The Secretary of Treasury Who Played an Outsized Role in Shaping America
Alexander Hamilton (1757 – 1804) was once described in the day’s scurrilous and often vicious press as a “Bastard, Orphan, Son of a Whore“. Born in the West Indies, he was the second of two illegitimate children fathered upon an already-married woman by a Scottish drifting merchant, who abandoned his mistress and offspring in 1765.
Hamilton grew up in penury, and at age 11, went to work as a clerk in a counting-house. He demonstrated exceptional talent, and by age 15 had advanced from clerk to manager. The following year, he was sent to study in New York’s King’s College (today’s Columbia University). He shone academically, but his studies were interrupted by the brewing revolt that ultimately erupted into the American Revolution. Ever precocious, by age 17 he was writing and publishing widely read pamphlets supporting the Patriot cause.
When fighting began, Hamilton secured a commission in 1776 as a captain of artillery, and organized his own company. He attracted George Washington’s attention at the Battle of Trenton when he displayed conspicuous bravery in preventing the British from crossing a river. Soon thereafter, he was invited to join Washington’s staff as an aide-de-camp. Hamilton performed valuable service for Washington, who sent him on numerous special missions. His fluency in French also fitted him well for the role of liaison officer between Washington and his French allies. In the war’s decisive battle, at Yorktown in 1781, Hamilton led a battalion in capturing a vital fortification, rendering the position of the besieged British untenable, and forcing their surrender.
After the war, Hamilton went into politics, and played the leading role in authoring a series of influential articles, eventually collected as the Federalist Papers, that laid the groundwork for ratifying the US Constitution. President George Washington picked Hamilton as America’s first Secretary of the Treasury, and he pushed through a program that put the new nation on a sound financial footing, after years of economic chaos.
Hamilton also convinced Congress to charter a Bank of the United States, as a means to solidify a partnership between the federal government and the business classes. He was challenged that the bank was unconstitutional because it was mentioned nowhere in the document. In reply, he advanced the argument that the Constitution was the source not only of enumerated powers, but also implied powers necessary to carry out the enumerated powers. Hamilton’s doctrine of implied powers exists to this day, as the basis for interpreting and expanding the Constitution.
Along the way, Hamilton made many enemies, of whom Aaron Burr turned out to be the deadliest. Although both belonged to the Federalist Party, Hamilton opposed Burr’s 1804 candidacy to New York’s governorship and urged the election of his Republican opponent. After losing the election, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel over offending remarks made at a dinner party. Hamilton accepted the challenge, and on July 11th, 1804, the duo met in New Jersey, where Burr shot Hamilton dead.
Also Read: Alexander Wasn’t the Only Hamilton to Fall in a Duel.