Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a great man that will be remembered for being a great major general of the armed forces of the United States of America. As well as the secretary of the treasury. In 1769, at twelve years old he had a job as a clerk in a general store and Alexander dreaded spending the rest of his life there. He wanted something more for his future. He wished for a war to occur. He wanted to prove himself to be more worthy then a clerk. To his thinking, only some brilliant and heroic act on the battle field would give me a chance to achieve his hopes. He seemed to be doomed to a life of clerking. For one thing, he was at the bottom of a social ladder. His parents, who never married, separated when Hamilton was nine, and his mother was forced to support her two sons by running a grocery from one of the rooms in their tiny home. When she died two years later, the boys were all alone. There was not even a cousin who could afford to take them in.
Hamilton's future was also limited by lack of education. Fortunately though, he had one great gift that could overcome all his disadvantages that was his genius. He got involved with a well to do merchant named Nicolas Cruger and earned his room and board as he learned the grocery business. He also learned how to bargain, how to figure foreign exchange rates, and how to evade the hundred of customs regulations.
He also put his spare time to good use. When not at his desk, he wrote sentimental love poems and political essays. Many of these were published in the island newspaper. Hamilton published one of his letters, that captured a description of a storm that he witnessed. The editor of the newspaper Royal-Danish-American Gazette was impressed and not long aft...
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...for when he was twelve was there for him at eighteen, and he embraced it eagerly. As a boy he had wanted to fight only to improve his luck in life. As a young man, however, Hamilton had more then a personal glory on his mind. He now wanted to free America from the tyranny of the British government. Hamilton's war began in New York in August 1775 when the heart's of oak captured the British cannon from the fort on Manhattan's southern tip and brought them to the American camp farther north. Despite the cover of silence and darkness, the British new what happened. They were not about to let a group of young rebels steal their guns. From a warship in the harbor they bombed the Americans.
The panic and confusion of his fellow New Yorker's did not stop Hamilton. He calmly pulled his gun to American ground, and then returned to the fort to get another. Soon after thi
He accuses Jefferson of being “off getting high with the French” while “we — (being Hamilton and other true Americans, in this case directly associating him with George Washington, who was with Hamilton in the situation referred to here, the siege at Yorktown) — almost died in a trench.” In a final contrast to Hamilton himself, he describes Jefferson as “hesitant” and “reticent.” Hamilton, neither of those things, finishes with the mature “Damn, you’re in worse shape than the national debt is in / Sittin’ there useless as two shits / Hey, turn around, bend over, I’ll show you where my shoe fits.” By that point, the Congress is so involved that they don’t wait for a pause to laugh and they even provide a chanted accompaniment to the last lines before erupting into chaos. It takes George Washington to calm everyone down, and though Jefferson taunts that Hamilton doesn’t “have the votes,” Hamilton walks away from the battle the clear
Alexander Hamilton, on the other side, distrusted popular rule and emphasized law, order, authority and property. Alexander Hamilton wanted to promote commerce and industry through a strong central government. He also would diversify American economic life by encouraging shipping and creating manufacturing by legislative directive. Hamilton also believed that a ...
Hamilton believed in a strong central government and to acquire this, wealth was the key. He wanted to make the United States rich in order for it to become a very powerful government. Hamilton learned first hand what it is like to earn a living, and that is why he believed, that wealth was the foundation in building a strong nation. He felt that those with wealth, merchants known now as businessman, would launch the U.S. into wealth and power. He also believed that with wealth came knowledge. When Hamilton started his journey as Secretary of Treasury, he was faced with many difficulties; The National Debt was such an obstacle. However, he considered it a necessary one, “A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing. It will be a powerful cement of our Union.” (From Thomas Jefferson to James Duane September 3, 1781) He felt the utmost importance in paying off all of our debts. This was significant in order to build exemplary credit and creating our first National Bank, the Bank of the United States. On the other hand, Jefferson’s idea of America was one built by farmers and not merchants. He thought the only person who was truly free were indeed the farmers. In a letter he says, “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” (From Thomas Jefferson to Archibald Stuart December
The discourse of America, a nation built upon the foundations written by men, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton contributed a great ordeal of their lives into the creation of it. From similar childhoods to conflicting perceptions of government, Jefferson and Hamilton paved the way for the future of the nation. Through the comparison of Jefferson and Hamilton, by using factors of character, politics, and legacy, it is beyond question that Hamilton’s ambitious personality, politically involved nature, and estate truly resonates with history on a higher account compared to Jefferson.
Everyone has heard the name Alexander Hamilton, but few are familiar with his views and actions regarding the survival of the young American republic. He could be recognized for anything from serving our fledgling country by fighting in the New York militia; to serving his community as a lawyer and as a national tax agent; to beginning his political career as a representative for New York at the National Congress. Though most would agree his most important contribution to our struggling republic was to spearhead the project which formed the doctrine helping to establish the foundation in which modern democracy is based, the Articles of Confederation.
It is even said that he was not always there and did not agree with the other delegates of New York because of their conservative ideals. He was a part of the Committee of Style and was the only one out of the three delegates from New York to sign the Constitution. While writing The Federalist Papers, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson agreed with Hamilton’s views. Once he won the seat of Secretary of the Treasury and proposed the national bank and paying back debts, they disagreed with his views and that was when the Democratic-Republican party was formed. Alexander Hamilton unknowingly formed the two parties that will be used for the next one hundred plus years in the American government. Through all of that, Alexander Hamilton knew what he wanted for the country that he had fought so hard for. He stuck with his views even when everyone was against him and thought he was still loyal to the British because they also had a stronger national government. He held onto his perspective all the way until Aaron Burr killed him in
The day that Alexander Hamilton was first placed into the United States Government would be the day which would forever change our nation. The time when he would start and create a fantastic economy out of scratch. He did it with one brilliant five point plan. But there were three parts of the plan which were the body of this project. These were the assumption of state debt, the whiskey tax, and the construction of a national bank. All of these together would enhance our economy, before the tyrant Jackson would destroy them (bank). Nevertheless, his plan dealt with and solved the tough issues such as federal debt, government money supply, and economical shape throughout our nation. So for these answers he gave to our people, we must be grateful
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow is a biography detailing the life of the controversial founding father. Chernow provides in-depth information about every part of Hamilton’s life, from his childhood to his untimely death. The biography starts off in the West Indies, where Hamilton born to Rachel Faucette Levien and James Hamilton. There is some speculation as to when Hamilton was born, but Chernow believes he was born in the year 1755. His birth, however, was quite contentious since his parents were not married, making him a bastard. Alexander Hamilton's early life was filled with grief. His father left the family and his mother died of disease soon, leaving Hamilton an orphan. In his teenage years, Hamilton clerked on the island until a
Of the many figures in American History, Alexander Hamilton has proven himself one of the most versatile and influential. His policies and ideals have helped the United States blossom into a prosperous world power. Through his power as secretary of Treasury and his convincing intellectual efforts, he was able to dominate the nations early political environment. Hamilton’s patriotic endeavors have proven themselves to be durable and in the best interests of the United States.
Alexander Hamilton was born a bastard child in the West Indies and demonstrated great intellectual potential at an early age. He was sent to New York City for schooling and studied at King’s College, now Columbia University. His vision of America took a more capitalistic tone and “he was determined to transform an economically weak and fractious cluster of states into a powerful global force” (Tindall & Shi, 2010). Hamilton advocated a strong central government. He was bold and persuasive and his philosophies quite extraordinary for his time.
Alexander Hamilton was a bastard son, orphan, immigrant, political scientist, soldier, and the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America who transformed not only the country’s banking system but also left a rich legacy that changed America forever. A forgotten founding father, he wrote his way out of poverty at fourteen and later became George Washington’s aide-de-camp and a respected soldier before becoming apart of the first cabinet of the United States. Hamilton not only had a notorious political career, but also personal life, which captivated Americans and heavily influenced his career. Alexander Hamilton’s early life, revolutionary years, years in public service and the cabinet as well as his scandal and devastating
Thus, there is no wonder that the relationship between Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall was very good and with Hamilton still survived and even became president in later years the power John Marshall could have obtained might be greater. On the other hands, Hamilton was also known for many wrongdoings and his belief in somewhat a monarchy. For example, Hamilton was involved in a sex affair with a young Philadelphia woman named Maria Reynolds, which would result in a huge loss of reputation (“5 Things You Didn’t Know About Alexander Hamilton”). In short, even when Hamilton was then applauded for his honesty in telling the truth, the fact that the Secretary of Treasury paid the blackmail money as well as committed adultery were intolerable for many people at the time. Also, his idea in wanting a strong national bank as well as no limitation in presidency term were not favorable among many of the Founding Fathers, including James Madison, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. In addition, Alexander Hamilton was a man who did not intend to kill his rival enemy in a duel, which put him at risk of losing his life. According to Nathaniel Pendleton, a lawyer and a judge in the United States as well as a
This book may be aimed towards the audience of adults, but I hope that soon teenagers will soon become interested in History. I have alway been a huge fan of American History, but I do not like to read. This book though I do want to read, because of the amazing explanations of “The Duel.” Ever since this broadway show Hamilton by Lin Manuel Miranda I have wanted to learn more about the life of Alexander Hamilton,. Whenever I find a book that describes Hamilton’s life I want to read it, and i'm glad I read Founding Brothers. Within this book Ellis uses many quotes from Hamilton and Burr which is personally one of my favorite parts. The quotes of Hamilton is one of my favorite parts of the book because of Hamilton's amazing skills with a paper and pen. Another element of the book I enjoyed is the still problematic conclusion of Hamilton's death. In “The Duel” there were two shots fired, one by Hamilton and one by Burr. There are two hypothesis’ shared in the book on who shot first. This is important to me because the author was not biased and did not only include one option, I feel like in doing this they gave the reader a choice of which conclusion they want. Joseph J. Ellis did not only stay unbiased he also included some fun and interesting little tidbits throughout the story. When I say this I mean when he described the connection between the weapons used in “The Duel.”
Alexander Hamilton was disliked by many people but, he is now popular because of a hit Broadway show created by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755 or 1757 in Charleston, Nevis in the British West Indies. He was abandoned by his father which made him an orphan at the age of 13. Hamilton started attending school in Elizabethtown, New Jersey but, plans changed, and he entered Kings College. At the age of 17 he was already interested in government. Later, in 1776 he was introduced to George Washington. He became Washington’s advisor not long after that. Some main events that changed Hamilton’s life were his family, his accomplishments, and George Washington.
Hamilton is a very strong member of the Founding Fathers by founding the National Bank, and the U.S. Mint. Allowing the use of currency allows every American to trade goods for a set amount of currency. Another act Hamilton did was convincing the people of New York to ratify the constitution. Without their help, the constitution would not have a ratification at that time. The next significant act Hamilton did was become Washington’s assistant. Hamilton aided Washington by becoming the major general of the army during the Quasi War with France. The last piece Hamilton was able to be significant to the new world was his role as the Secretary of Treasury. This was important because the newly founded government needed to find ways to pay national debt that had been accumulated during the Revolution. Hamilton is significant to the new world by establishing a financial foundation for the federal