Hamilton was an American statesman, best known for his
fiscal policies settling the finances of the American Revolution, for his role
as the principal author of The Federalist papers, and for his advocacy of
a strong central government.
Hamilton was born on the West Indian island of Nevis on
January 11, 1757, the illegitimate son of James Hamilton, a Scottish trader, and
Rachel Faucett Lavien. In 1769, after the death of his mother and the bankruptcy
of his father, he entered the countinghouse of David Beckman and Nicholas Cruger
at Saint Croix, where he exhibited a precocious ability to comprehend the
complexities of commerce and accounting. With the aid of funds advanced by
friends to further his education, he studied (1772-74) at a grammar school at
Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and then entered King's College (now Columbia
University).
Revolutionary Involvement
Hamilton first entered the revolutionary movement in 1774
at a public meeting in the “fields” (now City Hall Park) in New York City,
with a speech urging the calling of a general congress of the colonies. In the
winter of 1774-1775, he also wrote anonymously two pamphlets, A Full
Vindication of the Measures of Congress from the Calumnies of Their Enemies
and The Farmer Refuted, in answer to the Loyalist pamphlets signed
“Westchester Farmer.”
On the outbreak of war, Hamilton became a captain of
artillery and served with distinction in the battles of Long Island, White
Plains, Trenton, and Princeton. His courage and ability won him the notice of
General Nathanael Greene, who introduced him to George Washington with a
recommendation for advancement. In March 1777, Washington made Hamilton his
aide-de-camp and personal secretary. By virtue of his administrative skills, he
acquired great influence with Washington, but he longed for active military
service. In 1781 he resigned from Washington's staff after a dispute with the
general, but he remained in the army and was able to command a New York regiment
of light infantry at the decisive battle of Yorktown.
Lawyer and Statesman
In 1780 Hamilton had married Elizabeth Schuyler, daughter
of General Philip John Schuyler, a member of an influential New York family. At
the close of the Revolution Hamilton left the army to study law at Albany, New
York. He served in the Continental Congress in 1782-83 and then returned to the
practice of law, becoming one of the most prominent lawyers in New York City.
In 1786 Hamilton took a leading part in the Annapolis
Convention, called to consider the problems of interstate commerce and other
matters not covered by the Articles of Confederation, and at this time he also
drafted the resolution that led to the assembling of the Constitutional
Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. At the convention Hamilton was unable to
play a significant role. His desire for a strongly centralized federal
government, including a president for life, was not shared by the other
convention delegates, and his two fellow delegates from New York were
Anti-Federalists who were able to outvote him on every measure. Hamilton then
turned his energies to securing the ratification of the Constitution in New
York; for this purpose he enlisted the help of John Jay and James Madison in
writing the essays that were subsequently collected and published under the
title of The Federalist. Just how many of the 85 essays were written by
Hamilton has long been a matter for dispute, but there is little doubt that he
wrote at least 51, and they remain the works by which he is best known.
Secretary of the Treasury
Shortly after the establishment of the new government in
1789, President Washington appointed Hamilton the first secretary of the
treasury. The nation's finances were in disorder, public credit was at a low
ebb, and the economies of the states were still adjusting to the changes
resulting from independence. In 1790 Hamilton submitted to the Congress a report
on the public credit that provided for the funding of national and foreign debts
of the United States, as well as for federal assumption of the states'
revolutionary debts. After some controversy, Hamilton's proposals were adopted,
as were his subsequent reports calling for the establishment of a national bank
and the encouragement of American manufactures by means of bounties and
protective tariffs. In foreign affairs his role was almost as influential. He
persuaded Washington to adopt a policy of neutrality after the outbreak of war
in Europe in 1793, and in 1794 he wrote the instructions for the diplomatic
mission to London that resulted in the Anglo-American agreement known as Jay's
Treaty.
Later Career and Death
Hamilton returned to law practice in New York City in 1795.
He remained active in politics, however, and throughout 1795-1796 he defended
Jay's Treaty in the essays he wrote under the pseudonym of “Camillus.”
Washington continued to consult Hamilton on a regular basis, particularly with
the final drafting of his farewell address, which was released to the public in
September 1796. In 1798, at the insistence of Washington, President John Adams
reluctantly appointed Hamilton inspector general of the army when war with
France seemed imminent. Thereafter, Hamilton and Adams quarreled bitterly and
publicly. The resulting factionalism in the Federalist party contributed
significantly to its defeat by the Republican party in 1800.
The presidential election of 1800, however, had to be
decided in the House of Representatives because Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr
had received an equal number of votes in the electoral college. On this occasion
Hamilton exerted his influence in favor of Jefferson rather than Burr, whom he
regarded as a dangerously unprincipled adventurer. In 1804 Burr was a candidate
for governor of New York State and Hamilton again did his best to thwart Burr's
ambitions. After this defeat, Burr provoked a quarrel with Hamilton in order to
force him into a duel. Hamilton felt obliged to accept the challenge, and he and
Burr met on July 11, 1804, at Weehawken, New Jersey, on the spot where
Hamilton's eldest son had been killed in a duel three years earlier. Hamilton
was mortally wounded and died the next day.
Assessment
Apart from his contributions to The Federalist and
his reorganization of the U.S. financial system in the 1790s, Hamilton is best
remembered for his consistent emphasis on the need for a strong central
government in order to foster the development of a great and powerful American
nation. His advocacy of the doctrine of “implied powers” to advance a broad
interpretation of the Constitution has been invoked frequently to justify the
extension of federal authority, and it has greatly influenced a number of U.S.
Supreme Court decisions.