Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804) was an American politician, financier and political theorist who helped define the meaning of the Constitution by his Federalist Papers (1788), who created the financial and administrative structure of the national government as the first Secretary of the Treasury (1789-1795), created the first modern political party (the Federalist Party starting 1792), and called for a strong national government to protect America against foreign enemies (especially France) and to promote industry, finance, commerce and economic modernization. His great opponent was Thomas Jefferson who accused him of idealizing the corrupt British aristocratic system. Hamilton insisted he was a true believer in Republicanism. Hamilton's enemy in New York politics was Vice President Aaron Burr; Burr killed Hamilton in a duel in 1804.

Early Career

Hamilton was born on Jan. 11, 1757 (or 1755, there is some dispute) on the small British colony of Nevis, in the Caribbean. His father was a Scottish merchant; his mother the daughter of a French Huguenot physician and planter. She was living apart froim him when she died in 1768, leaving Hamilton practically an orphan and was sent to the neaby island of St. Croix. He was a self-taught prodigy who impressed the businessmen and ministers there. As a teenager he had managed an important business when the owner was away; his astonishingly precocious account of a hurricane that swept the island convinced the leaders to set up a fund to send him to America. He had some preliminary training at Francis Barber's grammar school at Elizabethtown, N. J., where he became friends with William Livingston and his circle of patriots, including his lifelong friend John Jay. Hamilton entered King's College (now Columbia College) in 1773.

Revolution

Hamilton soon became a leader of the patriots in New York city. At a mass meeting on July 6, 1774, he spoke against British measures, and at once began writing anonymously for the newspapers with a style and brilliance which attracted attention. In December 1774, he wrote "A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress from the Calumnies of Their Enemies," in some 14,000 words. When the Tory intellectual leader Rev. Dr. Samuel Seabury replied, Hamilton retorted with "The Farmer Refuted; or, a More Comprehensive and Impartial View of the Disputes Between Great Britain and the Colonies," which ran some 35,000 words. Hamilton's anonymous pamphlets displayed a keen grasp of the issues, extensive knowledge of British and American government, and such rhetorical power that they were attributed to senior patriots, noty a teenager. Hamilton at this point was a moderate who still defended the King's sovereignty and the British connection but rejected the rule of Parliament. As the revolutionary movement escalated so di Hamilton's involvement. He formed a volunteer militia company after the fighting broke out in 1775 and in early 1776 he was appointed captain of a new artillery company set up by New York. His skill in drilling his company attracted the attention of generals. The war moved to New York in late summer 1776 and Hamilton fought with Washington at battles at Long Island and White Plains, and was in the retreat. Washington spotted Hamilton's talent and made him a secretary, and (Mar. 1, 1777) aide-de-camp, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He wrote most of Washington's routine letters and orders, and was entrusted with missions to senior generals. Washington, however, always made the decisions.

Hamilton's philosophy

Martin (2005) examines Hamilton's evolving ideas about republicanism in the face of harsh criticism throughout the political battles of the 1790s. Hamilton reconceived a theory of virtue and republican citizenship in the context of the prevailing competing visions that emphasized either "confidence" or "vigilance" from its citizens. His new theory was formulated out of legal issues involving press liberty and ultimately led to a belief in the need for public confidence to legitimate a government that was both responsible and vigorous.

Bibliography

Biographies

• Brookhiser, Richard. Alexander Hamilton, American. Free Press, (1999)
• Chernow, Ron. Alexander Hamilton. Penguin Books, (2004) full length detailed biography
• Cooke, Jacob E. Alexander Hamilton: A Biography. 1982 by scholar
• Ellis, Joseph J. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation (2002), won Pulitzer Prize.
• Flexner, James Thomas. The Young Hamilton: A Biography. Fordham University Press, (1997)
• McDonald, Forrest. Alexander Hamilton: A Biography (1979) online edition biography focused on intellectual history esp on AH's republicanism.
• Miller, John C. Alexander Hamilton: Portrait in Paradox (1959), full-length scholarly biography; online edition
• Mitchell, Broadus. Alexander Hamilton (2 vols, 1957–62), the most detailed scholarly biography; also published in abridged edition; online edition of vol 1
• Nevins, Allan. "Alexander Hamilton" in Dictionary of American Biography (1934)
• Randall, Willard Sterne. Alexander Hamilton: A Life. HarperCollins, (2003) Popular.

Specialized studies

• Ambrose, Douglas and Robert W. T. Martin, eds. The Many Faces of Alexander Hamilton: The Life & Legacy of America's Most Elusive Founding Father (2006)
• John Spencer Bassett. The Federalist System, 1789-1801 (1906) old scholarly survey; online edition
• Bemis, Samuel Flagg. Jay's Treaty: A Study in Commerce and Diplomacy (1923)
• Chan, Michael D. "Alexander Hamilton on Slavery." Review of Politics 66 (Spring 2004): 207-31.
• Charles, Joseph. "The Jay Treaty: The Origins of the American Party System," in William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Ser., Vol. 12, No. 4. (Oct., 1955), pp. 581-630. online at JSTOR
• Combs, Jerald. A. The Jay Treaty: Political Background of Founding Fathers (1970) Focusing on the domestic and ideological aspects, Combs dislikes Hamilton's quest for national power and a "heroic state" dominating the Western Hemisphere, but concludes the Federalists "followed the proper policy" because the treaty preserved peace with Britain
• Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick, The Age of Federalism. (1993), the most advanced history of politics in 1790s online edition
• Fatovic, Clement. "Constitutionalism and Presidential Prerogative: Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian Perspectives." American Journal of Political Science 2004 48(3): 429-444. Issn: 0092-5853 Fulltext in Swetswise, Ingenta, Jstor, Ebsco
• Flaumenhaft, Harvey. The Effective Republic: Administration and Constitution in the Thought of Alexander Hamilton Duke University Press, 1992 online edition
• Freeman, Joanne B. Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic (2001). essential on the meaning of duels; online interview
• Harper, John Lamberton. American Machiavelli: Alexander Hamilton and the Origins of U.S. Foreign Policy. (2004) online review
• Horton, James Oliver. "Alexander Hamilton: Slavery and Race in a Revolutionary Generation" New-York Journal of American History 2004 65(3): 16–24. ISSN 1551-5486 online version
• Roger G. Kennedy; Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson: A Study in Character Oxford University Press, 2000 online edition
• Knott, Stephen F. Alexander Hamilton and the Persistence of Myth University Press of Kansas, (2002) (ISBN 0-7006-1157-6).
• Kurtz; Stephen G. The Presidency of John Adams: The Collapse of Federalism, 1795-1800 1957 online edition
• McNamara, Peter. Political Economy and Statesmanship: Smith, Hamilton, and the Foundation of the Commercial Republic. (Northern Illinois University Press, 1997). 256 pp.
• Martin, Robert W. T. "Reforming Republicanism: Alexander Hamilton's Theory of Republican Citizenship and Press Liberty." Journal of the Early Republic 2005 25(1): 21-46. Issn: 0275-1275 Fulltext online in Project Muse and Ebsco
• Miller, John C. The Federalist Era: 1789-1801 (1960), scholarly survey
• Mitchell, Broadus: "The man who 'discovered" Alexander Hamilton". Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society 1951. 69:88–115
• Nettels, Curtis P. The Emergence of a National Economy, 1775–1815 (1962). general survey of economic history and policy
• Rossiter, Clinton. Alexander Hamilton and the Constitution (1964)
• Sharp, James. American Politics in the Early Republic: The New Nation in Crisis. (1995), survey of politics in 1790s
• Sheehan, Colleen. "Madison V. Hamilton: The Battle Over Republicanism And The Role Of Public Opinion" American Political Science Review 2004 98(3): 405–424.
• Smith, Robert W. Keeping the Republic: Ideology and Early American Diplomacy. (2004)
• Staloff, Darren. "Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson: The Politics of Enlightenment and the American Founding." (2005)
• Stourzh, Gerald. Alexander Hamilton and the Idea of Republican Government (1970),
• Trees, Andrew S. "The Importance of Being Alexander Hamilton." Reviews in American History 2005 33(1): 8-14. Issn: 0048-7511 Fulltext: in Project Muse
• Trees, Andrew S. The Founding Fathers and the Politics of Character. (2004)
• Karl-Friedrich Walling. Republican Empire: Alexander Hamilton on War and Free Government (1999),
• Weston, Rob N. "Alexander Hamilton and the Abolition of Slavery in New York" Afro-Americans in New York Life and History 1994 18(1): 31–45. ISSN 0364-2437 An undergraduate paper, which concludes that Hamilton was ambivalent about slavery.
• White, Leonard D. The Federalists (1949), detailed coverage of how the Treasury and other departments were created and operated.
• Wright; Robert E. Hamilton Unbound: Finance and the Creation of the American Republic Praeger (2002) online edition

Primary sources

• Hamilton, Alexander. (Joanne Freeman, ed.) Alexander Hamilton: Writings (2001), The Library of America edition, 1108 pages. ISBN 1-931082-04-9; all of Hamilton's major writings and many of his letters
• Syrett, Harold C. ed. The Papers of Alexander Hamilton (27 vol, Columbia University Press, 1961–87); includes all letters and writing by Hamilton, and all important letters written to him; this is the definitive letterpress edition, heavily annotated by scholars; it is available in larger academic libraries; there is also a separate Law series.
• Morris, Richard. ed. Alexander Hamilton and the Founding of the Nation (1957), topical excerpts from AH's writings; online edition
• Morton J. Frisch ed. Selected Writings and Speeches of Alexander Hamilton. (1985). online edition
• The Works of Alexander Hamilton edited by Henry Cabot Lodge (1904) full text online at Google Books online in HTML edition. This is the only online collection of Hamilton's writings and letters. Published in 10 volumes, containing about 1.3 million words.
• Federalist Papers] under the shared pseudonym "Publius" by Alexander Hamilton (c. 52 articles), James Madison (28 articles) and John Jay (five articles)
• Cooke, Jacob E. ed., Alexander Hamilton: A Profile (1967), short excerpts from AH and his critics.
• Cunningham, Noble E. Jefferson vs. Hamilton: Confrontations that Shaped a Nation (2000), short collection of primary sources with commentary.
• George Rogers Taylor; ed, Hamilton and the National Debt 1950, excerpts from all sides in 1790s