Alexander Hamilton

Template:TOC-right Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) was an American politician, financier and political theorist who helped define the meaning of the Constitution by his Federalist Papers (1788). He 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). Hamilton 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.

Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton by James Sharples, 1796.

Hamilton's great achievements came in 1788-1793, when he defined the meaning of the Constitution in the Federalist Papers (coauthored with James Madison), created the world's first modern political party based on voter support, and built a solid, permanent financial base for the nation, using the national debt, tariffs and taxes, and a national bank. The stability encouraged the rapid growth of a stable financial system. He tried to advance the cause of manufacturing, but had few results. His hostility to President John Adams weakened the Federalist party, which was permanently displaced in 1800. Hamilton's last great action was to secure the election of Jefferson as president in 1801, over the dangerous Aaron Burr. Vice President Burr killed Hamilton in a duel in 1804.

No figure in American historiography has had so many ups and down, so many champions and detractors. Historians continue to ask, "Was he a closet monarchist or a sincere republican? A victim of partisan politics or one of its most active promoters? A lackey for British interests or a foreign policy mastermind? An economic genius or a shill for special interests? The father of a vigorous national government or the destroyer of genuine federalism? A defender of governmental authority or a dangerous militarist?"

Early Career

Hamilton was born on Jan. 11, 1757 (or 1755) on the small British colony of Nevis, in the Caribbean. He was the illegitimate son of a Scottish merchant; his mother the daughter of a French Huguenot physician and planter. The father had deserted, and the mother died in 1768, leaving Hamilton and his brother orphaned. He was sent to the nearby 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 a grammar school in New Jersey, where he became friends with William Livingston and his circle of patriots, including his lifelong friend John Jay. Hamilton in 1773 entered King's College (renamed Columbia College, now part of Columbia University).

Revolution

Hamilton quickly emerged as 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, not a teenager. Hamilton at this point was a moderate who still acknowledged the King's sovereignty and the British connection but rejected the rule of Parliament.

As the revolutionary movement escalated so did 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 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 became a trusted advisor and virtual chief of staff.

Hamilton was an analytical problem solver; he examined issues in depth and presented a bold solution. At the nerve center of the war effort, he realized the new nation's strengths and weaknesses. His report of Jan. 28, 1778 proposed a reorganization of the army; his report of May 5, 1778, improved the efficiency of the Army's inspector-general's office (his plan was adopted by Congress). Hamilton drafted a comprehensive set of military regulations for Washington. In correspondence with nationally minded leaders in several states he demonstrated his form belief in representative government, rather than rule by elites. He argued the supposed instability of democracies was because most had really been "compound governments," with a partitioned authority; Hamilton declared that "a representative democracy, where the right of election is well secured and regulated, & the exercise of the legislative, executive, and judiciary authorities, is vested in select persons, chosen really and not nominally by the people, will, in my opinion, be most likely to be happy, regular, and durable.". Hamilton insisted from the first that his democracy should have a highly centralized authority, armed with powers for every emergency. By 1780 he concluded the Articles of Confederation made for a hopelessly weak nation that could not feed, clothe or pay its soldiers. Hamilton never had a high regard for state rights; he wanted Congress to have "complete sovereignty in all that relates to war, peace, trade, finance."

Treasury Years

National debt

Hamilton's first major triumph was the assumption of the state debts by the national government in 1790, over the objections of Jefferson and Hamilton. They worked a compromise whereby the South would get the national capital. Proposed by Hamilton as a way to manage the debt incurred from the Revolution and tie the interests of rich men in every state to the fututre of the nation as a whole, the Funding Act became the basis for federal borrowing, debt repayment, and governmental financing; ity polarized politicsd and hastened the formation of parties. Madison argued that federal control of debt would consolidate too much power in the hands of the federal government, a sentiment shared by Jefferson, though he initially backed the plan. After its passage in 1790, however, all parties left the plan in place, despite earlier objections, and allowed the federal government to pay off its debt by mortgaging its tax revenue through loans. This system of loans with slow repayment by relatively low taxes restored the credit of the United States to foreign lien holders and stimulated the economy of the early republic, allowing the federal government to take out loans to finance the War of 1812 and purchase land from Spain in 1819.

Federalist politics: 1795-1804

As the founder of the Federalist party, Hamilton supported it with subsidies to newspaper editors like Noah Webster, and the encouragement of the Treasury's network of friends and supporters. After he left the Treasury he tried to keep control, with less success. He disliked John Adams and tried to block his election in 1796. When Adams was elected he kept Washington's entire cabinet, which was secretly beholden to Hamilton.

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 conceived 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.

The S.U.M. fiasco

The Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures (S.U.M.) was a Hamilton's brainstorm to demonstrate the new nation could achieve independence of European imports by its own factories on a much larger scale than the small operations then in existence. He envisioned a capital of one millions dollars for factories that would produce paper, sailcloth, linen, cotton cloth, shoes, thread, stockings, pottery, ribbons, carpets, brass and iron ware. Hamilton declared, there was "a moral certainty of success." The site was Paterson, New Jersey, with an ample hard-working labor supply, near major ports, with abundant water power, and rich in minerals. A charter granted in 1791 by the New Jersey legislature exempted the society from local taxes and authorized it to engage freely in manufacturing and selling, acquire real estate, improve rivers, dig canals, collect tolls on improvements, and incorporate the town of Paterson, named in honor of Hamilton's old friend, Governor William Paterson, who took charge of the project. Hamilton planned to but British machinery (which was not for export) and bring British craftsmen, engineers and managers to the United States, but paid too little attention to the weak qualifications of his "experts.". He did raise some $600,000, including $25,000 from banks in Amsterdam.

The Society purchased 700 acres from Dutch farmers for $8,320 at the Great Falls of the Passaic River, and built a small cotton factory. In 1794 dissatisfaction among the workers led to the closing of the mill, the first lockout in American history. Jefferson and Madison made political attacks denouncing factories as dangerous to the yeoman ethic and suggesting without evidence (but correctly) that Hamilton was using Treasury influence to get funding. After 1796, when manufacturing was abandoned; the S.U.M. eventually prospered as a real estate operation leasing sites and furnishing water power and capital to other manufacturing enterprises. The S.U.M. was Hamilton's mistake--a premature enterprise run by speculators rather than expert industrialists. The textile mills in Rhode Island set up about the same time by Samuel Slater became the nucleus of the industrial revolution in America; Slater used copies of British machines from stolen designs.

Family Life

In spring 1779, Hamilton asked his friend John Laurens to find him a wife in South Carolina:

"She must be young, handsome (I lay most stress upon a good shape) Sensible (a little learning will do), well bred. . . chaste and tender (I am an enthusiast in my notions of fidelity and fondness); of some good nature, a great deal of generosity (she must neither love money nor scolding, for I dislike equally a termagant and an oeconomist). In politics, I am indifferent what side she may be of; I think I have arguments that will safely convert her to mine. As to religion a moderate stock will satisfy me. She must believe in god and hate a saint. But as to fortune, the larger stock of that the better."

Hamilton found his own bride, Elizabeth Schulyer, daughter of General Philip Schuyler. She met all his criteria and their marriage in 1780 allied Hamilton with one of the richest and most powerful families of New York state. They had ten children.

See also

• Federalist Party
• First Party System
• James Madison
• George Washington

Bibliography

Biographies

• Ambrose, Douglas, and Robert W. T. Martin, eds. The Many Faces of Alexander Hamilton: The Life and Legacy of America's Most Elusive Founding Father. (2006) 310pp, essays by scholars; excerpt and text search
• Brookhiser, Richard. "Alexander Hamilton, American". (1999) biography excerpt and text search
• Chernow, Ron. "Alexander Hamilton". (2004) full length detailed biography excerpt and text search
• Cooke, Jacob E. Alexander Hamilton: A Biography. (1982) by leading scholar
• Ellis, Joseph J. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation (2002), won Pulitzer Prize. excerpt and text search
• Flexner, James Thomas. "The Young Hamilton: A Biography". (1997)
• Hacker, Louis M. Alexander Hamilton in the American Tradition. (1957) online edition
• McDonald, Forrest. Alexander Hamilton: A Biography (1979) online edition biography focused on intellectual history esp on AH's republicanism.
• Forrest McDonald. "Hamilton, Alexander"; American National Biography Online 2000, 5000 words
• 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; online edition of vol 1
  • Mitchell, Broadus. Alexander Hamilton: A Concise Biography (1976), 395pp
• Nevins, Allan. "Alexander Hamilton" in Dictionary of American Biography (1934)
• Randall, Willard Sterne. "Alexander Hamilton: A Life". (2003) Popular. excerpt and text search

Political philosophy

• Chan, Michael D. "Alexander Hamilton on Slavery." Review of Politics 66 (Spring 2004): 207-31.
• 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
• 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
• Mason, Alpheus Thomas. "The Federalist--A Split Personality," American Historical Review 57 (1952): 625-43 online at JSTOR
• 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
• Rossiter, Clinton. Alexander Hamilton and the Constitution (1964)
• Sheehan, Colleen. "Madison V. Hamilton: The Battle Over Republicanism And The Role Of Public Opinion" American Political Science Review 2004 98(3): 405–424. online abstract
• Stourzh, Gerald. Alexander Hamilton and the Idea of Republican Government (1970),
• Staloff, Darren. "Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson: The Politics of Enlightenment and the American Founding." (2005)

Politics

• Bassett, John Spencer. The Federalist System, 1789-1801 (1906) old scholarly survey; online edition
• Bowers, Claude G. Jefferson and Hamilton (1925), a slashing attack on Hamilton as unamerican aristocrat
• 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
• Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick, The Age of Federalism. (1993), the most advanced history of politics in 1790s online edition
• Kurtz; Stephen G. The Presidency of John Adams: The Collapse of Federalism, 1795-1800 1957 online edition
• Miller, John C. The Federalist Era: 1789-1801 (1960), scholarly survey
• Nevins, Allan. The Evening Post: A Century of Journalism (1922) online edition ch 1 on Hamilton's ownership
• Sharp, James. American Politics in the Early Republic: The New Nation in Crisis. (1995), survey of politics in 1790s

Finance

• Edling, Max M. "'So Immense a Power in the Affairs of War': Alexander Hamilton and the Restoration of Public Credit." William and Mary Quarterly 2007 64(2): 287-326. Issn: 0043-5597 Fulltext: History Cooperative
• Flaumenhaft, Harvey. The Effective Republic: Administration and Constitution in the Thought of Alexander Hamilton Duke University Press, 1992 online edition
• McDonald, Forrest. The Presidency of George Washington (1974).
• McNamara, Peter. Political Economy and Statesmanship: Smith, Hamilton, and the Foundation of the Commercial Republic. (Northern Illinois University Press, 1997). 256 pp.
• Nettels, Curtis P. The Emergence of a National Economy, 1775–1815 (1962). general survey of economic history and policy
• 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

Foreign Policy

• Bemis, Samuel Flagg. Jay's Treaty: A Study in Commerce and Diplomacy (1923) online edition
• Combs, Jerald. A. The Jay Treaty: Political Background of Founding Fathers (1970) 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
• Lycan, Gilbert L. Alexander Hamilton and American Foreign Policy: A Design for Greatness (1970),
• Harper, John Lamberton. American Machiavelli: Alexander Hamilton and the Origins of U.S. Foreign Policy. (2004) online review
• Smith, Robert W. Keeping the Republic: Ideology and Early American Diplomacy. (2004)
• Walling, Karl-Friedrich. Republican Empire: Alexander Hamilton on War and Free Government (1999),

Personality

• 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)
• Freeman, Joanne B. Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic (2001). essential on the meaning of duels; online interview
• Kennedy, Roger G. Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson: A Study in Character Oxford UP, 2000 online edition
• Knott, Stephen F. Alexander Hamilton and the Persistence of Myth University Press of Kansas, (2002) (ISBN 0-7006-1157-6).
• 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)

Primary sources

• Freeman, Joanne B., ed. Alexander Hamilton: Writings (2001), The Library of America edition, 1108 pages. Most 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), excerpts from AH's writings, by topic, 617pp
• Morton J. Frisch ed. Selected Writings and Speeches of Alexander Hamilton. (1985), 528pp. 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.
• Taylor, George Rogers. ed, Hamilton and the National Debt 1950, excerpts from all sides in 1790s online edition

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