodging with Hercules Mulligan, the brother of a trader who was known to Hamilton's benefactors, who helped Hamilton in selling freight that was supposed to pay for his education and assistance. Hamilton began to fill voids in his education at the Elizabethtown Academy, a preparatory school operated by Francis Barber in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, in 1772, as preparations for college work. He came under the influence of William Livingston, a local historian and philanthropist with whom he lived for a time.

Hamilton attended King's College (now Columbia University) in New York City in the fall of 1773 "as a private student," again boarding with Mulligan until officially matriculating in May 1774. In what is credited as Hamilton's first public appearance at King's College on July 6, 1774, his college roommate and lifelong friend Robert Troup sang of Hamilton's lucidity in succinctly describing the patriots' case against the British. Hamilton, Troup, and four other undergraduates founded an unidentified literary group that is regarded as a precursor to the Philolexian Society.

Samuel Seabury, a clergyman of the Church of England, published a series of pamphlets promoting the Loyalist movement in 1774, to which Hamilton responded anonymously with his first political book, A Complete Vindication of Congress and The Farmer Refuted. Seabury merely attempted to instill fear in the colonies, and his main aim was to prevent the colonization among the colonies from happening. Hamilton also wrote the fifteen anonymous parts of "The Monitor" for Holt's New York Journal in two separate pieces criticizing the Quebec Act. Hamilton was a promoter of the Revolutionary cause during this pre-war period, but he did not accept mob reprisals against Loyalists. Hamilton saved his college president Myles Cooper, a Loyalist, from an angry crowd on May 10, 1775, by speaking to the crowd long enough for Cooper to flee.

During the British occupation of Hamilton, Hamilton was forced to delay his studies before graduating. Hamilton took the bar exam in July 1782, following months of self-study, and by that time, he was licensed to argue cases before the Supreme Court of New York in October 1782. Hamilton was granted a Master of Arts degree by Columbia College in 1788 for his part in the college's revival and placing it on solid financial footing. Hamilton was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1791.

Return to civilian life

Hamilton, who died in Yorktown, returned to New York and resigned his post in March 1782. After six months of self-directed instruction, he passed the bar in July. He also accepted Robert Morris' offer to become the state tax receiver for New York. Hamilton was elected as a New York representative to the Confederation's Congress in July 1782. Hamilton was already speaking out against Congress before his appointment to Congress in 1782. In his letter to James Duane dated September 3, 1780, he outlined these criticisms.

In this letter he wrote,

Hamilton, a Washington employee, became dissatisfied with the decentralized structure of the wartime Continental Congress, particularly its reliance on the states for voluntary financial assistance, which was not always forthcoming. Congress had no power to collect taxes or demand funds from the states under Confederation's Articles. Both the Continental Army and the Army's were unable to obtain the required equipment and pay the soldiers due to a lack of a reliable source of funding. Congress obtained what it could from subsidies from the King of France during the war and a period after, including assistance from numerous states (which were often unable or unwilling to contribute), and European loans.

Thomas Burke, a British writer, had intended an amendment to the Articles in February 1781 to give Congress the ability to demand a 5% impost, or duty on all imports, but it was refused by Rhode Island in November 1782; obtaining its acceptance was impossible. James Madison helped convince Congress to convince Rhode Island to change its mind. According to the delegation's study, the national government must not only have financial autonomy, but also have the ability to create laws that supersede those of the individual states. Hamilton sent a letter arguing that Congress already had the ability to determine the sums due to multiple states; but Virginia's defiance of this reform brought the Rhode Island talks to a halt;

When Hamilton was in Congress, dissatisfied soldiers started to pose a threat to the young United States. The bulk of the army was then stationed in Newburgh, New York, and was deployed there. Many of the army's troops were buying a large number of their own items, and they hadn't been paid in eight months. In addition, the Continental officers had been promised a pension of half their pay after they were discharged in May 1778. Due to the government's political system under the Articles of Confederation, it had no authority to tax either increase income or pay soldiers by the early 1780s. After several months without pay, a group of officers assembled a delegation of officers in 1782 to lobby Congress, led by Capt. Alexander McDougall. The officers had three demands: the Army's salary, their own pensions, and commutation of those pensions into a lump-sum payment if Congress were unable to afford the half-salary pensions for life. The plan was rejected by Congress.

Several congressmen, including Hamilton, Robert Morris, and Gouverneur Morris (no relation), attempted to gain federal and congressional approval for the national government through this so-called Newburgh Conspiracy. They encouraged MacDougall to persist their aggressive tactics, implying that if their demands were not fulfilled, they would have to be reimbursed. Instead, they suggested that the army assume the debt and instead create an impost solely dedicated to paying the debt.

Hamilton suggested that the Army's claims would compel the states to accept the new national funding system. The Morrises and Hamilton contacted General Henry Knox to request that he and the officers defy civil authority, at least by not disbanding if the army was not satisfied. Hamilton wrote in Washington that Hamilton should suggest that Hamilton covertly "take direction" of the officers' attempts to regain redress, in order to gain federal support but keep the army within the parameters of moderation. Hamilton wrote Hamilton back in Washington, when the army was reluctant to enter it. Washington warned of the risks of using the army as leverage to gain funding for the national budget plan after the crisis had been ended.

Washington defused the Newburgh situation by personally addressing the officers on March 15. In April 1783, Congress ordered that the Army be officially disbanded. Congress passed a new bill for a 25-year impost, which Hamilton voted against, that also required the involvement of all the states; the officers' pensions were transferred to five years of full pay in the same month. Rhode Island's robust claims of national prerogatives in Hamilton's previous letter were largely dismissed, while Hamilton's robust assertions of national prerogatives were also rejected.

A petition was submitted by a dissatisfied soldier from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, asking that their back pay be returned to Congress in June 1783. Congress charged Hamilton and two others with intercepting the crowd as they began to march toward Philadelphia. Hamilton requested militia from Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council, but was turned down. Hamilton ordered Assistant Secretary of War William Jackson to intercept the men. Jackson was dissatisfied with his bid. The crowds assembled in Philadelphia, and the soldiers marched to harangue congress for their compensation. Hamilton maintained that Congress should be postponed to Princeton, New Jersey, according to Hamilton. Congress accepted and relocated there. Hamilton, frustrated with the central government's ineffectiveness, wrote a petition in Princeton to rewrite the Articles of Confederation. This resolution contained many of the key elements of the forthcoming US Constitution, including a strong federal government with the ability to collect taxes and raise an army. It also included the separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judiciary branches.

In 1783, Hamilton resigned from Congress. He served in New York in 1783 and was in collaboration with Richard Harison. As in Rutgers vs. Waddington, he was a specialist in protecting Tories and British subjects, as well as a suit against a bribe against a brewery owned by the Englishmen who ran it during New York's military occupation. He pleaded with the Mayor's Court to interpret state law in accordance with the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which had ended the Revolutionary War.

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He founded the Bank of New York in 1784, one of America's oldest still-existing banks. Hamilton was one of the few men to recover King's College as Columbia College, which had been suspended since 1776 and heavily damaged during the war. He was long dissatisfied with the Articles of Confederation as a result of ineffectiveness, and he played a central leadership position at the Annapolis Convention in 1786. He drafted its resolution for a constitutional convention, bringing one step closer to reality his long-awaited for a more effective, more self-sufficient federal government.

Personal life

During Hamilton's stay in Morristown, New Jersey, in the winter of December 1779 to March 1780, he met Elizabeth Schuyler, the niece of General Philip Schuyler and Catherine Van Rensselaer. They were married on December 14, 1780, at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York.

Elizabeth and Alexander Hamilton had eight children, but there is often confusion because two sons were named Philip: the old wives were not identified:

Elizabeth attempted to save Hamilton's legacy after Hamilton's death in 1804. Alexander re-organized all of Alexander's letters, papers, and books with the support of her son, John Church Hamilton, and continued to make his biography appear through many setbacks along the way. She was so attached to Alexander's memory that she wore a small box around her neck containing the pieces of a sonnet that Alexander wrote for her during the early days of their courtship.

Hamilton was also close to Elizabeth's sisters. During his lifetime, he was even accused of having affairs with his wife's older sister Angelica who died in North America three years before Hamilton's marriage to Elizabeth, an Englishman who made a fortune in North America during the Revolution and later returned to Europe with his wife and children between 1783 and 1797. Despite the fact that the style of their correspondence during Angelica's fourteen-year stay in Europe was flirtatious, modern historians like Chernow and Fielding have confirmed that there are no convincing signs that Hamilton's ties with Angelica went beyond in-laws or went beyond a strong link between in-laws. Hamilton also kept in touch with Elizabeth's younger sister, Peggy, who was the recipient of his first letters lauding her sister Elizabeth at the time of his courtship in early 1780.

Hamilton, a West Indies youth, was an orthodox and traditional Presbyterian of the "New Light" denomination (as opposed to the "Old Light" movement); he was taught there by a John Witherspoon, a New School alumnus. He wrote two or three hymns that were published in the local newspaper. Hamilton was "in the habit of praying on his knees night and morning," his college roommate Robert Troup said.

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Hamilton, according to Gordon Wood, shed his youthful secrecy during the Revolution and became "a traditional liberal with theological inclinations of an irregular churchgoer at best." However, in his last years, he returned to faith. Hamilton was unquestionably an Episcopalian, according to Chernow, but he didn't agree.

Hamilton was accused of making two quips about God at the time of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, according to reports. During the French Revolution, he displayed a utilitarian bent to use religion for political ends, such as denouncing Jefferson as "the atheist" and claiming that Christianity and Jeffersonian democracy were incompatible. 316 Hamilton reiterated his belief in Christianity in 1802, founding a Christian Constitutional Society in 1802 in order to elect "fit men" to office and advocating "Christian welfare organisations" for the poor. Hamilton referred to God's mercy after being shot.

Hamilton begged Episcopal Bishop Benjamin Moore of New York to give him holy communion on his deathbed. Moore refused to participate in a duel for two reasons: that participating in a duel was a mortal sin, and Hamilton, although unquestionably sincere in his faith, was not a member of the Episcopalian Church. Moore was persuaded to return by Hamilton's steadfast pleas, and Moore gave him communion after discovering Hamilton's solemn apology for his participation in the duel. Bishop Moore returned to Hamilton the next morning, remained with Hamilton for several hours until his death, and led the funeral service at Trinity Church.

Hamilton's birthplace on the island of Nevis was a large Jewish congregation, accounting for a quarter of Charlestown's white population by the 1720s. He came into contact with Jews on a regular basis as a small boy and was taught by a Jewish schoolmistress, and he had to recite the Ten Commandments in the original Hebrew.

Hamilton displayed a degree of admiration for Jews that Chernow described as "a life-long homage." He believed that Jewish achievement was a result of divine providence:

Based on the phonetic similarity of "Lavien" to a common Jewish surname, it has been suggested that the first husband of Hamilton's mother, Rachel Faucette, a German or Dane named Johann Michael Lavien, was Jewish or of Jewish descent. Hamilton's son, Andrew Porwancher, who has acknowledged his "discovery" contradicts much of the accepted wisdom on Hamilton, has argued that Hamilton himself was Jewish. Hamilton's mother (French Huguenot on her father's side and Britain on her mother's side) must have converted to Judaism before marrying Lavien, and that even after her separation and bitter divorce from Lavien, she would have raised her children by James Hamilton as Jews, according to Porwancher. Porwancher's attempt to prove that Hamilton was Jewish is ineffective, according to Mara Cohen-Ioannides, a scholar of Jewish Studies, and his argument is weak and ultimately unconvincing.

"There are no evidence that Lavien is a Jewish name," historian Michael E. Newton wrote, "There is no evidence that Lavien is a Jewish name," there is no evidence that Lavien was Jewish, no hint that John Lavien was Jewish, and there is no reason to believe that he was Jewish." Newton related these ideas to Gertrude Atherton's 1902 work of historical fiction. Anti-semitism and anti-capitalism were on the rise in the 1920s and 1930s, according to Powell, who claims that this assertion became common in the 1920s and 1930s. "Alexander Hamilton was no longer merely a lover of banks and aristocracy," his narrator said, but he had now become the stereotypical Jewish banker."

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