Alexander Hamilton

Introduction:

“ I Consider Napoleon, Fox, and Hamilton the three greatest men of our epoch, and If I were force to decide between the three, I would give without hesitation the first place to Hamilton (Kaplan 284)”. Those are the words of prominent French diplomat Charles Maurice De Talleyrand after spending a year in the United States. Those words of respect came because of the actions and influences that Alexander Hamilton had on a young United States that still have an effect today. Hamilton helped shaped and interpret the United States constitution and set up the financial system that lead to the United States rise to a global power.

Bibliography

Hamilton was born in 1757 on a small island in the British West Indies. At the Age of 9, his father left his mother and both Hamilton and his Brother. At 11 years old his mother died, and both Hamilton and his brother were orphaned. After being orphaned Hamilton became a Clerk in a mercantile establishment, where his employers found potential in him, and raised a fund for him to go to the colonies and study there. However, the American Revolution interrupted Hamilton’s Studies and he joined the Americans in Fighting the British. Hamilton would rise fast through the ranks of the U.S. Forces and obtained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He served under General Washington’s as his chief of staff during the war. This relationship, cemented by friendship and respect, would continue between Washington and Hamilton all the way through Washington’s Presidency. In 1780 Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler, whose family was rich and politically connected, and in 1781 he resigned from Washington’s staff, before resigning completely from the army shortly after that. Hamilton was then elected t...

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...venues, and support more federal programs to stimulate the economy. However, I feel like there is a chance he might not join a political party, realizing that Washington was right about political parties, after witnessing todays broken two party system.

Works Cited

Primary

"The First Report on Public Credit by Alexander Hamilton (1789)." The First Report on Public Credit by Alexander Hamilton (1789). N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.

Secondary

"America's Founding Fathers - Delegates to the Constitutional Convention." America's Founding Fathers - Delegates to the Constitutional Convention. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!. an American History. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton and company, 2011. 285-288, 398-401. Print.

Kaplan, Lawrence S. Thomas Jefferson: Westward the Course of Empire. Wilmington, DE: SR, 1999. 284. Print.