FACTS ABOUT ALEXANDER HAMILTON BORN ON NEVIS, JANUARY 11, 1757
AH – American History
Equals
AH – Alexander Hamilton
A Legacy Worthy of the Title of National Hero
Alexander Hamilton and President George Washington had a relationship spanning
over 22 years.
Alexander Hamilton was President George Washington’s most trusted aide.
Alexander Hamilton convinced George Washington to run for President.
Alexander Hamilton advised President George Washington on constitutional issues,
which is normally the job of the Attorney General.
Alexander Hamilton advised President George Washington on military issues, which is
usually the job of the Secretary of War.
Alexander Hamilton was appointed Secretary of the Treasury, the most important
position of the President’s Secretaries.
President George Washington relied on Alexander Hamilton for everything. They were
closer to been equals, though no one could be Washington’s equal as he was the
President.
The two families were inseparable. They lived closely together and their children
played together and grew up together.
Alexander Hamilton was Washington’s Indispensable Partner.
Alexander Hamilton was America’s Indispensable Founder.
1|Page
Alexander Hamilton is known as “The Father of the Federalist Papers.”
Alexander Hamilton led the implementation of the United States Constitution.
Alexander Hamilton created the American economic system.
Alexander Hamilton created the “American dream” where anyone with hard work and
education could aspire to the highest levels of accomplishment.
Alexander Hamilton created the American Stock Exchange.
Alexander Hamilton created the American Investment System.
Alexander Hamilton created the Merit Approach.
Alexander Hamilton transformed America into the powerful country it is today.
Alexander Hamilton began the United States Navy.
Alexander Hamilton founded the United States Coast Guard.
Alexander Hamilton wrote the Jay Treaty which got the United States back its favoured
position in trading with the United Kingdom.
Alexander Hamilton was a Founder and Trustee of Hamilton College.
Alexander Hamilton formally proposed West Point, the home of the United States
Military Academy in West Point, New York. He purchased the land in 1790 for the
training officers.
It was Alexander Hamilton who had the vision of America.
President George Washington’s success depended on Alexander Hamilton.
Alexander Hamilton was leader of the military forces that took an entrenched
fortification from the British that led to the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown,
Virginia and was the last major battle of the War of American Revolution. Alexander
2|Page
Hamilton got credit for being the hero of the battle, which was led by a West Indian on
land and the French Navy at sea.
Alexander Hamilton started the first political party, the Federalists.
Alexander Hamilton is on the US$10 bill – He is a 10!
Alexander Hamilton drafted the foundational principles that America lives by today.
Alexander Hamilton’s policies are what united the United States of America.
Alexander Hamilton was the number one creator of the vision of the United States.
Alexander Hamilton was the number one creator of the Economic Vision of the United
States.
African Free School in NYC – Alexander Hamilton was a founding member of this school
that provided an education to slaves. [http://www.examiner.com/article/african-freeschool-opens-new-york-city]
Alexander Hamilton was the number one creator of the foundational principles that
created the America we know today.
Alexander Hamilton did a lot of pro bono work as a lawyer to help free blacks and help
the freed slaves.
Why do we not hear Alexander Hamilton’s history being told? Thomas Jefferson’s
Vice President, Aaron Burr, killed Alexander Hamilton while he was holding the office
of Vice President. Alexander Hamilton and President George Washington never got to
write their books. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Adams all lived decades
longer and they influenced the historical records. Alexander Hamilton’s wife, Elizabeth
Schuyler, worked hard to save his letters, papers and journals.
Who vigorously opposed Alexander Hamilton’s design of government and the financial
systems?
Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State
James Madison, key leader in the Congress
3|Page
How did Alexander Hamilton’s younger days influence his legacy in policy making?
Alexander Hamilton grew up just a stones’ throw away from the Charlestown Slave
Market so he had to have seen the treatment the slaves received as they were taken
from the boats and sold in the market. Hamilton worked hard in his adult life to
abolish slavery in the United States. He felt that if given same opportunities as their
owners, slaves were just as capable. He felt black people were equal. He never
subscribed to inequality. He was the one who first said blacks were just as capable as
whites in the army. He focused on merit. And is the one to interject into the American
Constitution his belief that all men were created equal.
Hamilton was not allowed to attend the church-run school system because of his
illegitimacy. He was educated in the Jewish school in Charlestown and his son, John
Church Hamilton, notes in his writings that his father spoke about standing on a chair
to recite the Decalogue, a set of biblical principles relating ethics and worship, to his
Jewish teacher.
Nevis held a position of prominence during the time that Hamilton was growing up. By
1666, Nevis had become the administrative centre of the Leeward Islands. It grew in
both size and importance, and took on the title “Queen of the Caribbees.” For the next
century, Nevis would dominate the Caribbean region economically. The sugar industry
burgeoned and Nevis’ production far exceeded the other Leeward Islands. Hamilton’s
experience with this economic vibrancy must have impacted his belief system, because
he believed that manufacturing was a critical component of the economy, in that it
gave more opportunities than exclusively agriculture for progress of more people.
Manufacturing also made the United States more independent since they could
produce the goods instead of relying on foreign nations.
Nevisians continue to express unhappiness that Alexander never returned to Nevis to
lend support to his land of birth, however, we must remember that his life was cut
short by the duel with Aaron Burr, and just like today where many Nevisians and
Kittitians leave home for the developed countries then return home at retirement age,
so too Hamilton, had he lived longer, he might have returned to contribute to Nevis in
his later years.
4|Page
Recommended Books
Richard Brookhiser – Great first biography to read on Alexander Hamilton (220 pages).
Ron Chernow – More comprehensive biography of Alexander Hamilton with a strong
index (850 pages).
Stephen F. Knott - Alexander Hamilton and the Persistence of Myth. How History
Twisted Alexander Hamilton’s Legacy
Alexander Hamilton
1st United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office
September 11, 1789 – January 31, 1795
President
George Washington
Preceded by
Position established
5|Page
Succeeded by
Oliver Wolcott
Senior Officer of the Army
In office
December 14, 1799 – June 15, 1800
President
John Adams
Preceded by
George Washington
Succeeded by
James Wilkinson
Delegate to the Congress of the Confederation
from New York
In office
November 3, 1788 – March 2, 1789
Preceded by
Egbert Benson
Succeeded by
Seat abolished
In office
November 4, 1782 – June 21, 1783
Preceded by
Seat established
Succeeded by
Seat abolished
Personal details
Born
6|Page
January 11, 1755 or 1757
Charlestown, Nevis, British West Indies
Died
July 12, 1804 (aged 49 or 47)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political party
Federalist
Spouse(s)
Elizabeth Schuyler
Philip
Children
Angelica
James Alexander
William Stephen
Alma mater
Columbia University
Religion
Episcopalian
Alexander
John Church
Eliza Holly
Signature
Military service
Allegiance
New York (1775–1777)
United States (1777–1800)
New York Company of Artillery
Service/branch
Continental Army
United States Army
1775–1776 (Militia)
Years of service 1776–1781
1798–1800
Rank
7|Page
Major General
U.S. Army Senior Officer
Phil
American Revolutionary War
• Battle of Harlem Heights
• Battle of White Plains
• Battle of Trenton
Battles/wars
• Battle of Princeton
• Battle of Monmouth
• Siege of Yorktown
•
8|Page
Quasi-War